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November 5, 2009

Icelandic woman sought transport out of region

By MICHELLE BESAW The Press Republican Thu Nov 05, 2009, 11:06 PM EST

PLATTSBURGH — The Icelandic woman who escaped the federal magistrate's office while awaiting arraignment has been captured.

At about 3:30 a.m. Thursday, State Police in Plattsburgh arrested 42-year-old Linda Bjork Magnusdottir when a woman matching her description was spotted at Maplefield's on Route 3 in the Town of Plattsburgh.

ASKED FOR RIDE
Timothy and Pamela Whalen of Plattsburgh said they went into the store to get a coffee after they finished their overnight cleaning shift when a woman approached them and asked for a ride.

"She came up to us and asked where we were headed," Mrs. Whalen said. "We said home, and she asked if that was going toward Albany. We told her no."

The woman went on to say that her car had broken down and she was in a fight with her husband and had to get out of town.

"I looked at her, and I knew who she was, and my husband knew who she was," Mrs. Whalen said, adding that they had heard about the search over the scanner and later saw her picture on the news.

She said Magnusdottir had paper towels in her shoes because she didn't have any socks on. She was wearing all black, with a tear in her shirt.

"She was nervous — very, very, very, very nervous," Mrs. Whalen said. "She was looking out the (store) windows when we got in the truck .... She wanted out really bad. She wanted a ride really bad."

Mrs. Whalen said she, her husband, the store employee and Magnusdottir were the only people in the store.

When they got to their truck, the Whalens called State Police and left.

Troopers Marc Felio and Joseph Molloy patrolled to the store and found the woman there. State Police Capt. Brent Gillam said that, after questioning, Magnusdottir admitted who she was.

She was arrested and turned over to U.S. marshals.

ESCAPED FROM FEDS
Magnusdottir, who was originally taken into custody by federal agents as an illegal alien, was being arraigned on that charge at the federal magistrate's office on Court Street at about 6:30 p.m. when she asked to use the bathroom and then took off.

City Police, State Police, Homeland Security and Plattsburgh State University Police were involved in a major search in the City of Plattsburgh Wednesday night after Magnusdottir escaped.

Clinton County Sheriff David Favro said federal agents were responsible for her during Wednesday's arraignment, although he was unsure whether it was immigration officials or U.S. marshals.

Favro said she was "definitely not" in the custody of the Sheriff's Department at the time of her escape.

He said Magnusdottir was "resting comfortably" at Clinton County Jail on Thursday.

RELIGIOUS CULT
Gunnar Jonsson from the National Icelandic Broadcasting Service said Magnusdottir was once a leader of a religious cult in Iceland, which later went "belly up" after she allegedly had an affair with a younger member of the congregation. Her former husband was the preacher of that group.

Apparently Magnusdottir had been dating an American and living in America until recently, Jonsson said. She reportedly had temporary work in Canada.

She had been coming into the United States at the Champlain border crossing when she was detained.

E-mail Michelle Besaw at: mbesaw@pressrepublican.com