Convicted rapist suspected in college woman's abduction

CROOKSTON, Minn. -- A convicted rapist suspected of abducting a college student 11 days ago waived extradition to North Dakota on Wednesday to face kidnapping charges, but authorities still appeared no closer to finding the victim.\nAlfonso Rodriguez Jr.'s only words during the hearing were to say he understood the proceeding.\nWhen the hearing was over, one woman rushed forward, shouting to Rodriguez in Spanish: "For your mother's sake, tell us what you did with the girl!"\nAuthorities have not said if Rodriguez is cooperating in the search for 22-year-old Dru Sjodin, who remains missing. Earlier Wednesday, Grand Forks, N.D., Police Chief John Packett said police had searched Rodriguez's car and the home where he was staying in Crookston. They also released a photo of the car, hoping someone might remember details that could lead them to Sjodin.\nAs the court hearing was under way, hundreds of volunteers were out on foot and on all-terrain vehicles searching the Grand Forks area and the snowy fields of northwest Minnesota in an effort to find her.\nSjodin, a University of North Dakota student, was last heard from Nov. 22 when her cell phone conversation cut off as she was leaving work at a Grand Forks mall.\nRodriguez, a 50-year-old convicted rapist just released from prison in May, was arrested Monday in connection with her disappearance.\nPolice declined to discuss what led them to Rodriguez, other than to say they believed he was in the mall parking lot the day Sjodin disappeared. Investigators were still reviewing surveillance video from the mall, Grand Forks Police Sgt. Michael Hedlund said Wednesday.\n"At this point in time, I'm not aware of anything that would lead to any other individuals, but we're not closing that door to any possibility," he told ABC's "Good Morning America."\nNeither Hedlund nor Packett would say whether Rodriguez was cooperating, though Packett said Rodriguez had sought legal counsel. The earliest Rodriguez is expected to appear in court in Grand Forks, N.D., is Thursday morning.\n"I'm very confident as we move forward that we have a very solid case and we'll get a conviction on what we have to date," Packett said.\nLaw enforcement officials have been searching the Grand Forks area every day since Sjodin disappeared. Wednesday, they were joined by hundreds of volunteers.\n"I figure it's my duty to help," said Air Force Tech Sgt. Jeff Schafer, who reported to Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks Wednesday just five days after returning from duty in Iraq. "I think most of my squadron had talked about coming out here today."\nWith Sjodin missing for nearly two weeks, some volunteers were pessimistic about her chances for survival. "As a search party, I feel we're probably looking for a body," said Dan Williams of Grand Forks who was joining in the search for a third time.\nSjodin's parents and brother remained hopeful she was still alive.\n"Honey, we will find you," her father, Allan, said.\nHer 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.\nRodriguez has a history of sexual contact and attempted kidnapping with adult women, including a guilty plea to aggravated rape in 1975. He has used a weapon in at least one assault, according to a Minnesota Department of Corrections summary of his criminal history posted on the agency's Web site. His past offenses require that Rodriguez be registered as a predatory offender.\nHe was arrested at the home he shares with his mother, Dolores. Ken Mendez, who said he was Dolores Rodriguez's godson, identified the woman who addressed Rodriguez in court as a neighbor of the family. He would not give her name.\nRodriguez was released from a Minnesota prison in May after serving 23 years for an attempted abduction in Crookston in 1979. Wayne Swanson, who prosecuted Rodriguez in that case as the Polk County attorney, 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, he said.\nAuthorities said Sjodin, who was from Pequot Lakes, Minn., may have been abducted while talking to her boyfriend, Chris Lang, on a cell phone the afternoon of Nov. 22. He called her roommate, saying he heard Sjodin say something like, "Oh, my God," before the phone went dead. During a second call a few hours later, there was only the sound of static and numbers being pressed, he said.