Missing college student probably dead, sheriff says

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — 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.

"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.

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 cell phone 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.

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.

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 at the mall watching a movie, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" about 7 p.m. that night. Police said the movie wasn’t being shown at any theater near the mall that day.

Rodriguez has a history of attempted kidnapping with adult women and has used a weapon in at least one assault. Rodriguez was released from prison in May after serving 23 years for an attempted abduction.