The online companion to the award-winning true crime book The Girls Are Gone
Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann appeared on a recent episode of the podcast Writing About Crime to discuss their new book, The Girls Are Gone.
Brodkorb and Mann will read from and sign their book tomorrow, Saturday, November 10, from 7-8 p.m. at Eat My Words Books in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook.
Dede Evavold, who was convicted of six felonies for her role in the disappearance of two sisters from Lakeville, is campaigning to elect Michelle MacDonald to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Evavold was convicted for her involvement in the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki, who were abducted by their mother, Sandra Grazzini-Rucki during a custody dispute with her ex-husband David Rucki.
MacDonald served as Grazzini-Rucki’s family court attorney during the entire time her client’s daughters were missing. Grazzini-Rucki was also convicted of six felonies for her role in the disappearance of her daughters. Evavold served as MacDonald’s campaign chair and manager during her unsuccessful run for the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2014. MacDonald also lost her campaign for the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2016.
Despite being a six-time convicted felon, Evavold is prominently pictured (above in right circle) on MacDonald’s campaign website. Since MacDonald announced her candidacy this past June, Evavold has attended multiple campaign events with MacDonald and has been activley promoting MacDonald’s candidacy on social media. Continue reading
Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann appeared on a recent episode of the podcast The ComMN Law to discuss their new book, The Girls Are Gone, and the status of the lawsuit filed by Michelle MacDonald, who is currently a candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Aside from offering details about their book, Brodkorb and Mann provided insight into the scandal-plagued candidacy of MacDonald. Continue reading
Please read the story below from the Lakeville Sun This Week about the release of our new book The Girls Are Gone. As noted in the story, we’ll be signing books at the Chart House’s Sip N Shop Local tomorrow from 12-6 p.m. in Lakeville, Minnesota.
“On August 31, 1991, David Victor Rucki married Sandra Sue Grazzini in a traditional Catholic ceremony at St. Patrick’s Church in Edina, Minnesota,” is the opening statement in the newly released book, “The Girls are Gone.”
Samantha and Gianna Rucki were 14 and 13 years old when they went missing from their home in Lakeville on April 19, 2013. The Lakeville Police department led the investigation. The sisters were found 944 days later at the White Horse Ranch in Herman, Minnesota, where they had been living with Gina and Doug Dahlen.
“The Girls are Gone” written by journalist Michael Brodkorb and paralegal with Elliot Law Offices in Lakeville, Allison Mann, provides in depth information about two sisters, the search for them and the court trial after they were found.
Mann and Brodkorb first met in 2016 while Mann was working at a law firm that represented the sisters’ father, David Rucki, and Brodkorb was covering the story for the Star Tribune. Their mother, Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, was on trial for the role in the disappearance of her daughters. In July 2016, Grazzini-Rucki was found guilty on six counts of deprivation of parental rights.
Grazzini-Rucki was represented by Michelle MacDonald, who was a named a person of interest by the Lakeville Police Department. According to Brodkorb, MacDonald did not cooperate with the investigation at the time. MacDonald is currently running for Minnesota Supreme Court for the third time.
“We started formally working together in January 2017 and then we announced the book. It took us over a year to get it all pieced together,” Brodkorb said.
Mann added, they knew this story should be turned into a book based on the unique story, and it became a chance to set the record straight as to what happened to the Rucki sisters and what happened during the criminal trials.
Click here to read the full story from the Lakeville Sun This Week.
The Girls Are Gone is published by Wise Ink Creative Publishing is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook.
The Eagan Police Department wants to speak with Angela Young, who is Dede Evavold’s friend and next-door neighbor, about her possible connection to a social media account which has been investigated by law enforcement for publishing threatening, harassing, and defamatory statements targeting judges, law enforcement, court staff, and journalists.
In multiple court hearings over the last two years, Young has been identified as being currently connected with both Evavold and Grazzini-Rucki. Most recently, Young’s name was mention in court hearings about a Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) granted against three people, including Evavold, for their roles in surreptitiously obtaining and later distributing a photograph of Michael Brodkorb’s wife and minor children online.
Carrie Beaudette, who had an HRO filed against her for distributing the pictures taken of Ms. Brodkorb and her minor children, admitted in court she shared the pictures with both Evavold and Young. Beaudette said she had not told the Eagan Police Department about Young’s involvement when she spoke with them in August about the pictures.
After Beaudette testified about Young’s involvement with the pictures, the Eagan Police Department began making attempts to speak with Young. Despite their efforts, Young has not spoken with law enforcement about her involvement. Continue reading
The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility is still conducting their investigation into alleged violations by Michelle MacDonald of the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct governing licensed attorneys, according to a letter from the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.
The investigation into the alleged violations by MacDonald was opened after Missing in Minnesota filed a formal complaint with the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility in June after MacDonald filed a “frivolous and vexatious” lawsuit against Missing in Minnesota, which appears to be in violation of an Order of the Minnesota Supreme Court which details the conditions by which MacDonald is allowed to practice law.
MacDonald is currently a candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court, having previously run twice unsuccessfully for the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2014 and 2016. Continue reading
Weeks before the release of a new book about her role in the disappearance of her daughters, Sandra Grazzini-Rucki has filed another fraudulent harassment order against one of the book’s authors, Michael Brodkorb.
Earlier today, the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office served a Temporary Injunction for Protection Against Stalking on Brodkorb at his home in Eagan, Minnesota. The petition was filed in Pinellas County, Florida by Sandra Grazzini-Rucki on September 26, 2018. Grazzini-Rucki moved back to her home in Florida this past June.
Grazzini-Rucki was convicted in 2016 on six counts of deprivation of parental rights for her role in the disappearance of her daughters.
In the petition requesting the injunction, Grazzini-Rucki falsely claims Brodkorb recently followed her, in Florida, in a black vehicle with Minnesota license plates. Brodkorb does not own a black vehicle, nor has he never been to Florida. Brodkorb was in Minnesota during the time Grazzini-Rucki claimed he was in Florida. Also in the petition are claims that Brodkorb has cyberstalked Grazzini-Rucki.
A court hearing on the petition filed by Grazzini-Rucki is scheduled for next Friday, October 12, 2018, at 10:30 AM in Clearwater, Florida. Continue reading
A judge in Dakota County upheld the Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) granted against Diane Ristau by Michael Brodkorb and Sarah Brodkorb for Ristau’s involvement in surreptitiously obtaining and later distributing a photograph of Michael Brodkorb’s wife and minor children.
At the end of the three-hour court hearing at the Dakota County Western Service Center in Apple Valley, Minnesota, Judge M. Michael Baxter said Ristau was involved in a “conspiracy to commit harassment” when she took a picture of Ms. Brodkorb and her minor children while shopping and later distributed the picture to people connected to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and Dede Evavold.
The photograph of Ms. Brodkorb with her minor children was distributed multiple times with false allegations on a social media account connected to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and her supporters. The same social media account had been investigated by law enforcement for publishing threatening, harassing, and defamatory statements targeting judges, law enforcement, court staff, and journalists.
The HRO against Ristau remains in effect until September 25, 2020. Continue reading
Dede Evavold, convicted of six felonies for her role in the disappearance of two sisters, is working to get new criminal trials for herself and her co-defendants – not because she claims innocence – but to “adversely affect sales” of an upcoming book which provides new details on the crimes she and others committed.
Last week, Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann announced the upcoming release of their book, The Girls Are Gone which provides new details about the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki and the adults who conspired to keep the missing sisters and the truth hidden.
The book examines the events which led to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki abducting her daughters on April 19, 2013, during a custody dispute with her ex-husband, David Rucki. On November 18, 2015 –944 days after they disappeared – the girls were found living on a ranch in northern Minnesota by law enforcement, headed by the Lakeville Police Department.
In September 2016, Evavold was convicted of six felonies for her involvement in the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki. Continue reading
Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann announced today the upcoming release of their book, The Girls Are Gone which provides new details about the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki and the adults who conspired to keep the missing sisters and the truth hidden.
The Girls Are Gone will be published by Wise Ink Creative Publishing and will be released on October 23, 2018.
The book examines the events which led to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki abducting her daughters on April 19, 2013, during a custody dispute with her ex-husband, David Rucki. On November 18, 2015 –944 days after they disappeared – the girls were found living on a ranch in northern Minnesota by law enforcement, headed by the Lakeville Police Department.
During the last two years, Brodkorb and Mann have analyzed court documents, reviewed investigative files, and conducted numerous interviews to provide a completed story about how and why two children vanished from their family and friends for 944 days. The Girls Are Gone includes interviews with members of the Rucki family, including exclusive interviews with Samantha and Gianna Rucki.
“Through the strength and courage of David, Tammy, and all five of the children we have been able to dissect and study what happened to provide a look into how and why it did,” said Mann.
Criminal charges were filed against four people, including the girls’ mother, for their role in the disappearance of the Rucki sisters. The Girls Are Gone chronicles key events during the criminal trials of the people who were later convicted or pleaded guilty for their involvement in this heinous crime. The book examines the other adults who aided in the conspiracy to hide the truth and the Rucki sisters.
The book also discusses the connection between Michelle MacDonald, who is currently a candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court, and two people convicted for their roles in the disappearance of the Rucki sisters: Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and Dede Evavold. MacDonald was labeled a “person of interest” by the Lakeville Police Department in the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki but did not cooperate in the investigation.
“Adults, many with families of their own turned a blind eye to the welfare of two children in favor of pursuing their personal vendettas,” said Brodkorb. “Fanaticism is the only word to describe it,” added Brodkorb.
Brodkorb and Mann will be on WCCO Radio today at 10 AM to discuss their book. The Girls Are Gone is available for pre-sale today and will be released on October 23, 2018.
UPDATE (1:30 PM, Friday, September 7, 2018) – Monday’s court hearing in Ramsey County about Michelle MacDonald’s lawsuit has been canceled. A new court date has not been scheduled, but it will likely be in October or November. Continue reading
A judge in Dakota County granted a Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) today against three people, including Dede Evavold, for their roles in surreptitiously obtaining and later distributing a photograph of Michael Brodkorb’s wife and minor children online.
The HROs were filed by Michael Brodkorb and Sarah Brodkorb in Dakota County against Diane Ristau of Medford, Carrie Beaudette of St. Joseph, and Dede Evavold of St. Cloud.
The photograph of Ms. Brodkorb with her minor children was distributed multiple times with false allegations on a social media account connected to Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and her supporters.
The same social media account had been investigated by law enforcement for publishing threatening, harassing, and defamatory statements targeting judges, law enforcement, court staff, and journalists.
The HROs remain in effect until August 30, 2020. Continue reading
The lawsuit filed by Michelle MacDonald against Michael Brodkorb and Missing in Minnesota “may lack factual basis” according to an article published by Minnesota Lawyer.
Two of three key claims in lawyer Michelle MacDonald’s defamation lawsuit against Michael Brodkorb and his muckraking website appear unfounded, Minnesota Lawyer has learned.
Meanwhile Brodkorb, who accuses MacDonald of trying to squelch his First Amendment rights as a journalist, asserts that a third allegation in her suit also is factually inaccurate. Minnesota Lawyer could not independently verify that.
The article by Minnesota Lawyer exposes fundamental weaknesses in MacDonald’s lawsuit, which has been described as “frivolous and vexatious” by Nathan Hansen, the attorney for Brodkorb and Missing in Minnesota. Continue reading
A judge in Dakota County on Tuesday dismissed the “frivolous and vexatious” lawsuit filed by Michelle MacDonald against Michael Brodkorb and Missing in Minnesota. The court did not rule on a request for sanctions against MacDonald based on her conduct since the filing of the lawsuit.
MacDonald also filed her lawsuit in Ramsey County and a hearing is scheduled for next month regarding sanctions against MacDonald.
MacDonald’s lawsuit filed in Ramsey County against Michael Brodkorb and Missing in Minnesota remains active.
Last week, we published a story about the hearing held in Dakota County about MacDonald’s lawsuit.
Judge Karen Asphaug heard arguments in a Dakota County courtroom today regarding the Rule 11 Motion for Sanctions filed against Michelle MacDonald in response to her lawsuit against Michael Brodkorb and Missing in Minnesota.
Judge Asphaug said she would be making a decision before our hearing on September 10 in Ramsey County regarding sanctions against MacDonald.
MacDonald’s attorney, Karlowba R. Adams Powell, made numerous false statements in court today and seemed unfamiliar with the messy procedural history created by MacDonald’s lawsuit. Adams Powell falsely claimed our attorney, Nathan Hansen filed duplicative pleadings in Dakota and Ramsey County. She also claimed Hansen was “harassing” MacDonald and accused him of “unprofessional conduct.”
Hansen corrected Adams Powell on her inaccurate statements in court. Continue reading