Accomplice convicted in Lakeville girls' disappearance

West of Alexandria
A police car is driven into a garage, Nov. 18, in Herman, Minn., near where authorities located two teenage sisters from Lakeville who had been missing for more than two years. Jerry Holt | Star Tribune via AP
Jerry Holt | Star Tribune via AP

A Minnesota woman has been convicted of helping a mother hide her two teenage daughters from their father.

A jury in Dakota County deliberated about an hour Thursday before convicting Deirdre Evavold on six counts of depriving the rights of a custodial parent. The 52-year-old St. Cloud woman is to be sentenced Nov. 10.

Prosecutors say Sandra Grazzini-Rucki and Evavold took the girls, then 13 and 14, from Lakeville to a ranch near Herman in April 2013 to hide them during a divorce. Investigators searched Evavold's house in October 2015. Evidence on her cell phone led them to Herman.

Grazzini-Rucki was convicted earlier and will spend up to eight months in prison.

The ranch owners who kept the girls, Doug and Gina Dahlen, are facing felony charges. The girls moved back in with their father late last year.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.