Jodi Huisentruit, a television news anchor at KIMT in Mason City, Iowa, vanished from her apartment parking lot early on June 27, 1995, after a phone call in which she said she had overslept and was leaving for work. Evidence of a struggle was found near her car, but despite decades of investigation, no suspect has been identified and she was declared legally dead in 2001.
Jodi Sue Huisentruit (born June 5, 1968) was a television news anchor at KIMT, a CBS affiliate in Mason City, Iowa. She was raised in Long Prairie, Minnesota, attended Moorhead State University and St. Cloud State University, and worked briefly as a flight attendant before entering broadcasting, with prior stints at KGAN in Cedar Rapids and KSAX in Alexandria, Minnesota.
On the morning of June 27, 1995, KIMT producer Amy Kuns called Huisentruit's apartment at 4:10 a.m. after she failed to arrive for her shift. Huisentruit answered and said she had overslept and was preparing to leave. When she still had not arrived by 6:00 a.m., Kuns filled in for her, and KIMT staff contacted Mason City police at 7:13 a.m. Officers found Huisentruit's red Mazda Miata in the apartment parking lot along with signs of a struggle, including a bent car key, her red high heels strewn nearby, and an unidentified palm print recovered from a pole. Several neighbors reported hearing screams around the time she would have been leaving for work, and one reported seeing a white Ford Econoline idling nearby.
The Huisentruit family hired private investigators in September 1995, who pursued national media appearances, including America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries, and a televised 1995 meeting with psychics in Los Angeles that later became the pilot for the show Psychic Detectives. In May 1996, roughly 100 volunteers searched Cerro Gordo County, and law enforcement re-examined flagged sites without finding conclusive evidence. More than 1,000 interviews have been conducted by police and private investigators without identifying a suspect. Huisentruit was declared legally dead in May 2001.
The case has remained the subject of ongoing attention. In 2003, journalists created FindJodi.com to collect tips. In 2008, photocopies of Huisentruit's personal journal were anonymously mailed to a local newspaper; the sender was later identified as the wife of a former Mason City police chief, though no motive was given by police for either the retention or the mailing of the material. In March 2017, a search warrant was executed seeking GPS data on two vehicles belonging to John Vansice, a person of interest who was never charged and who died in December 2024. A 2025 Hulu documentary series examined several other persons of interest, none of whom have been elevated to suspect status by the Mason City Police Department. In November 2025, police searched a site in Winsted, Minnesota, following the demolition of a house in an area of prior interest; the department reported that nothing of significance was located and that the investigation remains open.
Huisentruit graduates from St. Cloud State University with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and speech communication.
1995-06-27
Huisentruit fails to arrive at KIMT for her morning shift; a colleague's phone call reaches her, but she never arrives, and police find signs of a struggle near her car outside her apartment.
1995-09
The Huisentruit family hires private investigators from McCarthy & Associates Investigative Services.
1995-11
Family members and investigators travel to Los Angeles to meet with psychics, in a televised meeting later used as the pilot for Psychic Detectives.
1996-05
Approximately 100 volunteers search Cerro Gordo County for evidence.
2001-05
Huisentruit is declared legally dead.
2003
FindJodi.com is created by Minnesota journalists to collect tips on the case.
2008-06
Photocopies of Huisentruit's personal journal are anonymously mailed to a Mason City newspaper; the sender is later identified as the wife of a former Mason City police chief.
2017-03
A search warrant is executed seeking GPS data for vehicles belonging to person of interest John Vansice.
2018
48 Hours airs an episode on the case featuring previously unseen footage of Vansice.
2022
ABC's 20/20 airs a new special on the case titled 'Gone at Dawn.'
2023-02
Private investigator Steve Ridge announces a $25,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Huisentruit's remains.
2023-09
Ridge increases the reward to $50,000.
2024-10
Mason City police search a wooded site in Winsted, Minnesota, following an anonymous tip.
2024-12
John Vansice dies, having never been charged in the case.
2025-07-15
Hulu releases the documentary series 'Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit,' examining several persons of interest.
2025-11-20
Mason City police search a demolished-house site in Winsted, Minnesota; police report nothing of significance was found and the investigation remains open.
2025-12
The reward offered by Ridge is doubled to $100,000, effective through June 27, 2026.
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Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
Kendall Rae / 23 min
WHERE IS Jodi Huisentruit?! News Anchor Vanishes...
People
Jodi Huisentruit
VICTIM
Television news anchor who disappeared from her apartment parking lot on June 27, 1995, and was declared legally dead in 2001.
John Vansice
ACQUITTED
Person of interest whose vehicles were subject to a 2017 GPS search warrant; never charged in the disappearance and died in December 2024.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Jodi Huisentruit, a television news anchor at KIMT in Mason City, Iowa, vanished from her apartment parking lot early on June 27, 1995, after a phone call in which she said she had overslept and was leaving for work. Evidence of a struggle was found near her car, but despite decades of investigation, no suspect has been identified and she was declared legally dead in 2001.
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