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Jodi Huisentruit

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Jodi Huisentruit
Born
Jodi Sue Huisentruit

(1968-06-05)June 5, 1968
Long Prairie, Minnesota, U.S.
DisappearedJune 27, 1995 (aged 27)
Mason City, Iowa, U.S.
StatusMissing for 29 years, 5 months and 22 days; Declared legally dead in May 2001
EducationSt. Cloud State University
OccupationTelevision news anchor

Jodi Sue Huisentruit (/ˈhuːzɪnˌtruːt/; born June 5, 1968 – c. June 27, 1995) was an American news anchor for KIMT in Mason City, Iowa. She disappeared in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995, soon after telling a colleague that she had overslept and was running late for work. As there were signs of a struggle outside her apartment, Huisentruit is believed to have been abducted. However, extensive investigations failed to uncover any clues to her disappearance, and Huisentruit was declared legally dead in 2001.

Early life

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Jodi Huisentruit was born and raised in Long Prairie, Minnesota,[1] the youngest daughter of Maurice Nicholas Huisentruit (1920–1982) and Imogene L. "Jane" Huisentruit (née Anderson, 1923–2014).[2] Huisentruit excelled at golf in high school and won the state Class A tournament along with her team in 1985 and 1986. After high school, Huisentruit enrolled at St. Cloud State University, where she studied mass communications and speech communication, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1990. Her first job after graduation was with Northwest Airlines.[3]

Huisentruit began her broadcasting career with CBS affiliate KGAN in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as the station's Iowa City bureau chief, then returned to Minnesota for a job at ABC affiliate KSAX in Alexandria. Huisentruit later returned to Iowa for her position at CBS affiliate KIMT in Mason City.

Disappearance

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The day before her disappearance, Huisentruit participated in a golf tournament. According to Mason City resident John Vansice, she then went to his house to view a homemade videotape of a birthday celebration that he had arranged for her earlier that month.[4]

At about 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 27, 1995, KIMT producer Amy Kuns noticed that Huisentruit had failed to report to work as scheduled and called her apartment. When Huisentruit answered the telephone, she explained that she had overslept and that she was preparing to leave for the station. However, by 6:00 a.m., Huisentruit had still not arrived, so Kuns filled in for her on the morning show Daybreak. At about 7:00 a.m., KIMT staff called the Mason City police.[5]

When police arrived at Huisentruit's apartment, they found a red Mazda Miata in the parking lot that she was planning on buying, as well as evidence that suggested a struggle had taken place near the car.[6] Her personal items, including a bent car key and her red high heels,[7] were strewn about the area, and police reported recovering an unidentified palm print from her vehicle.[8][9]

Investigation

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Investigators interviewed at least three neighbors at Huisentruit's apartment complex who said that they had heard screams around the time that she would have likely been leaving for work.[10][11] In addition, a nearby neighbor reported seeing a white Ford Econoline idling in the parking lot at about the same time.[12]

In September 1995, the Huisentruit family hired private investigators from McCarthy & Associates Investigative Services, Inc. (MAIS) in Minneapolis, who in turn enlisted the assistance of Omaha, Nebraska, private investigator Doug Jasa. McCarthy and Jasa appeared on several national television shows, including America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries.[13] In November 1995, they and members of Huisentruit's family traveled to Los Angeles to meet with three prominent psychics. This meeting was televised and served as the pilot for the Psychic Detectives television show.[14] Although each show generated several leads, none resulted in concrete evidence or identification of a suspect.

In May 1996, approximately 100 volunteers searched an area of Cerro Gordo County and left flags to mark anything that appeared suspicious. Each of these sites was then re-examined by law enforcement, but no promising evidence was located.[15] Police and private investigators have conducted more than 1,000 interviews,[16][17] but none have resulted in conclusive evidence pointing to a suspect. Huisentruit was declared legally dead in May 2001.[18]

Since 2000

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In 2003, FindJodi.com was created by Minnesota television journalists Josh Benson and Gary Peterson with the goal to keep the case in the spotlight and for the website to serve as a clearinghouse for tips that might lead to Huisentruit.[19]

When new cases arise that appear to bear similarities with Huisentruit's, or whenever remains are discovered in the area, speculation quickly leads to a connection with the missing reporter. However, no suspect has been identified and all uncovered remains to date have proven to be from other sources. In 2005, many media outlets, including 20/20,[20] again focused on the story as the tenth anniversary of Huisentruit's disappearance approached.

In early June 2008, photocopies of the 84 pages of Huisentruit's personal journal were anonymously mailed to a local newspaper.[21] The Mason City Globe Gazette received the material in a large envelope with no return address and a June 4 postmark from Waterloo. The original journal has been in the possession of law enforcement since the investigation began.[22] Within days, Mason City police reported that the sender had come forward and was identified as the wife of the former Mason City police chief. Although noting that the former chief had taken a copy of the journal home when he left office, the police gave no motive as to why the woman had sent it to the newspaper.[23]

In May 2015, all 100 members of the Iowa House of Representatives signed a letter requesting Mason City to declare June 27, 2015, as Jodi Huisentruit Day in honor of her memory and that of all victims in unsolved cases. This was ultimately declined. In a December 2016 opinion piece for The N'West Iowa Review, retiring state representative John Kooiker of Sioux County described his experience with the case as a member of the Iowa State House Public Safety Committee and suggested a coverup by Mason City officials.[24]

In March 2017, a search warrant was executed against a person of interest named John Vansice, seeking GPS data for two of his vehicles.[25]

Since 2019, licensed private investigator Steve Ridge has been investigating the case.[26]

As of 2020, the Mason City police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation were still actively investigating Huisentruit's disappearance.[27] That same year, Findjodi.com launched a podcast by the same name in order to gain a new audience to share information on the case and generate new leads.[28] In 2022, ABC's 20/20 debuted a new special titled "Gone at Dawn" overviewing the disappearance and interviewing those close with the case. This episode was the third time 20/20 featured the Huisentruit case.[29]

In 2023, Ridge offered $25,000 for information on Huisentruit's disappearance, doubling the total reward to $50,000.[30] Ridge said the offer has the blessing of Jodi's sister. "This reward does not require an arrest or conviction — but simply the recovery of Jodi’s remains," Ridge said.

In October 2024, Mason City police searched a site in rural Winsted, Minnesota currently being used for apartment construction after the submission of an anonymous tip.[31]

In late 2024, in interviews with Steve Ridge, it was reported Jodi had a new boyfriend at the time of her disappearance. Ridge said they had been in contact daily or near daily since they had begun dating 10 days or so before the abduction. Ridge believes this new boyfriend may have created jealousy and led to Jodi's abduction.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Pieper, Mary (June 27, 2015). "Search for Jodi Huisentruit continues 20 years later". Globe Gazette. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  2. ^ Peterson, Gary (December 11, 2014). "Remembering Imogene 'Jane' Huisentruit". Find Jodi. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  3. ^ Molene, John (October 25, 1997). "Family plants endowment seed". St. Cloud Times. pp. 3A–4A. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  4. ^ "Find Jodi Huisentruit".
  5. ^ "Community Still Haunted by Missing News Anchor". ABC News. July 1, 2005. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  6. ^ "Jodi Huisentruit disappearance: It's been 28 years since Mason City news anchor vanished". KCCI. June 27, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  7. ^ "Jodi Huisentruit". True Crime Garage. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  8. ^ Mastre, Brian (July 10, 2015). "Cold Case: News Anchor Abducted". WOWT. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  9. ^ "20 years later, TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit still missing". CBS News. June 25, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  10. ^ "Officials still searching for missing newswoman". The Daily Reporter. Associated Press. June 29, 1995. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  11. ^ Divine, Mary (June 19, 2015). "20 years later, search for Jodi Huisentruit hasn't ended". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  12. ^ "The strange case of Jodi Huisentruit". The Shields Gazette. November 27, 2014. Archived from the original on September 23, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  13. ^ Episode Number: 364; Season: 8; First Aired: February 18, 1996
  14. ^ "Psychics join search for anchorwoman". Post-Bulletin. November 13, 1995. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  15. ^ Benson, Josh. "Jodi's Disappearance: 1st Year Timeline". Find Jodi. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  16. ^ "Year later, TV anchor still missing". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. June 30, 1996. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  17. ^ "Sheriff: Human Remains From Adult Male". KCCI. July 15, 2004. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  18. ^ Bob, Link (May 15, 2001). "Court declares Jodi Huisentruit legally dead". Globe Gazette. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  19. ^ "About Jodi • Find Jodi Huisentruit". Find Jodi Huisentruit. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  20. ^ 20/20 Episode Number: 1405; Season: 26; First Aired: Friday July 1, 2005
  21. ^ "Journal of missing television anchor mailed to newspaper". Star Tribune. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 26, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  22. ^ "Jodi's Journal", The Globe Gazette, June 22, 2008
  23. ^ "Wife of former police chief sent Huisentruit journal to Globe". Globe Gazette. June 27, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  24. ^ Kooiker, John (December 28, 2016). "Disappearance of Huisentruit remains troubling". The N'West Iowa Review. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  25. ^ Miller, Ashley (March 16, 2018). "Mason City search warrant against person of interest in Huisentruit case remains sealed (with photos, video)". Mason City Globe Gazette. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  26. ^ "Reward for information on Jodi Huisentruit's disappearance doubled to $50,000". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  27. ^ Fisher, Bob (June 26, 2020). "25 years after she vanished, Jodi Huisentruit case is still active, still a mystery". Radio Iowa. Learfield News & Ag, LLC. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  28. ^ AbbeyAbbey (May 27, 2020). "New Podcast Dedicated to Finding Jodi Huisentruit Launches June 5". 98.1 - Minnesota's New Country. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  29. ^ "Jodi Huisentruit's Case to be focus of 20/20 report • Find Jodi Huisentruit". Find Jodi Huisentruit. January 26, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  30. ^ "Jodi Huisentruit went missing in 1995. Friend hopes a $25K reward uncovers her remains". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  31. ^ McCall, Sananda (November 3, 2024). "Iowa investigators led to search rural area near Twin Cities after Huisentruit tip". KIMT News 3.
  32. ^ Zilber, Ariel (October 4, 2023). "Jodi Huisentruit had secret fling before vanishing in Iowa". Retrieved November 25, 2024.
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