Amanda McElfresh

amcelfresh@theadvertiser.com

It's that one exit on eastbound Interstate 10 that just seems a little bit different than the others.

Travelers who take Exit 127, commonly known as the Whiskey Bay exit, are driving into the definition of seclusion. While most exits lead to convenience stores and fast food restaurants, this one — just 30 miles east of Lafayette —is almost completely desolate.

In April 2016, the body of Elizabeth Ferrell, 29, of Humble, Texas, was discovered in Whiskey Bay. An autopsy showed she died from strangulation. Police believe Ferrell died somewhere else, and her body was dumped into Whiskey Bay. Police in Texas later arrested Jonathan Christopher Allee, 28, in connection with her death. The two had had a "volatile relationship" for some time, authorities said.

The discovery of Ferrell's body was the latest in a years-long string of disturbing finds in Whiskey Bay. In 2012, a bicycle belonging to Mickey Shunick was discovered in the same area. Shunick's body was found months later in rural Evangeline Parish. Brandon Scott Lavergne was subsequently convicted of killing her, as well as Lisa Pate in 1999. He is now serving life in prison.

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This remote exit has a ramp that curves sharply, almost into a complete circle, and leads onto La. 975. Turn left onto La. 975, go about 40 yards, and there's a huge white sign with "NO" written in large black letters. It is a not-so-subtle reminder that there is no public access into the woods beyond that point and trespassing is prohibited. Visitors clearly are not welcome.

Go right onto La. 975, and the road immediately goes under the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin bridge, where the thundering of vehicles traveling at least 60 miles per hour overhead nearly drowns out the sounds of birds chirping and bugs hissing in the thick underbrush. It's an odd dichotomy — the sense of being in the middle of nowhere, but less than a mile from one of the most-traveled interstates in the country.

"It's a secluded area. Most people that go out there are going to camps or just exiting the interstate for a second and then getting back on," said Maj. Johnny Blanchard, head of the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office uniform patrol section. "There are no gas stations and no rest areas, just the boat launch. You have to go a mile or two before you see any camps. There is traffic in and out, but there are no residents or businesses anywhere around."

Most of that traffic surrounds the boat launch to the right of La. 975. It's a manmade cement slope, steep and heavily ridged, that leads right into Whiskey Bay and, ultimately, parts of the Atchafalaya Basin. A brown wood-and-metal sign in front of the launch serves as an information center. In the late spring and summer of 2012, it featured a missing-person flier with Shunick's photo and description, as well as information on hunting and fishing permits and regulations.

Fishermen without boats set up their tackle boxes and poles in the few feet of sandy banks along the channel, in the shade of the interstate.

"People come out here from all over — Opelousas, Baton Rouge, St. Martinville, New Iberia, Vacherie, Marrero," said Carl Detiege of Cecilia, who cast his line in the Whiskey Bay waters several times one morning. "During the daytime, there's usually a good amount of people, especially on the weekends. But at night, it's different. It gets so dark out here everybody leaves. Plus, the mosquitoes are so bad you don't want to stay."

Detiege and Blanchard said the deep darkness that comes over Whiskey Bay once the sun sets adds to the sense of isolation. The traffic dwindles. There are no lights in the immediate vicinity. Blanchard said he thinks all of that contributes to the exit being a popular spot for criminals to dispose of bodies and evidence over the years.

In 2002, the body of Pam Kinnamore was found at that exit. Less than a year later, the body of Carrie Lynn Yoder was also discovered at Whiskey Bay. Police said both women were the victims of Derrick Todd Lee, the Baton Rouge serial killer who was later convicted. Lee died in January 2016 of heart disease while sitting on Louisiana's death row.

Blanchard said he also could recall an unrelated murder that took place in the same area several years ago, and a case where the body of a child who had been abducted from Texas was left there.

RELATED:Bike loop unveiled to honor Mickey Shunick

Former Baton Rouge Police Chief Pat Englade, who led the serial killer task force in the early 2000s, kept up with the area years after his investigations led him there.

"I get a chill down my back," Englade said. "Other than being a fishing spot, it looks like it's been a horrible spot for crime over the years. I think it's because it's just so remote. If you go down there at night, it's really spooky. Obviously, a lot of criminals are looking for the most remote places they can find, and that's probably the most remote between Lafayette and Baton Rouge."

Although he fishes off the Whiskey Bay banks several times a week, Detiege said he's become more cautious over the years as the location's reputation for crime has increased. Nowadays, he never goes there alone, bringing friends, neighbors, his children or grandchildren with him. He also keeps a close eye on everybody around him, whether it's fellow fishermen he doesn't know, tourists stopping to take photos of the Atchafalaya Basin or people who pull off the exit to take a rest.

"It's always in the back of your head," Detiege said. "When someone pulls up, you're looking at them, wondering what they are doing there and what's going on and why did they stop here."

Detiege said he's especially cautious about any vehicles that park on the left side of La. 975. There is no boat ramp there, just an open area of dirt and gravel that is littered with beer bottles, fast food cups, broken pieces of discarded lumber, torn insulation and other small items of debris.

"You don't see anybody on the other side," Detiege said. "There's always more people over here."