Missing : Jodi Huisentruit

[JonathanVonErich]

Jodi Sue Huisentruit (born June 5, 1968 – declared legally dead May 2001) was a television news anchor for KIMT, based in Mason City, Iowa in the United States. She disappeared in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995 and is believed to have been abducted. She was 27 years old at the time.

Jodi Huisentruit moved to Mason City, Iowa, in late 1993, and quickly became an active member of the community. As the anchor of a morning news show, Jodi was a local favorite... a woman with many friends and no known enemies. The day that Jodi vanished, she was scheduled to work her regular shift on the morning show. When she didn't arrive on time, the show's producer, Amy Kuns, called her apartment. When Jodi didn't show up by airtime, Amy anchored the newscast and sent the first available person to check on Jodi. Police arrived at Jodi's apartment shortly after. She was nowhere to be found. By that afternoon, the Mason City Police launched a massive search, aided by the FBI and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Rescue teams scoured the countryside. Divers and police dogs covered the Winnebago River and its banks. But there was no trace of Jodi Huisentruit. In fact, the only possible clue was a white Ford Econoline van seen in the parking lot of Jodi's apartment building about the time she disappeared.

On June 27, 1995, Jodi Huisentruit, a beloved anchorwoman in Mason City, Iowa, vanished without a trace. And although there have been few leads since her disappearance, her friends, family and viewers still maintain hope that one day, Jodi will turn up alive.

Jodi Huisentruit

Gender: Female

DOB: 6/5/68

Height: 5’3” to 5’4”

Weight: 110 to 120 lbs.

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Blonde

Remarks: Last seen 6/27/95

Blog about the disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit

Here is the Unsolved Mysteries episode about the case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id24xL0VL4w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NPHw5D2JQQ&feature=related

Edited February 27, 2011 by JVE

[Cloudshill]

I remember this....very sad...

[JonathanVonErich]

Recently a new information about the case came up.

In early June 2008, photocopies of the 84 pages of Huisentruit's personal journal were anonymously mailed to a local newspaper. The Mason City Globe Gazette received the material in a large envelope with no return address and a June 4 postmark from Waterloo, IA. The original journal has been in the possession of law enforcement since the investigation of Huisentruit's disappearance began. Within days, Mason City Police reported that the sender had come forward and then identified her as the wife of the former Mason City Police Chief. Although noting that the former chief had inadvertently taken a copy of the journal home when he left office, the police gave no motive for his wife sending the copy to the newspaper.

Interesting. Why would the wife of the former chief do something like that ?? Maybe the former chief know more about the case that he pretend. I'm trying to contact one of the reporter who is following the case, I'm trying to find out more about this.

Edited August 26, 2011 by JonathanVonErich

[supervike]

Oh yeah, this was always a very sad and strange case.

Right in my neck of the woods as well. It seems every couple of years, there has been a few leads, but they never have amounted to anything.

[JonathanVonErich]

Right in my neck of the woods as well. It seems every couple of years, there has been a few leads, but they never have amounted to anything.

Indeed, you are right. Back in 2005 the authorities thought that they had discovered the remains of Jodi but they were wrong. Same thing happened in 2002, an examination of dental records has proven that the remains of a woman found in Indiana in 1996 were not those of Jodi. The police also had a suspect at one point but again it lead nowhere.

[JonathanVonErich]

Who was the man at Jodi's door the night before she disappeared ??

A few weeks ago somebody from my University asked me this question. We were talking about missing people cases, and I brought up one of my favorite case, the disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit. I had no idea what this person was talking about. I thought I knew everything about Jodi's case, and to my knowledge I had never read anything about this story.

From http://www.findjodi.com/:

About 8:00 p.m. on June 26th, the neighbor heard someone running up the stairs to Jodi's apartment. The man started banging on the door screaming, "Jodi, open the door...open the door...I need to talk to you." The witness remembers the man spending a few minutes banging on the door and saying things that were unintelligible. The man then ran down the hall and the stairs

(...) According to numerous reports, Jodi was still at John VanSice's apartment watching the movie of her birthday party. She wasn't home and wouldn't return for more than an hour. If the witness testimony is true, this places a man at her apartment the night before her disappearance.

Link: Witness: Agitated Man was at Jodi's Door

I think it's a very interesting lead. According to the witness, this man appeared to be agitated by her not opening her door. Since it happened a short amount of time before her abduction I believe this is a very important account. I'm trying to know more about this.

[+susieice]

Interesting Jon. Since she was a news reporter could she have been involved in something someone wouldn't want her reporting? Could explain the interest of the Police Chief's wife in her journal and someone banging on her door the night before she disappeared, maybe to warn her. Just throwing out a possiblity. Let us know if you find anything more.

Edited February 21, 2012 by susieice

[JonathanVonErich]

Interesting Jon. Since she was a news reporter could she have been involved in something someone wouldn't want her reporting? Could explain the interest of the Police Chief's wife in her journal and someone banging on her door the night before she disappeared, maybe to warn her. Just throwing out a possiblity. Let us know if you find anything more.

Thanks Sus.

Well in my opinion Jodi might have been the victim of a fan, somebody who became obsessed with her, a stalker. She was a very popular anchorwoman in a very small town. She was a celebrity in this town, and it's not very difficult to imagine that somebody, somewhere might have become obsessed with her. Since she was simply an anchorwoman ( reading the news ) I doubt that she could have been abducted because of a case she was working on, to my knowledge Jodi wasn't a reporter, not a researcher, only an anchorwoman.

It seems that at one point everybody in Mason City, Iowa became a suspect in the case. More recently, in december 2011, Don Harman took his own life. Mr. Harman was the evening meteorologist at KIMT-TV in Mason City, he worked with Jodi on the morning show prior to her disappearance. Because he committed suicide some people automatically thought that he had committed suicide because of guilt, because he was involved in Jodi's disappearance, even if nothing links him to the case. Then 1 week later The Mason City Police Department issued a statement saying that mr. Harman was not a suspect in the case, that he was never a suspect in the case. It's clear that he had nothing to do with the abduction, but sadly I'm sure some people still believe that he might have been guilty.

Link: FindJodi.com: FindJodi.com responds to Don Harman death

Link: FindJodi.com: MCPD responds to Harman death

[+susieice]

OK Jon. It's just that when someone associated with the news disappears like that, I have to ask if they were working on something someone didn't want known. Even as a news broadcaster, you don't know if someone got in touch with her because they knew her from watching her on TV. It's been known to happen. Was there an ex-boyfriend or husband around? That would be question #2. A stalker would also be a good possibility. She was a public figure and known in the area. Let us know if you find anything else.

[JonathanVonErich]

OK Jon. It's just that when someone associated with the news disappears like that, I have to ask if they were working on something someone didn't want known. Even as a news broadcaster, you don't know if someone got in touch with her because they knew her from watching her on TV. It's been known to happen. Was there an ex-boyfriend or husband around? That would be question #2. A stalker would also be a good possibility. She was a public figure and known in the area. Let us know if you find anything else.

It was a great question Sus, don't worry, first time I read about the case I asked myself the same thing.

Nothing about an ex-boyfriend. The last person to see Jodi alive was a close friend, John VanSice. Him and Jodi were very close friends, but relatives and friends of Jodi are sure that nothing more than friendship happened between the two. VanSice claims he passed a polygraph, and is now living in Arizona. Strangely ( or not ), VanSice had a boat, and he named the boat "Jodi". It probably means nothing, but it could be good evidence that there was more between the two than a close friendship.

For more info: http://www.findjodi.com/

[+susieice]

The journal bothers me. That's something that's really personal, like a diary. Why would there be a copy and why would the police chief take it home, knowingly or not? Also the guy at the door raises questions. Someone who is about to harm or kidnap someone is usually more stealthy, not making a lot of noise and calling attention to himself, especially in an apartment building where the neighbors are close. I can't help but think there's something in that journal that we don't know and someone was trying to warn her but couldn't find her in time. He knows who and why. I don't know. Just my gut feeling on this.

[JonathanVonErich]

The journal bothers me. That's something that's really personal, like a diary. Why would there be a copy and why would the police chief take it home, knowingly or not? Also the guy at the door raises questions. Someone who is about to harm or kidnap someone is usually more stealthy, not making a lot of noise and calling attention to himself, especially in an apartment building where the neighbors are close. I can't help but think there's something in that journal that we don't know and someone was trying to warn her but couldn't find her in time. He knows who and why. I don't know. Just my gut feeling on this.

Yeah, the journal bothers me too. Why would she, the wife of a former police chief, take the time to send this copy of the diary ?? We don't know. I still believe that she did this hoping that it would put her ex-husband in trouble. The fact that the former police chief had a copy of the diary at his home is really strange, but no laws were broken and no charges were ever filed.

Other interesting facts related to this case:

- Before her disappearance Jodi was searching for another job.

- In 2008 a woman came forward with new information. Apparently a lot of drug dealings was done around the area where Jodi lived, and the activity was especially high at the time immediately before Jodi disappeared. Maybe Jodi witnessed some of these deals, and since she worked for a tv station maybe the dealers were afraid that she would report the activity to the authorities or on the air. Just a possibility.

- In 1999, 19 years old Jackie Folkerts was murdered. Before her death she was approached in a restaurant where she worked by a man who said he had something to do with Jodi's disappearance. Eventually Brad Erdahl was found guilty of the murder, in 2001. We don't know if Erdahl was the strange man from the restaurant.

For more info: http://www.findjodi.com/

[+susieice]

Found this while looking around. Mentions the journal and how the copy was recieved and also mentions a woman who came forward and named officers saying there was police misconduct involved in the case. Chief's wife was verified as person who sent it although only three copies should exist. Police claim this copy bears none of the markings in the original. Something's really fishy here.

http://iagenweb.org/boards/cerrogordo/documents/index.cgi?read=358210

[JonathanVonErich]

Thanks for the link Sus, I wasn't aware of that. Interesting indeed.

[Regi]

The first thing I notice about the circumstances in this case is that Huisentruit was late for work. I'm not sure enough consideration was given to this fact, and if not, it was most likely because the co-worker reported that her impression was that Huisentruit didn't sound alarmed when she had spoken to her.

There could have been a reason other than oversleeping that Huisentruit was late for work.

Here's an interview with an author who wrote a book about the case.

She says there might have been evidence (it's compelling to me!) of a male having recently been in Huisentruit's apartment.

http://www.wjon.com/...sentruit-audio/

Edited July 9, 2012 by regi

[JonathanVonErich]

Thanks for the link, Regi. The book has been in my "Amazon shopping cart" for months; 200 pages for such a complex case is a little short if you want my opinion, but the reviews are positive so no doubt I'll give it a try soon.

I still think John VanSice is an interesting suspect. The fact many people were dealing drugs around the area where Jodi lived is also intriguing. Here's a video about VanSice:

[Regi]

Thanks for that video, Jon. It offers valuable insight.

VanSice bothers me. He said "I think she'll come back." That strikes me more like he thinks she has a choice in the matter rather than having been taken against her will.

The story the sister told is especially bothersome...that VanSicle displayed anger when reminded of the reality of his and Jodi's relationship... that Jodi never included him in her personal life.

I don't doubt that he wanted more from the relationship than Jodi did, and that he might have felt frustrated that no matter what he did for her, feelings weren't reciprocated. He said "I EVEN named my boat after her".

I'm anxious to know what info is included in the book, and I look forward to a full report! (I think 200 pages is reasonable... maybe it has large pages and small print. Hehe. Funny, but could be true. )

[JonnyM]

This is suppose to be going to court soon & I'm very anxious to hear what she has to say.

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/09/who_killed_jodi_huisentruit_mason_city_police_officers_accused_iowa_anchorwoman_death.php

http://globegazette.com/news/local/former-officer-ohl-trial-to-get-job-back-set-for/article_5e342bd0-8022-11e1-bdad-001a4bcf887a.html

SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING!

[Terrymary]

This news really doesn't surprise me. It's been conjecture in small town Iowa since the beginning of this case. I hope Maria Ohl isn't on a smear campaign because she has an axe to grind. I'd like to see closure for Jodi's family.

[Lorelilly]

It was a great question Sus, don't worry, first time I read about the case I asked myself the same thing.

Nothing about an ex-boyfriend. The last person to see Jodi alive was a close friend, John VanSice. Him and Jodi were very close friends, but relatives and friends of Jodi are sure that nothing more than friendship happened between the two. VanSice claims he passed a polygraph, and is now living in Arizona. Strangely ( or not ), VanSice had a boat, and he named the boat "Jodi". It probably means nothing, but it could be good evidence that there was more between the two than a close friendship.

For more info: http://www.findjodi.com/

I have some knowledge about this case. John Vansice would have liked to me more then friends with Jodi. I am not sure, at all, about a passed polygraph. If you want to do some more sleuthing try iowacoldcases.org choose the decade of 1990's and read about the other murders that were close in time with Jodi's disappearance. ... I would also suggest you follow the trail of dead and/or missing people that Mr. Vansice has been linked to. I don't think we'll ever find Jodi but I do believe we already know who the killer is. Justice late is still justice.