20 years ago today: Jodi Huisentruit disappearance

[1990 UM fan]

The 27-year-old Mason City, Iowa anchorwoman vanished on the morning of June 27th, 1995, where she had overslept but still got ready for work. She apparently was abducted while walking to her car in the parking lot of her apartment complex, as her personal belongings were scattered near her car, and she never made it to work. A white Econoline van was seen near the apartment building around the time Jodi vanished and people heard screams but never saw anything.

Police, K-9 units and volunteers searched wooded areas, grass fields and the Winnebago River for Jodi's body, but never found her. Police delved into Jodi's personal life and found nothing that would put her life at risk and that she was real and all-American to those who knew her and to her viewers. Police believe that an obsessed fan may have abducted and murdered Jodi. In May of 2001, Jodi was declared legally dead.

In June of 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 4th postmark from Waterloo, Iowa. 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 identified her as the wife of the a 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. Police have conducted more than 1000 interviews related to Jodi's disappearance and have followed up on several leads, but nothing conclusive to point towards a suspect or Jodi's remains.

Unsolved Mysteries aired Jodi's disappearance on February 18th, 1996. Disappeared also aired her story on January 28th, 2013.

What do you think happened to her? Was she abducted and possibly murdered by an obsessed fan? Was a member of the police force involved in her disappearance? Perhaps somebody she worked with had a grudge against her? I feel that the former police chief who had a copy of Jodi's journal knows what happened to her, and possibly was involved, or knew who done it. Leads are still pouring in all this time later and hopefully ONE will be the one that cracks the case and gets it solved.

[wiseguy182]

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...d.php?t=337918

[1990 UM fan]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...d.php?t=337918

Yeah...I know 😒

[Arnold_OldSchool]

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedM...nt_related_to/

Mason City police are looking into two vehicles that may be connected to the disappearance of an Iowa news anchor 23 years ago, according to a new report.

Jodi Huisentruit was a 27-year-old anchor at KIMT-TV in Mason City on June 27, 1995, when she failed to show up for work to anchor the 6 a.m. broadcast. She hasn't been seen since.

FindJodi.com, a site dedicated to Huisentruit's case and run by journalists and retired police officers, reported Friday that the Mason City Police Department executed a search warrant on March 20, 2017, for GPS data on two cars related to John Vansice. Vansice, now 72 and living in Arizona, was a friend of Huisentruit's who may have been the last person to see her before she vanished.

Online court records show police were seeking GPS data from a 1999 Honda Civic and a 2013 GMC 1500. Vansice is listed as the interested party on the warrant, which is under seal.

Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley told FindJodi.com that the warrant is connected to the department's investigation into Huisentruit's disappearance.

"As you know, we continue to actively work Jodi Huisentruit’s missing persons case from June 27, 1995. The search warrant you are referring to is part of our ongoing investigation. We do not have any public comment at this time about the content of the search warrant or the person(s) named in it. We would ask that anyone with information about Jodi’s disappearance contact the Mason City Police Department.”

[drew790]

They had car GPS in 1995??

[James T]

Originally Posted by drew790

They had car GPS in 1995??

The Oldsmobile was the first GPS in a vehicle in the USA in 1995. However this has nothing to do with when she vanished, they are interested in the GPS he has used in two vehicles in recent times-one of which was only manufactured five years ago.

[Todd Mueller]

Originally Posted by James T

The Oldsmobile was the first GPS in a vehicle in the USA in 1995. However this has nothing to do with when she vanished, they are interested in the GPS he has used in two vehicles in recent times-one of which was only manufactured five years ago.

John Vansice is from Iowa but since moved to Arizona. The fact he was back probably got the attention of police. But more importantly, if they got a search warrant, they had to have enough probable cause to get a judge to sign a warrant. That tells me that they must have something on him.

This is a very interesting development. I have always thought there is something wrong with John Vansice, both before and after her disappearance. He had a odd relationship with Jodi (especially considering their difference in age) and he did and said some very weird things right after her disappearance. I'm not sure if he abducted her alone, with an accomplice, or if he just knows who did, but I'm convinced he knows more about this than he has ever said.

[James T]

Originally Posted by Todd Mueller

John Vansice is from Iowa but since moved to Arizona. The fact he was back probably got the attention of police. But more importantly, if they got a search warrant, they had to have enough probable cause to get a judge to sign a warrant. That tells me that they must have something on him.

This is a very interesting development. I have always thought there is something wrong with John Vansice, both before and after her disappearance. He had a odd relationship with Jodi (especially considering their difference in age) and he did and said some very weird things right after her disappearance. I'm not sure if he abducted her alone, with an accomplice, or if he just knows who did, but I'm convinced he knows more about this than he has ever said.

Remember saying some time back either here or on Reddit that I didn't think it was a random abduction & that it was likely her boyfriend/bedfellow, or somebody close to her.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by James T

Remember saying some time back either here or on Reddit that I didn't think it was a random abduction & that it was likely her boyfriend/bedfellow, or somebody close to her.

My gut keeps telling me it was an obsessed fan because of how easy it would be to abduct her. Her little apartment complex parking lot at 3:00 in the morning where nobody would be around. Following her home, getting to know her routine. It's all so easy to accomplish. Even looking at the abduction site on google maps today, it's easy to spot all the places this man could have hidden while waiting for her to exit the building.

In college, I did an internship at a local news station in Detroit and I was kind of surprised to learn that many of those broadcasters didn't live in gated mansions. The majority of them lived in your typical middle class house in the suburbs. All it takes is one nut-job to find out where you live and you probably never have any privacy.

I truly believe some wacko saw her on the news every day and became obsessed with her. Once he had her in his possession, he was home free. And since this man did not know her personally, the police had no idea where to start looking (outside of people who knew her).

[James T]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

My gut keeps telling me it was an obsessed fan because of how easy it would be to abduct her. Her little apartment complex parking lot at 3:00 in the morning where nobody would be around. Following her home, getting to know her routine. It's all so easy to accomplish. Even looking at the abduction site on google maps today, it's easy to spot all the places this man could have hidden while waiting for her to exit the building.

In college, I did an internship at a local news station in Detroit and I was kind of surprised to learn that many of those broadcasters didn't live in gated mansions. The majority of them lived in your typical middle class house in the suburbs. All it takes is one nut-job to find out where you live and you probably never have any privacy.

I truly believe some wacko saw her on the news every day and became obsessed with her. Once he had her in his possession, he was home free. And since this man did not know her personally, the police had no idea where to start looking (outside of people who knew her).

It is possible, I just think somebody close to her was more likely. Isn't it really only big time national stars that live in these fortresses? Regional anchors are probably not on enough money for that & don't think they are in anywhere near as much danger from crazy fans as say Madonna. Especially back then-did as many really famous people live in these gated palaces or is that really something more of this century ?

[RaidenKhan]

The boyfriend/someone close theory is certainly possible (Vansice is obviously a prime suspect). The only thing that gives me pause about that is the time and manner of the abduction. Why would he do this in a public place in the early morning as she’s headed to work if he were someone who presumably had regular, private time alone with her? The specifics do seem more in line with “random psycho who planned this around the time he could realistically best get to her.”

Cheers,
Matt

[RaidenKhan]

I have a few more thoughts about this as well...

If a crazy, obsessed stalker fan is responsible, it seems unlikely that there were no previous interactions. I would think that this person had written her letters, showed up at the TV station, called, hung around location shoots, etc. in the past. I seriously doubt he would have watched her, learned her routine, and abducted her before trying anything else. It's possible, of course; just not likely in my opinion. Obsession builds over time, and I think this person would have tried to get close to her and insert himself into her life in other ways before jumping to the most extreme possibility. I think he would have wanted her to "know" him.

If it wasn't Vansice or someone close to her, I think it's equally likely it was a random crime that had nothing to do with her TV personality. Could have been some predator in the apartment parking lot waiting for the first pretty girl he saw, and she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The public nature of her job adds a different dimension of intrigue to this case, so everyone focuses on that. But what if it was unrelated?

I sure hope they solve it someday. The Matthew Chase development has given me hope that even the cases that seem like they'll never be solved can be just one lead away.

Cheers,
Matt

[mikewho]

I'm glad you all posted this. I heard the last bit of something on the radio but wasn't sure what the new info was. Mods you can delete the thread I started before I noticed this one

I hope this leads to solving the case

[TheCars1986]

This is the first time I've heard of this Vansice guy (I'm admittedly not as well versed as others on this case), but I don't know how plausible he seems as a suspect. I know he's a POI because he's the last person to see her alive, but unless he's making up the entire birthday part viewing episode, I don't see how this innocuous encounter would then have him abduct and murder her the very next morning. He would have to bank on picking a day where she messed up her routine and overslept, and also not be seen by anyone in the complex. And because of the force that she was taken and the scattered items around her car, I think that tends to support an unknown assailant abducting her rather than someone she knew. Someone she knew would've been able to approach her relatively easy and wouldn't have alarmed her.

[RaidenKhan]

Agreed.

Cheers,
Matt