St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says the area searched is in the vicinity of the home of Brandon Scott Lavergne, who was arrested in connection of the disappearance of 21-year-old Mickey Shunick.
A tip from a farmer about a possible grave site on his property 2.5 miles northwest as the crow flies from the St. Ann Church in the Mallet community led to two more similar mounds but nothing else, according to St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz.
The sheriff says the search for Mickey Schunick continues.
Photo by Dominick Cross
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says Thursday's search of property near the home of Brandon Scott Lavergne in the community of Mallet turned up nothing.
"They are not grave sites," says Guidroz, adding that the use of probes and shovels determined the 6-foot-by-3-foot mounds were not graves. "We were convinced they are not grave sites because of the root systems that was in the mound of dirt."
From 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., 13-15 members of the Lafayette Crime Scene Unit and the St. Landry Sheriff's Department searched the area adjacent to farmland Guidroz says appears to be a rice field.
"And beyond the rice field is a wooded area and in the wooded area are trails where trucks and tractors pass," he says. "And at the edge of the woods is the first mound that we searched. The team was canvassing the area and found a second and a third."
Guidroz says the area is in the vicinity of the home of Brandon Scott Lavergne, who was arrested July 5 in connection with the disappearance of the 21-year-old woman last seen May 19 riding her bike home in Lafayette.
"We're going to keep looking. We're there for the Shunick family, along with the LPD and we're hoping that we can put some closure, recover her, find her alive or if she's not alive, we hope that we can recover her body," Guidroz says. "I know the family has hope that she's alive and that's certainly a possibility."