Huge update in notorious 1995 disappearance of Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit

Nearly 30 years after Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared, a random tip has led police to what could be a major breakthrough. 

Two weeks ago, investigators searched an area in Winsted, Minnesota, a rural city northwest of Twin Cities as part of their investigation. 

The search was focused on a construction site where new apartments are being built. 

Mason Police Chief Jeff Brinkley did not provide specifics about the case or the tipster but, shared a statement on the FindJodi website asking the public to contact them or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation if they have any information.

Huisentruit was in the parking lot of her apartment complex in Mason City, Iowa on the morning of July 27, 1995. 

The then 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.

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. 

'MCPD continues to receive, evaluate, and follow up on information it receives related to Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance on a regular basis,' the police chief said. 

'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.'

Only one person has ever been considered a person of interest. 

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 live news cast. 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. 

'She was abducted about 20 minutes after leaving her apartment building,' as per the site. 

'She was next to her car that was parked approximately 12 steps from the entrance of her apartment building.'

'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 no eyewitnesses to the abduction and no surveillance cameras to record what happened.

Some neighbors had reported hearing a scream 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. 

Two years later, friends and former colleagues 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 became one of Iowa's biggest mysteries.

In April 2023, co-founder Gary 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