Search continues for Crookston man missing since Friday

A Crookston man last seen Friday evening in Alvarado, Minn., remains missing despite an extensive search by local, state and federal officials that continued Sunday.

Crookston Police Chief Tim Motherway and Marshall County Sheriff John Novacek said Roy Vernon Gustofson, 50, last was seen about 8 p.m. Friday in a car outside a trailer home in Alvarado and reportedly walked away from the car.

Motherway said a family member of Gustofson first reported him missing about 4 p.m. Saturday.

“He was reported missing here, but he went missing up in Alvarado on Friday night,” Motherway said Sunday night. “It was not reported to us until Saturday afternoon.”

Gustofson last was seen in a trailer home park in Alvarado, which is about 19 miles north of East Grand Forks. Crookston is about 22 miles southeast of East Grand Forks.

“He was with two other men in a car. They went into a trailer, and he was in the car. A few minutes later, when they came back out, he was gone,” Motherway said. “That is the last we know anyone has seen him.”

Gustofson was unemployed, Motherway said. His address in Crookston is 533 Summit Ave.

Nothing has been ruled out, including foul play and all leads are being investigated, Motherway said. The two men who said they were with him Friday night in the vehicle apparently are from Crookston, one law enforcement source said.

Gustofson doesn’t have a criminal record to speak of, Motherway said.

In 2005, he was convicted in Polk County for drunk driving and driving without auto insurance and served some time in jail in Crookston. In 2008, he violated his probation on the 2005 conviction, according to state court records.

Gustofson is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds and has brown hair and hazel eyes, Novacek’s office reported. He was wearing a black fleece jacket, blue jeans and sneakers, Motherway said.

The U.S. Border Patrol searched from the air and Crookston police and Alvarado’s fire and rescue crews also have aided the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office in the search that continued into the evening Sunday and will resume today.

The search was focused on the Snake River that goes through Alvarado and included the use of all-terrain vehicles, a law enforcement source said.

Anyone with information should call the sheriff at (218) 745-5411 or the Crookston police at (218) 281-3111.

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