Police Intensify Search for Missing North Dakota Grandfather

73-year-old Alfred Odden vanished after leaving a gas station in Valley City over a week ago

Apr. 8, 2026 at 11:12pm

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An extreme close-up photograph of a worn, scuffed car key fob against a stark black background, conceptually representing the mystery and uncertainty surrounding the disappearance of a missing grandfather.The search for a missing grandfather in North Dakota exposes the challenges of finding vulnerable individuals who vanish without a trace.Fargo Today

Police and community volunteers in North Dakota are continuing their search for 73-year-old Alfred Odden, a grandfather and longtime teacher who went missing after leaving a gas station in Valley City on April 1. Odden, who lives with dementia, had traveled from his home in Wahpeton to Fargo earlier that day before disappearing. Authorities have issued a statewide Silver Alert and are now teaming up with Valley City police to search for surveillance footage and go door-to-door in the area, but so far there are no new clues about Odden's whereabouts.

Why it matters

The disappearance of Alfred Odden has sparked a large-scale community search effort across multiple counties in North Dakota, highlighting the challenges of finding missing persons, especially those with cognitive impairments like dementia. The case also underscores the importance of the state's Silver Alert system, which has been activated 45 times since its launch in 2018 but has only resulted in the safe return of the missing person about 90% of the time.

The details

According to police, Odden was last seen alive at around 8:30 pm on April 1 when he bought gas, food, and a cellphone charger at a Casey's gas station in Valley City. Authorities believe Odden, who had traveled to Fargo earlier that day, became disoriented due to his dementia and ended up driving to Valley City instead of returning home to Wahpeton. A statewide Silver Alert was issued just after midnight on April 3, shortly after Odden was reported missing, but a major winter storm delayed search efforts until Monday when a state patrol airplane conducted a grid search of the surrounding counties. This week, Wahpeton detectives will team up with Valley City police to search for surveillance footage and go door-to-door in the area, but so far no new leads have emerged.

  • On April 1, Odden was last seen alive at 8:30 pm at a Casey's gas station in Valley City.
  • A statewide Silver Alert was issued just after midnight on April 3, shortly after Odden was reported missing.
  • On Monday, a state patrol airplane conducted a full grid search of Barnes and Stutsman counties.

The players

Alfred Odden

A 73-year-old grandfather and longtime teacher who went missing from the Wahpeton, North Dakota area on April 1 after leaving a gas station in Valley City. Odden lives with dementia.

Matthew Anderson

The police chief of the Wahpeton Police Department, who is leading the investigation into Odden's disappearance.

Jenna Clawson Huibregste

A lieutenant with the North Dakota Highway Patrol, which issued the statewide Silver Alert for Odden.

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What they’re saying

“It's like after he left Casey's (gas station), he just disappeared.”

— Matthew Anderson, Police Chief, Wahpeton Police Department

“It is meant to be alarming. We want everyone in the state to pay attention when that phone goes off.”

— Jenna Clawson Huibregste, Lieutenant, North Dakota Highway Patrol

What’s next

Wahpeton detectives will continue to work with Valley City police this week to search for surveillance footage and go door-to-door in the area around the gas station where Odden was last seen, in hopes of finding new clues about his disappearance.

The takeaway

The search for Alfred Odden highlights the challenges of finding missing persons, especially those with cognitive impairments like dementia, and the importance of community-wide efforts and alert systems like North Dakota's Silver Alert to aid in these types of investigations. Despite the extensive search efforts so far, Odden's case remains the only unsolved Silver Alert activation in the state, underscoring the difficulty of these types of cases.