A TV anchor vanished nearly 30 years ago. A fresh search reignited hope - but only briefly
For the first time in years, a new tip prompted police to launch a search in connection to the disappearance of Iowa TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit. But what did they find? Caroline Lowe, a member of the FindJodi team, talks to Andrea Cavallier about the ups and downs of the yearslong investigation and how the search has sparked a renewed hope in the case
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It was still dark outside when beloved Iowa TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit was attacked and abducted as she walked from her apartment to her car in the early hours of June 27, 1995.
The 27-year-old was on her way to anchor the morning news at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa. But she never made it.
Next June will mark 30 years since Jodi vanished but few details have emerged and what happened to her remains a mystery.
There were speculations about whether the popular news personality had a stalker. But was a stalker the same person who attacked her outside her apartment? Or was it someone she knew?
Any substantial information on the case was scarce – until last month when a tip launched a new search that has given her loved ones hope.
Investigators conducted the search in the rural Minnesota town of Winsted while following up on the undisclosed tip in the case, Mason City police confirmed to The Independent.
“It’s the first public activity in years,” former journalist Caroline Lowe told The Independent.
Lowe is part of the FindJodi team that is dedicated to the Jodi Huisentruit case.
“We look at what we can do as journalists, because we know what gets covered, and we’re diggers – we want to find out what happened to her,” Lowe said.
“It’s also in us to do what we can to keep her visible. She’s one of us. She’s part of our extended family. We owe it to her to help bring her home.”
Several weeks after the search, Lowe received an update from Winsted Police Chief Justin Heldt on Friday and shared it with The Independent.
Heldt confirmed that no human remains were found in the search but instead, farm animal remains were found in the city-owned park that is adjacent to construction at an apartment complex. He added that it is not unusual to find animal bones in a rural area like Winsted.
What happened to Jodi?
When Jodi failed to show up for work at 3 a.m. on the morning of June 27, 1995, her producer Amy Kuns called her at home and woke her up.
A groggy Jodi told her producer she would be right in to work, which was about a five-minute drive from her apartment.
In an interview with FindJodi.com, Kuns recalled that everything sounded OK with Jodi, but when she didn’t show up at 5 a.m., she called again. There was no answer.
Kuns went on to anchor the 6 a.m. morning news that day, but knowing that it was unusual for the ambitious Jodi to just not show up for work, she had the news director call for a welfare check at Jodi’s home at the Key Apartments.
When a Mason City police officer arrived at the apartment that morning, there was no sign of Jodi and nothing appeared to be disturbed in her home. But just steps away from Jodi’s building, there were signs of a struggle.
Jodi’s new red Mazda Miata was still parked in the lot and there were drag marks on the pavement. Her red high heels, blow dryer and earrings were scattered next to her car.
A partial palm print was found on the vehicle, but some of Jodi’s friends who had been in the car said they were not asked to provide a palm print for comparison, Lowe said.
There were, however, several other people who were considered to be persons of interest who reportedly provided prints for comparison, but additional details about who or how many are not known.
A neighbor told investigators that they heard a scream around 4:30 a.m., but no one called police.
Despite years of investigation, the case grew cold and Jodi was declared dead in 2001.
Was Jodi being stalked?
There has been speculation in the past that whoever took Jodi may have been stalking her, something that Lowe said is not unheard of for a news anchor in a small town.
“This is someone who is in your living room, your bedroom as you get ready for work,” she said. “It becomes someone who the public feels like they know personally – and that can be dangerous.”
On October 8, 1994, eight months before Jodi’s disappearance, she had contacted the Mason City Police Department after she was followed by a small, white pick-up truck, according to FindJodi.com who obtained the report in 2020. It was the only time Jodi called the police for assistance.
But then on June 26, 1995, the day before Jodi disappeared, she was at the Mason City Chamber of Commerce golf tournament and allegedly told two members of her golf team that she planned to change her phone number the next day because she had been getting “nasty” and “naughty” calls.
There have been no suspects named in Jodi’s disappearance and no arrests.
Only Jodi’s friend John Vansice was on investigators’ radar briefly after he showed up at the crime scene later that morning.
He told police he was the last person to see her alive. He explained that Jodi had stopped by his house the night before to watch a video of a surprise 27th birthday party he’d hosted for her earlier that month.
In March 2017, Vansice was subpoenaed to appear at a U.S. District Court in Iowa and provide finger and palm prints, and DNA. An Iowa grand jury did not indict Vansice in connection with Jodi’s abduction.
Tip leads to new search
In mid-October this year, a massive police presence by both Minnesota and Iowa authorities in Winsted at an unused city park next to a construction site at an apartment complex drew attention from the small, tight-knit community.
Investigators have not said what information led them to search the property but confirmed they were following up on a lead in Jodi’s case.
"MCPD recently worked with Minnesota law enforcement officials to follow up on a lead in Winsted,” Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley confirmed to The Independent.
“MCPD continues to receive, evaluate, and follow-up on information it receives related to Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance on a regular basis. Information gleaned from this effort will be used in the ongoing investigation.”
Chief Brinkley added that there is no additional information for public release at this time.
“We do want to encourage anyone with information about Jodi’s disappearance to contact MCPD or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation,” he said.
Winsted is about a three-hour drive from Mason City and 104 miles from Long Prairie, Minnesota, where Huisentruit grew up.
‘She was one of our ours’
In 2003, FindJodi.com was created by former News Director Gary Peterson and News Anchor Josh Benson, who worked together at KAAL-TV in Minnesota.
Their goal was to keep Jodi’s case in the spotlight and for the website to serve as a clearinghouse for tips that might lead to Jodi, according to the website.
Over the years, other journalists, including Lowe, along with retired investigators, joined the team.
Coming from an extensive background covering cold cases, there were two major cases that Lowe was desperate to help solve – Jodi’s case and the 1989 abduction of Jacob Wetterling.
Lowe did not know Jodi, but said she feels a close bond with her.
“She had aspirations – if things had gone the path she was on, she and I might have worked in the same newsroom,” Lowe said.
They also both worked on the case of Jacob Wetterling, which was finally solved in 2016 when a man named Danny Heinrich admitted that he had abducted and molested Jacob before he killed him and buried his body near a gravel pit on October 22, 1989.
Jacob’s mom Patty, who is a nationally recognized child safety advocate and educator, has appealed for answers to what happened to Jodi in a 2021 interview with FindJodi.com.
“She deserves to be found. Her family deserves to know answers. There is somebody out there who is a very dangerous person.”
“I believe people can help and maybe the person who did it is ready to tell. You don’t know and we can’t assume they would never tell because (Jacob’s abductor) did.”
Lowe is in close contact with Jodi’s sister JoAnn Nathe and keeps her updated on any developments. In light of the most recent update, Nathe told Lowe that she’s hopeful.
“They need to follow up on everything,” Nathe said. “You never know where they might go.”
Meanwhile, Lowe hopes the renewed attention to the case will help garner more tips.
“Maybe this will encourage someone to call in with information even if they think that it may not be relevant,” she said. “You never know what will lead to a break in the case.”
For now, a billboard looms above a highway in Mason City, a constant reminder of the beautiful, ambitious woman taken away so many years ago.
“She was one of ours,” Lowe said. “I hope to continue the journey and keep her visible for her – and for her family.”
Lowe encouraged the public to call Mason City Police if they have any information.
“Don’t make her family wait another anniversary to say goodbye.”