News

Missing UND student presumed dead

Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.

Related stories:

• UW-Oshkosh student found dead (November 13, 2003)
• Suspect in Sjodin kidnapping arrested (December 3, 2003)
• La Crosse student goes missing (October 2, 2006)
• Ohio student dead after shooting (March 11, 2003)
• Viterbo student found unharmed (April 2, 2004)

Also by Chris Werner:

• New ticket lottery off to bumpy start (October 22, 2004)
• Whitewater mourns over student's death (September 22, 2004)
• The changing face of UW System leadership (September 1, 2004)
• Crossing the line (April 29, 2004)
• La Crosse student died of alcohol, drowning (April 30, 2004)

Sharing tools:

E-mail this article:

Your e-mail address:

Recipient e-mail address:

Optional message:

Share on:

• Facebook
• Digg
• Newsvine
• reddit
• StumbleUpon
• delicious
• Google
• Yahoo! My Web
• BlogMarks
• Linkroll
• Simpy

• Spurl
• Connotea
• Fark
• Feed Me Links

• Magnolia
• BlinkList
• Sphere
• LinkedIn

• Furl
• Technorati
• AddToAny
• Permalink

New leads in the investigation of a missing University of North Dakota student have led police officials to believe that the female is most likely dead, the Associate Press reported Tuesday.

Traces of blood from the missing woman, Dru Sjodin, were discovered in the automobile of Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., the suspected perpetrator. The student’s DNA was taken from a toothbrush and compared to the small amount of blood in Rodriguez’s car.

Grand Forks County Sheriff Dan Hill also told the Associated Press that one of Sjodin’s shoes was found by searchers, and as of yet, is the only piece of material evidence recovered.

Despite this news, the family of Sjodin has remained positive and maintains that Sjodin will in fact be found alive.

Rodriguez, a convicted rapist, has declared his innocence in the crime, and stated in an affidavit that he was at a mall watching the movie “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” at the alleged time of the kidnapping. Police, however, said the movie was not playing at that time.

Police officials, volunteers and investigators have been searching for Sjodin since Nov. 22, when she disappeared after leaving her job at a mall in Grand Forks.

The Associated Press also reported that police discovered a knife in the trunk of Rodriguez’s car that matched a sheath found near Sjodin’s car.