June 27th will mark the 18th anniversary of Jodi Husientruit’s disappearance. We’re marking the occasion with different looks into Jodi’s life and the case in general.
Since Jodi’s disappearance, several people have been labeled ‘Persons of Interest’ in her case. Mason City Police investigators say they’ve never had an actual ‘suspect’ in the case.
One person of interest that our team has, and continues to look into, is Tony Jackson. Jackson is currently serving a life sentence in prison for rape convictions in Minnesota.
Authorities say Jackson was also linked to a rape in Worth County, Iowa through DNA. Jackson was never charged in that rape case.
Team Connections to the Jackson Case
FindJodi.com, Inc. team member Caroline Lowe was a crime reporter for WCCO-TV in Minneapolis for 40 years. In 1998 and 1999 Caroline worked in WCCO’s I-Team and Dimension units. During those years, Caroline and her teams investigated Jackson as a possible suspect in connection with Jodi’s disappearance. At the time, Jackson was charged with a series of violent rapes in the Twin Cities.
Investigators surveying the scene in Tiffin, Iowa. (Courtesy: Caroline Lowe)
During that time, police in Minnesota had investigated the rape cases, arrested Jackson and sent information to Mason City Police and Caroline Lowe about a possible connection to the Huisentruit case. One officer working Jackson’s case at that time was Jay Alberio, former Woodbury, Minnesota police officer and current FindJodi.com, Inc. team member.
We’ve included in this post two WCCO-TV reports that aired in 1998 and 1999 that outline Tony Jackson’s life before he was arrested and why authorities were interested in him as a possible suspect in Jodi’s abduction.
Jackson’s statements to another inmate in prison later led investigators and reporters to an abandoned silo in Tiffin, Iowa in search of Jodi Husientruit.
‘No evidence’ connecting Jackson to Huisentruit disappearance
While events reported in the following stories could appear to be connected to Jodi’s case, we want to make it clear that Tony Jackson has never been named an official suspect in Jodi’s disappearance, nor has he been charged in a crime related to her case.
Mason City Police investigators say they have no evidence to link Jackson to Jodi’s case.
Jackson has repeatedly denied any involvement in Jodi’s disappearance. He’s also denied involvement in the rape crimes for which he’s currently serving a life sentence.
Caroline Lowe’s I-Team reports on Tony Jackson
We have added these videos to our archive for educational purposes to further educate FindJodi.com visitors about the Huisentruit disappearance. You can find these videos in the video gallery on the Media page. If you have questions or comments, please leave a comment on the post page.
+ WCCO-TV I-Team report on Jackson in 1998 (2.5 part series).
+ WCCO-TV Dimension report on Jackson 1999.
