Found Deceased ND - Dru Sjodin, 22, Grand Forks, 22 Nov 2003 - #2

[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/mi....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
Window

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!

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



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.

Originally posted by prism
I'll try this on you



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!

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!

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.

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.

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

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

Yak--
You have a pm.
Misty