Re: Jodi Huisentruit Investigation
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance in Mason City. We pause today to stand with Jodi’s family as they remember her and remain hopeful for answers about her disappearance.
The investigation into her disappearance continues and is an active case being worked by the Mason City Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. We appreciate the work the media has done to keep Jodi’s story in the public eye in support of our investigative efforts.
Read the full press release here
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) — The secret of Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance could die with the execution of a notorious Iowa drug kingpin.
Dustin Honken is up for execution for the murder of five people in the 1990s — and supposedly knows who abducted the television news anchor back in June of 1995.
Steve Ridge is an investigative journalist who’s dedicated the last 19 months looking into Jodi’s case. Ridge says an accomplice of Honken’s, Angela Johnson — who is also serving time in prison for her part in the murders– claims that Honken knows who abducted Jodi.
Honken was set to be executed in January, but a U.S. District Court of Appeals intervened, halting the sentence being carried out. Now, with the global pandemic, Ridge says it’s unclear when Honken will be executed.
At approximately 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 27, 1995, CBS affiliate KIMT-TV morning and noon anchor woman and producer Jodi Sue Huisentruit was abducted from the parking lot of her apartment located at 600 North Kentucky Avenue in Mason City, Iowa.
Huisentruit — a St. Cloud State University graduate — usually arrived at work between 3 and 4 a.m., and when she hadn’t arrived by 4:00 a.m., her producer, Amy Kuns, called her. Huisentruit answered the phone, told Kuns she had overslept, and stated she’d be at the station shortly. Nothing in Huisentruit’s tone of voice indicated any undue stress.
The 27-year-old petite anchor was never heard from again.
When Huisentruit still hadn’t arrived at work by 7:00 a.m., Kuns became alarmed and called Mason City police, asking them to check on Jodi’s well being.
Upon their arrival, officers discovered a number of Huisentruit’s personal possessions strewn about the parking lot, including Jodi’s purse, hair spray, hair dryer, and a pair of red high-heeled shoes. Huisentruit usually carried these items to and from work in a canvas tote bag.
The key to Huisentruit’s vehicle was found bent inside the lock on the driver’s side door. Mason City Police Lt. Frank Stearns said drag marks were visible on the rain-soaked pavement.
Interviews with neighbors revealed that screams had been heard, but the apartment building was located near a campground and the screams were dismissed as nothing more than noisy campers.
Stearns believes the crime was committed by a single individual — likely one who knew Huisentruit. Prior to joining KIMT, the Minnesota native had worked briefly as a flight attendant.
Jodi’s canvas tote bag — in which she often carried her notebooks and computer diskettes — was not found at the scene and has never been located.
In the years following her disappearance, investigators followed up on thousands of tips and interviewed more than 1,000 people.
In June 2008, a copy of Jodi’s personal journal was sent anonymously to a Mason City Globe Gazette reporter. The journal contained more than 80 pages where Huisentruit spelled out her personal goals.
In a KIMT-TV story airing June 23, 2008, Mason City Police Chief Mike Lashbrook confirmed the copy of the journal was real and the same copy given to police, the DCI and FBI. Further investigation revealed a former police chief’s wife had sent the copy to the Globe Gazette.
JoAnn Nathe, Huisentruit’s sister, told FoxNews.com she believed the perpetrator either knew Jodi personally or had stalked her because the individual was privy to her sister’s early-morning schedule.
“There was no indication of a stalker whatsoever,” said Stearns in the Fox News story dated June 11, 2013.
Huisentruit was legally declared dead in May 2001, and though names of several persons of interest emerged, one in particular remains on police radar. Said Fox News:
John Vansice, a neighbor and friend of Huisentruit’s, immediately came forward and said he was the last person to see the news anchor alive, according to police. Vansice, who was much older than Huisentruit, told detectives that she had visited his apartment the night before, and that the two had watched a video Vansice filmed of Huisentruit’s birthday part just weeks earlier. Vansice denied any connection to the abduction and has since moved from Iowa to Phoenix, Ariz. He could not be reached when contacted by FoxNews.com.
“To this day, he [Vansice] is still a person of interest,” Stearns said.
Courtesy photo Globe GazetteNathe believed Vansice was “fixated” on her sister, even though Jodi had never once mentioned his name to her.
Nathe told Fox News she also isn’t convinced that only one person was responsible for the crime. Nathe said her sister’s landlord reported hearing “two different male voices” in the parking lot at the time and the sound of a loud muffler.
Jim Feldhaus — a Canistota, S.D. retired computer programmer for the University of South Dakota at Brookings and a former researcher for 3M in Minnesota — spent nearly 18 years voluntarily interviewing potential suspects and tracking down information on Huisentruit’s case.
Feldhaus, a U.S. Army veteran with degrees in chemistry and computer science, tipped off law enforcement officials and the media whenever he uncovered new tips or leads, and in 2005 told the Globe Gazette the case represented an “obsession” he wanted to solve.
Feldhaus, 79, passed away Oct. 10, 2013 at a Sioux Falls hospice.
The Huisentruit File: Ep. 1, The Case — Courtesy YouTube
When the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) established a Cold Case Unit in 2009, Huisentruit’s disappearance was one of approximately 150 cases listed on the Cold Case Unit’s new website as those the DCI hoped to solve using latest advancements in DNA technology.
Although federal grant funding for the DCI Cold Case Unit was exhausted in December 2011, the DCI continues to assign agents to investigate cold cases as new leads develop or as technological advances allow for additional forensic testing of original evidence.
The DCI remains committed to the resolution of Iowa’s cold cases and will continue to work diligently with local law enforcement partners to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice for the victims and their families.
Dental information and charting is available and entered in Huisentruit’s case.
A DNA sample has been submitted and tests are complete.
Courtesy Amazon.comIn 2011, former KAAL-TV6 Minnesota news anchor Beth Bednar tackled the mysteries surrounding Huisentruit’s disappearance in her book, “Dead Air – The Disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit.”
The book presents several detailed crime theories regarding those considered persons of interest, and explores Huisentruit’s connection to other unsolved Iowa murders.
“Dead Air” has been described as “old-style true crime journalism at its best.”
While the Mason City community continues to mark the anniversary of Huisentruit’s disappearance every year, police await the one solid tip they need to bring to an end the city’s most infamous cold case.
Jodi Sue Huisentruit was born June 5, 1968, to Imogene L. “Jane” (Anderson) and Maurice Huisentruit, and grew up in Long Prairie, Minnesota.
She twice was a member of the state champion high school golf team in Long Prairie.
She graduated from St. Cloud State University and worked briefly at an Alexandria television station before moving to Mason City to work for CBS affiliate KIMT-TV. There, she worked as a morning and noon news anchor and producer between 3 and 4 a.m.
She was abducted from her Mason City apartment’s parking lot at 600 North Kentucky Avenue on Tuesday morning, June 27, 1995, while preparing to leave for work. Her disappearance prompted one of the largest manhunts in Iowa history, with her case featured on several national television programs, including America’s Most Wanted, Unsolved Mysteries, 20/20, Nancy Grace, Psychic Detectives and numerous other talk shows.
Jodi’s mother, Jane Huisentruit, died Dec. 9, 2014 (Courtesy WJON)
In addition to her mother, she was survived by two sisters: JoAnn Nathe of Sauk Center; Jill Lettau, and many other loved ones.
Her father preceded her in death in 1982.
Jodi was declared legally dead in May 2001.
Her mother, Imogene L. “Jane” Huisentruit, died Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, at CentraCare Health Systems in Long Prairie without ever discovering what happened to her daughter.
She was 91 years old.
A January 1994 journal entry Jodi wrote the year before she went missing shined a beaming light into a world where she’d hoped to make a difference. Her entry read:
“Live with passion daily. Be passionate in everyday life. Live the way I want to live — be generous, kind.” ~ January 1994 excerpt from Jodi Huisentruit’s personal journal
The Iowa Cold Cases website (and other sites featuring Ms. Huisentruit’s case) has received multiple e-mails and correspondence from James L. McIntyre, who continues to insist that Ms. Huisentruit’s body was recovered during the week of September 29 – October 1, 1997, and that her remains are in the care of Dr. David L. Frederickson MD ME in the Stearns County Medical Examiner’s office in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Mr. McIntyre also has alleged that Ms. Huisentruit was murdered by Keith Dwayne Nelson.
Lieutenant Frank Stearns, the Criminal Investigations Division Commander for the Mason City Police Department has released an official statement to Iowa Cold Cases that should put Mr. McIntyre’s false allegations to rest once and for all.
Lt. Stearns’ statement on February 7, 2013, reads as follows:
The Mason City Police Department has checked into Mr. McIntyer’s allegations on several occasions, and we have found that none of what he is alleging is true. I have asked him to stop making these allegations but he continues to do so.
Any further allegations Mr. McIntyre posts on this website will be promptly deleted.
In a Mason City Globe Gazette article published Friday, June 23, 2017, Jodi Huisentruit’s sister, JoAnn Nathe of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, told Globe Gazette reporter John Skipper that while she thinks “The intention is nice,” she doesn’t think it’s proper to have a “Jodi Huisentruit Day” in remembrance of her sister’s disappearance. She cited the number of missing persons in Iowa without a day named in their memory.
“I’m sure we would get a lot of flak,” she told the Globe Gazette.
Nathe also took into consideration the fact that her sister grew up in Long Prairie, Minnesota, graduated from St. Cloud University and worked at TV stations in Cedar Rapids and Alexandria, Minnesota, before moving to Mason City.
“I think it’s tacky, Nathe told the paper, “and I think Jodi would think it was tacky, too.”
The June 23 story references the May 2015 letter former State Rep. John Kooiker drafted while still in the Legislature, and State Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, said she and others had signed [Kooiker’s] letter, but when they learned the Huisentruit family was against it, asked their names be removed. Kooiker did not remove them, she said in the Friday story.
The Globe Gazette’s John Skipper also reported in the piece:
Though Kooiker said he became interested in the Huisentruit case when he was in the Legislature, his emails and those of his son to authorities date to four years before he was elected.
The Kooikers aren’t the first — and likely won’t be the last — to become personally attached to solving the case of a young anchorwoman they’d never met.
Jim Feldhaus — a retired computer programmer for the University of South Dakota at Brookings and former researcher for the 3M Company in Minnesota — went on to become a private investigator and spent years pursuing the case. In a Globe Gazette article published June 26, 2005, Iowa DCI Special Agent Bill Basler said Feldhaus was far and away the most active private investigator in the case.
Feldhaus said he didn’t plan to stop investigating until he or someone else solved the case and admitted he was “obsessed” with Huisentruit’s unsolved disappearance.
Feldhaus, 79, died Oct. 10, 2013 at a Sioux Falls hospice.
Courtesy photo Northwest Iowa ReviewIowa State Rep. John Kooiker considered it a privilege to fill in the ninth term of his good friend, Dwayne Alons, who passed away shortly after winning the November 2014 election. But, as a member of the House Public Safety Committee, he found himself appalled at the number of cold cases in the state and the current lack of a cohesive effort to solve them.
In 2015, prior to the 20th anniversary of Jodi Huisentruit’s unsolved disappearance, he saw an opportunity to augment the work being done by the Northwest Iowa Review — one of approximately 200 newspapers participating in the Iowa Newspaper Association‘s statewide GONE COLD project. With the assistance of other legislators, Kooiker drafted a letter addressed to the city of Mason City, asking them to recognize Jodi’s upcoming anniversary and soliciting their help in solving the case. Kooiker spoke to one of Jodi’s sisters, and she had no objections.
All 100 state representatives signed the May 4, 2015, letter.
When Mason City area legislators offered to notify Mason City officials of the pending letter, the news brought about what Kooiker called “some rather strange reactions.”
Chief Mike Lashbrook, Kooiker said, insisted he did not want the letter to be sent to him or anybody else in Mason City. The mayor begged Kooiker — who’d also spoken with Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Director Jim Saunders — to withdraw the letter.
Rather than welcoming the bipartisan support of all 100 state representatives to further the investigation into Jodi’s disappearance and honor the 20th anniversary of her disappearance, Kooiker was accused of “meddling” and “not respecting local control.”
The Northwest Iowa Review documented Kooiker’s unusual and troubling experience in a piece published by The Review on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016. The full article is available for download in PDF format here.
In a North Iowa Today story published June 22, 2017, Kooiker called on Mason City Mayor Eric Bookmeyer to declare June 27, 2017, as Jodi Huisentruit Day. The letter stated, in part:
As you know, after being somewhat puzzled at the opposition from the now-retired Mason City police chief for this proposal, I confirmed that leads in this case from South Dakota had not been looked into by the MCPD for at least 7 years. In addition, I confirmed that these same leads were not made known to Iowa DCI by the Mason City Police Department for at least that same period of time. Perhaps that is why there was such opposition to calling attention to this case. Even if it is assumed these leads have now been followed up on, it still means Jodi’s case is unsolved and the public’s help is needed to solve it. So either way, proclaiming your support for solving this case is respectfully requested. And yes, I previously visited with Jodi’s sister and believe she would still be in support of your efforts to draw attention to this case. (From John Kooiker’s letter to Mayor Bookmeyer, June 2017)
In the letter, Kooiker also attached the 2015 proclamation request as well as the April 26, 2016 follow-up letter he’d sent to new Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley.
MASON CITY — Tips in the Jodi Huisentruit case picked up after a CBS news documentary aired Dec. 15.
Courtesy photo Chris Zoeller, The Globe Gazette“We have received at least two dozen calls/emails,” Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley said. “We are still working to follow up on the information.”
It has been 23 years since Huisentruit, 27, was last seen. She was declared legally dead in 2001, and no one has been charged in her disappearance.
The day she disappeared, Huisentruit — a KIMT-TV television anchor in Mason City — told a colleague she was on her way to work early that morning but never arrived. Police found signs of a struggle outside her apartment.
Brinkley said he couldn’t comment on the information received since it involves an ongoing investigation, but added there has plenty to sort through.
“We hope that the exposure the case received through the ‘48 Hours’ feature will be useful in obtaining additional information about the case from people who may not yet have contacted law enforcement,” he said.
“48 Hours” and reporter Jim Axelrod hoped to reveal new information about the search for Huisentruit in the hour-long episode titled “FindJodi.”
Read the full story and view other articles and videos at The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
A billboard our FindJodi.com team dedicated in Mason City, Iowa in honor of Jodi Huisentruit has been vandalized.
The board was spray painted with the name of a former Mason City police investigator, sometime in the past couple of days. We have blurred the name since we have no facts behind the claim.
It also includes the words ‘machine shed’ in the writings.
Our team has contacted Mason City Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations and Reagan Outdoor Advertising (formerly Fairway) about the incident.
We have some bittersweet news to share with the FindJodi.com audience. Gary Peterson has decided to retire and thereby resign from his post at FindJodi.com. Gary is a strong reason why we are here today and why this website exists. His countless hours to the organization has helped build FindJodi.com from a few guys talking about the case in 2002 to the number one source of information regarding Jodi’s case today.
Gary gave me my first job in Television News in Austin, Minnesota back in 2002. We hit it off right away in that we both had a passion for missing person cases. We’d spend countless hours talking about missing students in Minnesota. Our chats eventually pushed us onto the Jodi Huisentruit case.
It was a case we were both relatively familiar with. But we were both frustrated it had been 7 long years since it happened. Here we are almost 25 years later and the case is not solved. And that still doesn’t sit well with us. But it hasn’t been for lack of trying.
(ABC 6 News) — The search to find Jodi Huisentruit has been an ongoing ffort ever since the former Mason City TV news anchor disappeared while on her way to work nearly 25 years ago.
Austin radio host Scott Fuller has spent years of time and attention on Jodi’s case.
“About three years ago here for the radio station, I did a podcast called ‘What Happened to Jodi?’ It was very short, very basic information about the case. A year after that I did an in-depth investigation for a podcast that I produce, that I own called ‘Frozen Truth,’ and I did a whole season, 15 episodes on Jodi there,” said Fuller.
Now, he’s joining the official FindJodi.com team to produce a FindJodi branded podcast.
Full Story at KAALTV Channel 6 News, Rochester, MN
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) — The secret of Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance could die with the execution of a notorious Iowa drug kingpin.
Dustin Honken is up for execution for the murder of five people in the 1990s — and supposedly knows who abducted the television news anchor back in June of 1995.
Steve Ridge is an investigative journalist who’s dedicated the last 19 months looking into Jodi’s case. Ridge says an accomplice of Honken’s, Angela Johnson — who is also serving time in prison for her part in the murders– claims that Honken knows who abducted Jodi.
Honken was set to be executed in January, but a U.S. District Court of Appeals intervened, halting the sentence being carried out. Now, with the global pandemic, Ridge says it’s unclear when Honken will be executed.
If you have any information concerning Jodi Huisentruit’s unsolved disappearance please contact Lt. Frank Stearns at the Mason City Police Department at (641) 421-3001.
An in-depth website dedicated to solving Jodi’s case may be found at www.findjodi.com.
Article in today’s Gazette (7/5/24):
https://www.thegazette.com/news/29-years-later-pleas-to-solve-jodi-huisentruits-abduction/
None of this points to Ryerson being involved.
If you’ve got all this information on Ryerson being involved with all those murders/missing persons cases, why haven’t you gone to the police? Why haven’t you contacted someone in the DCI and said “Hey, I’ve got a suspect in these cases and here’s how to connect the dots to prove his involvement”?
I just don’t buy that he’s this insanely successful serial killer who has gotten away with a whole list of murders/missing persons cases. From what I’ve read about him in the stories you’ve linked to this site, he seems more like an inept bumbler who MIGHT (emphasis on might) have a fringe connection to a small handful of cases. He seems like the kind to like to brag about his “connections” in order to look like Iowa’s version of Ted Bundy.
All the cases you’ve listed that you claim he is involved in have different MO’s and different victim profiles. There’s different theories behind each one as to why the crime occurred. They’ve happened across a wide range of jurisdictions and it’s a little ludicrous to think that not only the DCI but all those different cops in different jurisdictions are ALL acting in collusion to cover up Ryerson’s alleged involvement in their cases. Even if he’s acting as a drug informant for them, the heinous nature of the crimes would essentially outweight any benefit he could give them, so you’d think they’d arrest him.
Contact Jody on this site, maybe she can help? Or go to the FBI? That’s the only advice I can offer.
Has it ever occurred to you that some of these shady characters may have reason to try and “claim responsibility” for Jodi’s disappearance? Has happened frequently with other high profile cases.
I’m sure they have, if I recall his name is all over Dustin Honken trial. Mason City PD has clearly shown us who they suspect with these GPS warrant years ago,.
The murder of Jackie Folkerts in 1999 was committed by Brad Erdahl. DNA from the scene was matched to him and he admitted to killing her. Doesn’t look like anyone else was ever involved in her death.
Billy Pruin’s death is considered an accident by his family, as per their own investigation into it. He was carrying the gun and somehow it went off (theory is he tripped) and killed him. I think his daughters would like people to stop thinking his death was a murder or somehow connected to Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance.
I think you clearly are off on your own “island” with some of your theories. Billy Pruin very clearly and obviously died in a terrible accident. Haven’t you studied the evidence? And JV is 100% responsible for what happened to Jodi. Look at the timeline. The events leading up to. He lied about her being over at his place the night before. Why do you suppose he did that? Look at the birthday party video. Him picking her up and holding her like she is his in his mind. Classic case of “if I can’t have you no one ever will” by a man with a very aggressive, hair-trigger temper.
I’d like to know what proof there is that Pruin was on the Vansice boat outings. He was never mentioned as being on the trips in any of the documentaries or books or interviews about Jodi’s case.
I also read over Brad Erdahl’s case and there was no mention in any of the articles that were available or even in his appeals that there was a passenger in his car the night he killed Jackie. I think if there’d been someone else with him, he would’ve thrown that person under the bus and said they were the killer.
Angela Johnson and Dustin Honken were the killers of DeGeus, Nicholson, Duncan and her daughters. Again, no other person was mentioned as being involved in those murders besides those two. And they were both cagey enough to have thrown another person under the bus in a hot minute in order to save their own evil skins.
I just don’t think this Ryerson is the criminal mastermind who is behind a bunch of the unsolved cases in northern Iowa. The MO’s are different, the victims are different, the case situations are different. Even the investigating agencies are different, so even if one agency missed evidence in one of the crimes, surely another agency would’ve found evidence in the crime they were investigating. So if he’s behind all of them, why hasn’t there been any evidence to link him to them? If he’s cocky enough to pull off that many crimes, you’d think he’d get sloppy somewhere and leave DNA or trace evidence behind.
Hey do you know why he could be tied to Melissa Jo Olson’s death? Wasnt hers a accidental death?
I remember hearing about this, on the Chicago news, when it happened.
Was there any chance that the person or persons who abducted her were in the apartment with her and made her say that she overslept when her colleague called?
Mr. McIntyre, your claims have been fully investigated and completely debunked by law enforcement. Not a single thing you’ve said in the above statement or in any other statements you blanket on the true crime sites are in any way true. By making false claims (and ego boosting yourself to boot), you’re hurting the families and friends of the victims. Please stop.
I find M. McIntyre’s comments a mess. He throws out stuff about Keith DeWayne Nelson, who was convicted in the Pamela Butler case. Yes he is federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Also he is on a list of federal inmates to be executed.
But, Mr. McIntyre comments are a jumble of other incidents that may be connected to Mr. Nelson. But, he does not provide any facts, as Sgt. Joe Friday would say. His material is all over the place and not organized.
He could have shown proof that Mr. Nelson was in living, working, or visiting in these places, especially Mason City, Iowa. Mr. Nelson, might fit a profile if we had found Jodi murdered, and she was killed in the same way as Pamela Butler.
But, all he does he is throw Mr. Keith Nelson at the wall, expects him to stick as being involved in Jodi’s case. I would expect more from an alleged criminal profiler.
The Oxygen Network is looking at Jodi case on an episode of Up & Vanished. So, hopefully it will generate some new leads. We all the new forensic tools, and cold case units that more cases would be solved.
In my personal opinion the State of Iowa should establish a Cold Case Unit. It could be staffed by active and retired investigators, under the State Attorney General. My thoughts behind it are based on testing novels by J.A. Janice. One of her characters re tut fires from Seattle homicide and gets a job with the State of Washington Attorney General’s Special Homicide Investigative Team. Everyone can figure the shortened version of the name is.
But, the idea of having state wide jurisdiction gives them a lot of clout is we say here in Chicago. The feds have used joint task forces for a number of years. A prime example are the Federal Fugutive Task Forces that the U.S. Marshal’s in regions around the country
The mix of people bring all kinds of knowledge, experience, etc to these groups. Also, it would take a burden off the locals, especially ones, where the local agency has some ghosts in their closet that might not want exposed. This is where I would like the federal agents to step in. But, the FBI has been busy investigating some disinformation they got from Val’s old friends in the KGB, or whatever name they use.
Here’s the one thing I find strange about this case. Why was her work bag taken, with her computer, and stuff in it? Was it taken for the value? The fact that all her belongings were found on the ground, with the exception of her work bag, has puzzled me for the simple fact that this had to be a quick kidnapping, with no time to asses her belongings in the dark. Either this was a crime of opportunity, or someone staged it to be that way. You would think if it was someone who was watching her work schedule, they would have driven away that day seeing that her car was still sitting there, when she usually leaves at that time thinking maybe she was sick that day. They knew that going into that apartment and raising a commotion would be a problem with others that lived there, and would have to make as little noise as possible. So they checked off going in. They needed her in that parking lot, to make a quick transition of getting her into a vehicle. Either someone knew she was running late, or they were waiting for a woman to leave that apartment in the dark, at 4:00 in the morning. I wonder if they have a list of everyone that was in that campground that week.
I wondered about that as well, and what kind of bag it was if it had her laptop in it, could it have been a messenger style bag that she’d worn diagonal across her chest, while her purse would have been in her hand or over her shoulder and used as a weapon when she was grabbed? There were mentions of her taking a self defense class prior to this happening, so my first thought when I read that her things were scattered around the parking lot, was that she might have used the bad to try and defend herself causing everything to get flung around, but a messenger bag would have been secured against her, if she was wearing it across her chest, and so they wouldn’t have had to take the time to grab it because it would have been on her when they grabbed her. Such a sad case, all of them on here are, I hope someday they are all solved.
In the 48 hours segment there was mention of Crank phone calls in the days leading up to her disappearance. I did not hear mention of any follow up in regard to the crank telephone calls.
I know the theory floating around is that John Vancise was calling her apartment when he was suspicious about her having a male friend there. Crank calls that were just nobody talking on the other end, just listening. There is no proof of this, at least not publicly. I don’t know who offered landline telephone service in Mason City in 1995 and if they would be able to produce call logs at that time.
48 Hours is doing a story on 12/15/18 about Jodi’s disappearance:
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/sneak-peek-findjodi/
Perhaps she’s buried in Little Clear Lake in a barrel, just off Balsam Ave. The lake is something like 20′ deep just east of the outcropping on the causeway. After the initial investigation, the FBI and local authorities widened their search, and since that area had been searched, it would be easier to hide the body so close to home. Has that part of Little Clear Lake ever been dredged or dragged after the initial investigation in 1995? Or has it ever?
Mr. Hunter, the article clearly states her purse and many other items belonging to her were found at the scene of her abduction.
Ms. Peiffer, it says purse, not wallet.
“Are you sure you picked up all of Jodi’s belongings. . .
https://www.findjodi.com/an-open-letter-to-the-person-who-murdered-jodi-huisentruit/
Her wallet with the driver’s license in it was probably in her purse, which was recovered at the scene. Most women who carry a purse have their wallet inside of it.
Yes, I see that it says purse-I only meant, since you stated “if her purse was not found etc,” that perhaps you’d misread something. My apologies.
I always recall hearing people comment that they find it odd when the MCPD officer kept bringing up a cops potential involvement, she suddenly was fired. I also recall that Mercy was pouring new concrete for their addition that same morning she went missing, and people wonder if she was buried under it. Sad… :-(
Blah blah blah blah. John vansice is the person of interest. ….he’s originally from newton, iowa……about 2 year’s ago, while working for FedEx, I delivered a package to one of his relatives. I had a Mason city girls basket ball hat on, and the guy asked me about mason city, I informed him I’m from there. . He said his brother John used to live there but there was to much heat on him, he had to bolt fast and never look back. …….this case even after all these years has stuck with me, and I knew a lot of info which I’ve read and watched on tv. As I was delivering this package, I thought to myself, this is creepy, John is in my mind connected to jodi”s dissapearance, and is related to this guy im talking to. My gut says John had money to pay someone to rid of jodi because, he was obsessed with her, and unsuccessfully tried to win her over with material things, she was never gonna be with him and his short temper had reached a frustrating point. Had to leave Mason city to get away from bad memories, figured if he stuck around, people would look and stare at him and may say, that’s the guy who killed jodi. ….moved to Arizona to get away And never think about it or be reminded of his horrible crime of a woman he was in love with……I called him awhile back, and told him they found jodi, just to hear his reaction ……after about 30 seconds of silence he quietly said, that’s impossible, don’t call here again. …….he changed his number 2 days later
Lol… that sure is a crazy, story. Did you call the police, DCI, FBI??? Or just post it on here!? Hmmm.
It’s my word against vanscise brothers, sad to say, cops probably don’t have time to chase any leads or stories. Pathetic how the state does not help fund any of these cold case”s anymore. …
“FedEx” guy is just a troll who thinks he/she is clever.
Person is not smart enough to change up their writing style though. You’ll see similar posts under different aliases on other cases on this site.
Pretty weak and generic stuff.
Hey JD32, who the hell you calling a troll? Weird how I tell a true incident with someone, and you wanna try to say I’m bullshitting? This is the only time I’ve ever written anything on this site because it happened in my hometown, and I still to this day follow it closely. what’s your story?
Crazy….. goes to show you how the mason city police are unable to process a simple crime scene evidence fact….. the morning of her disappearance, the toilet seat in her apartment was left up….. (she lived alone)…… and urine was accidentally splattered on the tile around the base of the toilet…..
Oh brother, if that is true, the floundering flat feet’s inaptitude let that pratt get away with it; there is enough DNA in a drop of piss to clone an army of of J.V.s.
Single women living alone don’t leave toilet seats up EVER.
That name is in the Waterloo Courier this evening, online.
If her license was found, but her licence was in her wallet, and her wallet was in her purse, and her purse was never found, how did detectives find her license? It seems to me only the person who abducted/killed her would have access to her licence. Early reports had it that Ms. Huisentruit was running down a story about the meth/drug/gun running trade in the area at the time. Perhaps she got involved with a nefarious source and needed to be silenced after she learned too much.
And perhaps that person of interest is right there in the interviews saying “the hunt is on” after learning she was missing. Why was the ‘hunt’ on? Why not the search?
Frank stearns has her license.
I WATCHED THIS STORY AGAIN FOR THE SECOUND TIME LAST WEEK AUG. 2015 ANDTHE FIRST TIME A FEW YEARS BACK AND I WAS HOPEING THEY WOULD FIND JODI BEFORE HER MOTHER DIED, BUT SHE WASN'T THAT LUCKY BUT I KNOW WITH MY FAITH THAT MOMA AND JODI ARE TOGETHER IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS IN NO PAIN AND NOTHING BUT LOVE AND PEACE. AMEN AND GOD BLESS JODI'S FAMILY AND GOD BLESS JODI'S SOUL !!
I just watched this show again and every time I watch it I get sick to my stomach. I hope someday they do find Jodi and she can have a decent service. I cannot imagine that she would still be alive and her family and friends have to still be devastated with how she disappeared. This is a scary world we live in and I hope whoever did this to this innocent woman gets his punishment if not here when he leaves this world if he hasn’t already. There is a special place in hell for people like this.
It is so sad that her remains have never been found.
I have vivid dreams about this. It haunts me. :(
Remember this.
I remember that day she disappeared too
I have followed this case for as long as I can remember. I was 15 when this happened and have never forgot about Jodi. I still have a weird feeling that someone that lived in that apartment complex is guilty of this crime. I'm sure everyone was picked apart that lived there, it just seems like the ultimate crime of opportunity. The red flag this case presents is the fact they found the key bent in her car door. This tells me someone came up from behind and attacked her as she was putting the key in the door, as evidenced by her bag on the ground, and the screams her neighbors heard. I think this person(s) lived in her complex, knew she was on the news, and what schedule she kept. I think they saw their chance in a young, petite, attractive blonde. I think this person was in their 20's and is a white male. This person lived in that complex, or had close ties with someone that did. Of course all this is speculation on my part. I hope someday we get a break in this case.
Actually they never found the bag. Not in the house or outside. That’s the really weird part.
A friend of my father, from Austin, MN was a person of interest. He supposedly was dating a woman living in the key apartments. He also owned a white van, which as I recall was identical to the one seen that day. He was a very creepy guy. I remember my dad warning my sister and I, to be cautious of him. I also remember him showing up on foot, claiming he had ran out of gas. My sister has similar features as Jodi, and when he realized I was home also, he seemed like he was in a hurry and quickly left.
He is now dead, but would have been in early or mid 40’s at the time. His initials are E.M..I’ve had multiple people who knew him, tell me that he was somehow involved. His name never comes up in anything I’ve seen though. He was an alcoholic and drug user.
I’m interested in this persons full name that you mentioned. Do you remember or know if his van had a bull bar on the front?
Earl Mudra
I hope they find closure for Jodi’s family, I know at this point they will possibly not find her alive, maybe just remains and my heart goes out to her family and friends! I would never want to live something like this. Jodi, I’m confident that the detectives handling your case will bring you home one day, maybe they just need a different set of eyes! God be with you guys that are family and detectives handling this case. There will be justice Jodi!
Has case 158UFCO DOE Network been checked out? Also, as many follow the DOE network, were there ever indentifiers released like color of tote bag, dental characteristics, scars, clothing, jewelry, etc?
It seems that guilty people tend to push a subject for continual attention, if it drops, they are not happy, keep pressing and averting the blame in a different direction – cops are not stupid, people need to give them more credit than that – especially due to the notoriety of this case.
I was just a small child but I remember this. She has to be found and peace brought to family, friends, and the whole newscast.
http://www.aisocc.com
This is so sad. It was right before I started at Waldorf.
This case has haunted me. Partially because my name is Jodi, too! This is one for the experts.
I remember this…soo sad.
Never Forgotten !!
…I meant “James” McIntyre…
Could this John McIntyre be considered a suspect? He seems to want to insert himself into this investigation pretty badly.
so sad we live in a world where this kind of thing happens
This case, along with the other cold cases need solved so these folks have justice!!!
Prayers with the family and friends.
you aren’t forgotten Jodi Huisentruit
This one still haunts me to this very day! :(
Kat, did law enforcement follow up with you? I just watched this on youtube and was interested if there was any progress?
I have someone of interest for law enforcement to check out.
Is he involved…??? I don’t know…but I do know he lives 1 hour from Mason City IA in New Hampton IA & he definitely could have harmed someone…or worse.
I dated this person back in 2003-2004 & he was SCARY 2 months into our relationship. Again, idk if he had anything to do w it but would be great for all the people involved to know what did so ANY INFO SHOULD BE CHECKED OUT !!
Law enforcement…if you’re interested…email me & we can exchange contact info etc
kat5five91@gmail.com
I will be waiting.
Thank you
PS..this IS NOT A JOKE either ! I’m not saying I have guaranteed info but after watching 20/20 ON OWN…this person immediately came to mind.
LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED !!
I just say the story about Jodi on OWN. One of her coworker’s interview seemed alarming. Does anyone know if Amy Kuns was treated as a suspect?
Yes something is off with Amy. I recently did some research on how to spot a lie by involuntary/subconcius facial expressions and head movements and Amy presses each red flag. I bet she is in the list, if not The List.
I totally agree with you Kendra, I just watched the show on 20/20 and within the first 15 mins I thought she was certaintly someone that might have had something to do with Jodi’s disappearance. She laughed during the interview several times and she voiced that she wanted Jodi’s job, and just her demeanor and body language. I went to several other sites and read more about Amy Kuns and she was ask the question if she attended the birthday party that was thrown for.Jodi, she said “No, I didn’t attend the party, I wasn’t even invited”. She really seemed jealous and to me it really showed.
You people that think Amy was “off” due to one interview are just clueless.
Stearns was there. Too perfect of a crime. Hes got a trophy her drivers license. Why would he need a drivers license when theres tons of her picture everywhere.
are you saying the detective that is on the case did this ?
Just because Lt. Stearns has Jodi’s driver’s license doesn’t mean he was in any way involved in her abduction. Jodi’s DL was probably in her purse, which was recovered at the scene. It’s not unusual for detectives, especially those who deal with cold cases or have worked cases that have gone cold to keep a picture or some sort of memento of the victim, just to keep the victim’s memory alive and remind them what they are working for. Nothing at all sinister in that, either.
It is nice to know people are honest enough to say when interviewed, “that screams had been heard”. Yet not one person found the hour odd or found the screams (plural!) desperate and called the police. I am sure the investigators asked why, but OMG!
They have said that hearing screams in the middle of the night wasn’t uncommon because there was a campground nearby.
Please remove Mr. McIntyre’s information from your website’s comments section. Many people believe the information he posts is true. They are contacting our website, authorities and family members of these ‘new developments. They are not new. Mr. McIntyre has been spreading this information for years and is only clouding the investigation with his conspiracies and incorrect information. Mr. McIntyre has zero basis for any claims he makes and authorities in several states deny any knowledge of such claims.
Josh, we’ve deleted Mr. McIntyre’s comments in the past but he continued to repost them. ICC’s Kerry Connolly recently contacted Lt. Frank Stearns from the Mason City Police Department, and he issued an official statement regarding McIntyre’s allegations. I’ve provided a link to Lt. Stearns’ statement at the bottom of Jodi’s case summary. I’ve also deleted Mr. McIntyre’s latest comment, and any further comments he makes will be promptly deleted.
Thanks so much for all you do in behalf of keeping Jodi’s memory alive.
Best wishes,
Jody Ewing
Iowa Cold Cases Founder
You lose all credibility when you start picking and choosing based on opinions rather then FACTS. Everyone has a right to their own opinions… based on FACTS. When you delete comments which clearly question your intention…. you lose and so do your readers.
Unfortunately, Mr. McIntyre’s comments are not based on any facts, as per the statement issued by the Mason City Police Dept., which is the investigating authority over Jodi Huisentruit’s case. Mr. McIntyre has posted similar comments on several other sites dedicated to unsolved crimes/true crimes and his statements have been thoroughly…and I mean thoroughly…debunked by law enforcement officials. The only one who loses any credibility is the person who sadly keeps perpetuating the myth that Jodi’s body has lain unclaimed in a St. Cloud, Minn. morgue since 1997. Jodi’s case has always been high profile and any unidentified female remains that have ever been recovered, particularly in Minnesota or Iowa, would be completely investigated to see if there was a match. The intention of this site is not to spread false rumors or myths about any of the crimes listed on here, but rather to share FACTS of these cold cases with the public in hopes of solving them. Mr. McIntyre’s comments have been proven several times over by several different law enforcement agencies that they are not FACT, they’re a MYTH, and therefore have no place on a site dedicated to FACTS.
Thank you, Kim, for a comment that clearly explains our position when it comes to Mr. McIntyre’s posts. We included the link to Lt. Frank Stearns’ official statement so readers could see for themselves that the Mason City Police Dept. has already investigated Mr. McIntyre’s allegation and proven it to be false. The MCPD has also repeatedly asked Mr. McIntyre to stop spreading this lie, yet he continues to do so.
Mr. McIntyre has been “using” our website to perpetuate a lie, and for us to allow him to continue this practice would be irresponsible.
Jody
Mr. McIntyre should be brought up on charges for false information just like others have been in this case! Whoever “he” really is continues to spread this same fake info around- all over the findjodi site – as recently as mid 2019. Later posts are same info but various source names.
I can only presume “he” is purposeful involved if not in some way guilty of this crime & adding to the research chaos to ensure it remains unsolved.
What say you MCPD? Has this person been identified & investigated?