Nearly 30 years after Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared, a random tip led police to search a construction site close to where new apartments are being built.
It was hoped the renewed search for Huisentruit’s body could result in a major breakthrough.
Last month, investigators searched an area in Winsted, Minnesota, a rural city northwest of Twin Cities as part of their investigation.
‘It’s the first public activity in years,’ former journalist Caroline Lowe told The Independent. ‘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.
‘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.’
But weeks on from the search, Lowe received a crushing update from Winsted Police Chief Justin Heldt who confirmed no human remains were found in the search – only farm animal remains, which would be quite common in a rural area such as Winsted.
Investigators have not revealed what information drew them to the construction site and only said 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 said in a statement.
Huisentruit was in the parking lot of her apartment complex in Mason City, Iowa on July 27, 1995 on her way to anchor the morning news at KIMT-TV but was abducted and never seen or heard from again
Nearly 30 years after Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared, a random tip led police to search a construction site close to where new apartments are being built
Police found Huisentruit’s red high-heeled shoe next to her car before she was abducted
‘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.’
‘Information gleaned from this effort will be used in the ongoing investigation,’ Brinkley said. ‘At this time, there is no additional information for public release.
He further stated: ‘We do want to encourage anyone with information about Jodi’s disappearance to contact the MCPD or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.’
Winstead is a city located just 45 miles west of the Twin Cities metro, and has a population of 2,240, according to a 2020 census.
Huisentruit was in the parking lot of her apartment complex in Mason City, Iowa on the morning of July 27, 1995.
The 27-year-old was on her way to anchor the morning news at KIMT-TV but suddenly vanished into thin air.
The police chief said that that the Mason County Police Department worked with the Minnesota law enforcement officials to follow up on the lead in Winsted.
Only one person has ever been considered a person of interest.
Last month, investigators searched an area in Winstead, Minnesota , a rural city northwest of Twin Cities. The search was focused on an apartment building construction site
Huisentriut pictured anchoring the 6am morning news
Huisentruit was in the parking lot of her apartment complex in Mason City, Iowa on the morning of July 27, 1995 and on her way to anchor the morning news
John Vansice, who was 50 at the time and friends with Huisentruit, told police he was the last person to see her alive.
She had come over to his house the night before to watch a birthday video, but insisted he was not involved in her disappearance.
On the morning of her disappearance, the station’s producer called her apartment and woke her up.
She said she would be there soon for her 6am newscast that would be broadcast live. The station was about a mile away from her home.
Her co-workers grew concerned when hours passed and she did not arrive. They called police requesting a welfare check.
When officers arrived to the Key Apartments in Mason City, Iowa they found red high heels, a blow dryer, earrings and hairspray scattered by her car.
The believe she was abducted about 20 minutes after leaving her apartment building and next to her car that was parked approximately 12 steps from the entrance of her apartment building.’
Next June will mark 30 years since Jodi vanished but few details have emerged and what happened to her remains a mystery
Despite years of investigation, the case grew cold and Jodi was declared dead in 2001
There has been speculation in the past that whoever took Jodi may have been stalking her
Investigators have not said what information led them to search the construction site last month but confirmed they were following up on a lead in Jodi’s case
During the struggle with her abductor, the key to Jodi’s red 1991 Mazda Miata was slightly bent.
Police said there ‘was evidence of a struggle outside the apartment building.’ They also found a ‘partial palm print’ on the car.
However, there are no eyewitnesses to the abduction and no surveillance cameras to record what happened.
Some neighbors had reported hearing a scream at around 4:30am, but no one called police.
There was very little forensic evidence found at the crime scene, and the case eventually went cold.
In 2001, Huisentruit was legally declared dead.
Jodi Huisentruit was 27 years old when she was abducted. In June she would have turned 56
Jodi disappeared after failing to turn up to her job at a news station in Mason City, Iowa
Jodi Huisentruit was from Long Prairie, Minnesota and described a ‘hometown girl.’ One of the local merchants decorated their store window for Christmas in 1996 with a painting of her
Jodi Huisentruit’s apartment in Mason City, Iowa from where she was abducted
Two years later, friends and former coworkers Josh Benson and Gary Peterson created the non-profit FindJodi, Inc. to keep the young woman’s memory alive and help in solving the case
Huisentruit’s case has since became one of Iowa’s biggest murder mysteries.
In April 2023, co-founder Peterson died at 81. His co-founder Josh Benson wrote a tribute about Peterson on the FindJodi webpage, and shared how heartbroken he was of his passing.
‘I met Gary all the way back in 2002 in Austin, Minnesota. He was my first boss in TV News at KAAL-TV. We hit it off immediately,’ Benson wrote.
‘We both discovered we shared a passion for missing person cases and within six months were were diving in to the disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit.’
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mason City Police Department at (641) 421-3636, the Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman at rherman@dps.state.ia.us or contact FindJodi.com.
