Sheriff apologizes to missing student's father
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College student Dru Sjodin has been missing since November 22.
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The Grand Forks County, North Dakota, sheriff says he doubts Dru Sjodin will be found alive. CNN's Jeff Flock reports.
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GRAND FORKS, North Dakota (CNN) -- The father of missing college student Dru Sjodin warmly embraced Grand Forks County Sheriff Dan Hill on Wednesday, a day after the North Dakota lawman said he doubted the 22-year-old would be found alive.
Hill said he had apologized to the father, Allan Sjodin, and the two men were seen hugging and briefly shaking hands.
Authorities confirmed Tuesday that Dru Sjodin's blood and a knife were found in the car of the man accused of kidnapping her. The student has been missing since November 22.
Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, who was released from prison in May after serving 23 years for the rapes of two women and attempted rape of another woman, is charged with kidnapping the student from a Grand Forks mall.
"It looks at this time ... like there's no chance we're going to find Dru alive," Hill said Tuesday. "I believe that it is more of a recovery than a rescue [mission] at this point in time."
Allan Sjodin said he and Hill had talked about his statement and that the sheriff was remorseful.
"The hope will not be given up on my part until I have Dru back," the father said. "When I have Dru back, then I can go one way or the other with it."
Dru Sjodin's mother, Linda Walker, had said earlier that she believed someone knew where her daughter was and pleaded with that person to "come forward with her and bring her home safely to us."
On Wednesday, Walker said that she still has hopes her daughter is alive.
Rodriguez was arrested December 1 in Minnesota.
According to an affidavit unsealed Tuesday, police first interviewed Rodriguez on November 26 after receiving a tip he was in Grand Forks the day the student disappeared.
During that interview, Rodriguez confirmed he was in Grand Forks the afternoon of November 22 and went to the mall, according to the affidavit.
Police got Rodriguez's consent to search his car and observed a knife in the trunk of the vehicle, the affidavit said.
The sheriff told reporters Tuesday that blood was inside Rodriguez's 2000 Mercury Sable and that a 4-inch folding knife with a serrated edge was found in the trunk in a pool of household cleaner.
The affidavit said blood was on the rear right passenger side window and in the back seat as well as two other areas.
The blood preliminarily matched DNA taken from Dru Sjodin's toothbrush, the sheriff said.
In addition, a black loafer belonging to the student was found beneath a bridge along the Red Lake River in the days after her disappearance.
The bridge is on a highway leading into Rodriguez's hometown of Crookston, Minnesota, about 25 miles east of Grand Forks.
Meanwhile, North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty have called out the National Guard to aid in the search, starting Friday. Hoeven said he will continue to respond to the needs of local law enforcement.
Up to 1,700 volunteers have braved the cold daily and scoured the snow-covered area looking for the student.
"We're determined to find Dru," Hoeven said. "This is something that has touched all North Dakotans."
CNN Correspondent Jeff Flock contributed to this report.
