LAFAYETTE – Police Chief Jim Craft declined to say what evidence exists that missing coed Mickey Shunick is dead.

Brandon Scott Lavergne, 33, an offshore worker, was arrested Thursday and charged with kidnapping and murdering the 22-year-old woman last publicly seen when she bicycled toward her home in Lafayette in the wee hours of May 19.

Craft said Lavergne, a previously convicted sex offender, has not cooperated with investigators questioning him about the case.

Detectives and crime scene specialists were at Lavergne’s home again today after spending an extended amount of time there Thursday after his arrest.

According to case records, Lavergne tied, blindfolded and sexually assaulted a teenager while stationed at Fort Polk.

He is also currently charged with failure to register as a sex offender.

Craft said police were able to place the suspect in the Whiskey Bay area east of Lafayette, where Shunick’s bicycle was found partially submerged in the Atchafalaya River waters.

He declined to comment on what evidence was retrieved from that scene which lead to focusing the investigation on Lavergne.

Questioned about motive, Craft responded, “he’s a sex offender.” He did say there was no apparent previous connection between the missing and presumed girl and her alleged killer.

Craft confirmed a truck reported stolen by Lavergne was found burned north of Houston, Texas.

The truck is the same model and color as one recorded on surveillance tape on Shunick’s route from a friend’s home to her own.