Extradition in Kidnap Case OKd

The man accused of kidnapping a college student from a mall parking lot agreed in a court appearance Wednesday to be sent to North Dakota to face charges.

Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., a 50-year-old convicted rapist, spoke only to tell the judge he understood what was happening when he waived extradition. He faces kidnapping charges in North Dakota and could appear in court there today.

Meanwhile, about 1,700 people answered a call to renew the search for 22-year-old Dru Sjodin, the University of North Dakota student who was last heard talking to her boyfriend on a cellphone on Nov. 22 after she left her job at a Victoria’s Secret store at a Grand Forks, N.D., mall.

As darkness fell, however, the search again netted nothing and was called off for the night.

Rodriguez was arrested Monday at the home he shares with his mother. Authorities have not explained how they connected him to Sjodin, but they said they believe he was in the parking lot the night she disappeared.

At the end of Wednesday’s proceeding, a woman rushed toward the front of the courtroom and spoke in Spanish to Rodriguez: “For your mother’s sake, tell us what you did with the girl!”

Rodriguez, wearing a bulletproof vest underneath a parka, turned and looked briefly at the woman, but said nothing before being led away.

The woman rushed out afterward and was not available to reporters. Sjodin’s father, Allan, attended the hearing but did not speak. He bowed his head and seemed reluctant to look at Rodriguez.

In Grand Forks and Crookston, searchers used all-terrain vehicles and ventured out on foot in 30-degree weather to search for Sjodin.

“As a search party, I feel we’re probably looking for a body,” said Dan Williams of Grand Forks, who was joining the search for a third time.

Sjodin’s older brother, Sven, said the family wasn’t giving up on finding her: “That is our mission. We are still on track to find her.”