Jodi Huisentruit: Found or Missing? Is She Dead or Alive?

A well-liked information anchor along with her sights set on an extended profession immediately vanished in June 1995. Jodi Huisentruit’s abduction has captured information headlines for the previous 20 years, however the case has remained unsolved. ABC Information’ ‘20/20: Gone at Daybreak’ focuses on the mysterious circumstances surrounding Jodi’s disappearance and the doable theories behind it. So, when you’re questioning what occurred, we’ve acquired you coated.

What Occurred to Jodi Huisentruit?

Jodi was a Lengthy Prairie, Minnesota, native with desires of ultimately working a TV job within the Twin Cities. After gaining her mass communications diploma, Jodi interned at a studio in Iowa earlier than a stint in Minnesota. Then, the 27-year-old landed a job as an anchor for a CBS affiliate in Mason Metropolis, Iowa. She was described as a hardworking and pleasant particular person near her household. By June 1995, she was a widely known determine within the metropolis and had celebrated her birthday simply weeks prior.

At round 4 AM on June 27, 1995, producer Amy Kuns known as Jodi when she didn’t report at her common time. Jodi said she had overslept and promised to be there inside a couple of minutes. Nevertheless, because the present’s airtime of 6 AM inched nearer, she was nowhere to be seen. Jodi couldn’t be reached after her preliminary telephone name, and by 7 AM, the police had been known as to have them verify on the 27-year-old.

Jodi’s condo was simply minutes away from the studio, however when the police acquired there, it was clear one thing horrible had occurred. Whereas nothing appeared misplaced inside Jodi’s condo, the car parking zone was solely a distinct story. There have been indicators of battle round Jodi’s automobile; her sneakers, blow dryer, earrings, and automobile keys had been discovered strewn about. The assumption was that she was kidnapped as she was going to work. Regardless of intensive searches, Jodi’s stays have by no means been discovered, and she or he was declared useless in 2001.

Who Killed Jodi Huisentruit?

The bent automobile keys added to the authorities’ suspicion that Jodi was taken as she was about to enter her automobile at round 4 AM. Neighbors advised the police about listening to screams round that point and seeing a white van parked within the lot. Over the subsequent yr, the authorities adopted up on round 1500 ideas and interviewed a number of individuals, however to no avail. The household employed non-public investigators and even visited psychics in hopes of a decision. Nevertheless, the case went nowhere.

Other than an unidentified palm print on the automobile and a strand of hair on the scene, the authorities didn’t have a lot when it comes to bodily proof. Wanting into Jodi’s previous, they realized that she feared her security and had talked to the police about somebody following her someday in 1994. Again then, Jodi had even taken self-defense courses. In accordance with one other report, she talked about receiving harassing telephone calls only a day earlier than her disappearance.

The authorities believed that whoever kidnapped Jodi knew her routine effectively and waited for her regardless that she was late. Initially, they investigated a person named John Vansice, the final particular person to have seen Jodi alive. The earlier night, she was at John’s condo to look at a video from her shock birthday celebration. John handed a polygraph check, and nothing tied him to the kidnapping, ruling him out as a suspect.

Over time, the case has obtained appreciable consideration, with a gaggle of journalists and former law enforcement officials establishing an internet site by the identify of FindJodi. They believed a serial rapist, Tony Jackson, who lived within the space in June 1995, ought to have been thought of an individual of curiosity. Nevertheless, the police have maintained there was no tangible proof tying him to Jodi’s case, and Tony additionally claimed to don’t have anything to do with it.

Josh Benson, the co-founder of FindJodi, mentioned in 2015, “The largest downside is time. Individuals are passing away — individuals who had particulars relating to the previous. We now have to get this factor discovered. It simply will get tougher and tougher, and we simply don’t need to see a twenty first anniversary.” Jodi’s case bore some similarities to the homicide of one other lady simply hours away.

Michelle Martinko was killed as she entered her automobile in a car parking zone in 1979, and the case was solved a long time later by DNA proof. The killer, Jerry Burns, had talked about Jodi’s identify throughout an interview with out being prompted. Moreover, a search of his pc revealed his obsession with blonde-haired ladies, together with searches about murdering them and pornography involving them. However no proof proved Jerry was chargeable for Jodi’s abduction. As of 2020, the authorities had an officer particularly assigned to the case and adopted up on any new info. However with out DNA proof, the disappearance stays unlikely to be ever solved.

Learn Extra: The place is Tony Jackson Right this moment?