Jodi Huistentruit’s Family Releases Statement in Lieu of Legal Battle

The sad, disturbing, and still unsolved case of what happened to Jodi Huisentruit continues to make headlines, especially as of late, in lieu of recent developments, new leads, and an ongoing legal battle.

Now, the family of the missing Iowa news anchor has released a statement in regards to the possible unsealing of a search warrant pertaining to a person of interest in her disappearance.

Jodi Huisentruit was a 32-year-old news anchor that disappeared back in June 1995 in Mason City, IA. She disappeared in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995 after telling a colleague that she had overslept and was running late for work.

When Huisentruit still hadn't made it to work by 7am, Mason City Police were notified. Her vehicle was found at her apartment, along with a bent car key, her high heels, and evident signs of a struggle. To date, she is believed to have been abducted, but extensive investigations have failed to uncover any concrete evidence as to what happened or where her remains could be.

The last major update in Huisentruit's case came in February. Per KCCI, attorneys for investigator Steve Ridge filed a motion in Cerro Gordo District Court asked to unseal a search warrant from 2017. The warrant was for vehicles belonging to John Vansice, a person-of-interest in the case, and his wife. Vansice died in December 2024.

Per KTTC, Ridge claims he was the only person to interview Vansice following his more-than-20-year silence, which was broken in 2019. Information pertaining to what was discussed was not available.

KTIV reports that the search warrant in question was for GPS data for a 1999 Honda Civic and a 2013 GMC SUV. The debate raging now is whether or not the search warrant can be unsealed due to Vansice's death last year.

Last week, the family of Jodi Huisentruit released a statement via the Jodi's Hope Facebook page stating they do not support unsealing the documents:

As a family, we’ve received a number of inquiries about the legal battle currently playing out in the courts with Jodi’s case. Without getting too deep into the weeds, we all agree that if the release of the information would hinder the investigation in any way, then the search warrant should remain sealed. We are not onboard with the information being released to the public, especially while the investigation is open and ongoing. We do recognize there are a number of differing opinions on this – we respect that and ask that you respect ours as well. At this time, this is our only public comment to make on this matter - a statement from the family of Jodi Huisentruit, per the Jodi's Hope Facebook page

 

Prior to this, the last significant development related to the disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit was back in November, when Iowa investigators traveled to Winsted, MN, roughly three hours north of Mason City, in October.

Unfortunately, the tip proved to be empty. Winsted Police Chief Justin Heldt confirmed to FindJodi.com that no human remains were found during the October 18th search of land that is currently being set-up for the development of a new apartment complex. Police Chief Heldt noted that it's not unusual to find animal bones in a rural area like Winsted.

Come June, it will be 30 years since Jodi Huisentruit went missing, leaving her family and friends in desperate search for answers. Last year, a $25,000 reward was offered by a private investigator for information leading to closure on the case.

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For the latest pertaining to the case of Jodi Huisentruit, I can't recommend the website FindJodi.com enough.