A registered sex offender has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of Mickey Shunick.
Cops arrested 33-year-old Brandon Scott Lavergne Thursday at his home in Church Point, La., just six miles from where Shunick was last seen riding her bike. Lavergne has been charged with first degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz told The Associated Press that the arrest came as his department helped Lafayette police search Lavergne's residence for evidence. Police would not comment on how they connected Lavergne to the Shunick case.
Lafayette Police Department/AP Photo
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Watch Video ABC News has learned that Lavergne appears on the Louisiana Sate Police website as a registered sex offender. The website says Lavergne was convicted in 2000 of aggravated oral sexual battery. He was released from prison in 2008.
A 1 p.m. press conference is scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Shunick, a senior at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, left friend Brettly Wilson's house on her bike just before 2 a.m. on May 19. More than a week after she went missing, surveillance video showing her on a bicycle the night she disappeared. Police were trying to track down information about a white pickup truck seen on the same video.
On the sex offender website, Lavergne is listed as to having a white 2011 Chevrolet Silverado.
As news of the arrest spread late Thursday, volunteers who have spent months searching for Shunick said they were crushed.
"Faith and prayers believe me. We're going to be saying them nonstop," said Margaret Bearb.
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