Police arrested and charged a registered sex offender with murder on Thursday in connection to the disappearance of Louisiana college student Mickey Shunick.

Brandon Scott Lavergne, 33, was collared at his house in Church Point, La., approximately six miles from where Shunick was last seen riding her bike on May 19, ABC News reported. Authorities charged the suspect with first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping, though it wasn't immediately clear how investigators connected him to the case.

Police made the arrest as St. Landry Parish sheriff's deputies searched Lavergne's home for evidence.

MICKEY SHUNICK CASE PHOTOS (story continues below):

Loading Slideshow...

  • Mickey Shunick

    Authorities in Louisiana are searching for Michaela "Mickey" Shunick, a 22-year-old senior anthropology major at the University of Louisiana, who was last seen on the morning of May 19.

  • Brandon Lavergne

    Brandon Lavergne was arrested on a murder charge in connection with Louisiana college student Mickey Shunick's disappearance.

  • Mickey Shunick

    Mickey Shunick left a friend's home on Ryan Street in Lafayette, Louisiana on the morning of May 19. Shunick was cycling to her home on Governor Miro Drive, a distance of about four miles, when she vanished without a trace, the Lafayette Police Department said.

  • Mickey Shunick

    Ashley Says and Brettly Wilson, friends of Mickey Shunick, give instructions to friends, family and other concerned volunteers at the beginning of a search party for Shunick, a 21-year-old woman last seen on her bicycle leaving Wilson's house on Ryan Street, pictured, in the early overnight hours Saturday in Lafayette. (<a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205220313" target="_hplink">Leslie Westbrook, The Advertiser</a>)

  • Mickey Shunick

    Friends, family and other concerned volunteers begin a search for Mickey Shunick, a 21-year-old woman last seen on her bicycle leaving a home on Ryan street in the early overnight hours Saturday in Lafayette. (<a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205220313" target="_hplink">Leslie Westbrook, The Advertiser</a>)

  • Mickey Shunick

    A private donor is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to Mickey Shunick's whereabouts, no questions asked.

  • Mickey Shunick

    Volunteer and friend Ashley Says comforts Charlie Shunick, Mickey Shunick's sister, on Monday, Mickey's 22nd birthday. (<a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205220313" target="_hplink">Megan Wyatt, The Advertiser</a>)

  • Mickey Shunick

    Mickey Shunick is described as a white female, 5'1" tall and approximately 115 lbs. She has shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. Shunick has a small tattoo of a bicycle on her right outer ankle and a nose ring on her left nostril. She was last seen wearing a pastel striped shirt, light wash denim skinny jeans, and silver ankle boots. She was carrying a light brown leather backpack, a black and yellow Vera Bradley wallet, a black Verizon slider phone and a small pink container of mace.

  • Mickey Shunick

    Mickey Shunick's siblings, Charlie and Zack Shunick, investigate possible routes Mickey traveled on her bicycle early Saturday morning. (<a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205220313" target="_hplink">Megan Wyatt, The Advertiser</a>)

  • Mickey Shunick

    Friends, family and other concerned volunteers begin a search for Mickey Shunick, a 21-year-old woman last seen on her bicycle leaving a home on Ryan street in the early overnight hours Saturday in Lafayette. (<a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205220313" target="_hplink">Leslie Westbrook, The Advertiser</a>)

  • Mickey Shunick

    Friends, family and other concerned volunteers begin a search for Mickey Shunick, a 21-year-old woman last seen on her bicycle leaving a home on Ryan street in the early overnight hours Saturday in Lafayette. (<a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205220313" target="_hplink">Leslie Westbrook, The Advertiser</a>)

  • Mickey Shunick

    Mickey Shunick's siblings, Charlie and Zack Shunick, investigate possible routes that Mickey traveled on her bicycle early Saturday morning. (<a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205220313" target="_hplink">Megan Wyatt, The Advertiser</a>)

  • Mickey Shunick

    Ashley Says, left, and Lindsay Beggs, friends of Mickey Schunick, post flyers Sunday morning during a search Schunick, a 21-year-old woman last seen on her bicycle leaving a home on Ryan street in the early overnight hours Saturday in Lafayette. (<a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205220313" target="_hplink">Leslie Westbrook, The Advertiser</a>)

  • Mickey Shunick

    Police in the Lafayette area encourage anyone with any information regarding Mickey Shunick's whereabouts to contact them at 337-291-8600. Tipsters can also send an email to findmickeyshunick@yahoo.com.

  • Ashley Says, Kim Schifino and Mickey Shunick

  • Mickey Shunick with her brother Zack, her sister, Charlene, her father Mckey and her mom Nancy.

  • Mickey Shunick and her sister Charlene

  • Mickey Shunick and her sister Charlene

  • Mickey Shunick and Raven Talley

  • Ashley Prado, Marion Trosclair and Mickey Shunick

It took 47 days for investigators to announce a lead in the 22-year-old University of Louisiana student's disappearance.

"We are relieved that the police have made an arrest," Shunick's sister, Charlie, wrote in a text message to The Daily Advertiser. "The circumstances are pretty distressing. If she is gone, it is a void in the fabric of the world and a devastating blow to our family."

Lavergne was convicted in 2000 of aggravated oral sexual battery, according to the Louisiana State Police website. He was released from prison in 2008.

Shunick, a senior at the university, left her friend's house on her bike before 2 a.m. on May 19. About a week later, surveillance footage surfaced showing her riding her bike the night she went missing.

Mickey Shunick: