Lakeville sisters Samantha and Gianna Rucki have been missing since April 2013. (Photo submitted)
Rucki sisters missing for two years
Police are intensifying efforts to find two missing sisters who fled their Lakeville home two years ago without jackets or shoes, entered a waiting vehicle and were driven away.
Recent news reports have highlighted efforts by the Lakeville police to find Samantha and Gianna Rucki, who are now 15 and 16 years old.
Over the years, police have followed numerous leads and worked with other agencies during their still-active investigation, but Lakeville Police Det. Jim Dronen said efforts to find the girls have been hampered by witnesses who refuse to share information or have led them in wrong directions.
“What we’re trying to find is physical evidence, hard evidence, that will work well for us to be able to take steps,” Dronen said. “We know there’s people out there who have information that either aren’t talking to us or just haven’t come forward.”
Dronen said those keeping quiet, including the girls’ mother Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, “believe it’s best if the girls are not found.”
He described Grazzini-Rucki as a “person of interest” in the case who during her contentious divorce accused the father David Rucki of abusing herself and the girls.
Rucki has denied those allegations, is in frequent contact with Lakeville police and contends Grazzini-Rucki has brainwashed the girls against him.
The courts have granted Rucki custody of Samantha and Gianna and the couple’s other three children, who Rucki said live with him and are doing well.
He said he is working to restore things to normalcy for the children at home, but he is constantly worried about his missing daughters.
“I’m worried about their mental state,” Rucki said. “We do not know where they’re at or who they’re with. We know that their mother travels in and out of the state and she’s not with the girls when she’s here. … My concern is for the girls’ safety.”
Grazzini-Rucki has a network of supporters, including suspended attorney Dale Nathan of Eagan.
In an interview, Nathan said he was in the vehicle the girls entered when they ran away; news reports have said a neighbor’s video indicates the girls fled in a red truck, but Nathan said it was a sedan and Grazzini-Rucki was behind the wheel.
He described being along for the ride when the girls left.
Nathan said he had been across from the courthouse with Grazzini-Rucki making copies at the Apple Valley FedEx when she became upset.
“Sandy was on her cell phone, and then became agitated,” Nathan said. “She told me, ‘Get into my car right now. We’re going to go somewhere.’ ”
Nathan said Grazzini-Rucki went to Lakeville and parked on a street next to what appeared to be a field.
“Next thing I knew, two girls were getting into the back of the car and immediately started talking about how cold their feet were,” Nathan said.
He said they drove around for hours and he repeatedly told Grazzini-Rucki to slow down.
“It seemed to me she was trying frantically to find a place for her two girls,” Nathan said. “She was on the cellphone constantly.”
He said he was dropped off at a rest stop, later picked up by Grazzini-Rucki’s friend, Michael Rhedin, and has not seen the girls or spoken to them since.
Nathan said he believes the girls were initially brought to St. Cloud because he had contact with some people there who were able to get messages to the girls in those early days.
Now, Nathan says Grazzini-Rucki “insists” she does not know where the girls are or how to contact them.
“I have heard her say they will never return to Minnesota,” Nathan said.
Lakeville police are continuing their investigation, and recently posted on Facebook that the Rucki girls need to be found.
“It is very sad, and incredibly inhumane, that so many people are willing to obstruct us from finding two missing children,” the post stated. “These are real lives of two young girls and yet people are treating them like pawns. Don’t be fooled, those hiding them are committing a crime and WE WILL PROSECUTE them to fullest extent when we bring Gianna and Samantha home.”
Anyone with information about the case are encouraged to contact Dronen at 952-985-4816.