What Was the No. 1 Story of 2012 on Oakdale Patch?

Oakdale Patch covered a lot of different stories, topics and events throughout 2012, but there were a few that stood out as the most read by Patch users.

The following is the No. 1 post of 2012.

Dec. 11, 2012 - The Chisago County Sheriff's Office has issued a search for a 27-year-old Oakdale woman who has not been in contact with friends or family since Saturday.

Danielle Jelinek spoke with her family on Saturday, but when the family tried contacting her on Sunday they were unable to reach Jelinek, said Nikki Nieman, Jelinek's best friend.

"A bunch of people talked with her Saturday and then her family started calling on Sunday and she didn't pick up, which wasn't like her at all," Nieman said. 

Nieman said there was no indication that anything was wrong Saturday night when people spoke with Jelinek.

The family contacted the Chisago County Sheriff's Office around 2 p.m. Sunday to go to a residence in Chisago Lake Township to check on Jelinek. Jelinek was last seen at that residence before she went missing.

When deputies arrived they saw Jelinek's car and found a man there who was uncooperative in answering questions about Jelinek, said Sheriff Rick Duncan.

Deputies retrieved a search warrant and returned to the residence where they found more of Jelinek's belongings. During the search deputies also arrested the man for drug possession. 

Duncan said there is no indication that the man was involved with Jelinek's disappearance. 

"We know that this is not the first time this man was involved with law enforcement, but there was nothing that would say he had anything to do with Danielle," Duncan said. "There is no indication of foul play at this time."

Since her personal belongings and car were at the residence, Duncan said that there was enough suspcious activity at the residence to support pooling resources to find Jelinek.

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The sheriff's office is working with the Minnesota State Patrol and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) to locate Jelinek. Duncan said they have a couple of leads they are looking into in hopes of finding Jelinek. 

Jelinek is a 2003 graduate of Park High School in Cottage Grove, where Jelinek grew up. Jelinek currently lives with her sister in Oakdale, Nieman said.

"She truly is the most outgoing, positive, uplifting girl you’d ever meet," Nieman said. "She can put a smile on anyone’s face. We are hoping by getting the word out that it will trigger something and help find her."

If anyone has any information regarding Jelinek's whereabouts they are encouarged to call the Chisago County Sheriff's Office at 651-213-6300.

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