In the past year, much has happened in the search for Jodi Huisentruit who was abducted on her way to anchor the morning news at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa on June 27, 1995.
But 24 years after Jodi’s disappearance from her apartment parking lot, Jodi is still missing, no one has been charged with a crime.
Here are some developments since last June 27th:
Media Coverage
After the team at FindJodi launched a billboard campaign on Jodi’s 50th birthday on June 5, 2018, there has been extensive national and local media coverage of the unsolved mystery. Reports included a “48 Hours” episode on CBS that generated dozens of calls to Mason City police, a podcast series called Frozen Truth and countless newspaper articles.
The search for Jodi was also spotlighted in the first issue of a new citizen detective magazine, “Unsolved” which was launched at the 2019 CrimeCon conference in New Orleans earlier this month.
Billboards Remain Standing
We are thrilled to report that two of the four billboards we purchased for last years dedication are still standing! That includes the billboard at the North Federal location where we held the dedication last year. Special thanks to Fairway Outdoor Advertising for helping make the billboards a reality and doing such a professional job, and for keeping two billboards up. They went above and beyond in helping us plan our event and make these billboards a reality.
Billboard on North Federal Avenue in Mason City, Iowa is still standing a year later.
Second Federal Grand Jury Revealed
We learned a second federal grand jury subpoenaed fingerprints, palm prints and a DNA swab from John Vansice in March 2017.
That was two weeks before Mason City police obtained permission from a Cerro Gordo county judge to search GPS data from two vehicles owned by Vansice. Contents of the search warrant, which the MCPD told 48 Hours did not produce any evidence, were sealed by a judge and will remain sealed at least until September.
John Vansice Breaks Silence
In a statement released by Steve Ridge, a prominent media consultant, Vansice “emphatically” insisted he had nothing to do with the abduction of Jodi who was a friend and 22-years-older than the young anchorwoman.
John Vansice and Ani Kruse in 1995 (via CBS News)
Dan Borland Passes Away
Our long time friend, colleague, photographer and active case follower Dan Borland passed away far too young.
Jodi’s Network of Hope
Jodi’s Network of Hope hosted a very successful 15th annual golf fundraiser on June 15th in honor of Jodi in her hometown of Long Prairie, MN.
What’s next?
While there has been a lot of developments in the past year, the simple fact remains that Jodi is still missing. Our team has worked to help provide that missing piece to solve the puzzle. We appreciate all of your tips, donations, insight and resources in trying to solve this case. We will continue in our mission and prepare for the next year of searching leading up to the 25th anniversary of Jodi’s disappearance. But, as we always say this time of year – we hope we don’t need to observe the next anniversary.
Thank you for your support.
If you have any information on Jodi’s disappearance, please come forward.
Mason City Police Department
Phone: (641) 421-3636
Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI)
Phone: (515) 725-6010
Email: dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us
