Dru Sjodin
| Dru Sjodin | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Dru Katrina Sjodin September 26, 1981 Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, United States |
| Died | November 22, 2003 (aged 22) Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
Dru Katrina Sjodin (September 26, 1981 – c. November 22, 2003) was a murder victim who was abducted from the Columbia Mall parking lot in Grand Forks, North Dakota, by Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., on November 22, 2003. Her disappearance garnered great media coverage throughout the United States and prompted the creation of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry.
At 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 22, 2003, Sjodin, a 22-year-old college student at the University of North Dakota and Gamma Phi Beta sorority member, finished her shift at the Victoria's Secret store located in the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota. After shopping for and purchasing a new purse from Marshall Field's, Sjodin left the mall and began walking to her 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass. During this time, Sjodin was speaking with boyfriend, Chris Lang, on her cell phone. Ten minutes into their conversation, Lang reports Sjodin was saying "Okay, okay," before the call abruptly ended. Lang suspected that the call was just simply dropped and because Sjodin didn't give any sense of urgency, Lang thought nothing of it. About three hours later, Lang received another call from her cell phone, but heard only static and the sound of buttons being pressed. It was reported by authorities this second phone call originated somewhere near Fisher, Minnesota, but that has remained unsubstantiated. With this second call and Sjodin not showing up at her other job at the El Roco nightclub, there was concern for her whereabouts.
A week later, on December 1, a suspect, 50-year-old registered level-3 sex offender Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., was arrested in connection with Sjodin's disappearance. According to police reports, Rodriguez admitted to being near the Columbia Mall the night Sjodin disappeared, allegedly viewing the film Once Upon a Time in Mexico at the Columbia Mall Cinema 4. However, that movie was not playing at that theatre or any other theater in the area. The police also found receipts of purchases Rodriguez had made at stores near the mall. Rodriguez apparently had two tool kit knives that could be purchased at only a particular home center store which was about one mile from the mall, but they were not purchased the day Sjodin disappeared and a purchase date for the knives was never established. Police also found a tool kit knife in Rodriguez's car that was soaking in some type of cleaning solution inside a rear wheel well. Rodriguez had been released from jail in May 2003 after completing a 23-year prison term for stabbing and trying to kidnap a woman. Rodriguez had also previously pleaded guilty to raping another woman.
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