Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports that about 1500 people gathered at a resort near Nisswa Saturday for the funeral of Dru Sjodin. The 22-year-old University of North Dakota college student was found dead near Crookston last weekend, five months after she was abducted from a Grand Forks, North Dakota parking lot. The funeral service was a chance for mourners to say goodbye to Dru, and to celebrate her life.
TOM ROBERTSON: About 500 mourners packed Grand View Lodge near Nisswa. Another 1,000 people filled two overflow tents nearby. It was one of the few places near Dru Sjodin's hometown of Pequot Lakes big enough for her funeral. Last November, the world came crashing down on Dru Sjodin's family and friends.
Her disappearance led to frantic searches of the ditches, bogs, and rivers of Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. Last weekend, Dru's body was found in a wooded ravine near Crookston. Pastor Mark Anderson told mourners the community moved from shock to anger to fear.
MARK ANDERSON: Last Saturday, we became a community of sorrow. Dru had been found. Dru came home. Right along with Dru's family, we have experienced the roller coaster ride, the gamut of human emotions. It has been a roller coaster ride for five long months and that ride has now brought us to today.
TOM ROBERTSON: Dru Sjodin was recalled as a young woman with a generous heart and an infectious spirit. Kelsey Pederson was one of four of Dru's friends who spoke at the service.
KELSEY PEDERSON: She loved her family. She loved her friends. She loved her life. We'll always miss Dru.
But her love is like the wind. We can't see it, but we can feel it. And we know it's there. None of us want to let you go, Dru, but we don't have to. What you've given us is something we can hold on to forever.
TOM ROBERTSON: Several family members also spoke, including Carol Sutfin, Dru's aunt.
CAROL SUTFIN: The reason that Dru has gotten so much publicity, and the reason that none of you would give up until she was found, and the reason that there isn't enough room in this lodge for everyone to sit today is because Dru made each and every one of you feel special. And aren't we blessed to have had her in our lives for the time that we did?
WOMAN: (SINGING) Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
TOM ROBERTSON: Dozens of law enforcement officers were among the mourners, including some who had helped search for Dru. A number of state lawmakers and local officials also attended, as well as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and North Dakota Governor John Hoeven, Pawlenty said Dru Sjodin touched many lives.
TIM PAWLENTY: She was a beautiful person in so many ways. And in addition to the sadness of the loss, we also want to celebrate her tremendous life and what she stood for.
TOM ROBERTSON: Mourners received pine saplings wrapped in a ribbon of pink, Dru's favorite color. Bob Heales, a Sjodin family friend, says Dru's disappearance and death was a tragedy, but her abduction brought the community together and raised awareness of safety for young women.
BOB HEALES: Dru is going to carry so many people forward, and there will be so many good things done because of Dru. And at least now we know where Dru is. It's bittersweet, I guess, is the best word to describe how everybody feels. Everybody's so sad, but we have Dru.
TOM ROBERTSON: Dru Sjodin was buried in Pinewood Cemetery in Crosslake. After the graveside service, Sjodin's mother, Linda Walker, released a white dove. Family members laid pink daisies on top of the casket.
Dru's alleged abductor, convicted sex offender Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. Remains jailed in Grand Forks. Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to a charge of kidnapping. I'm Tom Robertson, Minnesota Public Radio, Nisswa.
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