Dru Sjodin - discussion

[Doyle]

the other thread was getting too long, and slightly off topic... I have made 2 threads, one for discussion, and for for new information...

This is a place to discuss Dru.

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by Doyle
the other thread was getting too long, and slightly off topic... I have made 2 threads, one for discussion, and for for new information...

This is a place to discuss Dru.

Good Idea Doyle.....thanks.

I just bought 6 personal alarms for Christmas present's for the girls in my family and that includes me. I was thinking, if perhaps Dru had owned one of those alarms...hung on her car's keychain (that's the kind I bought).....that she might had a moment to just pull it apart and the shricking noise and blinking light that is on this particular model would have been enough for this mad man to scare him away. (It does not sound like a car alarm)

I am now in the process of writing an article for our local newspaper about safety devices that are available to women and encourange them to buy them. They are not expensive and the type that I bought cannot be easily turned off by the predator because it had hidden disarm switch. If the predator had to find the turn-off switch that would give you time to run!

I'm not so fond of the pepper sprays as they're not something that you necessarly have at hand, and I really think that any a loud noise would a a much better deterent to anyone trying to attack you.

Just my thoughts.....j

xxxxxxxxoooooo
mama

[Casshew]

Love Mama... I am going to get one for my daughter for walking to/from school. Thanx for the suggestion.

Please let us read your article for the Paper when you have finished it.

So what is the latest on Dru? Last I heard the offical search had been called off. Is this true?

Cass...

[wwwxxyyzz]

Thanks for the split Doyle.

Yeah Cass unfortunately they did call off the search.
It's so sad for her and her family.

[Toth]

I don't know if you can say it is sad, its obviously rugged country that is being searched in the dead of Winter, the river is frozen over, the days are short. It would be sad if searchers were lost unnecessarily.
It appears it was all over for Dru within two hours of her abduction.

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by Casshew
Love Mama... I am going to get one for my daughter for walking to/from school. Thanx for the suggestion.

Please let us read your article for the Paper when you have finished it.

So what is the latest on Dru? Last I heard the offical search had been called off. Is this true?

Cass...

Cass......here's a website that show's the alarm.
http://www.smartcart.com/selfdefence/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=KC45

I don't know what the shipping charges are but google the web for the best price. I bought six of them and found a place that only charge one small flat fee for shipping all of them.

NOW...this is the truth. I was thinking about you and your daugher walking through those woods! I said to myself.....I've got to talk to Cass and tell her to buy one for her daugher. I think she should have both the cell phone and this......let's say...she needed you, she could immediately pull the pin on the alarm.......and then if there was time, punch in your phone number on her cell!
Horrible to think about all this but it's really important. However..the very saftest thing would be for you to walk with her til she get's to school...and then you use YOUR alarm to get back! THis is a WAR with crazy abductors.....and it isn't going to get better. I think you should get yourself one too!

xxxxxxxxxooooo
mama

[Oceanbreeze]

Love_Mama, Thanks for the link.
I think I'll get one for my daughter and one for me!!

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by Oceanbreeze
Love_Mama, Thanks for the link.
I think I'll get one for my daughter and one for me!!

Oceanbreeze (that should be my name) LOL......
I'm so glad you getting one....or two. If I can get as many women to buy them on this forum......when I get this into our small newspaper here....I bet a lot more will buy them. YIPPIE.

xxxxxxo
mama

[Juliana]

Love_Mama,
Thank you for the information on the personal safety devices. I am ordering several for my female friends and family. The world is just a tiny bit safer now...

[alpharee]

Just got my alarms in today and boy are they loud!
I hope we never have to use em.

[starpatch]

Originally posted by Doyle
the other thread was getting too long, and slightly off topic... I have made 2 threads, one for discussion, and for for new information...

This is a place to discuss Dru.
Just found this article..

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4274665.html

[Trino]

Personally, I think LE should cut a deal with Rodriguez. There's already enough evidence to keep him in jail for life. MN/ND winters are long and hard. If he killed her, Dru won't be found until next spring when warm weather thaw comes. The family needs closure. I can't imagine what the they're going through.

[starpatch]

Originally posted by Trino
Personally, I think LE should cut a deal with Rodriguez. There's already enough evidence to keep him in jail for life. MN/ND winters are long and hard. If he killed her, Dru won't be found until next spring when warm weather thaw comes. The family needs closure. I can't imagine what the they're going through.
I thopght that the States Attorney was so wrong to say loudly...NO DEALS....with out the death penalty there isn't much to bargain with, though.

But, I do wish somehow they could strike a deal with AR:dontknow: :confused:

[Toth]

Deal? He is going to be doing the rest of his life in prison. He knows that. If he tells where the body is, he faces the death penalty. He is going to keep his mouth shut.

[starpatch]

Originally posted by Toth
Deal? He is going to be doing the rest of his life in prison. He knows that. If he tells where the body is, he faces the death penalty. He is going to keep his mouth shut.
Toth...the only way he would get the death penalty, is if the Feds try the case.
Neither Minnesota or North Dakota has the death penalty.

[Trino]

Maybe the deal could be what prison to send him to. Some are better than others.

[camsmom]

.

Apparently AR is much more cAs I understand it, neither state has the death penalty. What about crossing state lines? Does that change things? I live in Missouri and the death penalty rules! I also have family in southern MN (Albert Lea to be exact) and they are so relaxed, not used to the city worldomfortable in jail. This is all he has known since he was young.

God Love Dru...I hope she did fight and make those scratches on the window...I hope she fought him till the end with every single breathe she had. I hope every time AR goes to sleep he will think of her and her "husky" voice.

[camsmom]

I just re-read my post. Now I am understanding why some of the lingo is there. This site does funky things to what one says.

[Silver Dollar]

Originally posted by alpharee
Just got my alarms in today and boy are they loud!
I hope we never have to use em.

Hi alpharee!

Just got mine today and afraid to try them! My little poodles are afraid of smoke alarms so I know they won't like these. Have to go outside........way out back...... and scare the neighbors instead.
Glad to have them though.

[alpharee]

Silver Dollar,
you test them?:)
Boy my head was hurting the other day. I bought 9 of those total and I tested each one myself.

BTW, I have a poodle too! I did go outside to test them because they are loud.

[Toth]

I really don't think this discussion of personal alarms has much to do with finding Dru Sjodin's corpse, but if you must discuss personal alarms you might want to post the incident where a little girl was kidnapped and later killed despite the fact that she activated her personal alarm and a man found it while it was making noise on the sidewalk but had no idea what it was.

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by Toth
I really don't think this discussion of personal alarms has much to do with finding Dru Sjodin's corpse, but if you must discuss personal alarms you might want to post the incident where a little girl was kidnapped and later killed despite the fact that she activated her personal alarm and a man found it while it was making noise on the sidewalk but had no idea what it was.

Toth.......that is a terrible story.......how horrible. Do you know what her name was........is there a site where I can find the story?

I know that a persoal alarm is the not at this time THE answer alone, but do think it's a start. IF the public knew that the shrill noise it made was a REAL SOS from someone then it could definitely make a difference. I'm going to do my best to try and make that happen. I'm doing an article several local newspapers soon and am going to try very hard to get the local police here in San Diego to adopt using a personal alarm into their safety programs....If the public knew what to listen for....then it would be a very useful device, Agree!

In the meantime, I'm going to go over to Dru's site and see if there is a place where I can post an email that the parent's might read. They must be so devasted......and Christmas in four days! Very, very sad.
xxxxxoo
mama

[Love_Mama]

Toth....I can't find the story you mentioned about the girl who had a personal alarm and that alone, didn't work. I googled and found these stories!

11:20am (UK) Fri 19 Dec 2003
Jogger Attack Police Hand Out Personal Alarms

By Pat Hurst, PA News
Police hunting a knifeman who murdered a jogger as she ran through a park and attempted to kill another woman were today handing out personal attack alarms in a bid to reassure the public.

Officers were visiting parks in north London to hand out the alarms and give advice to female joggers in the area.
-------------------
Practical gifts that just keep on giving
09:36 AM PST on Sunday, December 7, 2003

By MONIQUE H. HENDERSON / Special to The Press-Enterprise
Personal alarms can ward off trouble by sending out a shrill, ear-piercing sound. The alarms often are sold separately or on a key chain.
Some companies have packaged them with flashlights or pedometers, devices used to calculate the distance traveled by walkers or joggers. Personal alarms typically cost $10 to $40.
---------
SAFETY FIRST
http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/12/02/3fcc363091ea9
Evanston, Illinois
NEW: ASG approves blanket $25 charge for athletic events

Posted: Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 12:30 a.m.
By Adam Williams and Alison Knezevich
December 02, 2003
Before the athletic-bill debate, senators got back to safety bills that had not been addressed when they adjourned their meeting halfway through the agenda two weeks ago.

The first was a bill by former sorority Sen. Christina Appleton that called for the administration to purchase 1,000 personal safety alarms and distribute them free to students. The keychain-sized alarms reach up to 138 decibels to alert police and bystanders of an attack.

But senators passed an amended version of the bill that asks the administration to subsidize 500 instead of 1000 of the personal alarms.

The alarms would be available for students to buy at $3, instead of free as Appleton originally intended.

Senators raised a number of concerns about the personal alarms, such as the possibility that alarms would accidentally sound off or that students would misuse them.

Some also said the proposal was too similar to last year's ASG initiative to distribute 5,000 rape whistles and that interested students could buy personal alarms through the Women's Coalition.

"How many whistles have been used ... to stop attacks?" Meredith Kesner, an off-campus senator and Medill senior, posed to Senate. "(The bill) gives the appearance of safety but in reality, it does nothing."

Appleton said she was disappointed at the outcome and accused the Senate of not putting safety first.

"The point was missed tonight," said Appleton, a Weinberg junior. "My intent was to provide something different. We're basically providing what Women's Coalition already does offer."

Senators also passed three other safety bills that generated less controversy.

For what it's worth.

xxxxxxoo
mama

[ronigrrl]

Did you all see that AR has enlisted the help of his own private investigator? I imagine that also is at the expense of the taxpayers...

From the Dru board a group of searchers has contacted the family regarding search efforts. From what I understand, the family and LE needed to discuss it at length. I read that it is slated the first week of January.

To read more:
http://www.finddru.com & go to Volunteer thread

for those who can't tolerate the bickering and want to just discuss:
http://pub46.ezboard.com/bdruspositivepage

to light a candle on a site for dru:
http://www.oracula.org/es-03121912320047

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by ronigrrl
Did you all see that AR has enlisted the help of his own private investigator? I imagine that also is at the expense of the taxpayers...

From the Dru board a group of searchers has contacted the family regarding search efforts. From what I understand, the family and LE needed to discuss it at length. I read that it is slated the first week of January.

To read more:
http://www.finddru.com & go to Volunteer thread

for those who can't tolerate the bickering and want to just discuss:
http://pub46.ezboard.com/bdruspositivepage

to light a candle on a site for dru:
http://www.oracula.org/es-03121912320047

Thanks so much for the web sites ronigrrl. Keep posting.........you're bringing some light to this discussion. Start posting on some more threads.....we need people like you! Have a wonderful Christmas........silly as it is perhaps, I still believe in miracles.

xxxxxxxxxoooooo
mama

:angel: :angel: :angel: :angel:

[seamless]

Toth is right. I remember that story several years ago, I bet even over 5 years ago. I beleive that she was murdered. She was around 9-years old I think.

[Love_Mama]

Originally posted by seamless
Toth is right. I remember that story several years ago, I bet even over 5 years ago. I beleive that she was murdered. She was around 9-years old I think.
Thanks so much Seamless.......please keep posting.....!!!
I hope so much that I get some more infor on that case from Toth.......
where are you TOTH?

LOL


xxxxxxooooooooo

mama

[Bubble1421]

My mom bought me one of those alarms when I started High School since I would be walking home by myself. She put my name, and an emergency contact phone number along with the local police number on a sticker on the back of the alarm. There was also a brief comment about what the alarm was so if anyone found it they would call immediately. I only had to use it once. I was walking home and a guy in a blue pick up truck was following me. As I was crossing the street, he turned in front of me and stopped blocking my path. He then opened his door and started to get out of the car. I pulled the plug out of the alarm. There were a couple of other people in a parking lot near by who stopped to look. The guy then jumped back into his car and sped off. I got his lic plate number and reported it to the police. 2 months later a detective brought some photos to my school for me to look at. I couldn't remember exactly what he looked like especially from 2 months prior. Many of the guys they showed me looked very very similar. I don't know if anything ever happened to that guy. I still have the alarm to this day and always carry it with me.

One of those may have helped in Dru's situation but if she had already put her purse in the car when he approached her, she would never have had the chance to pull the plug on the alarm.

[HappyChic727]

I haven't followed the case much but do believe that Dru is gone. I thought that of Elizabeth Smart too and was super shocked when she was found . . . alive . . . but I think that was a very unusual situation. I hope her body is found soon for the sake of the family. I can't imagine what it would be like to have someone missing and possibly murdered. I go crazy when my cats don't come in after a few hours. Yes, I go looking for them! I call their names and clap and make a nuisance of myself. But I love them, and I can't imagine losing them. Prayers and strength to Dru's family and friends.

[starpatch]

Originally posted by HappyChic727
I haven't followed the case much but do believe that Dru is gone. I thought that of Elizabeth Smart too and was super shocked when she was found . . . alive . . . but I think that was a very unusual situation. I hope her body is found soon for the sake of the family. I can't imagine what it would be like to have someone missing and possibly murdered. I go crazy when my cats don't come in after a few hours. Yes, I go looking for them! I call their names and clap and make a nuisance of myself. But I love them, and I can't imagine losing them. Prayers and strength to Dru's family and friends.

startribune.com

Not knowing Dru Sjodin's whereabouts complicates things
Richard Meryhew
Star Tribune
Published 12/23/2003

On paper, the case that Grand Forks authorities are building against the man accused of kidnapping Dru Sjodin seems formidable.

They found a knife in Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.'s car that matches a sheath discovered in the shopping mall parking lot where Sjodin disappeared Nov. 22. They've got evidence they say places Rodriguez at the mall that day. They found Sjodin's blood in Rodriguez's car and recovered one of her shoes by the Red Lake River not far from his home. And they've got Rodriguez, a 50-year-old convicted sex offender from Crookston, Minn., caught in an alibi that doesn't add up.

What they don't have is Sjodin.

And without knowing the whereabouts of the 22-year-old University of North Dakota student, convicting Rodriguez on a kidnapping or murder charge becomes trickier.

Without a body, prosecutors can't say for certain how or whether Sjodin was abducted or assaulted. Without a body, they can't establish that Sjodin is dead.

"In a murder case, you've got to prove there has been a death of a human being and you've got to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt," said John Goff, a former North Dakota prosecutor who filed murder charges in 1998 in the disappearance of 11-year-old Jeanna North in Fargo, N.D. Her body was never found.

"Everybody can conclude she is dead, but you still have to prove that."

Aiding prosecutors in the Sjodin disappearance is the fact that the collection and presentation of DNA evidence has evolved significantly in recent years and that statistics associated with such evidence are much more likely to be allowed in court. In one high-profile case during the early 1990s, a Dakota County jury wasn't permitted to hear statistical evidence because the science behind it was considered to be in its infancy.

Evidence and clues

In 1988, authorities in Cass and Crow Wing counties in north-central Minnesota prosecuted Jerome Bye, a Pequot Lakes real-estate agent, in the death of Charlotte Lysdale, 68, who disappeared from her Pine River home three years earlier.

Bye, the last person to have seen Lysdale, was accused of killing her, stealing the deed to her lakeshore property and hiding her body, which was never found. Although a grand jury found enough probable cause to charge Bye, a jury acquitted him of murder.

Despite some compelling physical evidence, the outcome was the same in 1992 when Robert Guevara was charged with murder, kidnapping and rape in the disappearance of Corrine Erstad, a 5-year-old girl from Inver Grove Heights who was reported missing that June.

Investigators found a bloody dress with Guevara's and Corrine's hair in Guevara's storage locker and a shower curtain stained with semen and blood. Nevertheless, Guevara was acquitted.

Several jurors said after the trial that the inability of investigators to find Corrine's body hurt the prosecution's case. Without it, they said, prosecutors didn't have enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she had died. And without being able to prove that, they said, they couldn't convict Guevara of a killing.

"I was shocked at the verdict at the time," said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom, who prosecuted Guevara. "And I'm still shocked and disappointed today. It is hard to rationalize how you could overlook the significant evidence we had in that case.

"We had DNA evidence that linked the victim's blood and the defendant's semen combined on one item of evidence. But in our case, we didn't have a body. And it might have tipped the scales enough to lead to their decision," Backstrom said.

Andrew Baker, assistant chief medical examiner for Hennepin County, said finding a body is important for several reasons: Not only does it prove that a death occurred, but in most cases, it also establishes a cause of death and valuable clues about what happened.

"Depending on the circumstances, there may be a great deal of evidence on the body," Baker said.

Stab wounds, gunshot wounds, strangulation marks or torn or shredded clothing often give investigators information that can be helpful when interrogating potential suspects. Backstrom said a body can also provide prosecutors with valuable DNA evidence -- semen, hair, blood -- that could be critical at trial.

In some cases, that's the key to sustaining a criminal case.

Earlier this year, William Gene Myears, 25, was charged with manslaughter in connection with the disappearance and suspected killing of 21-year-old Erika Dalquist of Brainerd, in October 2002. According to a criminal complaint, Myears led investigators to a mine pit 10 miles east of town and pointed to a spot where he said he put Dalquist.

Despite exhaustive underwater searches, investigators never found a body. Two weeks later, the charge was dropped and Myears was set free.

Stronger cases

Investigators in Cass County, N.D., never found Jeanna North's body, but they still won a conviction against repeat sex offender Kyle Bell in 1999, based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence.

Bell, who lived near Jeanna, was in the neighborhood at the time she disappeared and was the last person to see her alive. At one point, he confessed to killing Jeanna. He later recanted, but some of the confession was admitted at trial.

Bell also told authorities that he tied Jeanna's body to a concrete block and dumped it in a nearby river. Investigators later found a concrete block and rope in the spot where Bell said he dumped the body.

Circumstantial evidence also was critical in the 2000 conviction of Donald Blom, who was accused of kidnapping and murder in the disappearance of Katie Poirier, 19, from a Moose Lake convenience store where she worked.

Blom, a repeat sex offender, also confessed to the crime early on, then recanted. But as in the Bell case, part of the confession was admitted as trial evidence.

Investigators also had physical evidence -- human bone fragments were found in a fire pit on Blom's property not far from the crime scene. However, that evidence was so badly burned that investigators could not obtain DNA samples.

They also found a tooth that showed dental work consistent with that performed on Poirier by her dentist. Working off those findings, prosecutors called on "state-of-the-art, highly qualified experts to put together" a likely scenario of what happened, said Tom Pertler, assistant Carlton County Attorney who prosecuted the case.

Prosecutors also worked with testimony from eyewitnesses who placed Blom and his truck at or near the crime scene and a store surveillance tape that showed a man looking like Blom leading Poirier out the door.

Even then, Pertler said, defense attorneys still asked prospective jurors during jury selection, "Do you think Katie Poirier is dead?"

"In this case, we had to add up every piece of circumstantial evidence that put him at the scene," Pertler said. "But a lot of that stuff I don't need in a typical case where there is a body."

In the Sjodin case, if more evidence is uncovered in coming weeks or if her body is found, the kidnapping charge against Rodriguez would likely be amended to include murder. Yet even without a body, Backstrom and other prosecutors say the case against Rodriguez is strong.

Like Bell and Blom, Rodriguez is a repeat sex offender. What's more, the physical evidence against him, which includes a DNA match of the blood found in his car with DNA from Sjodin's toothbrush, is strong.

Backstrom said it also will help prosecutors that DNA technology, in its infancy more than a decade ago, has improved greatly over the years and is now "fully accepted" by the courts and understood by jurors.

"Today, from very small quantities of blood, you can produce a DNA match," he said.

Prosecutors also are now allowed to tell jurors at trial the significance of the DNA match.

In 1992, "we couldn't use statistical data to explain just how rare a chance it would be that anyone else in the population could have left the sample that had been tested," Backstrom said. "And that's a very important part of the testimony to explain the significance of that to the jury. Twelve years ago, it was good evidence. But it didn't carry the same weight it does today.

"It's a strong case," he added. "The prosecutors are doing exactly what they needed to do."

Said Goff, "You have to prove there was a death, but I don't think it's a huge obstacle in this case. Circumstantially, they have a very, very good case."

Richard Meryhew is at richm@startribune.com.

© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

[camsmom]

Dru is dead and her body will be found in the spring, down river. God love her, I believe that she fought for her life!!!!!

[HappyChic727]

Camsmom:

Are you a psychic? Is this your prediction? Lord knows we need something to go by.

Merry Christmas,

Happy

[Trino]

God bless Dru's family and friends this holiday as they contemplate her disappearance and pray for a miracle.

[dannyodie]

I have been reading much of the forums about dru. alot of places this fellow could have taken this woman. I wonder if anyone or the police have check his moms home, and places around his neighborhood? I read sometime back that someone said he was a carpenter or a drywall finisher? if he was working on a sub division project at the time she was abducted maybe he took her to one of those places. I have also read where one of her shoes was located beneath a bridge at a river, were there places before getting to the bridge where one could pull off the roadway? Iam from the south so I don't know much about when the weather turns to freezing temps enough to freeze the river, was the river just beginning to freeze that time of year or was it still flowing, if she were weighted down with stuff then naturally she would sink. the dive teams, have they found anything at all? could he just throw her over and the current sweep her downstream?

[starpatch]

I think she is in the river.
This case made me so darn mad at the system, in Minnesota.
Now I am definetly for the death penalty...was on the fence before. :twocents:

[alpharee]

I think she is in the river.
This case made me so darn mad at the system, in Minnesota.
Now I am definetly for the death penalty...was on the fence before. :twocents:

I think she's in the river as well. And I hate the SOB that's sitting up there in his nice and cozy cell while all these volunteers were in the freezing temps trying to find her. I hope he suffers..........apparently he enjoys prison since he couldn't wait to get out and commit more crimes. Wish there was another punishment that could be given to him. But oh I forget, criminals have all the rights :furious:

[Texana]

One of the significant differences between the Smart case and other missing young women cases is, Utah has a substantial, if not well known, number of people who believe in taking very young wives (and multiple wives at that.) There are a number of people who practise an extreme version of the Mormon religion--and nobody in Utah seemed to consider it odd that a bearded man was walking around in unusual clothing accompanied by two women in veiled clothing (until someone recognized Elizabeth.)

I've always thought that the Smart family had an idea that their daughter may well have been abducted for that purpose, and I thought from the very beginning that there would be a connection with one of these extreme cult-type people--that their religion would play a factor in the whole case.

The other cases don't have this factor, and without the motivation to keep the young women alive as "wives," the need to dominate and subdue and then kill these women seems to be the motivation for the scum responsible.

Why are these people ever let out on parole? They can't be reformed, and they seem to wind up back in society, killing again and again.

Look at the case of Kenneth Wayne McDuff in Texas. He managed to get out of the death penalty when the Supreme Court declared it cruel and unusual, even though he had cruelly killed three teenagers in Texas. (probably due to corruption in the parole system.) He abducted and killed at least three young women after being let out of prison before he finally got the lethal injection here.

We are turning loose these vicious monsters and they prey upon our children.

[Trino]

I, too, believe that Dru was thrown in the river. If so, spring will reveal all, and, hopefully, there will be evidence to convict Rodriguez.

[dannyodie]

what time of year does the river there freeze up? does it freeze entirly? or just in places? if it freezes to the point a person could walk safetly onto it,I wonder if a device similar to ground penetrating radar could be of any good at this point? Ok so lets suppose he tossed here into the river, most likely he would have just pulled over and thru her over real quick like. would he have taken the time to weight her body down with something and add that much more weight too lift? if he did not weight her down then I wonder how far she could have been swept by the river current? sorry for all the questions, I'am not at all familiar with the layout of the area geographically at all. I'am sure the police or some agency has at some point early on done a shoreline search haven't they? like all the others my prayers go out to the family and friends as they try and cope with there uncertainty of there loved one.. :rolleyes:

[Lilybug1]

Hi, I was born and raised in FL so I don't know much about water freezing over, but I wonder if when a body is in a frozen body of water if it stops the decomposition process and preserves the body. I remember recently reading about a NY man who went snowboarding in the Swiss Alps or somewhere like in Europe and disappeared. Like 15 years had gone by, due to warming, his body came to the surface (well preserved I understand with his wallet in his back pocket). Perhaps I misunderstanding a million different things about this story. But the point is that if this sicko dumped her body into the now frozen river (which presumably froze over soon after dumping her), if her body is found soon after the thawing would her body still bear the tell-tale signs of how he killed her?

[johnny]

Danny, how much weight does it take to submerge a body? I tried to research that in a scuba diving site but no luck. I don't think it takes a whole lot of weight initially to submerge a body but it would depend on the persons size and other factors. Obviously this is fresh water versus salt and surely as time goes by and as decomposing starts plus the water temperature and river current enter into the equation things will change. Seems like there should be a diving formula that would answer this question.

130lbs plus the added weight would be hard to manage from a river bank. Plus getting into a deep area with no one seeing him. Just hard to imagine a guy leaving the knife sheath behind, blood, etc. etc. and they only found a shoe..........I spoke to a guy who ran some river searches and he said what they did was went down stream and took a chain link fence and stretched it across the river to catch the possible body. I know the river is frozen and I don't know how deep a river and if it is even navigable.

Wish we had some pictures of the area where the shoe was found.

[Ghostwheel]

If the river was partially frozen, you would not necessarily have to weight a body to submerge it. If it got under the ice at any point, then finished freezing, it'll stay put until thaw, and then it could end up anywhere.

This wasn't about human remains, but still informational.
http://www.blm.gov/education/00_resources/articles/alaskas_cold_desert/classroom.html
"Nevertheless, the net effect of the arctic climate is to slow the rate of decomposition."

[dannyodie]

johnny, I myself don't know exactly the amout of weight to submerge a body, I am sure that a scuba diving formula only indicates the weight that is to be used in conjunction to the tanks on the back of the diver, I think those belts weigh about 80 pounds. you know I wonder if where the shoe was found is the only location that a body could have been tossed over the bridge? like you I would like to see a picture of that location. any one reading this, do you know if the shoe was found at the edge of the water as if it was deposited there by the river or was it on the shore line to far to have been put there by river current? maybe look upstream from that location along the shoreline. maybe somewhere there is a isolated location which one could drive to the river edge, maybe he knew of some fishing spots that were isolated.

[Trino]

Minnesotan here. It gets plenty cold here by Thanksgiving. A pro team was drilling holes in the ice during the search. That would have been just after Thanksgiving. I would doubt that Rodriguez would have been careful enough to weigh a body down. If he just dumped the body in the river, the guess is that it will emerge downstream in the spring. LE could probably have placed something across the river, except they had no clue as to where to look earlier. By that time a body could have been anywhere.

[Imon128]

I hope that the SOB who did this to this young gal gets caught and justice will get served. Her cellphone use was a clue, in a way, but I only wish she'd have been able to give more info to her boyfriend. Obviously, the fiend knew how to attack one using a cellphone. You'd think that would be a real safeguard against attacks. It surely beats nothing, though. There was that one chance she might have been able to give some more info. My biggest hope is that she'll come home like Elizabeth Smart...alive.

[Trino]

I think we're too dependent on the idea that a cell phone can save you. Once attacked, a cell phone would be difficult to use. There was one poster that set her phone to 91, just needed to press the last 1. That might work. But, as in Dru's case, who would have thought of being attacked at a shopping mall at 5:00 p.m.? Who would bother to set a phone just walking to your car as Dru did? What if the culprit just threw the phone out a window? Would you be saved? The whistle that has been mentioned seems a better idea.

[Imon128]

I think we're too dependent on the idea that a cell phone can save you. Once attacked, a cell phone would be difficult to use. There was one poster that set her phone to 91, just needed to press the last 1. That might work. But, as in Dru's case, who would have thought of being attacked at a shopping mall at 5:00 p.m.? Who would bother to set a phone just walking to your car as Dru did? What if the culprit just threw the phone out a window? Would you be saved? The whistle that has been mentioned seems a better idea.

I agree about relying on the cell phone, after this case. It is a good feature to have the 91/911 auto feature on it, but does that only give location? If that's all, that alone is a good thing, but perhaps there could be some expediancy to being able to leave a message once that feature is used. I'm not very well educated in that feature, but with all the new technology, you'd think that there would be some way for a person to speak quickly to LE in this instance. I feel that in the future, this will be worked out, too, but unfortunately for this young lady, all that seemed to be an aside. I'm still praying that Dru will come home, as Elizabeth Smart did, but I'm not all that optimistic.

[johnny]

I noticed in the river guide report that this section of river is only about five feet deep at Crookston and increases to around fifteen feet in Grand Forks. Also part of this stretch of river has class II rapids and the rest moves very slow and would take about twelve hours to navigate by canoe.

Also remember the speaker wire found in his car and in the garage at his mothers home.

[Trino]

I don't think he is capable of planning. The man does not make me think of intelligence. I feel he used the speaker wire to tie her up rather than to dispose of Dru. My guess is that the second phone call was from Dru and that she was caught trying to use the phone. Whatever... he's never going to tell the truth.

[johnny]

Not capable of planning? This guy spent 23 years in prison!

He survived prison, got out found a job and found another victim.

Now he's being protected by his surrogate mother ( the system)



Bottom line is most people just talk about this stuff but never do a dad gum thing to make a difference................talk without action.

[Mitty]

Cass......here's a website that show's the alarm.
http://www.smartcart.com/selfdefence/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=KC45



I found another web site that has the same alarm, but for about $5 less...

http://www.safetynow.com/personal01.htm

[Love_Mama]

I found another web site that has the same alarm, but for about $5 less...

http://www.safetynow.com/personal01.htm

Mitty....thank's for the site...I think I paid too much for mine. However..I got free priority shipping.
xxxxo
mama

[kgeaux]

Thanks to Love Mama and Mitty for the information about the personal alarms. I live in an area that has had several "attempted abductions" of women from parking lots (mall and downtown area) over the last year and a half, and you've both spurred me on to purchase one of these.

[Mitty]

Mitty....thank's for the site...I think I paid too much for mine. However..I got free priority shipping.
xxxxo
mama

No problem Mama. After reading about the personal alarms here in the forum, I went out and start looking for information on the internet. I hadn't thought about a personal alarm until I read it here, but now I am thinking of getting one for myself, my neices, sister's-in-law, and my mother. These are a great idea. I know there is no guarantee this, or anything else, will prevent something from happening, but this is an affordable item, and could help.... Better than doing nothing!

[scandi]

Morning,

Does anyone have info on the new search for Dru tht I heard about on the news last night. Did this monster give them some info?






Scandi

[alpharee]

Morning,

Does anyone have info on the new search for Dru tht I heard about on the news last night. Did this monster give them some info?
Scandi
Got this from the Dru Message Boards:
There are two separate search efforts scheduled at present.

*January 17th and 18th will be an all-volunteer effort searching areas West
of Grand Forks.
*January 22nd, 23rd and 24th will be a combined effort, organized by the
family, using some resources from this group and overseen by local LE. This
search will probably be outside of Crookston, although that may change.
Not sure if new info has came out or not, can't find any info about it.

[starpatch]

Morning,

Does anyone have info on the new search for Dru tht I heard about on the news last night. Did this monster give them some info?






Scandi

I heard yesterday (friday) on FOX, that the search will be conducted by the family on January 22, to commenerate Dru's disappearance on Nov 22.

It will involve her family, They plan to search various places that LE did not search.

Also heard at the same time that the creep is NOT speaking!!!

Even though there is a Gag Order, the creeps defence atty..has been having lots of face time with reporters, and, apparently the Judge is going to do something soon.

[Ivy]

If Dru's family is going to conduct a search for her body in areas that haven't been previously searched, what are they waiting for? I'm glad they're going to do it, but why wait for the 22nd? I don't understand why it's important to them to memorialize the date of her disappearance in this way, when searching now could produce her remains.

Edited to add that I just saw the post stating that volunteers will search on the 17th, etc. Why not now? Is there too much snow?

[Trino]

Many volunteers have searched for Dru, but paid searchers are needed, often with specialized equipment. People with these types of equipment already have volunteered many hours, but there is a limit as to how much time they can be expected to contribute. I believe there was a fund raiser recently that raised $3,000, which is probably why there will be another search. It's not like you can just go out and walk fields for miles, although I suspect the family has probably done this.

[scandi]

Hi, and thanks for answering me . When I half-heard this on the news, my heart literally skipped a beat. I so wanted her to be found. She was trapped and killed like she was an animal he was hunting. And my heart could see her struggle and feel the pain her family felt when they couldn't find her.

I hope the Crookston search is forthcoming, mainly because he lived near there. I hope they have seached the mom's house inside and out, with something that could detect her. Oh, guess dogs would do that, if the mom let them in with the dogs. Could see her up in an attic where you normally wouldn't look.


Scandi

[Trino]

Last night I drove from a university event home. The trip was about 5 hours. About an hour from home I absolutely needed to use the bathroom. Gas stations seemed non-existent, but there was a rest stop coming up; in fact, it was quite nice. However, as I entered the stop, there was only one car in the lot, and its owner appeared to be rumaging through the trash. I absolutely felt unsafe, but you can bet I was aware of my surroundings before leaving the building for my car. (The guy was still going through the trash.)

One way I would have felt more protected and less isolated would have been for the rest stop NOT to separate trucks and autos. And, an alarm would have made me feel better. You can bet I purchased one today!

[Sharry]

I have also read where one of her shoes was located beneath a bridge at a river, were there places before getting to the bridge where one could pull off the roadway? I am from the south so I don't know much about when the weather turns to freezing temps enough to freeze the river, was the river just beginning to freeze that time of year or was it still flowing, if she were weighted down with stuff then naturally she would sink. the dive teams, have they found anything at all? could he just throw her over and the current sweep her downstream?

I think she's in the river, and if she is, she won't be found til spring when the snow's gone. She probably wasn't weighed down with anything, but maybe. If she's in there, she is most likely caught up on something like dead tree branches below the waterline, and that would hold her down.

[Trino]

Life is at times so unfair. Dru seemed such a vivacious young lady at her prime, so filled with life. How can an individual live, knowing that he has committed this crime? How can he not have a conscience? There will be no jury that will show sympathy.

[starpatch]

Life is at times so unfair. Dru seemed such a vivacious young lady at her prime, so filled with life. How can an individual live, knowing that he has committed this crime? How can he not have a conscience? There will be no jury that will show sympathy.
I feel the same way as you do. :(
And The killer won't talk. He is hiding behind his disgusting Atty.
But, Dru had no one to protect her!
This is such a heartbreaking case. :rolleyes:

[partyuv5]

I wish I could say that Dru would be found alive. But I think he he got what he wanted from her and was done. He didn't want to be caught again so he got rid of the evidence. I believe Dru's body is in the river. But...Dru's spirit lives on. Watching over those that care and rocking Connor!

[Love_Mama]

xxxxxxoo
mama.......don't know if we can link yet......so am pasting the story.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/7780451.htm

Posted on Fri, Jan. 23, 2004
Dru Sjodin disappearance - a mother and father look
Allan Sjodin and Linda Walker continue search
By STEPHEN J. LEE
Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald


More photos Herald photo by John Stennes
A group of family and friends look for UND student Dru Sjoden, missing since November search the banks of a ditch in Polk County on Thursday morning.

Linda Walker and Allan Sjodin drove together around Polk County on Thursday with the unenviable task of looking for places where their daughter may have been left by the man charged with making her disappear.

Joined by about 20 other searchers - relatives and friends - Dru Sjodin's parents braved bone-chilling temperatures made colder by a brisk morning wind.

It was the first time for Dru Sjodin's mother to get out and search the stretching Red River Valley land around Crookston, the hometown of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.

He remains in the Grand Forks

jail, charged with kidnapping Sjodin Nov. 22 from a Grand Forks shopping mall parking lot. Imprisoned for more than half his life for three sex crimes involving kidnapping and sexually assaulting women, Rodriguez, 50, has denied any involvement in Sjodin's disappearance. That means he hasn't told investigators much about Sjodin's whereabouts.

Hope remains

Prosecutors say they have evidence of Sjodin's blood in Rodriguez's car. On the two-month anniversary of her vanishing, searching for her would seem as bleak as the winter day.

But Walker and Sjodin remain steadfast in hoping against hope and graciously handle the interminable news media pressure.

They said that while they early on attempted to contact Rodriguez to seek help, now they are focused on searching for their daughter. Cousins, siblings and friends are around them, helping search.

Sjodin and Walker are divorced but have kept a united front in the search.

He has been in Grand Forks nearly every week since Nov. 22, when Sjodin disappeared, driving the countryside in Polk and Grand Forks counties, looking.

She has been to Grand Forks more than once in that time, but never out on a search like this, Walker said.

She and a close friend, Liz Nelson of Duluth, spent the day driving back and forth between Beltrami and Maple Lake, sometimes with two teams of bloodhound handlers. Allan Sjodin was with them for part of the time.

She keeps her hopes and spirits high, buoyed by "Dru's spirit, who she is and who she is about," Walker said. "I'm not naive. But as a mother, as a parent, I think anybody would understand that you can strive to fight for your child and find the means. That's what gets us through."

The day started with temperatures at 15 below zero as the search party mustered in Crookston. The news media, including Twin Cities reporters and photographers attracted again by the first large search effort since last month, joined a long caravan of vehicles.

A rectangular area roughly six miles wide, stretching from six miles west of Beltrami, Minn., to six miles east of the small town of 101 people was covered, said Bob Heales. It was an area just southeast of what had been closely covered by law enforcement-led searches in November and December, Heales said.

"We covered about 70 square miles, more than we expected," said the Denver private investigator and Sjodin family friend. "We will start east of there tomorrow."

Walker and Sjodin went with the two bloodhound teams to check an area near Maple Lake, at the lake's outlet on the north side where the water was still unfrozen.

According to law enforcement investigators, Rodriguez was known to fish on the lake and was familiar with the area, which also is along the route he traveled to work, said Heales.

Cold doesn't help

But while cold temperatures normally don't hinder blood hounds' acute smelling abilities, Thursday was a little too much for the dogs, said Denny Adams, the Conde, S.D., owner of Dakota Territory Search Dog. His bitch, Calamity Jane, is 10 and a real veteran.

"She searched for the Olympic bomber, that Rudolph guy, in the North Carolina mountains," Adams said. "I've taken her over to East Africa for a search."

A couple of 15-minute sessions of snuffling through snow didn't work well for her, though.

"If it was just 15 degrees warmer, it would make a big difference," said Adams at noon, giving her the rest of the day off. Nolan Baldwin, of Edgeley, N.D., works with Adams, using his own bloodhound, Jethro, who is 5.

The human searchers stayed close to their vehicles, too, walking in ditches and through grassy areas.

"As Minnesotans, it's cold, but not as cold as we know it can be," Walker said. "We are thankful the winds have ceased and died off. When you are out there walking, you can stay somewhat warm. Certainly, the weather is something that you don't pay attention to when you are on a mission."

Boyfriend searches

Chris Lang, Dru's boyfriend, who last heard her voice on her cell phone Nov. 22 at the moment investigators think she was abducted, explained why he was back to trudge through hard-packed snow drifts and over frozen ditch water along fields barren of all but a frozen white.

"She's the woman I love," he explained. "She's still out there."

More searchers, perhaps 50 or more, are expected to join the group today and Saturday, Heales said.

Areas on both sides of U.S. Highway 2 east of Mentor, Minn., will be covered, he said.

Walker, who is staying in Grand Forks, will keep on.

The Dru Sjodin story has captured interest of people worldwide and she hears from many of them, Walker said.

Stopping for a coffee break in the Beltrami Mall Cafe, Sjodin and Walker were recognized instantly by Sue Anderson, who served them.

"Your money's no good here," she said. "Our hearts are with you."

That kind of response helps, Walker said.

"It feels wonderful to be close to all these people who have been so tremendously supportive of my family," she said. "So that feels good, helping us keep Dru's voice alive."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reach Lee at (701) 780-1237, or (800) 477-6572, extension 237; e-mail slee@gfherald.com

[starpatch]

Love_Mama, thanks for posting the article.
This tradgedy has touched so many hearts.

Every time I see a picture of Dru, I could cry.

And the murderer sits quietly in a warm jail while all of these relatives and friends search for where AR left here, not saying a word!

This case makes me very very angry! I am so disappointed in the State Attorney as well, because he boldly annpounced right after AR was caught that there were No Deals....I don't wnat that creep to have any deal, but, maybe they could have found what he did with Dru, so the family would know where she is.

[Jack]

Info on search for Dru


http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/7888710.htm

[starpatch]

Info on search for Dru


http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/7888710.htm
I wish they could find that lovely lady alive....you just never know.

[Peekaboo]

Does anyone read on Sandra Blelanger's site?? She had posted that either the 'folks' or Dru herself (through EVP) sent a message that she would be found in a Jeep on a farm in the area. She gave the name of the farm's owner; but apparently someone tried to contact him, and Sandra was quite upset about it.

I'm wondering if Sandra told LE this information?? Or, would they even have followed up on it considering the source??

[scandi]

Hi Peek!

Good to see you ;) I belong but haven't read there in a while. I'll have to go look today. Thanks for the tip. I just feel so horribly sad for her family. They are still trudging through search after search to find their girl. She was so special to them.

I wish the little girlie in Minnesota would be found.



Scandi

[johnny]

This article is interesting about the struggle in the back seat and the window scuffs!

Carlie

Suspect's borrowed car showed signs of a struggle
When the man accused of killing Carlie Brucia returned the car, "you could see something happened" inside it, a business partner says.
By LEANORA MINAI, Times Staff Writer
Published February 8, 2004

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

[Times photo: Michael Rondou]
Stephanie Thayer prays for Carlie Brucia as she leaves flowers outside her home.

SARASOTA - The yellow station wagon Joseph P. Smith borrowed at the time Carlie Brucia went missing was returned a day late with about 300 extra miles on the odometer and the back of a front seat scuffed by an apparent struggle, a close friend of Smith's said Saturday.

Ed Dinyes, 44, said Smith borrowed the 1992 Buick Century last Sunday from a friend he had been living with and returned it with smudge marks on the back windows. Smith was only supposed to take the car for an hour, but he didn't return it until the following day, Dinyes said.

Dinyes said the owner, Jeffrey Pincus, asked Smith what happened inside the car when he finally brought it back.

"He really didn't have an answer," Dinyes said.

Carlie, 11, was abducted last Sunday and her body was found Friday beneath a pile of brush at a Sarasota church.

A surveillance camera aimed at the parking lot of a carwash captured a stream of digital images of a man in a mechanic's shirt confronting Carlie, grabbing her arm, then leading her away.

On Saturday, while mourners left flowers, notes and teddy bears at Carlie's home, lawyers for Smith briefly appeared in a Manatee County courtroom. Smith, who has been arrested at least 13 times in Florida since 1993, including in two attacks on women, is being held without bail. His next court appearance is March 12.

Carlie's slaying has prompted Florida's attorney general to investigate stiffening penalties for offenders who violate the terms of their release. Smith is a drug felon who had been free despite violating probation.

"You can't help but think that some of the statutes are too permissive," Attorney General Charlie Crist told the Associated Press. "It's important we review putting more teeth in our statutes. ... It's got to be ratcheted up very quickly."

Sheriff's investigators continued to ask the public for help in finding Carlie's pink backpack and tracking the car's whereabouts during the time Smith is alleged to have been driving it.

Dinyes, who opened Saurus auto repair with Smith last year in Sarasota, provided a more detailed account of Smith's movements last week.

Three days before Carlie's abduction, the transmission on Smith's car broke, Dinyes said. Dinyes, who sports a tattoo of motorcycle pistons on his right arm that Smith inked himself, offered up a van that had been in the shop. He thought it would be perfect for Smith and his three young daughters.

Dinyes wanted to help out because he knew Smith's wife wanted a divorce and had kicked him out of their house for using drugs. After all, the two men met five years ago when Smith stopped to help Dinyes when his motorcycle ran out of gas.

Smith was in the shop Friday, working on the van, Dinyes said. He replaced the fuel pump.

On Sunday, the day Carlie disappeared, Smith borrowed the car from Pincus, his roommate, Dinyes said.

The station wagon was soon captured in the surveillance video, three minutes before Carlie's abduction from Evie's Car Wash. Bloodhounds had followed Carlie's scent to the carwash, but it abruptly disappeared. The owners reviewed their video and discovered the chilling scene of Carlie being led away.

When Pincus got the station wagon back, it was Monday, 16 hours after Smith borrowed it.

"When it came back, the back part of it was destroyed," Dinyes said Pincus told him. "He basically said you could see something happened."

Pincus' wife, Naomi, would not comment Saturday.

Dinyes was off on Monday, celebrating his wife's birthday, but heard from others at the shop that when Smith came into work he was teary-eyed and upset. Smith told co-workers he had high blood pressure and couldn't work, and a friend gave him a ride home.

Clinton Van Zandt, a retired FBI agent who worked in the agency's Behavioral Science Unit, said Saturday the condition of the station wagon suggests Carlie struggled to get away.

She may have been restrained, he said.

"It sounds like she fought right up to the end," Van Zandt said. "It suggests either she was fighting to get out of the car, and/or he assaulted her, and she was fighting him at the time."

The New York Post on Saturday quoted an unnamed source close to the investigation saying, "The initial review of the body indicates she put up a real struggle before she died. She fought desperately."

Investigators have released no details of the circumstances surrounding Carlie's murder, saying only that she died of "homicidal violence."

Van Zandt said the roughly 300 miles Dinyes said were logged on the station wagon may explain why investigators are still asking for the public's help in tracking the vehicle.

"The question is, did he burn those miles up looking for a victim like a shark, looking for someone," Van Zandt said, "or did he find this victim and take her to a distant location and bring her back?"

Van Zandt said investigators may still be looking for the spot where she was murdered. He said that's why finding the backpack is such a priority.

"The backpack is going to link everything together," he said. "If they can't establish whatever assault or murder took place in the car, than perhaps there is another location."

- Times staff writer Carrie Johnson contributed to this report. Leanora Minai can be reached at minai@sptimes.com or 727 893-8406.

[Peekaboo]

Hi Peek!

Good to see you ;) I belong but haven't read there in a while. I'll have to go look today. Thanks for the tip. I just feel so horribly sad for her family. They are still trudging through search after search to find their girl. She was so special to them.
I wish the little girlie in Minnesota would be found.
Scandi

Hi Scandi!!!! I wish by some miracle she would be found alive; but that is highly unlikely. I pray for her family going through this horrible time.
Here is the page where Sandra updates her findings:

http://groups.msn.com/Dimensions/drusjodincase.msnw

[scandi]

Hi Peek!

I just read that this morning over there and amazed! Sandra said all her findings have been turned over to Dru's site, so the police must keep up on what is written there, or emailed to the site.

There is a poster driving over from Grand Forks to try to find that farm today and the fence to jump over. The 'jeep' might be covered with snow so she might be hard to find until the thaw sets in.

To me it would be elemental! LOP! They know who owns that farm, and it is very close or adjacent to a place where Alf worked before, so he knows the area really well. Why don't they go to this man who owns the farm, have him give a listing and location of all the old cars and trucks abandoned or not in use on his farm - it is said there are many. The go uncover them from the snow and ice until - voila! - they will find the correct jeep.

I read her body is naked in the passanger seat, then that he put her in a box. Maybe he transported her to the location in a box, then lifted her out and put her in the jeep. They did find 3 empty boxes!



Scandi

[mindys]

Wow, I just read that update too, I will be floored if she is there and they find her this week, what does anyone have to lose by checking.

[scandi]

Hey Mindy's, HI ;) On TV EARLY LOL this morning I heard a bleep again about something new in Dru's case. Did you hear anything? Sandra thought she's be located anytime soon now, right?

I thied to post over there today but can't. Every time I try I get this run time error and it says do you want to degug! Someone here always told me to say no to that.



Scandi

[mindys]

Scandi, do you have Ad-Aware??

Dru's parents, John Walsh, a few other's were on LKL, last night, I caught it a bit late but I didn't detect anything really new happening, perhaps I should go and look for the transcript of the show to post here.

[scandi]

No, what is Ad-aware?

[mindys]

Here's the transcript from LKL, I was going to copy and paste the whole thing but it is really long:

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0402/13/lkl.00.html

[Peekaboo]

Scandi, where did you see that someone was going to that farm to look for Dru today?? I checked on Sandra's board but her last update was Feb. 6th.
That board is hard for me to navigate for some reason.
I also e-mailed our friends in the Grand Forks area about Sandra's site; haven't heard from them as yet.

[mindys]

Scandi, here is the website for Ad-Aware, when I am noticing speed problems, which seem to be site-specific for me too, I run this and it really seems to help clean off the crap that clogs the computer:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

[scandi]

Thanks Mindys! You're a love ;} I'll do it later today.


Scandi

[scandi]

Hi Mindy's,

I saw a thread there about going to look for that farm that had Grand Forks in the title.




Scandi

[mindys]

Ya saw it where Scandi. Are people (searcher's) going to look??

[dannyodie]

those of you looking for ad-ware removal tools should know that there are two types of these pesky little programs that work in the background. ad-ware tracks your surf habits and assist the vendor in what type of pop up ads to bomb you with. the other is what is known as spyware, this is similar to ad ware, except it allows the vendor to see all of your on line activities without you even knowing that it is there. the lavasoft will remove ads only. not spyware. I found a free version of ad/spyware removal tool at webroot.com, it is easy to use and can be config. to work as a browser shield and such to always be looking for those little pesky programs..

[scandi]

Hi
Danny, Is a 'run-time error' one of these pasky programs? Is it hard to install? I went to ad-ware, and not being extremely computer literate, I didn't know where to click!



Thanks ahead of time. You guys are great. I can't post on Dimensions because of this. I have never cleared cookies in my puter either as I don't know how to do this. Maybe that doesn't affect this though!



Scandi

[nanandjim]

Download this free software. It will eliminate pop-up ads. I no longer get any ads after I installed this. You can also turn off the sound, so you don't hear the ads being swatted.
http://www.popswatter.com/?partner=ZPzeb001

[mindys]

Thanks for the links and info guys! I want it all, LOL!


Prayer's for Dru. We will not forget about you.

[dannyodie]

to scandi, first answer, a runtime error is basically a bug in a software program, don't be alarmed, a bug is not a virus, runtime error is kinda like a program that runs out of memory and or a conflict with another program which makes another stop running or starting up.. windows xp is one of those that experience this with certain programs. back to www.webroot.com for the program called spysweeper, when the page loads, look across the top of the page, " downloads" click on that and the page will have two columns, buy it or try it , look in try it column and click on spysweeper v2.2 and click to download. you don't have to buy this after the trail period it will keep working just fine. after a time it will pop up to remind you to upgrade, which is purchase just click no and it will continue to work. easy to set up.

[seamless]

There is some info about fingerprints below. I didn't see anything else posted about them. If there is I am sorry.

http://www.ksfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=1644760&nav=0w0jKosj

[Doyle]

Friends and family of missing UND student Dru Sjodin searched Tuesday the place where her alleged abductor worked.
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/7977545.htm

[dannyodie]

I wonder if they entertained the idea that if he worked at the construction site they suspect , that he would know of places at that site that was making preparations to pour concrete? maybe he buried her somewhere near that location? and not at the site he actually worked at.

[Trino]

Is there any action in the search for Dru? Minnesota is thawing out, although wet/damp. The first tow/barge is on the way to the TC, meaning the Mississippi is no longer frozen. Are there plans to search the Red Lake River again? I have not heard/read about another organized search.

Here's a good link about where the focus seems to be:

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/special_packages/dru_sjodin/8120281.htm

[dannyodie]

after reading the most updated article concerning this woman I tend to think that she may have been placed in the river at that location in which her shoe was found, I wonder how deep at that location the water would be? wonder if it was shallow enough to wade out into it for a bit to allow a body to become pulled away by the current more easily than it would along the shoreline? I'am sure that the grounds around the site where he fished under the bridge was searched real good. and another thing is that earlier I have read that a search dog had acted curious about a certain location somewhere near some farm area that has been talked about here early on in the threads for dru on the websleuths forums? seems like that the dog had caught a airborn scent and wanted to take off in a perticular direction... maybe if he could have waded into the river that he either let her body loose to sink and float away later, or carried her out there a bit and weighted her body down with some rocks or something.. I don't know alot about that river other than what I have read that the depth of it seems to vary from place to place, but in several locations in and around crookston is about 5 feet or so, and the current is somewhat lazy through much of its downstream journey, maybe she could have drifted a distance that needs to be searched by water to have better access to locations that can't be accessed by land, lots of times when debris is carried by a current that it sometimes becomes deposited along the shoreline, especially in locations where the river would take a sharp bend. " in other words debris, rather a body or a log does not float the river as if it was guided or steered like a boat" river currents change direction and in locations where it may take long slow turns or sharp turns other currents called " eddies" are created and sometimes floating debris can be held in a single location for a period of time. of course in the events of heavy rainfall and heavy snow melt off the current can become much more powerful and the river elevation is up then debris will follow the downstream journey in a more persistant way of going along the route of the river if she was placed there in the river than her remains will most likely be found well downriver of the location where a shoe was found, somewhere along that river and even some of the remote tributaries of it would be likely places to look, by the length of time she has been gone she could have floated out of the area entirely. if he stuck her into a duffelbag or plastic sheeting then weighted it all down with large rocks then she could be still in the general vacinity of the area. of course I am sure water rescue and recovery personel have done a lot of water searches and hopefully they have looked the area over thourghly, a spring thaw is nice to see, but when a river is being searched it can dramatically slow the efforts down due to the increased run off into the river... god bless this family, I'am sure dru is at peace with her maker...

"the above is only my opinions and thoughts to share with the rest of you great minds that post here on websleuths"

[Trino]

I believe the area to which you're referring was part of a dive team search. They also drilled holes in the ice. Although everyone would like to see Dru's safe return, it's been nearly 4 months. If Dru was killed by A, it is a good bet that he placed her in the river. The river is isolated in several areas. I would guess search teams would, by now, need to walk the entire length of the river.