http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031202/ap_on_re_us/missing_student_7

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - A Crookston, Minn. man has been arrested and is facing a kidnapping charge in the disappearance of Dru Sjodin, police said.

Related Links
• Missing Person: Dru Sjodin (Grand Forks Police Dept.)



Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, was arrested on Monday at 7:20 p.m. in Crookston, Minn., Grand Forks police said.


Rodriguez is being held at the Tri-County Correctional Center in Crookston, Minn., police said.


Dru Sjodin, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., has been missing since Nov. 22, when she left her job at the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks.


Police said a search for Sjodin is ongoing. Police said no further information will be released until a press briefing on Tuesday morning.


*************************************************

It will be a freaking miracle if this girl is still alive. I've been praying for her and her family and I hope this arrest leads them to good news, to her being safe and sound. The police obviously know more than they have been letting on becasue it's been days since there has been any sort of news AT ALL about Dru.

I hope to wake up tomorrow and find a good news headline in this case.

Apparently this man is a registered sex offender.

:mad:

Here is a little more detail...

While his history is not good, he's never been charged with murder or anything of the sort. That could be a huge positive in hoping this young woman is alive still.

Arrest Made in Missing N.D. Student Case
5 minutes ago Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!



GRAND FORKS, N.D. - A Crookston, Minn. man has been arrested and is facing a kidnapping charge in the disappearance of Dru Sjodin, police said.

Related Links
• Missing Person: Dru Sjodin (Grand Forks Police Dept.)



Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, was arrested on Monday at 7:20 p.m. in Crookston, Minn., Grand Forks police said.


Rodriguez, a Level 3 sex offender, has a history of sexual contact and attempted kidnapping with adult females, a Minnesota Department of Corrections Web site said.


Rodriguez is being held at the Tri-County Correctional Center in Crookston, Minn., police said.


Dru Sjodin, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., has been missing since Nov. 22, when she left her job at the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks.


Police said a search for Sjodin is ongoing. Police said no further information will be released until a press briefing on Tuesday morning.


The Minnesota Department of Corrections said sexual contact by Rodriguez included penetration in two instances. He also used force and a weapon in assaults. In one instance, he knew the victim. In two others, he did not previously know the victims.


Rodriguez, who is 5-foot-4 and 159 pounds, was no longer under supervision by law enforcement, the Web site said.


Minnesota law classifies Level 3 sex offenders as those at the highest risk for re-offense. Department of Correction officials hold meetings in neighborhoods where offenders plan to live. At those meetings, information about the offender is distributed to the general public, including area of residence, a photograph and a description of the pattern of behavior in the past.

OMG...Thanks for the update. It is so sickening to hear about sex offenders. They should be locked up for life. :barf:

Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
OMG...Thanks for the update. It is so sickening to hear about sex offenders. They should be locked up for life. :barf:


I hate the fact that they get a "Second chance". The people that they victimize don't get a second chance, why should they?

That article says he's a Level 3 offender - one of the worst and one that has the highest potential to reoffend.

I hope this arrest leads this family to their daughter/sister/friend. I hope and pray she's still alive. The only good thing, as I pointed out earlier, that this person might have going for him is that he doesn't have a violent (well he does but a different violent) past (he's not a murderer...).

I so pray she's still alive.

Originally posted by Nanny Fine
Apparently this man is a registered sex offender.

:mad:

:cuss: If it were up to me, I'd shoot them all. They don't rehabilitate.

Thank you for the update. I've been thinking about this young woman, and she's been kept in my prayers since day one. I really hope they find her alive.


Originally posted by Nanny Fine
Apparently this man is a registered sex offender.

:mad:

:livid: I'd torture them first.

They had a picture of him on the TODAY show this morning.

There is supposed to be a press conference today. I dont know what kind of hopes they have about her being alive still. They haven't said much of anything at all. :(

Originally posted by Nanny Fine
They had a picture of him on the TODAY show this morning.

There is supposed to be a press conference today. I dont know what kind of hopes they have about her being alive still. They haven't said much of anything at all. :(

:eek3:

Oh man...:(

Originally posted by dawsongirl
:cuss: If it were up to me, I'd shoot them all. They don't rehabilitate.

Yep, but first I'd cut their balls off. :lol:

Originally posted by Kristina
Yep, but first I'd cut their balls off. :lol:

And I'd make them eat their genitals.

But that's another post for another time :p :D

I think what you do unto others should be done unto you. Put him in prison and let the inmates do to him what he's done to hurt others. I agree with everyone else here. Cut his balls off and make him eat them. Bastard. :mad:

On a softer note: I hope and pray that the girl is okay, although, if she's alive, she may never be. :(

Originally posted by little insomniac
Thank you for the update. I've been thinking about this young woman, and she's been kept in my prayers since day one. I really hope they find her alive.




:livid: I'd torture them first.

Absolutely!!! They don't deserve any better. :mad:

Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
And I'd make them eat their genitals.

But that's another post for another time :p :D
Oooh, good one! :D

Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear an arrest has been made. I do hope this woman is found alive, but all this time that has gone by, I really doubt it :crying:

I agree with you guys. I think sex offenders and other voilent criminals aren't punished well enough. They should be locked away for life with no parole after their first offense. I believe the death penalty is a perfectly acceptable form of punishment too. It disgusts me that criminals have more rights and advocates in this country than their victims and victims' families do.

OMG! I have been following this story and pray to god that Dru is still alive! I hope her accuser is kept off the streets for the rest of his life!

Whether Dru is found alive or not (I pray and I mean I PRAY alive) this man probably won't walk the streets again. He's only been out of prison since MAY. MAY. That is 7 months. He's done.

Originally posted by Nanny Fine
Whether Dru is found alive or not (I pray and I mean I PRAY alive) this man probably won't walk the streets again. He's only been out of prison since MAY. MAY. That is 7 months. He's done.

:nod:

They're gonna be talking to Dru's mom on FOX News at 10 tonight.

Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
:nod:

They're gonna be talking to Dru's mom on FOX News at 10 tonight.


I can't even imagine how that poor woman feels. Myworld revolves around my daughter and I would just die if somethign happened to her.

I haven't heard much from her mother, I hope that they are staying strong and continue to believe.

Keep praying for Dru and her family. They need to know where she is (either way). They need resolution.

Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
:nod:

They're gonna be talking to Dru's mom on FOX News at 10 tonight.


If you watch it could you post what she says?

I dont know if I get that station. I'm gonna check at 10 though.

Originally posted by Nanny Fine
If you watch it could you post what she says?

I dont know if I get that station. I'm gonna check at 10 though.

I watched it (it's after 9 my time) and they were basically talking about Dru's personality....She was definitely not the vulnerable type at all, she was everything you expected of her...stuff like that.

Here's a bit of an updated article about Dru...

I dont understand how they pinpointed this man to kidnapping her but they've got no information where she is, what he's done to/with her or anything. They obviously know he's connected or they would not have arrested him - they can't just pick him up for nothing.

Pray for Dru...

Arrest Made, N.D. Student Still Missing
1 hour, 16 minutes ago Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!


By DAVE KOLPACK, Associated Press Writer

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The arrest of a convicted rapist in the disappearance of a college student produced no immediate breakthrough in the search for the young woman Tuesday, but the police chief vowed: "Dru, we will find you."


AP Photo


Canadian Press
Slideshow: N. Dakota Missing Student Case

Man Arrested in N.D. Missing Student Case
(AP Video)


Related Links
• Missing Person: Dru Sjodin (Grand Forks Police Dept.)



Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, was arrested Monday night in nearby Crookston, Minn., and charged with kidnapping University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, 22. Sjodin has been missing since Nov. 22, when she left her job at the Victoria's Secret at a mall in Grand Forks.


Her fate was not immediately known.


"This investigation has only reached the 50-yard line," Grand Forks Police Chief John Packett said. "We will not be satisfied or comforted until such time as we find Dru."


Prosecutor Peter Welte said police believe Rodriguez was in the mall parking lot the night Sjodin disappeared.


Authorities would not say exactly how they connected Rodriguez to the case, though they said it is routine to look at sex offenders in the area when investigating such crimes.


Rodriguez has convictions for rape, attempted kidnapping and aggravated assault, and has used a weapon in at least one assault, according to a Minnesota Corrections Department.


Because of his record, Rodriguez was required to register as a predatory offender — the classification for those who are believed to pose the greatest risk of committing another sex crime.


Rodriguez was released from prison in May after serving 23 years for an attempted abduction in Crookston in 1979. Wayne Swanson, the prosecutor in that case, said Rodriguez tried to abduct a woman off the street, and stabbed her when she fought back. The woman got away, and Rodriguez was later arrested with the help of a sketch the woman made.


Officials said that near the end of his prison term in 2001, Rodriguez was considered for civil commitment — which could have kept him in custody indefinitely. But a psychologist who examined him decided against the recommendation, and a special board concurred.


In St. Paul, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he would call for adoption of the death penalty in cases involving sexual assault and murder or attempted murder. Minnesota is one of 12 states without capital punishment.


Meanwhile, authorities released photographs of the suspect's car, a four-door, red 2002 Mercury Sable, and asked that anyone who may have spotted the car around the time of Sjodin's disappearance to call police.


"Our entire focus on this is in finding Dru," Welte said. "This is by no means the end. This is a marathon and not a sprint."


Volunteers were to resume their search Wednesday. A similar search drew 1,300 volunteers for one day last week.


"Honey, we will find you," said Sjodin's father, Allan.


Her brother, Sven, added: "I know we are just around the corner from you right now. We love you. Keep strong." He fought tears as he backed away from news microphones, and his father put his arm around him and squeezed his shoulder.


Neighbors said Rodriguez lived with his mother, Dolores. No one answered the door at his home Tuesday.





In Cross Lake, Minn., Sjodin's mother, Linda Walker, directed a plea to Rodriguez: "Please cooperate with authorities and lead us to Dru."

Originally posted by PZelda: VICKI!!
I watched it (it's after 9 my time) and they were basically talking about Dru's personality....She was definitely not the vulnerable type at all, she was everything you expected of her...stuff like that.


I dont know if you saw any of the pictures on her website (which is not working right now for some reason :( ) but she looked like a really fun person to be around. Kind of like the popular girl who really liked everyone.

I dont know why i feel so drawn to her case - I felt like this about Elizabeth Smart too. Maybe it's being a mom, maybe it's that they are young. I don't know - I've said my share of prayers for her the last week.

Originally posted by Nanny Fine
I dont know if you saw any of the pictures on her website (which is not working right now for some reason :( ) but she looked like a really fun person to be around. Kind of like the popular girl who really liked everyone.

I dont know why i feel so drawn to her case - I felt like this about Elizabeth Smart too. Maybe it's being a mom, maybe it's that they are young. I don't know - I've said my share of prayers for her the last week.

:nod: One of my really good friends has a sister that's at UND right now (I know her sis really well, we were a grade apart in school), and she lives in the sorority house right next door to Dru's sorority house. Scary stuff.

I just hope she comes home soon. :(

I just looked at my local paper - Dru made the inside front page.

My local paper consists of about 8 pages total, my area is really small. It's pretty amazing that it's in there.

Originally posted by LILFACE23
Absolutely!!! They don't deserve any better. :mad:

That's how I feel. :nod: