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in: Iowa, 1995, Disappearances,
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Jodi Huisentruit

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Jodi Huisentruit

Real Name: Jodi Sue Huisentruit
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Location: Mason City, Iowa
Date: June 27, 1995

Bio[]

Occupation: TV Anchorwoman
Date of Birth: June 5, 1968
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 115 lbs.
Marital Status: Single
Characteristics: White female with blonde hair and brown eyes. Her ears are pierced.

Case[]

Details: Twenty-seven-year-old Jodi Huisentruit moved from Minnesota to Mason City, Iowa, in 1993. She moved into an apartment complex on Kentucky Avenue and got a job as a news anchor for KIMT, the CBS affiliate in Mason City. She quickly became an active member of the community. As the anchor of a morning news show, she was a local favorite with many friends and no known enemies. On the morning of June 27, 1995, she was scheduled to work her regular shift on the morning show. When she did not arrive on time at 3:50am, producer Amy Kuns called her apartment. She answered, apparently woken up by the call. She asked what time it was and how much time was left to produce the show. To Amy, she seemed coherent and nothing seemed to be amiss. It appeared that she was getting ready as they talked.
When Jodi did not show up by airtime at 6am, Amy anchored the newscast. She then sent the first available person to check on her. Some of her personal items, including high heels, blow dryer, hairspray, earrings, and a bent car key, were found strewn about the parking lot around her red Mazda Miata. Police were then called to the scene. A search around the apartment complex turned up no trace of her. Police noticed that her personal items appeared to trail off away from her vehicle. The evidence indicated that she had been forcibly taken while she walked to her car. By that afternoon, the Mason City police launched a massive search, aided by the FBI and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Rescue teams scoured the countryside while divers and police dogs covered the Winnebago River and its banks. No trace of her was found.
The only possible clue in the case was a white Ford Econoline van that was seen in the parking lot of Jodi's apartment building around the time she disappeared. Investigators have been frustrated by the lack of apparent motive for the abduction, the lack of physical evidence, and the lack of genuine eyewitnesses. However, it remains an open and active case. Her family and the town of Mason City still hopes to find out what happened to her.
Suspects: Police have considered the theory that Jodi might have been stalked by an obsessed fan who later abducted her. However, no suspects have ever been identified.
Several neighbors in her apartment complex reported hearing screams at the time that she would have been leaving for work that day. A white Ford Econoline van was seen with its lights on and engine running in the complex parking lot at around the same time, but it is not known if it is related to her disappearance. A partial palm print was found on her car; however, it has never been matched to anyone.
Extra Notes:

Results: Unsolved. In May 2001, Jodi was declared legally dead; however, no trace of her has been found and no one has been charged in this case. One person of interest is convicted serial rapist Tony Dejuan Jackson. At the time of her disappearance, he was twenty-one and lived in Mason City, just two blocks from the TV station. In 1998, he reportedly confessed to her murder to his cellmate. He claimed that he buried her body near a farm in Tiffin, an area that he was familiar with. However, no trace of her was found there. In 2015, it was revealed that a witness came forward and linked him to her. According to the witness, who was a friend of his, they met at a bar shortly before her disappearance. Investigators have yet to officially name him a suspect in her case.
Another possible suspect is Jodi's friend, John Vansice. He was one of the last people to see her before she vanished. On the night before her disappearance, she went to his home, where showed her a video of her birthday party (which he planned). In March 2017, police executed a search warrant for GPS data from two vehicles that he owned. Investigators stated that it was related to their investigation into her disappearance. It is not known what information, if any, was uncovered from this search.
In January 2022, investigative series 20/20 aired an episode about Jodi's case and released more information and suspects that were not previously released to the public. One of those suspects was Thomas Corscadden. He is a convicted sex offender currently incarcerated who, according to his ex-wife, was obsessed with Jodi and had ties to the Mason City area. At the time of Jodi's disappearance, he drove a white van which he dubbed his "Porn Palace". Interestingly, a mysterious white van was reported to have been seen outside of Jodi's apartment complex at the time of her disappearance. In prison, he was also heard saying "Jodi's dead" despite the fact that Jodi was still considered a missing person. A warrant was obtained to gather Corscadden’s palm print to see if it matched the one found on her car the day of the abduction. However, when it came time to obtain the print, Corscadden reportedly became belligerent and refused to cooperate. It is unknown if his prints were ever obtained and if they matched the ones found on Jodi's car. At the end of the "20/20" episode, one of the lead detectives currently in charge of Jodi's case said that he has the person he thinks is responsible but chooses not to name names until the suspect is in custody, and that he is still looking for the final tip to break the case open.
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