Sheriff: Woman probably dead



Dru Sjodin




Dec. 9 -- After searching 18 days for a missing North Dakota college student, police said Tuesday their operation has become one of recovery, not rescue. NBC’s Kevin Tibbles reports.

Says Sjodin’s blood
found in suspect’s car





ASSOCIATED PRESS

GRAND FORKS, N.D., Dec. 9 — Missing college student Dru Sjodin is probably dead, the sheriff said Tuesday in confirming that preliminary DNA tests found Sjodin’s blood in the car of the man suspected of kidnapping her.







• Buy Life Insurance
• Holiday shopping made easy
• Yellow Pages
• expedia.com
• Shopping













Rodriguez was interviewed by authorities last week, but has since declined to speak with investigators. He has said through his attorney that he is innocent.

“I CERTAINLY HATE to be discouraging to the family or anyone, but it looks to me now that it’s more of a recovery mission than a rescue,” Grand Forks County Sheriff Dan Hill said.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Hill also revealed that searchers found a shoe belonging to the University of North Dakota student near the Red Lake River after she disappeared. Sjodin (pronounced sha DEEN) was last heard from Nov. 22, calling her boyfriend on a cellphone from the parking lot of a Grand Forks mall where she worked at a Victoria’s Secret.
The shoe was identified by a college roommate of Sjodin, 22. It is the only piece of clothing recovered so far, Hill said.
An affidavit unsealed later Tuesday had only one new piece of information: Rodriguez’s account of his whereabouts at the time Sjodin disappeared. According to the affidavit, Rodriguez told police he was watching a movie, “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” at about 7 p.m. that night. Police said the movie wasn’t being shown at any theater near the mall that day.
Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.
The preliminary DNA match would be the most significant break yet in the attempt by authorities to tie convicted rapist Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. to Sjodin’s disappearance. Hill said investigators tested blood from Rodriguez’s car against DNA taken from Sjodin’s toothbrush. Hill described the blood in the car as a small amount.
Hill also confirmed a media report that the interior of Rodriguez’s car and its trunk had been extensively cleaned before his arrest.
Rodriguez, 50, has been charged with Sjodin’s kidnapping. He has said through his attorney that he is innocent.
The Associated Press reported Monday that a knife was discovered in the trunk of Rodriguez’s car, and later reported that a sheath found near Sjodin’s car matched the knife.



• Write a letter to the editor

• Read letters to the editor






Sjodin’s father said Monday he was dismayed to find that police recovered a knife from Rodriguez’s car. But given his criminal past, he said he was not surprised.
“You know what? It’s probably true,” Allan Sjodin said. “That’s his modus operandi.”
Rodriguez has a history of attempted kidnapping with adult women, and has used a weapon in at least one assault. Rodriguez was released from a Minnesota prison in May after serving 23 years for an attempted abduction in 1979.

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