Jodi Huisentruit

Case background and investigation

Jodi Sue Huisentruit was a 27-year-old morning news anchor for KIMT, the CBS affiliate in Mason City, Iowa, when she vanished in the early hours of June 27, 1995. A native of Long Prairie, Minnesota, and a 1990 graduate of St. Cloud State University, she had joined the station in 1994 and typically left for work before dawn to co-anchor the early broadcast. That morning she failed to arrive on time. At about 4:00 a.m., KIMT producer Amy Kuns telephoned Huisentruit's apartment; Huisentruit answered, said she had overslept, and indicated she was on her way. She never reached the station, and she has not been seen since.

Investigators who examined the parking lot of Huisentruit's apartment complex found evidence consistent with a struggle near her red Mazda Miata. According to police and widely published accounts, the scene included a bent car key, her high-heeled shoes, hair care items, earrings, and other personal belongings scattered on the ground. A partial palm print was reportedly recovered from her car. Several neighbors later said they heard a scream in the pre-dawn hours, and at least one reported seeing a white van in the vicinity. Authorities concluded the physical evidence pointed to an abduction rather than a voluntary departure.

The Mason City Police Department, later joined by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the FBI, conducted an extensive investigation that included more than 1,000 interviews over the years. The Huisentruit family also engaged private investigators. Over the decades several individuals have been publicly discussed in connection with the case, but no one has ever been arrested or charged. John Vansice, an acquaintance whom Huisentruit had visited the evening before she disappeared, was publicly identified as a person of interest; in 2017 authorities sought GPS data from two of his vehicles through a search warrant. Vansice, who was never charged and denied involvement, died in December 2024. Other names that have surfaced in media reports and documentaries — including Christopher Revak, a since-deceased suspected killer, and Brad Millerbernd — have likewise not been charged. These individuals are described here only as publicly reported persons of interest; none has been convicted of any crime related to the case.

The case has been kept in public view in part through the work of FindJodi, an effort launched in 2003 by Minnesota television journalists Josh Benson and Gary Peterson and later organized as a nonprofit clearinghouse for tips and information. Huisentruit's disappearance has also been featured on national programs such as America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries, and in 2025 was the subject of the Hulu documentary series Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit. In May 2001, at her family's request, a Cerro Gordo County District Court judge declared Huisentruit legally dead after a court-appointed attorney found no evidence she had left voluntarily or was still alive.

As of 2026, Jodi Huisentruit's remains have never been found and the case remains unsolved and officially open, with Mason City police describing it as an active investigation. Renewed interest and new tips have prompted periodic searches, including efforts in Winsted, Minnesota, in 2024 and 2025, though authorities reported nothing of significance was recovered. A private reward for information leading to the recovery of her remains has been raised over time to as much as $100,000. Investigators continue to solicit tips through the Mason City Police Department and the Iowa DCI.