111 | The Disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit
Jodi Huisentruit was a TV news anchor at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, who disappeared in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995, after failing to show up for her morning broadcast. Police responded to her apartment building and found signs of a struggle around her car, which was still in the parking lot, leading investigators to believe she was attacked as she headed to work. Despite extensive investigations involving thousands of tips and interviews with over a thousand people, no definitive clues to her whereabouts were ever found, and she was declared legally dead in 2001. Several persons of interest have been investigated over the years, most notably John Vansice, the last known person to see her alive, though no arrests have ever been made. Her body has never been recovered, and as of the 30th anniversary of her disappearance in 2025, a reward is still being offered for information, and the case remains an active investigation.
Someone out there knows what happened to her. That's not speculation — that is statistically near-certain. And if you know something, or if you know someone who does, the Mason City Police Department's tip line is (641) 421-3001. FindJodi.com also accepts tips. Steve Ridge's reward is real and it is fifty thousand dollars.
SOURCES:
CBS News / 48 Hours — "Jodi Huisentruit Mystery: The Decades-Long Search" Author: Jim Axelrod. Published: July 2020, updated 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/find-jodi-huisentruit-decades-long-search-for-the-missing-mason-city-iowa-tv-news-anchor/
CBS News — Evidence Photos in the Disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit Author: not attributed. Published: July 2020. https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/jodi-huisentruit-missing-anchor-evidence-photos/
CBS News / Minnesota — "New Evidence Could Be Released in Jodi Huisentruit Case" Published: March 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/new-evidence-missing-iowa-jodi-huisentruit/
CBS2 Iowa / FOX28 — "Unsealed Warrant Reveals New Details on Jodi Huisentruit Case" Published: April 2025. https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/portion-of-2017-search-warrant-unsealed-in-jodi-huisentruit-case-john-vansice-a-1999-honda-civic-and-a-2013-gmc-1500-phoenix-arizona-kimt-tv-in-mason-city-judge-ordered-gps-tracker-on-vehicles-connected-to-a-now-deceased-person-of-interest-1995-disappear
CBS2 Iowa / FOX28 — "Person of Interest in Jodi Huisentruit Disappearance Speaks Out for First Time" Author: Steve Ridge, reported via CBS2. Published: April 2019. https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/person-of-interest-in-jodi-huisentruits-disappearance-speaks-out-for-first-time
CNN — "Where is Jodi Huisentruit?" Published: June 27, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/27/us/where-is-jodi-huisentruit
FindJodi.com — "27 Years, 27+ Facts" Published: June 2022. https://findjodi.com/27-years-27-facts/
FindJodi.com — "30+ Facts and Memories About Jodi Huisentruit on Her 57th Birthday" Published: June 5, 2025. https://findjodi.com/30-facts-and-memories-about-jodi-huisentruit-on-her-57th-birthday/
FindJodi.com — "John Vansice: An Elusive Search for Official Answers" Published: January 2025. https://findjodi.com/john-vansice-an-elusive-search-for-official-answers/
FindJodi.com — Podcast 009: John Vansice https://findjodi.com/podcast-009-john-vansice/
Fox News Digital — "New Person of Interest Emerges in Documentary on Disappearance of Iowa News Anchor" Author: not attributed. Published: July 16, 2025. https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-person-interest-emerges-documentary-decades-old-disappearance-iowa-news-anchor
Fox News Digital — "News Anchor's Disappearance Was a Crime of 'Jealousy': Private Investigator" Published: November 2024. https://www.foxnews.com/us/news-anchors-mysterious-disappearance-crime-jealousy-private-investigator
Globe Gazette (Mason City) — "Who Is John Vansice?" Published: March 2017. https://globegazette.com/news/local/who-is-john-vansice-arizona-man-remains-a-person-of-interest-in-jodi-huisentruit-case/collection_0b211da6-3830-5d56-8816-09d62aafa418.html
Iowa Cold Cases — Jodi Huisentruit case summary https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/jodi-huisentruit/
KIMT — "New Developments Regarding John Vansice" https://www.kimt.com/content/news/New-developments-regarding--508713111.html
KTTC — "Private Investigator Shares Passing of Figure Once Linked with Jodi Huisentruit Investigation" Published: December 27, 2024. https://www.kttc.com/2024/12/27/private-investigator-shares-passing-figure-once-linked-with-jodi-huisentruit-investigation/
Moviedelic — "John Vansice: What Happened to the Person of Interest?" Published: July 2025. https://moviedelic.com/john-vansice/
Oxygen.com / NBCUniversal — "All About Jodi Huisentruit's 1995 Unsolved Disappearance" Published: July 2025, updated. https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/jodi-huisentruit-iowa-missing-theories-what-to-know
Ozarks First — "Unsolved Jodi Huisentruit Case Has Ties to the Ozarks" Published: July 2025. https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/disappearance-jodi-huisentruit-docuseries/amp/
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki / Fandom — Jodi Huisentruit https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Jodi_Huisentruit
WSAW — "Friday Marks 30 Years Since Disappearance of Iowa News Anchor" Published: June 27, 2025. https://www.wsaw.com/2025/06/27/friday-marks-30-years-since-disappearance-iowa-news-anchor/
