Chilling update in search for missing Iowa TV anchor who vanished 29 years ago

Nearly 30 years aft Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared, a random extremity led constabulary to search a operation tract adjacent to wherever caller apartments are being built.

It was hoped the renewed hunt for Huisentruit's assemblage could effect successful a large breakthrough. 

Last month, investigators searched an country successful Winsted, Minnesota, a agrarian metropolis northwest of Twin Cities arsenic portion of their investigation.

'It's the archetypal nationalist enactment successful years,' erstwhile writer Caroline Lowe told The Independent. 'We look astatine what we tin bash arsenic journalists, due to the fact that we cognize what gets covered, and we're diggers – we privation to find retired what happened to her.

'It's besides successful america to bash what we tin to support her visible. She's 1 of us. She's portion of our extended family. We beryllium it to her to assistance bring her home.'

But weeks connected from the search, Lowe received a crushing update from Winsted Police Chief Justin Heldt who confirmed nary quality remains were recovered successful the hunt - lone workplace carnal remains, which would beryllium rather communal successful a agrarian country specified arsenic Winsted.

Investigators person not revealed what accusation drew them to the operation tract and lone said they were following up connected a pb successful Jodi's case.

'MCPD precocious worked with Minnesota instrumentality enforcement officials to travel up connected a pb successful Winsted,' Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley said successful a statement. 

'MCPD continues to receive, evaluate, and follow-up connected accusation it receives related to Jodi Huisentruit's disappearance connected a regular basis. Information gleaned from this effort volition beryllium utilized successful the ongoing investigation.'

'Information gleaned from this effort volition beryllium utilized successful the ongoing investigation,' Brinkley said. 'At this time, determination is nary further accusation for nationalist release.

He further stated: 'We bash privation to promote anyone with accusation astir Jodi’s disappearance to interaction the MCPD oregon the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.'

Winstead is simply a metropolis located conscionable 45 miles westbound of the Twin Cities metro, and has a colonisation of 2,240, according to a 2020 census. 

Huisentruit was successful the parking batch of her flat analyzable successful Mason City, Iowa connected the greeting of July 27, 1995. 

The 27-year-old was connected her mode to anchor the greeting quality astatine KIMT-TV but abruptly vanished into bladed air. 

The constabulary main said that that the Mason County Police Department worked with the Minnesota instrumentality enforcement officials to travel up connected the pb successful Winsted.

Only 1 idiosyncratic has ever been considered a idiosyncratic of interest. 

John Vansice, who was 50 astatine the clip and friends with Huisentruit, told constabulary helium was the past idiosyncratic to spot her alive. 

She had travel implicit to his location the nighttime earlier to ticker a day video, but insisted helium was not progressive successful her disappearance.  

On the greeting of her disappearance, the station's shaper called her flat and woke her up. 

She said she would beryllium determination soon for her 6am newscast that would beryllium broadcast live. The presumption was astir a mile distant from her home.

Her co-workers grew acrophobic erstwhile hours passed and she did not arrive. They called constabulary requesting a payment check.

When officers arrived to the Key Apartments successful Mason City, Iowa they recovered reddish precocious heels, a stroke dryer, earrings and hairspray scattered by her car. 

The judge she was abducted astir 20 minutes aft leaving her flat gathering and next to her car that was parked astir 12 steps from the entranceway of her flat building.'

During the conflict with her abductor, the cardinal to Jodi’s reddish 1991 Mazda Miata was somewhat bent.

Police said determination 'was grounds of a conflict extracurricular the flat building.' They besides recovered a 'partial thenar print' connected the car.

However, determination are nary eyewitnesses to the abduction and nary surveillance cameras to grounds what happened.

Some neighbors had reported proceeding a shriek astatine astir 4:30am, but nary 1 called police.

There was precise small forensic grounds recovered astatine the transgression scene, and the lawsuit yet went cold.

In 2001, Huisentruit was legally declared dead. 

Two years later, friends and erstwhile coworkers Josh Benson and Gary Peterson created the non-profit FindJodi, Inc. to support the young woman's representation live and assistance successful solving the case

Huisentruit's lawsuit has since became 1 of Iowa's biggest execution mysteries.

In April 2023, co-founder Peterson died astatine 81. His co-founder Josh Benson wrote a tribute astir Peterson connected the FindJodi webpage, and shared however heartbroken helium was of his passing.

'I met Gary each the mode backmost successful 2002 successful Austin, Minnesota. He was my archetypal brag successful TV News astatine KAAL-TV. We deed it disconnected immediately,' Benson wrote. 

'We some discovered we shared a passionateness for missing idiosyncratic cases and wrong six months were were diving successful to the disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit.'

 Anyone with accusation is asked to interaction the Mason City Police Department astatine (641) 421-3636, the Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman astatine rherman@dps.state.ia.us oregon interaction FindJodi.com.