Dru Sjodin 2

[Yakwoman]

The other thread was getting too long, so I thought I'd start a new one.

Yakwoman

[Hammerized]

I saw Rodriguez on TV tonight for the first time (court appearance replay). His hands were hidden well; under the table, under the coat. I was looking to see if he had cuts, scratches, etc... on them. He has none that I could see on his face or neck.

Anybody have a link to an image that shows his hands better than hidden beneath the parka he wore?

[Hammerized]

Anybody notice the smears and swirls in the frozen condensation of his car's rear passenger window?

It looks just like mine when my son wipes his hands all over the inside of the window, and then later when it's humid in there- the smears show up. When it's cold, they turn to frost drawings. Just like the window glass in this picture.

I wonder if he did take her in his car, injured, with the rear child-locks engaged so she couldn't open the door. It's only the glass on that rear window, the others look normal. And so I am assuming this smear wasn't from the police looking for evidence.

I increased the contrast from the picture on the finddru website (sorry I can't attach it) and it's even more obvious.

[tamjo614]

I cannot tell from the picture if that is on the inside or outside. If on the outside, it's probably the frost thawing on his car. I noticed the sun must be hitting that side of the car. The sun's reflection is on the car. Plus the photographers shadow indicates the sun was behind him when he took that picture.

When I first looked at the picture, it made my stomach flop. Just the thought of what may have happened in that car. Hammer, I'm sure that new of a car has child locks.

Grrrrr

[mindys]

Hammerized, really great thoughts. Would you look at Dru's car pics too. I'd really like to hear your point of view on it.

[mindys]

Originally posted by IdahoMom
I've tried to keep up with the posts here, so please forgive me if I post info already on this thread.

Below is very interesting information on the Level 3 sex offenders in Minnesota.

Level 3 Sex Offender Information (http://www.doc.state.mn.us/level3/level3.asp)

This contains info on predators currently registered, plus- and this is what scared me- a list of all the offenders that have moved out of state. There are a TON of them. When these guys move around, it has got to be easy to lose track of them. Frightening!

You're not kidding, that is way frightening!! There is more of them than many of us probably thought there would be.

[IdahoMom]

The best thing everyone can do is be very aware of their surroundings and to trust their instincts. I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been very "creeped out" since this happened to Dru. To think she was taken in such a public place and while on her cellphone. The perp must have been very charged up to act so boldly.

[Searching for Audrey]

No matter the outcome, say a prayer for Dru, thank God & those around you that you are not in their place, & most of all...cherish those you love. It takes a lifetime to create memories of...& only a second to shatter them all.

God Bless all of our loved ones lost...May God hold them safe in His arms until He gently guides them home again-AMEN

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by Hammerized

I increased the contrast from the picture on the finddru website (sorry I can't attach it) and it's even more obvious.

Hammerized--
Wow, great observation. I am going to go back and check. I'm up in the middle of the night and can't help but think of Dru. Here I am in my warm house...if she's alive, I wonder if she is warm...I'm not convinced yet that she's dead. God bless you, Dru!!
Misty

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by Hammerized
Anybody notice the smears and swirls in the frozen condensation of his car's rear passenger window?


Hammerized--
OK, I enhanced the photo too and definitely see what you are talking about. Only thing is, there's really no way to tell if it was done from the inside, indicating that Dru may have been in there (which I think she was anyway) or if someone from outside did it.

Mindys, I believe you were wondering how he could have gotten her into his car. I am wondering the same thing. Seems that SOMEONE would have seen SOMETHING. I can't imagine she didn't struggle and wouldn't someone have noticed that? Unless maybe he used chlorophyl or something on her to knock her out?
Misty

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by MissMisty

Mindys, I believe you were wondering how he could have gotten her into his car. I am wondering the same thing. Seems that SOMEONE would have seen SOMETHING. I can't imagine she didn't struggle and wouldn't someone have noticed that? Unless maybe he used chlorophyl or something on her to knock her out?
Misty

Thing is, if the bodily fluid found in her car is hers, then she was obviously in her car at one point and how did he get her from her car to his? :dontknow:
Misty

[sunny]

Good Morning all. I wondering if their is someone else involved like he wasn't working alone and someone helped him get her in the car. And maybe this person is holding her still. I don't agree with law enforcement not making a deal of some kind so he will tell them where she is. He knows he going back to prison but maybe a lesser a minumum security prison but solitary confinement ,he would be dead if they put him in with general population. Just a thought.

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by MissMisty

Mindys, I believe you were wondering how he could have gotten her into his car. I am wondering the same thing. Seems that SOMEONE would have seen SOMETHING. I can't imagine she didn't struggle and wouldn't someone have noticed that? Unless maybe he used chlorophyl or something on her to knock her out?
Misty

Misty.....seem's like he could have used Chlorophyl. Wouldn't it immediately knock someone out....at least somewhat? Would it leave a lingering smell?
Anyone know this......:dontknow:

xxxxoo
mama

[Yakwoman]

I saw his victim from 23 years ago on TV last night. She said that he approached her with a knife and said "Get in the car or I'll kill you." He probably did the same thing with Dru.

[johnny]

I worry that our justice system with its pro's and con's could be actually exacerbating these Sexual offenders! You take a guy wIho is a power freak, sexual deviate whatever ...............and deprive him for twenty three years! now he's mad at the system and an out of control sexually deprived maniac who's had twenty three years of planning and calculating freak who's trying to make up for lost time, plus his only friends and associates are just like him...........................

I refuse to get out of line for the soap box

[DuckFeet]

Originally posted by Love_Mama
Misty.....seem's like he could have used Chlorophyl. Wouldn't it immediately knock someone out....at least somewhat? Would it leave a lingering smell?
Anyone know this......:dontknow:

xxxxoo
mama


Chlorophyl- n. the green coloring matter in plants, in the absence of light it makes carbohydrates, such as starch and sugar, from carbon dioxide and water , a process called photosynthesis.

Chloroform- n. a colorless liquid with a sharp, sweetish smell and taste.Chloroform evaporates quickly and easily. When its vapor is inhaled , it makes a person unconscious or unable to feel pain.


There is a definite distictinction between these two terms. They are not related in function at all.

[johnny]

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MISSING_STUDENT?SITE=TNNAT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Associated press

Some interesting comments made! He says he didn't "abduct her"

Hope this fixed the problem!

[DuckFeet]

Originally posted by johnny
http://207.36.4.219/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=83035#post83035

Associated press

Some interesting comments made! He says he didn't "abduct her"


I'm confused. That link just leads to a previous post on this forum. I expected something from Associated Press. Or perhaps I just don't see the connection?

[Juliana]

This may be the link Johnny meant to post:

http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=1553679

[IdahoMom]

Originally posted by johnny
I worry that our justice system with its pro's and con's could be actually exacerbating these Sexual offenders! You take a guy wIho is a power freak, sexual deviate whatever ...............and deprive him for twenty three years! now he's mad at the system and an out of control sexually deprived maniac who's had twenty three years of planning


With all due respect, this is not a crime about sex. It has been proven that castration does not take care of the problem with these sickos. It's a deep-seated anger and rage and sick thought process IN THE BRAIN. Besides, there are lots of ways for this man to "relieve himself" sexually than to abduct and harm an innocent young woman.

[wwwxxyyzz]

Originally posted by MissMisty

Mindys, I believe you were wondering how he could have gotten her into his car. I am wondering the same thing. Seems that SOMEONE would have seen SOMETHING. I can't imagine she didn't struggle and wouldn't someone have noticed that? Unless maybe he used chlorophyl or something on her to knock her out?
Misty

I think part of the problem here lies in that people don't watch out for each other as much anymore. Now I'm not saying that anyone here is like that...but there are people out there who don't want to get involved. Either they don't care or they are fearful for their own lives. So they quietly walk away and don't help. It's a sad state of affairs but the reality of our world. Let me give you an example. Last night we went Christmas shopping. I'm standing in line checking out and the bathrooms in this store were immediately in front of the register where I was checking out. All of a sudden there is a child SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER from the bathroom. It was the most horrendous scream I ever heard and it continued for five minutes at least. I could not leave to go check because I was being checked out...but I repeatedly kept saying to the employees outside the bathroom..."somebody should go check to be sure that child is ok". Now here is the part that really bothers me. There were four employees right outside the bathroom cleaning and stocking things...NOT ONE of them went to see if everything was ok. They all just looked at each other and went "my goodness that is loud". I kid you not NO ONE went in to check on this child. Even at my insisting they just ignored my request and this child's screams. I won't be shopping at this store again!! As soon as I was checked out I went into the bathroom and the child's mother and his two sisters emerged from a stall. He was beet red and still crying but had softened his cries. I asked if everything was ok. She gave me the dirtiest look and said "he's fine...just misbehaving...now mind your own business!" I quickly responded "Well half the store could hear him screaming and I was the only one who would check to be sure someone wasn't hurting your child! If you weren't his mother and someone was really in here harming him...no one would have noticed." She stood there absolutely flabbergasted. Then thanked me for checking in on her child. She couldn't believe that with all his screaming that no one cared outside that door. She said she thought for sure she was going to get kicked out of the store. Apparently he was misbehaving and she took him in there to calm him down. His reaction is to scream when he doesn't get his way. We walked out the door of the bathroom and not one of the employees said a thing. Most didn't even look. How did they know that this child wasn't being hurt or abducted??!! NO ONE wanted to get involved. It was so sad and absolutely made me sick to my stomach.

This very well could have been the case for Dru. Maybe someone heard something but didn't want to get involved. They could be witnesses that the LE has info from. With it dark (I'm assuming it was dark because I live in IL and at 4:30 it's dark) it would have made it much easier to abduct her without anyone seeing anything though. I'm sure she was terrified and did as she was told...especially with a knife threatening her. We can hope that she fought back but none of us know what we would react like in that situation. So if all was quiet and dark...she easily could have been taken quickly without anyone noticing. Especially if he parked next to her.

It is all so sad...so frightening...
Praying for Dru~

[Hammerized]

Originally posted by MissMisty
Only thing is, there's really no way to tell if it was done from the inside, indicating that Dru may have been in there (which I think she was anyway) or if someone from outside did it. HI MissMisty-
Yeah, no way to really tell if it's inside or not. But, it appears to me that a person sitting in that rear seat, maybe slumped against the window, would breathe against the glass and produce that.

tamjo614- I also wonder if it's on the outside, why aren't all the windows like that? The picture of the left (driver's) side was taken with the sun hitting the car in the same manner - those windows aren't all melting.:confused: I guess they moved the car for the light.

Also, the car is running, you can tell from the exhaust plume in the other pictures and the defrosted area on the windshield from the defroster going. In the pic taken of the rear, there is someone driving it. Just a warm body driving that car for a couple minutes is enough to get the smudges to show up again. I really think those smudges are on the inside of the glass.

mindys- The image of Dru's car isn't really good enough to inspect as much as I'd like. Photoshop 7 is good enough, but there's just no detail TO see in that webpage image by adjusting gamma, detail, etc... That lowell light shining on the front fender leaves the rear of the car in the dust- lighting/detail-wise (shadow detail). A higher-resolution copy, before it was sized for web publishing, would help. :)

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by Hammerized
HI MissMisty-
Yeah, no way to really tell if it's inside or not. But, it appears to me that a person sitting in that rear seat, maybe slumped against the window, would breathe against the glass and produce that.


Hammerized--
You are very observant. I agree about someone slumped in the seat. I do think it's very possible that Dru is the one who did that.
Misty

[KOOL LOOK]

My heart breaks for Dru and her family. I wish there was something I could do, like interrogate the perp myself. I say this is one of those times his rights, if he is on video tape abducting Dru, should be null and void. He gave his rights up when he committed the unthinkable and terrorized an innocent family.

If he is on tape, stone it out of him, for righteousness sake.

[mindys]

God help them, the official searching is ending, no recovery of Dru:

"GRAND FORKS, North Dakota (AP) -- Investigators put the search for a missing University of North Dakota student on indefinite hold Saturday after two weeks of scouring the fields and rural roads across two states turned up no sign of her.

Police Capt. Mike Kirby said authorities had no plans to resume the search for Dru Sjodin unless something new developed in the case. Instead, they were concentrating on the evidence collected so far in her apparent kidnapping and trying to piece together clues to her whereabouts.

"I would never say never on a possible search," Kirby said Saturday. "But as of now, there is nothing organized.""


http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/06/missing.student.ap/

[starpatch]

Originally posted by Hammerized
Anybody notice the smears and swirls in the frozen condensation of his car's rear passenger window?

It looks just like mine when my son wipes his hands all over the inside of the window, and then later when it's humid in there- the smears show up. When it's cold, they turn to frost drawings. Just like the window glass in this picture.

I wonder if he did take her in his car, injured, with the rear child-locks engaged so she couldn't open the door. It's only the glass on that rear window, the others look normal. And so I am assuming this smear wasn't from the police looking for evidence.

I increased the contrast from the picture on the finddru website (sorry I can't attach it) and it's even more obvious.

Oh MY..I just enlarged the photo....my stomach gripped when I saw the scatch marks on the rear passenger window....

Oh, boy, would I like to get my hands on that dirty SOB....

Hammer...you caught something I had missed before.....you did good. I betcha your theory is right....Dru was injured and she did what she could to try to alert someone .....

So very sad!

[starpatch]

North Dakota police put search for student on hold


GRAND FORKS, North Dakota (AP) --Investigators put the search for a missing University of North Dakota student on indefinite hold Saturday after two weeks of scouring the fields and rural roads across two states turned up no sign of her.

Police Capt. Mike Kirby said authorities had no plans to resume the search for Dru Sjodin unless something new developed in the case. Instead, they were concentrating on the evidence collected so far in her apparent kidnapping and trying to piece together clues to her whereabouts.

"I would never say never on a possible search," Kirby said Saturday. "But as of now, there is nothing organized."

A convicted rapist released from prison earlier this year is charged with kidnapping Sjodin, 22, from the parking lot of the Grand Forks shopping mall where she was working on November 22. Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, remained in jail Saturday and is not talking with authorities, his lawyer said.

No police briefings were planned for Saturday or Sunday, Kirby said.

"We feel bad saying the same thing all the time," Kirby said. "But right now there is nothing new."

Kirby said police would have more to say when evidence in the case is made public. Prosecutors have dropped their objection to unsealing the files, saying the decision on releasing the information now rests with the defense.

Rodriguez's public defender, David Dusek, said he would respond early next week to the motion to unseal the documents. Several media organizations filed the motion last week.

Interviewed on MSNBC, Dusek said Rodriguez told him that he had nothing to do with Sjodin's disappearance and does not know where she is.

"He came out and actually said 'I did not kidnap her,"' Dusek said.

The search for Sjodin and the case against Rodriguez are "on parallel tracks," Sgt. Mike Hedlund said.

"Our main focus at the moment is to try to find Dru," he said. "The investigation of course is very correlated to that because where he went, she went."

Rodriguez, released from prison in May after serving 23 years for attempted kidnapping and assault, was classified by the state of Minnesota as the most dangerous type of sex offender. He faces a preliminary hearing February 4 and arraignment February 6 in connection with Sjodin's disappearance.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.






Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/06/missing.student.ap/index.html

[starpatch]

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/7417457.htm

[prism]

I'm no graphic expert, but I thought I'd try it.
It does look rather disturbing. Almost as if someone scraped the frost off of the inside window with a credit card or something.
Original Picture (http://finddru.com/gallery/rodriguezcar03.jpg)
Window (http://s88577837.onlinehome.us/pics/car.jpg)



Originally posted by starpatch
Oh MY..I just enlarged the photo....my stomach gripped when I saw the scatch marks on the rear passenger window....

Oh, boy, would I like to get my hands on that dirty SOB....

Hammer...you caught something I had missed before.....you did good. I betcha your theory is right....Dru was injured and she did what she could to try to alert someone .....

So very sad!

[MissMisty]

Prism,
Great job! Is there any way you can reduce the size of your enlargement just a bit? It's a little blurry.
Thanks!
Misty

[prism]

I'll try this on you

http://s88577837.onlinehome.us/pics/car2.jpg

I guess I said scraped from the "inside" because of the apparent scraping motion, and its location on the window. If I were scraping from the outside I think I'd have done the larger portion with more of a horizontal stroke. It's position might be from someone in the back seat.

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by prism
I'll try this on you

http://s88577837.onlinehome.us/pics/car2.jpg

I guess I said scraped from the "inside" because of the apparent scraping motion, and its location on the window. If I were scraping from the outside I think I'd have done the larger portion. It's position might be from someone in the back seat.

Prism--
I think you are RIGHT ON with that observation! :clap:

I am watching Fox news right now...the host is furious that this creep, Rodriguez, is out and that no information is coming from him. They also reported that it is the coldest night yet in North Dakota since Dru went missing. :( I just feel sick right now. I keep picturing her in the back of that creep's car, trying to see out the window to see where she is. I can't stand it.
Misty

[mindys]

WOW!! Prism, Hammer, you guys gave me the ole bumps.

Maybe this needs to be forwarded to LE.

This is the kind of stuff they had on Westerfield (RIP Dannielle Van Dam) her palm print in his RV helped put him on Death Row.

[mindys]

MissMisty, I'm with you. I can't stand it.

[prism]

Originally posted by mindys
MissMisty, I'm with you. I can't stand it.

I can't stand the fact that they have called off the search. I guess there must be much more going on behind the scenes, that we aren't aware of :(

I'm just wondering under what conditions this guy may have left Dru unattended for any period in the back seat.
Enough time for her to scrape off the frost ?
And why couldn't she just get out?
That would be assuming it was her that made these marks.

[mindys]

Yak, how are you?? I know how deeply you felt this. You were the reason I first heard of Dru. Job well done friend, it isn't over yet. Please keep at it. I appreciate all and I can bet ya the family does too!

[MissMisty]

I have the new People magazine. I will read it and if there is anything that stands out, I will post it.
Misty

[alpharee]

Just got back a couple of days ago, haven't been online much, although I have my laptop, dial-up is slow so I don't post much when I'm out of town. Anyways, I wish they'd find Dru, she's touched my heart and I've thought about her alot since I heard of her missing. I get more paranoid with each passing day. I hope they find her soon.
If only they'd let me in the room with this sick perv, he looks so evil to me, cold and heartless......

[starpatch]

Originally posted by mindys
WOW!! Prism, Hammer, you guys gave me the ole bumps.

Maybe this needs to be forwarded to LE.

This is the kind of stuff they had on Westerfield (RIP Dannielle Van Dam) her palm print in his RV helped put him on Death Row.
I saw the blow up of the back seat window.....I betcha that Dru did that...looking for help.

I am soooooooo angry that the SOB has more rights than Dru had, or her family....betcha that lawyer better watch his back! I would love to get my hands on his icky client!....

I was hoping they would find her...still, what if someone left for Florida in November...the heat would still be on in the house....
But, I am so sure that all homes have been checked..but...still...who knows.

I am so heartsick over this. I pray all the time that she will be found, safe and sound.

[MissMisty]

From People magazine...

Dru's boyfriend is 32. They had been dating for about 5 months. She had called to tell him about a purse she just bought. He said she has a "crazy purse habit." Then, she was suddenly cut off. "Her tone of voice never changed, there was no sense of urgency. I thought her phone just went dead."

He tried repeatedly to call her back but couldn't reach her. Contrary to early reports, Dru never cried, "Oh, no." His phone rang at 7:42 p.m. The caller ID indicated that the signal was coming from Dru's phone. All he heard was a lot of static and a few random touch-tone beeps. After 20 seconds or so, the call cut off.

Phone records show that Dru's phone had been left on, but not used, until 8 pm when either someone turned it off of the battery went dead. Signal from phone was pinging off a cell tower in Fisher's Landing, a highway rest stop in Minnesota, 12 miles southeast of Grand Forks. (Roughly midway between Grand Forks and Rodriguez' home in Crookston.

Rodriguez was living in Crookston since May after serving a 23 year prison sentence for attempted kidnapping where he forced a woman into his car and stabbed her. In 1980 he served a 6 year sentence for aggrivated rape. When police ran a check of men charged with abductions and sexual assaults they came up with 9 names in the Crookston-Grand Forks area, but Rodriguez was the only one who had been classified as a level 3 offender, the second most dangerous category.

Dru's parents divorced when she was a toddler. Her brother is 24 and lives in California. (I wonder what part?) Dru was an honors student, played on the golf team and was homecoming queen in 1999. She has a passion for art. Her favorite color is pink.

Her father says "We think she's alive and we're going to find her."

Misty

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by starpatch
Oh MY..I just enlarged the photo....my stomach gripped when I saw the scatch marks on the rear passenger window....

Oh, boy, would I like to get my hands on that dirty SOB....

Hammer...you caught something I had missed before.....you did good. I betcha your theory is right....Dru was injured and she did what she could to try to alert someone .....

So very sad!

Dang you guys. I enlarged the photo too........have photoshop. I couldn't see what you saw. Scratch marks would really be meaningful Hope to heck LE see's this too,. Would one you guys PLEASE sent his info to LE? Wouldn't take a minute and would really be helpful.

xxxxxxoo
mama

[prism]

I just think it would be evident to LE who saw this first hand. It would be obvious whether the scraping was on the inside, or outside and there would very likely be fingerprints too.
It also occurred to me that the scrapings could have been made from the outside, by someone looking for the "condition" of the person in the back seat :-(

[tamjo614]

Originally posted by Love_Mama
Dang you guys. I enlarged the photo too........have photoshop. I couldn't see what you saw. Scratch marks would really be meaningful Hope to heck LE see's this too,. Would one you guys PLEASE sent his info to LE? Wouldn't take a minute and would really be helpful.

xxxxxxoo
mama

I don't see the scratch marks either. At first I thought the sun was melting it. Upon closer inspection, it DOES look like a credit card. But I'm with another poster...wondering why they would only scrape that part of the window. I don't think it's Dru's handprints though. I don't think they would be that vivid through the frost. JMO.

[scandi]

Hi Idaho Mom

If Dru is dead, there is one thing I feel very strongly. Whoever took her from that parking lot and sacrificed her for his own pleasure, there is only one punishment I can see that would be just. It is to see him castrated and let the blood run down his legs until he dies. That is how strong I feel about such an arbitrary crime of passion that snuffs the life of an innocent and helpless person to give the perp satisfaction.

And I don't even believe in the death penalty!

I do apologize if I offended anyone here by my direct feelings on the subject. It is my heart speaking through these words.




:snowflake :Scandi

[prism]

I think that is probably a mild punishment considering the way I read the posts here.
And I do agree. Sex predators need to be castrated on the outset of thier prison sentences.
Lets see them try to re-offend after that.

[camsmom]

I have been wondering about his previous victims and their scenarios. How long did he keep them before letting them go...or did they escape? Does anyone know?

And shouldn't the fingerprint analysis on the sheath be in by now? Does it match Rodriguez?

I have also had horrible thoughts that since he had been caught in the past maybe he wouldn't want to leave a witness alive to testify against him and risk spending the rest of his life in prison. I hope I am wrong. I have been wrong before. I never thought Elizabeth Smart would come home alive! There is hope. But the blood found scares me! Although, DNA (as far as I know) has not been confirmed.

Still praying for Dru!

[IdahoMom]

Scandi-
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Actually, I think we need to start a "leper colony" of sorts for these people. An island in the middle of nowhere!

[Yakwoman]

Originally posted by mindys
Yak, how are you?? I know how deeply you felt this. You were the reason I first heard of Dru. Job well done friend, it isn't over yet. Please keep at it. I appreciate all and I can bet ya the family does too!

I'm good - thanks for your kind words. I've been feeling a little down ever since I read some of the nasty comments people were posting at Dru's website. I just don't understand how some people can be so cruel. What a sick society we live in. I really feel for Dru's family. Nobody should have to go through something like this.

Not much happening in the local news. Contrary to what has been stated on this forum, local law enforcement is not calling off the search for Dru. There will probably not be any more huge searches utilizing hundreds of volunteers, but LE has stated that they will continue to conduct searches with LE personnel until Dru is found. They are not giving up.

I would like to make a comment on the scratches on the window of Rodriguez's car. Even though I haven't seen any of the enhanced photos, I don't want anyone to jump to conclusions about what they think they are seeing. Speaking as someone who grew up in this great frozen state, let me tell you that frost can make some really strange marks and patterns on window glass. That's not to say that the marks couldn't have been made by Dru, but it's just as likely that it is a natural phenomenon. If anybody is willing to e-mail me a copy of the enhanced photo, please send me a PM. I'd be very grateful.

Yakwoman

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by Yakwoman

I would like to make a comment on the scratches on the window of Rodriguez's car. Even though I haven't seen any of the enhanced photos, I don't want anyone to jump to conclusions about what they think they are seeing. Speaking as someone who grew up in this great frozen state, let me tell you that frost can make some really strange marks and patterns on window glass. That's not to say that the marks couldn't have been made by Dru, but it's just as likely that it is a natural phenomenon. If anybody is willing to e-mail me a copy of the enhanced photo, please send me a PM. I'd be very grateful.
Yakwoman

Yakwoman--
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that the marks were definitely made by Dru. I just find the theories about it very interesting. Who's to say it's not possible? Having never lived in a very cold environment, however, I will take your word that it could be a natural phenomenon. Again, I'm sorry if I have been out of line.
Misty

[MissMisty]

Yak--
You have a pm.
Misty

[scandi]

Hi Prism and Idaho MOm!

Thanks, as I thought I might have been a bit too verbal about how I feel.

I feel sad tonight. Them stopping the search is not good news. They must have learned something from this guy the 3 times they questioned him! I think that police chief is just like Sgt Corona in Orange County - a guy that digs at the truth and uses every available resource to find his clues and zone in on the perp.

Now I know they know a lot more then they are telling us - they will release the info that is sealed on Tuesday. Wouldn't you think if this guy had done this he would tell the truth knowing his goose was cooked. Hey, if I was him I'd be singin' like a canary! I guess I'm expecting too much, as after about a week with him in custody I would think we'd know more now.




:snowflake Scandi

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by scandi


Now I know they know a lot more then they are telling us - they will release the info that is sealed on Tuesday.


Scandi,
Where did you hear this??
Misty

[MissMisty]

Is anyone starting to wonder if Rodriguez is the wrong guy?
God bless you, Dru.
Misty

[camsmom]

Remember the "other" missing college students from MN/ND. Unfortunately one's remains have been found. What about Erika Dalquist, Jashua Guimond and Christopher Jenkins. All college students.

Is it possible that there is a serial killer on the loose after college students?

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by MissMisty
Is anyone starting to wonder if Rodriguez is the wrong guy?
God bless you, Dru.
Misty

Misty. They said they found Dru's blood in his car.

xxxxoo
mama

[mindys]

Originally posted by MissMisty
Is anyone starting to wonder if Rodriguez is the wrong guy?
God bless you, Dru.
Misty

Not me hon. They got the perp.

[mindys]

Originally posted by camsmom
Remember the "other" missing college students from MN/ND. Unfortunately one's remains have been found. What about Erika Dalquist, Jashua Guimond and Christopher Jenkins. All college students.

Is it possible that there is a serial killer on the loose after college students?

Check out the link on page one of the sex offenders out there that IdahoMom posted. What we have is a problem that needs to CHANGE NOW, about how we handle all these creeps.

[mindys]

Originally posted by MissMisty
Scandi,
Where did you hear this??
Misty

Misty, if you google Dru's full name, its in there.

[alpharee]

I wonder what other evidence they have. Ever since I heard about the blood in the car I'm so afraid something terrible has happened. He must've stabbed her as he did his previous victim. (IE blood in the car) I pray for her safe return. I hope today is the day she comes home.

[turbosleuthing]

I wanted to comment on a couple of things that I am sure are just coincidental...........The previous woman whom Rodriquez attempted to abduct was an artist. Dru is also an artist. I also saw the woman (Ardi Whalen) on Today and Dru and her have similiar facial features (cheeks, rounder face, etc).

[starpatch]

startribune.com Close window

Suspect's sister asked police to keep an eye on Rodriguez

Associated Press
Published 12/07/2003

CROOKSTON, Minn. - The sister of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. pleaded with Crookston police to keep tabs on her brother after his release from prison in May because she feared he might strike again.

Rodriguez, 50, has been charged with kidnapping in the disappearance of Dru Sjodin, 22. The University of North Dakota student has been missing since Nov. 22 when police believe she was abducted from a mall parking lot in Grand Forks, N.D.

Rodriguez's sister, Ileana, called Sgt. Gerry Moreno several times following her brother's completion of a 23-year prison term for stabbing and trying to kidnap a woman. She asked Moreno to keep her brother locked up or away from the community.

© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

Edited for copyright infringement. Please only post 20% of an article and then attach the URL to the article. FreeRepublic.com recently lost a copyright suit. (My kids are spoiled, they won't understand if we have to move into a tent, LOL).

[Casshew]

Originally posted by starpatch
Rodriguez, a convicted rapist who the state of Minnesota classified as the most dangerous type of sex offender, faces a preliminary hearing Feb. 4, and arraignment on Feb. 6.



Wow.. why so long for a hearing and arraignment?? February?

Cass...

[Juliana]

I can't imagine the anguish Dru's family is experiencing. They must feel so helpless, knowing their Dru is out there, somewhere, and no idea where to find her.

[mindys]

I was surprised when I read the article above, as I had read previously about him being seen by the neighbors playing with her children often in the front yard. Why would she leave her elderly Mom exposed to him, why would she let her children be? Why would they give him access to a vehicle and a pretty nice one at that, if they had such concerns. Nothing is making sense.

[alpharee]

maybe it's a different sister?
I dunno but I'd definately NOT let my children/mother/family around this man. He's dangerous and they should have NEVER let him out!

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by Love_Mama
Misty. They said they found Dru's blood in his car.

xxxxoo
mama

I heard that it was her blood type but not confirmed that it was hers. Has it been confirmed that it was hers?
Thanks,
Misty

[scandi]

Hi Miss Misty!

Happy Sunday Morning to all!


They havn't had confirmation yet on whether the blood in his car was Dru's. I did also hear this morning he was spotted in the parking lot on two video CCTV cameras the day she was taken. So the blood in his car and the film are two things they do have now. They didn't mention the knife sheath this morning, but we don't know it isn't still involved.

The attorney for Rodriguez will most likely accept a release of the sealed document tomorrow when he meets with his client. The prosecutor has no problems with it. This document shows the probable cause they had to ARREST him for kidnapping, which is what they did. Maybe they expect the DNA evidence to be back tomorrow - it has been two weeks. Like Lorie Dew on Fox said, they must have had their ducks in a row to actually arrest him with the specific warrant of kidnapping.

Then the searches now will not be community wide, but rather specific searches off of tips and leads they have gathered in the 2 weeks she has been gone. They said LE will concentrate on talking to those people who worked or associated with him to see if they could learn more about how he operates in his comfort zone.

They said often people who do things like this gain confidence in the areas where they work, live or travel. So she probably is somewhere in that area of his familiarity. The weather is bitter cold, and they are not only concerned with her survival in this weather, but also if she is dead her body quickly eroding and losing what evidence it held.

Her family will conduct their own search tomorrow. God bless them in their anguish. I can hear this in the fathers voice, along with the tenderness in his heart for his daughter. Sitting behind Rodriguez in court, I am amazed at his composure. It must be so difficult to control his emotions sitting 10 feet away from the guy the police had enough evidence on to arrest him for kidnapping his daughter.


:snowflake Scandi

[starpatch]

Scandi ********They said LE will concentrate on talking to those people who worked or associated with him to see if they could learn more about how he operates in his comfort zone.*********

Yes, I agree, The AR's comfort zone will maybe tip the scales, as to Dru's whereabouts.....I am still praying, for her safe return.

I doubt he had an accomplise<SP>, that is not in his MO.

He has her so well hidden, maybe she is in a dump site that the plasterboard company used. But, I am sure that area has been combed thoroughly.

I am sure all of the Florida vactioneers homes have been checked as well.

Could she be in a lake or river, or, were those places all checked, and, maybe even frozen over. I do know, they did dive under a bridge, that was not frozen on the 22nd.

The Def attorney would be such a hero if he could convince the perp to tell the hiding place, it is not his job, but, it would be the decent thing to do.

I have thought and thought of where she could be....to no avail...same as LE

[MissMisty]

Great post, Scandi. I didn't mean to imply that Rodriguez is the wrong guy, but, I will feel so much better when I learn what it is exactly they have that makes LE think he is definitely the guy. Last night on Fox, one of the reporters was talking about how the searches are being scaled back and he mentioned that there is a growing amount of locals who wonder if he is the right guy. I'm just trying to keep an open mind.
Today is day 15...where are you, Dru?
Misty:boohoo:

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by starpatch

I am sure all of the Florida vactioneers homes have been checked as well.


Hi SP,
Can you tell me what you mean by the above? I think I missed something along the way because I don't know how Florida plays into this. I agree with you that he probably didn't have an accomplice however I wish he did...that might mean she is alive somewhere.
Misty

[starpatch]

Originally posted by MissMisty
Hi SP,
Can you tell me what you mean by the above? I think I missed something along the way because I don't know how Florida plays into this. I agree with you that he probably didn't have an accomplice however I wish he did...that might mean she is alive somewhere.
Misty

What I meant by Florida, is that many northerners spend November thru March in Florida...they are called SnowBirds.

It is very common in Minnesota, Iowa, NoDak, SoDak and Wisc..plus Michigan....Many have homes there.

My folks did that every winter...my Iowa cousin has a houseboat there in Fla and leave in the Fall and come back to Iowa in the springtime.

[scandi]

Hi Joyce!

I forgot to tell you how interesting that was to read about his sister. I watch cable news so often and had heard nothing about this. She must have realized he was still haunted by the same sickness as before by watching and listening to him talk after he got out. It also was really interesting to find out the cop had gone to school with Rodriguez - man, what a small world, huh.

Gosh Joyce, I havn't been over to About for so long I am embarrased to go over there! My job now keeps me away for my sweet baby 'puter from 7am to 7pm LOL so I don't have all the time like I used to have. I keep thinking about Mom and her mother. I hope she is still alive. Did you ever hear anymore from Skov? Good to see you here! ;) .

Hi Miss Misty!

I agree with what you said. I think until this document becomes public everyone will wonder if he really is the guy. I mean think if you lived there and had daughters that resemble Dru and his previous vivtim who looked alot alike. I think Dru's family is mainly Norske. The majority of the population in N Dakota and Minn are Scandanavians and so there are an awful lot of girls that look like Dru. I'd be worried if I had a daughter so my mind would be continually looking around at possible perps until the suspect is proven to have kidnapped her.

Evidently the proof is there or they wouldn't have been so bold to make that specific arrest. Now I'm wondering what LE is thinking. I also would think the FBI would be involved as she was taken from N Dakota and her last cellie beep was from Minn - across a state line.

I don't think they have much hope for finding her alive after 2 weeks of this brutal weather. And if she were still alive when Rodriguez last saw her, I would think he would have wanted to cut a deal to show them where he had her hidden. Wouldn't you?

The fact we havn't heard about him doing this speaks to me of the fact that since she is already gone there was no rush to fess up to the truth. And so he plays innocent, telling his attorney he is innocent, and will bide as much time as he can till his attny tells him he better try to negotiate some kind of deal. The police already said they won't lower his charge of kidnapping. Maybe he will finally say it was an accidental death - that is probably all he can do if it is proven he did indeed kidnap her and was the last person to see her alive.

I agree that there has got to be some spot he liked to frequent that he felt all private when he was there. Having used a knife before, blood in the car, makes one wonder if his MO hasn't changed a bit and he was so excited or turned on after 23 years of dreaming about being with some girl like this he acted too strongly and she was accidentally killed - maybe bled to death.

I hope she is in the basement of some vacant scool or house where the biting cold can't get to her. I want to try to find that sex offenders list.



:snowflake Scandi

[starpatch]

Scandi...you brought up the fact that most folks from the Upper Midwest are Norskes or Swedes....and, they sure do look alike....As you know I am from Minnesota...and...a Dru's family looks just like mine...I have a daughter that is the very image of Dru, also a grandaughter. It was so shocking to compare pictures of my family memebrs and Dru....And I just fell in love with Dru's image. This case has been so close to home it seems...like we really do know them all...the Sjodins.
Scandi, you also asked if I have been at About.com....no, I have not been there in a while, The threads seemed to get so tedious, with the argueing, no theories, just flames....I went back there a few weeks ago, wow, it was exactly the same.
I do like WS because there are theories discussed, and, an attempt to solve the crimes. People here bring up things I had not thought of, so it is very interesting.

[starpatch]

YAK...***I'm good - thanks for your kind words. I've been feeling a little down ever since I read some of the nasty comments people were posting at Dru's website. I just don't understand how some people can be so cruel. What a sick society we live in. I really feel for Dru's family. Nobody should have to go through something like this.***
I, too was so shocked at some of the disrespectfull posts at Dru's site. I can't imagine the type of people that could be so vulgar at such a serious and heart-rending site...SHAME SHAME SHAME

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by scandi

I don't think they have much hope for finding her alive after 2 weeks of this brutal weather. And if she were still alive when Rodriguez last saw her, I would think he would have wanted to cut a deal to show them where he had her hidden. Wouldn't you?


Scandi,
First of all, let me say that I think you are a great poster. You too, Starpatch. No, I don't think there's much hope of finding her alive. I looked up the weather forecast in Grand Forks and tonight calls for snow, sleet or freezing rain tapering to snow showers. Overnight low near 25. Tuesday night's low is 0.
:(
You said that you think he'd want to cut a deal. Part of me agrees but on the other hand, cutting a deal means admitting that he did kidnap her which means right back to prison. I am so curious about his other victims...does anyone know much about their attacks? Did Rodriguez hold them for a period of time then release them? Or did they escape? If he kidnapped Dru then it seems that he has progressed since Dru is still gone and the other victims lived to tell of their ordeals. With snow coming to that area, it will be even harder to search for her. :boohoo:
This is breaking my heart...
Misty

[MissMisty]

I have to say that I have only seen nice posts about Dru at her website. Where are these ugly posts some have mentioned seeing?
Misty

[scandi]

Hi Miss Misty!

I enjoy reading your posts as well, and thank you for such a nice comment:blowkiss:

I'm going to do a bit more reading on Dru this afternoon {after I wash the kitchen floor which has been calling me, and now appears to be crying! LOL} I thought the last victim had a knife brandished at her and with that knife was forced into his car. I remember something about her escaping with her life., but I need to read more to be sure. That is what made me suspect his sickness had evolved to great anticipation at having someone like her for his own and the weilding of the knife was suddenly disastrous for Dru.

I'll be back here a bit later to let you know what I learn.

Hope you're back later too Joyce. Really good to see you on this great site - my home away from home! BaHaaaaaaaaaaaaa! :D



:snowflake Scandi

[IdahoMom]

Scandi-
Are there many Finnish people up in N. Dakota and Missouri? We have a Finnish settlement here in Idaho, in a wonderful mountain resort called McCall. My grandmother came and settled there from Finland. :)

[scandi]

Hi Idaho Mom!

Gosh, I really don't know, but I'll bet there are. And Danes and Laplanders too. It is because their religions and customs are so similiar that they tend to group together. In California there are alot of Scandinavians around Solvang, and by Seattle in Wn a lot of them live in the South Seattle and Bothel area.

They love the same food, all believe in Neissan {the prankish trolls who really are beloved - move hay piles, etc. Traditionally they leave food for them when it is cold outside, and of course it always disappears { LOL - I wonder why! BaHaaaaaaaa!:D }

Good to see you Idaho:wavy:


:snowflake Scandi

[Love_Mama]

I was just reading Dru's website and came across the thread about this gal having a “feeling” that Dru in somewhere near or has to do with “Chariots”
The poster's name is Gwen. She has posted about 6 or 7 times but she seem's very sincere. I think you guys ought to go over and read her thread.

Here is her first post:

To anyone in the Grand Forks or Crookston area (or anyone familiar with the area) please think and tell me if the word "chariot" means anything to you. I know this sounds weird but to me it is very important. If you want to know specifically why please email me off the boards. Think building...
Thank you so much
Blessing and safe return of Dru...
Gwen
Ladybass


154 Posts
Posted_-_12/06/

xxxxxooo
mama

[alpharee]

I've been reading those boards. I HOPE they are on to something and she is found soon. She is on my mind constantly.

[mindys]

Originally posted by MissMisty
I have to say that I have only seen nice posts about Dru at her website. Where are these ugly posts some have mentioned seeing?
Misty

Umm, don't know when you looked but you convinced me to go back and that was a mistake. Look at the newest post topic in the discussion forum, from their newest member, 'hypocriticalblow'. Another big time FREAK.

Edited to add, this person is a bigger FREAK than I have ever seen on a board anywhere. He is adding vile topic headers as quick as they can delete a post. Then another one is added. It gets worse and worse and worse.

[alpharee]

they definately need some moderators over there. Maybe we should volunteer?

[mindys]

Ok, they took all the posts off from the last idiot and banned them. I read there that the family doesn't want anyone they don't know moderating. They just didn't know what they were getting into perhaps. LE has just got to find her so this can end. Sending out prayers again to the family and Dru.

[alpharee]

oh ok....well I was willing to help, hate seeing a good cause go to crap because of some heartless immature posters.

[mindys]

Originally posted by alpharee
oh ok....well I was willing to help, hate seeing a good cause go to crap because of some heartless immature posters.

You should still offer, they NEED help.

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by Love_Mama
I was just reading Dru's website and came across the thread about this gal having a “feeling” that Dru in somewhere near or has to do with “Chariots”



This is very interesting. Are Gwen's posts still there? I haven't gone back and checked.
Thanks--
Misty

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by camsmom
Remember the "other" missing college students from MN/ND. Unfortunately one's remains have been found. What about Erika Dalquist, Jashua Guimond and Christopher Jenkins. All college students.

Is it possible that there is a serial killer on the loose after college students?

Camsmom--
Great post! I wonder if this is being checked out...thank you for posting the names. I am going to see if I can find out anything.
Misty

[starpatch]

MsMisty...thank you for your kind words.

Late this afternoon, I had FOX news on....I heard this...That AR had said next time he kidnapped he would kill the victim, so that that person could never tell.....I think it was on Rita Cosby, Rita was talking about his three sisters., and, how upset they all are about him doing a repeat of earlier offences.

I truly hope I heard that wrong....I was busy doing a bit of Christmas decorating..and was not giving it my full attention. Did anyone one else hear that?

The very first time I went to Dru's message board I saw hideous bare naked pics of some man...in a very vulgar pose...then yesterday I saw a whole thread that was just too disgusting. Can you just imagine a person that lowly? UGH!

I do hope some one starts monitoring that message board....such nasty animals!

[starpatch]

Here is an interesting article that I just found.


Missing UND student: Family continues intensive search
By Dave Forster and Mike Nowatzki
The Forum - 12/03/2003
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Nearly an hour before the sun would set on another cold, exhausting day, Mike Sjodin’s impatience began to show.

“We’re running out of daylight,” he said, standing in a field near County Road 5, a few miles northwest of here.

A few minutes earlier, the cousin of missing 22-year-old Dru Sjodin had roared over the road on an ATV after finishing the search of nine square miles with three others. The group is among dozens of relatives and close friends of the University of North Dakota senior last seen leaving the Columbia Mall on Nov. 22.

They search from sun up to sun down, beginning every morning with a 7:15 meeting at the Grand Forks Wal-Mart parking lot.

“It’s taking a toll on all of us physically and mentally,” said Mike Sjodin, from Columbia Heights, Minn. “But I’m going to get my cousin back, period. I’m going to do anything I can to do it.”

The family and friends take their marching orders each morning from Bob Heales, a friend of Chris Lang, Dru’s boyfriend from Cross Lake, Minn., and a private detective for 23 years.

Each night, Heales, who has offices in Denver and Minneapolis, consults with law enforcement agents to plan where the small army of volunteers will go each day.

On Tuesday, the group used 17 four-wheelers donated by Arctic Cat to search more than 70 square miles west of Grand Forks.

When on ATVs, the searchers rake through snow-filled ditches and walk along the fields, looking for anything that might possibly be a clue to Dru Sjodin’s disappearance.

When they find something of interest, they call the police, and a sheriff’s deputy checks it out. But they never hear if those items are of particular interest to law enforcement.


Generous help

Throughout their search, the family says the generosity of area residents has been outstanding. On Monday night, a stranger paid for eight steak dinners at the Grand Forks Hilton hotel where family members are staying. One woman at a farm gave them 46 gallons of free gas. Hotels and motels give the family employee discounts.

“No matter where you go, they give you something,” said Jamie Nelson, Dru Sjodin’s cousin from Oakdale, Minn.

When the mass volunteer search begins today, the family search group will continue on their own, directed by a sheriff’s deputy and Heales. Today, authorities will be using the Arctic Cat four-wheelers. Up to a 100 other close friends and relatives are expected to bring ATVs to aid in the search.

Allan Sjodin, Dru’s father, has eight siblings and more than 30 cousins, said Hugh Nelson, Dru’s uncle from Albertville, Minn.

After a day of searching, most of the relatives meet -- usually 30 to 40 at a time -- to catch up on the day’s finds and discuss the following day’s search.

Several of them have left their jobs indefinitely until they find their missing family member.

Nelson, a state survey worker in the Twin Cities, said his boss told him Tuesday he could take as much time off as needed.

Heales said he doesn’t know when he’ll go back to his business.

“I haven’t made any immediate plans until we find Dru,” he said.


‘A marathon’ search

Earlier Tuesday, the Grand Forks County state’s attorney said police officials have probable cause to believe Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., a high-risk sex offender living in Crookston, Minn., may have kidnapped Dru Sjodin.

Peter Welte said Rodriguez was spotted in the Columbia Mall parking lot at the time of Dru Sjodin’s disappearance Nov. 22.

During a news conference that offered few details about Rodriguez’s connection to the missing University of North Dakota student, Welte said Rodriguez’s arrest is “by no means” an end to the case.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Welte said.

Police continue to be resolute in their commitment to find Sjodin and bring her home, said Grand Forks Police Chief John Packett, adding the investigation “has only reached the 50-yard line.”

Rodriguez, who was released from prison May 1, is being held for kidnapping in Crookston’s Tri-County Correctional Center. A hearing scheduled for Tuesday regarding his extradition to Grand Forks County was postponed until today.

Welte would not comment on evidence in the case or say how long authorities had been investigating Rodriguez before his arrest Monday night at his mother’s Crookston home.

Rodriguez has raped women in two earlier instances and has used a weapon to gain compliance, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections Web site.

Rodriguez is a Level 3 sex offender with a history of sexual contact and attempted kidnapping of adult women, the Web site says.

“Accordingly, that is something we do look at in these investigations,” Welte said.

More leads have been received by a police tip line since Rodriguez’s picture began appearing in the media Monday night, said Grand Forks Police Capt. Michael Kirby.

Allan Sjodin asked supporters and volunteers “to just continue what they’ve been doing,” and expressed hope his daughter is still alive.

“Honey, we’re still looking for you,” he said. “We know you’re there, and our strength is drawn off of you.”

Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by starpatch
MsMisty...thank you for your kind words.

Late this afternoon, I had FOX news on....I heard this...That AR had said next time he kidnapped he would kill the victim, so that that person could never tell.....I think it was on Rita Cosby, Rita was talking about his three sisters., and, how upset they all are about him doing a repeat of earlier offences.


SP--
No, I did not hear that. I hope you heard it wrong. :boohoo:
Misty

[starpatch]

hereCROOKSTON, Minn. Dec. 7 — The sister of the suspect in the case of a missing University of North Dakota student pleaded with a local police officer to keep tabs on her brother after his release from prison in May because she feared he might strike again.
Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, has been charged with kidnapping in the disappearance of Dru Sjodin, 22. The student has been missing since Nov. 22, when police believe she was abducted from a mall parking lot in Grand Forks, N.D.






Rodriguez's sister, Ileana, called Sgt. Gerry Moreno several times following her brother's completion of a 23-year prison term for stabbing and trying to kidnap a woman. She asked Moreno to keep her brother, who had previously pleaded guilty to rape, locked up or away from the community.

Moreno told The Forum of Fargo, N.D., that he wasn't in a position to help her.

"Once a person does their time, they have no ties to probation," Moreno said in Sunday's edition of the newspaper.

Ileana Rodriguez turned to the 26-year police veteran, because they grew up together in Crookston. Moreno also went to the same elementary school as Alfonso Rodriguez, and as children they would play together, he said.

When they were children, "there was nothing unusual that made me think he was a weirdo," Moreno said.

Investigators in the Sjodin case have put their two-state physical search for her on indefinite hold and were trying to piece together clues on her whereabouts.

Alfonso Rodriguez faces a preliminary hearing Feb. 4, and arraignment on Feb. 6.

[starpatch]

http://www.startribune.com/stories/357/4247811.html

[starpatch]

Originally posted by MissMisty
SP--
No, I did not hear that. I hope you heard it wrong. :boohoo:
Misty
I hope I heard that wrong too....I have been reading the message board at Find Dru.....did not see one bad post there tonight....someone must be taking care of the bad posters.

[mindys]

Check this out, family to chase lead posted on the finddru message board:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/08/missing.student/index.html

Wow, it will really be something if all the crap over there was worth it.

[Imon128]

I sure hope they find this little gal. And I also hope they find who did something to her. My biggest prayer is that they'll find her alive.

[CrimeWatcher]

Originally posted by Imon128
I sure hope they find this little gal. And I also hope they find who did something to her. My biggest prayer is that they'll find her alive.

Ditto!

Her family seems to be focusing on trying to find her alive!

[Love_Mama]

I believe this is the post that the family........is following this morning for their search. I couldn't find a way to email this gal or IM her either .......so hopefully she won't mind if I copy this: This is from the findDru website.

Posted_-_12/07/2003_:_ 05:05:00 _ _ posted by Kristina and name of the post is: Police Please Read This
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Police, I keep thinking about Dru and her family and at this point I believe this discussion board is about solving a heinous crime. I'm sure you have covered all this ground already but the following is just for the record.
Two weeks ago there was NOT a full moon, there is one now. It is shining on the one inch of snow we have. There was NO snow two weeks ago but the river was probably mostly iced over. I'm from Crookston and I know a little bit about the area and the people. I looked up Alphonso Rodriquez in my 1968 yearbook and there he was next to Francisco Rodriquez (perhaps a cousin). Both of them went to my elementary school on the north end of town. I believe they lived in houses close to where the riverbank is caving in and bringing some houses down to the river. (Crookston got unnecessary national media attention several months ago on that). Therefore, Alphonoso is very familiar with the river and the changes of seasons of when it becomes iced over.
As a native Crookstonite, we all know about the back way to leave GRFKS to get back to Crookston especially if you've been shopping at Columbia Mall. It is no fun to go through all the traffic lights of GRKFS to get over the river on Hwy. 2 when you can go south from the mall about 8 miles (runs parallel to I-29) and then turn east on the single lane of traffic. I don't know the name or number of that paved road. As you travel east towards Crookston's sugar beet plant that would bring one south of Fisher instead of north on the highly trafficked Hwy. 2. That would explain why the cell phone was perhaps giving a strong signal in that area. There is a very narrow bridge going over the river on this less frequented paved road.
The RIVER is the important thing in solving this mystery because several days AFTER the abduction, Alphonso went to my dad's shop to get something repaired. It is on the riverbanks of Crookston. Alphonso carried this piece of equipment weighing about 35-50 lbs some distance from his car trunk to the shop. He had another Hispanic friend with him. He told my dad that he was going away soon and that he wanted to get this thing repaired.
Where was Alphonso planning to go? Did he know his days were numbered? I continue to pray that he would open up and confess to the crime because it is breaking too many hearts, his own family's and that of Dru's friends and family. I know he won't say anything now that he is arrested with a $5 million bond on him. He sure DIDN'T talk in grade school all the years I knew of him. Alphonso may be telling the truth when he said he didn't kidnap Dru. No, that was not his intention...
------------------
xxxxxoooooo
mama

[Love_Mama]

BTW.....I posted to Gwen (Chairot Thread) on Dru's web site this morning and asked her if she would like to come over to Webslueths and post.
I posted that on her THANK YOU thread. Might be interesting to hear what she has to say.

xxxxxxoooooo
mama

[IdahoMom]

I wonder what AR was taking in for repair.

[IdahoMom]

Mama-
Was that post by Gwen? Or was Gwen the one that thought the Chariot had something to do with it?? I won't go back over to those message boards. I got way turned off by the weirdos!

[starpatch]

Originally posted by mindys
Check this out, family to chase lead posted on the finddru message board:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/08/missing.student/index.html

Wow, it will really be something if all the crap over there was worth it.

Whoa...I just read that article.

Last night I spent quite a bit of time reading the message boards at finddru.com

There where two places that stand out...the Beet factory, and the mention of Chariots, and the town that they associated with Chariots.

Hope that it works out!

Still praying for Dru.

[starpatch]

http://www.datafields.com/drusj2forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1195

[maggief]

Sjodin family plans to continue search after an emotional break Watch video
Updated: 12-08-2003 11:12:35 AM


By CURT WOODWARD
Associated Press Writer



Keep track of the latest information on this case by going to Channel 5's
Search for Dru Web page

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - More than a dozen searchers climbed aboard all-terrain vehicles on Monday near Alvarado, Minn., to continue the search for Dru Sjodin.
Many in the party of friends, family and volunteers had been out for days searching for the missing University of North Dakota student. They concentrated their efforts in Alvarado, about 20 miles north of Grand Forks, based on a tip to a Web site about the case.

(snip)

http://www.kstp.com/article/view/125052/

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by IdahoMom
Mama-
Was that post by Gwen? Or was Gwen the one that thought the Chariot had something to do with it?? I won't go back over to those message boards. I got way turned off by the weirdos!

Idahomom........sorry....duh! Her name is Kristina and the title of her post was Police Please Read This. She's local and seems pretty sincere cause she know the town and roads around and near it.

The other gal Gwen is not a professional psychic but...seems sincere too.

I think the web site is good. some nuts in there......a few trolls.....but there are some very nice people who are posting.

Edited to add, Gwen is the “about the Chariot“

xxxxxxoooo
Mama

[starpatch]

startribune.com Close window

Police ask searches of industrial sites in hunt for Dru Sjodin

Associated Press
Published 12/08/2003

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A Grand Forks Police Department spokesman Monday asked that managers of construction and industrial sites search their properties today for anything out of the ordinary.

Capt. Michael Kirby, in a news conference carried on CNN, said that law enforcement agencies have evaluated the search for Dru Sjodin, and this week will target particular areas. No volunteers are needed at this time, he said.

Grand Forks County Sheriff Dan Hill says the search area corresponds with a cell phone signal last detected from Sjodin's cell phone.

Kirby stressed that landowners should check their properties and outbuildings for anything unusual.

He acknowledged that the snow cover and cold will hamper the search for the missing University of North Dakota student.

Meanwhile Monday, more than a dozen searchers climbed aboard all-terrain vehicles near Alvarado, Minn., to continue the search for Sjodin.

Many in the party of friends, family and volunteers had been out for days searching for her. They concentrated their efforts in Alvarado, about 20 miles north of Grand Forks, based on a tip to a Web site about the case.

``I don't have to give them too many instructions anymore,'' said Bob Heales, a private investigator working with the Sjodin family.

One of the searchers was Lowell Sjodin, of Red Wing, Minn., Dru's uncle. He said the group would not give up their search.

``Some of the guys we don't even know,'' he said. ``It's this part of the country, I think. Everyone just pulls together.''

Police believe the 22-year-old Pequot Lakes, Minn., woman was abducted from a shopping mall parking lot in Grand Forks. She has been missing since Nov. 22.

Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, of nearby Crookston, Minn., has been charged with kidnapping in the case. His attorney says Rodriguez told him he had nothing to do with Sjodin's disappearance.

Heales said family and friends took Sunday off because they needed a break. Mike Sjodin, 26, the missing woman's cousin, said he could barely stay awake after two weeks of nonstop searching, and said he had lost weight after hiking through snowy fields and raking out ditches looking for clues.

``Mentally, physically, emotionally, I needed to rest and get some more fuel,'' he said Sunday. ``Eating and sleeping haven't been easy.''

Allan Sjodin, Dru's father, said taking a day off also was stressful.

``It's terrible to wait, wonder and worry,'' he said.

Although the number of investigators has dropped recently, the search for Sjodin is still a priority as investigators quietly pore over leads, Kirby said.

``As we work through these, if we determine there needs to be another large-scale search, we'll coordinate that,'' Kirby said.

The Forum of Fargo, N.D., reported Sunday that Rodriguez's sister, Ileana, called Crookston Police Sgt. Gerry Moreno several times following her brother's completion of a 23-year prison term for stabbing and trying to kidnap a woman. She asked Moreno to keep her brother, who had previously pleaded guilty to rape, locked up or away from the community.

Moreno told The Forum that he wasn't in a position to help her.

``Once a person does their time, they have no ties to probation,'' Moreno said.

Ileana Rodriguez turned to the 26-year police veteran because they grew up together in Crookston. Moreno also went to the same elementary school as Alfonso Rodriguez, and as children they would play together, he said.

Alfonso Rodriguez faces a preliminary hearing Feb. 4, and arraignment on Feb. 6.

© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

[starpatch]

Today's news conference in GF seemed more up beat...It gave me some hope for Dru's safe return.

They are only using LE..plus it seemed like a lot of Fire Dept personnel...what for?? I think diving. Prolly be the beet factory, huh?

[LvsAMystry]

I haven't been over to the FindDru site to see how far the discussion of chariots has gone, but I thought I'd do a bit of web-searching and see if I could get anything in the area with chariots.

I did come across something at RiverWatchOnline.org, which says Red River cities that I think is the same area but may be wrong. Anyway, it talks about a recreation area and this is how it describes it:

Recreation
Adjoining the Red River, Chahinkapa Park provides recreation opportunities for area residents and visitors. The Chahinkapa Zoo is home to over 60 bird and animal species including bison, monkeys, gibbon, apes, camels, snow leopards, and others. Year round park activities include a swimming pool, a restored 1926 Spillman Carousel featuring twenty had crafted wooden horses, two chariots, and a calliope; indoor ice arena, outdoor ice skating pond, outdoor hockey rink, a sledding hill and heated warming house.

The Richland County Historical Museum features artifacts, dioramas, and a number of exhibits relating to the area and its heritage. A country school harkening back to the region's history is located on the Museum grounds.


ETA: Probably nevermind, looking at this further it seems much too far...

[starpatch]

Originally posted by LvsAMystry
I haven't been over to the FindDru site to see how far the discussion of chariots has gone, but I thought I'd do a bit of web-searching and see if I could get anything in the area with chariots.

I did come across something at RiverWatchOnline.org, which says Red River cities that I think is the same area but may be wrong. Anyway, it talks about a recreation area and this is how it describes it:

Recreation
Adjoining the Red River, Chahinkapa Park provides recreation opportunities for area residents and visitors. The Chahinkapa Zoo is home to over 60 bird and animal species including bison, monkeys, gibbon, apes, camels, snow leopards, and others. Year round park activities include a swimming pool, a restored 1926 Spillman Carousel featuring twenty had crafted wooden horses, two chariots, and a calliope; indoor ice arena, outdoor ice skating pond, outdoor hockey rink, a sledding hill and heated warming house.

The Richland County Historical Museum features artifacts, dioramas, and a number of exhibits relating to the area and its heritage. A country school harkening back to the region's history is located on the Museum grounds.


ETA: Probably nevermind, looking at this further it seems much too far...
I betcha the LE has been doing the same thing you just did.

Also, maybe they do think he had an accomplice, maybe the man that went with AR when he brought the piece of machinery to The one posters Dad.

LE might feel that he is watching over Dru, hidden away in a farm house.

I had concerns yesterday about empty homes when the owners have gone to Florida for the winter.....I noticed that LE wants people in the area to check those homes that may be empty...they would still have the heat on in those homes.

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by starpatch
Whoa...I just read that article.

Last night I spent quite a bit of time reading the message boards at finddru.com

There where two places that stand out...the Beet factory, and the mention of Chariots, and the town that they associated with Chariots.

Hope that it works out!

Still praying for Dru.

Joyce......I read alot yesterday's on Dru's site too.. Someone there said that AR used to work at the beet factory years ago. Do you remember seeing that? I just went to there site and they cleaned out practically all the posts.
Some think that possible a lead was found there and LE doesn't want it to get out.......wouldn't that be great!

God I hope they find this girl alive.

xxxxxoo
mama

[starpatch]

Originally posted by Love_Mama
Joyce......I read alot yesterday's on Dru's site too.. Someone there said that AR used to work at the beet factory years ago. Do you remember seeing that? I just went to there site and they cleaned out practically all the posts.
Some think that possible a lead was found there and LE doesn't want it to get out.......wouldn't that be great!

God I hope they find this girl alive.

xxxxxoo
mama

Yes, I remember that post that mentioned that AR worked there at one time, which made him knowledgable of the warm water flowing into the river, from the factory. Which would make a good place to hide someone..

I tried a little while back and the message boards were shut down....maybe like you had said in your post, there was a good tip there...let's hope!!

It looks like they have tried to get rid of the nasty posters that they had there.

[Yakwoman]

Originally posted by Love_Mama
Some think that possible a lead was found there and LE doesn't want it to get out.......wouldn't that be great!


Wouldn't that be wonderful if that were the case?? More than likely, they were just getting rid of the filth that was being posted. I don't think those poor folks had any idea what they were getting into when they decided to open a public forum.

Yakwoman

[mindys]

I too saw that the board over there at finddru has been really changed today, whomever is moderating shut down the whole discussion forum but the regulars that post there just started the discussion back up in other places and reposted info on this tip. That was a couple of hours ago though.

The sister of the perp in jail is giving her first interview on Abram's tonight (MSNBC). Do they pay these people for interviews??

[Elle Kaye]

Breaking news story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105116,00.html

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A source has linked blood and a knife found in a kidnapping suspect's car to Dru Sjodin (search), Fox News confirmed Monday.



The source close to the investigation of the missing University of North Dakota student said that a knife and blood matching the 22-year-old woman's type was found in the trunk of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.'s (search) car. The source also said a knife sheath was discovered near Sjodin's car in the parking lot of the mall where she disappeared.

Allan Sjodin, Dru's father, said it was hard for him to hear the information, which was available in unsealed documents, but it didn't change his mission to find his missing daughter.

[WindChime]

I truly hate to hear that it's just so heart breaking I'm sure she was killed by that S.O.B Even the S.O.B's sister said when he was released from prison that he needed to be closely watched. Another family having to suffer all because of a S.O.B who didn't deserve to see the light of day.. My heart goes out to her famly as well..

[mindys]

Oh no!! Many of us here thought this news was coming but damn, it is just such an emotional blow when it is confirmed. I don't know what else to say. :boohoo:

[Casshew]

This is just awful news... where is this poor girl?? Are they still out looking every day?

Cass...

[Yakwoman]

One of AR's sisters was on local news tonight claiming that she never said that she or her mother didn't want him to come home when he got released from jail. She says that it's all lies and that they were happy for him to come home. I wonder if this is the same sister that will be on Dan Abram's show tonight. It was Ileana Noyes, I think.

[mindys]

Yak, what is/was your personal reaction to the sister? I missed Abrams, it was dinner time here. Did anyone catch it or did they do the breaking Dru news instead??

[MissMisty]

OK, Greta just said there's been a "terrifying" turn of events in the search for Dru and said "What was found in her alleged kidnapper's trunk...is Dru dead?" Does anyone know what she's referring to?!
Misty

[Yakwoman]

They didn't play very much of the sister's interview on Dan Abram's show. When the entire interview ran on the local news, she was very emotional and said something to the effect that "Dru's family has been through a lot and not to take anything away from them, but my family has been through a lot, too." She also said that there should have been some sort of half-way house or other support system for people who are released from prision. My personal opinion is that she knows he is guilty. From what I understand, his family has been in contact with him and has been urging him to cooperate with the authorities.

Let's say a prayer for this family, too.

[Yakwoman]

Originally posted by MissMisty
OK, Greta just said there's been a "terrifying" turn of events in the search for Dru and said "What was found in her alleged kidnapper's trunk...is Dru dead?" Does anyone know what she's referring to?!
Misty

They found a knife in AR's trunk with Dru's blood on it.

[MissMisty]

Nevermind, I just heard that they found a knife and blood in the trunk of his car. Poor Dru...I do believe now that she is dead.
Misty

[mindys]

Not yet, she had layers of clothes on.

I was starting to doubt, but I just have to hold out hope nomatter what! The greater the FAITH the better the miracle.

You GO Law Enforcement!! Bring her HOME!

[MissMisty]

Originally posted by mindys
Not yet, she had layers of clothes on.
I was starting to doubt, but I just have to hold out hope nomatter what! The greater the FAITH the better the miracle.
You GO Law Enforcement!! Bring her HOME!

Mindys--
All she was wearing was some kind of shirt and a blazer. :(
I hope to God she is alive, but my hope took a major dive today. Today I had the awful thought that she was stabbed but not bad enough to kill her, but that she bled to death. :boohoo:
Where are you, Dru?
Misty

[wwwxxyyzz]

http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_342174449.html/resources_storyPrintableView

WCCO-TV has confirmed that a knife was found in Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.'s car after the disappearance of a University of North Dakota student. The source told WCCO-TV that "significant evidence" was found on the knife.

Rodriguez, 50, is accused of abducting Dru Sjodin from a mall parking lot on November 22.

WCCO-TV has also learned that Rodriguez has been driving around with police, but has not offered any helpful information in the search for Sjodin.

[mindys]

Ok, I'm diving again.

Why don't they just now throw it all out there. Give us every thing they have on him, they are going to leak this all night long. The dragging it out and let's face it, everyone around the world who follows current events knows about Dru Sjodin. This is not good for the psyche.

[Casshew]

Originally posted by Kira


WCCO-TV has also learned that Rodriguez has been driving around with police, but has not offered any helpful information in the search for Sjodin.

Driving around with Police??

[wwwxxyyzz]

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4256860.html

Here's why they know the Fertile, MN abduction is not related.

[prism]

Whatever the odds might be, I still think we are doing a disservice to the family by contributing to the idea that she is gone from us.
Lets just try to stay positive folks, because there is just no point in thinking the other way.

[starpatch]

startribune.com

A DNA link is made in Sjodin case
Chuck Haga and Matt McKinney
Star Tribune
Published 12/09/2003

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A preliminary DNA analysis of blood found in Alfonso Rodriguez's car matches DNA taken from a toothbrush belonging to missing North Dakota college student Dru Sjodin, two sources close to the investigation told the Star Tribune on Monday.

They and a third source close to the investigation confirmed Monday that investigators had found a knife in Rodriguez's car in a search conducted on Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving.

The knife, along with blood samples and a knife sheath that was discovered near Sjodin's car, are the main pieces of evidence tying Rodriguez to the crime, the sources said.

Along with some additional circumstantial evidence, that evidence has been sealed under a judge's order since investigators arrested the 50-year-old convicted sex offender at his home in Crookston, Minn., more than a week ago.


Searchers look for Dru Sjodin northeast of Grand Forks.

Mike Zerby
Star Tribune
Rodriguez was released from prison in May after serving a 23-year sentence for attempted kidnapping and assault.

Rodriguez said through his attorney on Friday that he was not responsible for Sjodin's disappearance.

"I did not kidnap her," defense attorney David Dusek quoted Rodriguez as saying during their third jailhouse conversation.

Dusek, who was appointed to represent Rodriguez just two hours before his first Grand Forks court appearance on Thursday, could not be reached for comment Monday night.

The knife found in Rodriguez's car belongs to a sheath that comes in a set, one of the sources said. The sheath was located early in the investigation near Sjodin's car, which was parked near the entrance to the J.C. Penney store in the Columbia Mall. Sjodin had left work at the Victoria's Secret store and shopped at another store in the mall before going to her car.

The sheath could only belong to a particular knife sold exclusively in a home improvement store in Grand Forks as a set, one of the sources said. "So the person who dropped this sheath had the knife."

The source described the knife as a folding buck knife -- an oversized jackknife -- with a blade 4 to 5 inches long.

A knife matching the knife that authorities knew went with that sheath was found when Rodriguez's car was searched. It was taken for processing by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which made the preliminary DNA match a few days later, the source said.

Thanksgiving search

Rodriguez was identified as a suspect because of his status as a Level 3 sex offender required to register his address with Minnesota authorities, the source said.

"We didn't focus 100 percent on him -- we were following other leads, too -- but with the knife, we thought, 'This is the type of guy who did this before,' " the source said.

Rodriguez used a knife in one of the assaults for which he served time.

The first search warrant on Rodriguez's Crookston residence, which he shared with his mother, was done at 4:40 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day by members of a multiagency task force based at the Grand Forks Police Department. Evidence collected was sent to a crime lab for analysis.

A second search was conducted several days later by a forensic team.

The first search warrant also authorized investigators to search Rodriguez and his car. The day after Thanksgiving, the car was taken to the BCA office in Bemidji for processing.

One of the investigative sources who spoke with the Star Tribune said that "blood and/or a biological substance was located inside the vehicle, and a preliminary examination states the DNA found in his car matches DNA taken from a toothbrush belonging to Dru."

A second source confirmed that the substance found was blood.

"We know that we have our man," one of the sources said.

He said that a small amount of blood was visible in the car.

He said that Sjodin family members normally would have been told immediately about such ominous developments, "but they may not have wanted to be told because they wanted to keep hope alive."

Allan Sjodin, Dru's father, said Monday that reports of police recovering a knife from Rodriguez's car shocked him, but "It's probably true," he told the Associated Press. "That's his modus operandi."

Constantly watched

Rodriguez was under constant surveillance by FBI agents and others once he was identified as a suspect, one of the sources said. "We wanted to make sure we had the right guy before we arrested him, but he was no longer a threat to the public."

All three sources expressed frustration that the evidence had been sealed, sparking rumors and the leaking of bits and pieces of incomplete and occasionally incorrect information.

"This should have been out a long time ago," one of the sources said. "People have been panicking and afraid to go to the mall. Their lives have been put on hold."

Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., went missing Nov. 22. Some 25 family and friends of Sjodin continued to search for her on Monday following a tip that came to the http://www.finddru.comWeb site. The tip was that Rodriguez enjoyed visiting the town of Alvarado, Minn., about 20 miles north of East Grand Forks.

"The guy liked this town; that was the tip," said Rick Weyhrauch, of Crosslake, Minn., a friend of Sjodin's boyfriend.

Volunteers fanned out on ATVs along a stretch of road north of the small community. They focused on abandoned buildings, Weyhrauch said.

Temperatures hovered below freezing on Monday with strong winds pushing snow across open fields near the search area. As temperatures drop in the days ahead, searchers will have to take extra precautions, said Mike Sjodin, a cousin of Dru Sjodin's.

"I heard it's supposed to be four-below on Wednesday," he said. "We might have to come up with a new game plan because we don't want anybody to get hurt. We don't need another tragedy."

Grand Forks police Capt. Mike Kirby said at a news briefing Monday afternoon that police were again asking homeowners in the region to check their property for anything unusual. He said police were especially interested in searching construction sites.

He spoke after a morning meeting of law enforcement agencies participating in the search, including the Border Patrol, local police and sheriff's offices and the FBI. The meeting was meant to coordinate the search effort and determine where police would look next, Kirby said.

The writers are at crhaga@startribune.com and mmckinney@startribune.com.

© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

[IdahoMom]

This is very gross, but where the guy works with drywall:
what about looking inside the interior walls in the new construction and in crawl spaces?

[sunny]

Originally posted by IdahoMom
This is very gross, but where the guy works with drywall:
what about looking inside the interior walls in the new construction and in crawl spaces?

IdahoMom you maybe on to something I wonder if they have thought of that possibility.Also the Hispanic culture the one that fight and kill always use knives they hardly ever use guns. I guess more readily available. :mad: :mad:

[mindys]

ANY NEWS? I have been media deprived today!!

[Bubble1421]

I'm still keeping up hope that she will be found alive. The blood on the knife could possibly be just from a small nick or cut that she received when he grabbed her. I haven't seen a report that said how much blood they found on the knife or in his car. This is so hard to write.

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by starpatch
startribune.com

A DNA link is made in Sjodin case
Chuck Haga and Matt McKinney
Star Tribune
Published 12/09/2003

GRAND FORKS, N.D. --
They and a third source close to the investigation confirmed Monday that investigators had found a knife in Rodriguez's car in a search conducted on Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving.

The knife, along with blood samples and a knife sheath that was discovered near Sjodin's car, are the main pieces of evidence tying Rodriguez to the crime, the sources said.

Mike Zerby
Star Tribune

The knife found in Rodriguez's car belongs to a sheath that comes in a set, one of the sources said. The sheath was located early in the investigation near Sjodin's car, which was parked near the entrance to the J.C. Penney store in the Columbia Mall.

The sheath could only belong to a particular knife sold exclusively in a home improvement store in Grand Forks as a set, one of the sources said. "So the person who dropped this sheath had the knife."

The source described the knife as a folding buck knife -- an oversized jackknife -- with a blade 4 to 5 inches long.



Starpatch....and all. THis case is honestly making me feel sick at my stomach.

I know what the knife and sheath look like because at one time my late husband and I owned the first Cutlery Store in San Diego and we sold that knife. I don't know the EXACT model as Buck makes a great number of folding knives. We also owned stock in the Buck knife company which for years was in El Cajon, CA....about 15 miles East of San Diego. They recently moved to another Vacaville, CA . They were and still are a famous knife making company and it's been said that every American GI in WWW II owned a Buck knife.

I personally thought they were scary knives....made for hunting but very popular with the Motorcycle gangs. They'd adjust the knife so that they could FLIP it open by a twist of the wrist. I know, I'd see them trying to do that when they were looking to buy one! In other words just push on the release and then flick the wrist and it would open immediately.

How do you explain how someone become's so evil......we'd tried to figure Scott Peterson out and I still can't read him. It look's like LE has got the right guy and at this point I hope his attorney tries a plea bargain if he'll tell them where she is. (although LE say's they' won't accept that) Life without possibility of parole would be perfect. He'd be taken care of by Prisoner's rules....what he deserves. If they don't find this lovely Dru alive I think her parent's deserve to know where she is. I can't even imagine what they are going through. Absolutely sick! It's now over two weeks she been missing.

I'm going to spend some time on her website today and will post anything that seems new or interesting.

xxxxxxooooo
mama

[wwwxxyyzz]

The last report I saw said that they found a little blood but that the car appeared to have been extensively cleaned (interior and trunk). I'll see if I can find that link.

Either way I'm still holding out hope for Dru...until I'm given reason to think differently. She still needs our prayers.

Kira

[mindys]

My husband hunts, we have this knife. It is really dangerous, I used it once a few years back to cut a tag off something real quick - I almost cut my index finger off, real quick.

Smoke this creep!!!

[wwwxxyyzz]

Bubble,

Here is the info you requested:


The AP source would not comment on the Herald's report that the interior of Rodriguez's car and its trunk had been extensively cleaned.

This info came from this link:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/09/missing.student.ap/index.html

Whether it's true remains to be seen yet.


The part about the small amount of blood came from a reference in a article a few posts up.

It said:
"He said that a small amount of blood was visible in the car."


Prayers for Dru~

[wwwxxyyzz]

Mindys,

Would this lead you to think that he could have cut her "accidentally" and not fatally injured her with this knife then?

[wwwxxyyzz]

Originally posted by Love_Mama
It look's like LE has got the right guy and at this point I hope his attorney tries a plea bargain if he'll tell them where she is. (although LE say's they' won't accept that) Life without possibility of parole would be perfect. He'd be taken care of by Prisoner's rules....what he deserves. If they don't find this lovely Dru alive I think her parent's deserve to know where she is. I can't even imagine what they are going through. Absolutely sick! It's now over two weeks she been missing.

xxxxxxooooo
mama

I wish his attorney would get him to tell where she is too. The fact that he's trying to say he's innocent makes me want to puke. With the little evidence we know about we know he's the right guy. So how does he think he's going to get away with this with all the evidence LE has?? He is SICK. I think you are right Mama he needs good old prison justice every single second of all the rest of his miserable days.

Her parents deserve to know where she is. D**d or alive. That is their baby girl. My heart just breaks for them. They need to know where she is! Someone make him tell! :fuming:

Sorry guys...this just really gets me emotional...

Prayers for Dru~
Kira

[mindys]

I don't know, but I think he is aware of where to stab someone without that original stab atleast being a mortal wound.

[wwwxxyyzz]

Unfortunately that's what I thought you'd say Mindys.
:(

My head knows the realities.
My heart wants to hold onto hope.

Thanks.
Kira

Edited:
Mindys did you change your post? lol I replied and came back to your post being different. ;)

[Love_Mama]

Hey guys.......go to the www.finddru.com website and check out the Tips and Clues section. Gwen is posting there. She's the gal who think's that Dru might be at some place having to do with “chariot's”.

She also think's that Alphonso is not the right person! Very interesting. Anyhow.....check it out.
Some interesting thought's there.

xxxxxxxxo
mama

[mindys]

Yes Kira, because I am holding out hope too, its important, and the original way I typed it didn't make much sense - to me even.

[wwwxxyyzz]

Mindys,
I understood you. ;)

Here's to hope and prayers for Dru's safe return.
Kira

---------------------------------------------------

Mama,
Thanks for the heads up.
I'll go over and see what's going on there.
Kira

[mindys]

OMG, I just went to Fox:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105246,00.html

[mindys]

Did you all catch the part about her shoe??

[wwwxxyyzz]

I had heard about the shoe but it was still a rumor then.

:boohoo:


Prayers for Dru~

[wwwxxyyzz]

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/7447889.htm

A knife in a pool of liquid household cleaner was found in the spare tire well of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.'s maroon 2002 Mercury Sable sedan, according to a source close to the investigation.
Investigators could tell that the interior of the car and the trunk obviously had been recently and extensively cleaned, the source told the Herald.

[Hammerized]

What if AR thinks he's being cute by saying "I did not kidnap her." ???

What if he learned some tricks of the trade (so to speak) while in prison, and knows that if he KILLED her first, and transported her body after- that is NOT technically kidnapping?

I am just trying to get a handle on the *legal* obfuscations of a p