Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Lipstick, High Heels & Purse Only Clues as TV Star Jodi Huisentruit Vanishes, Documents Unsealed

Episode Date: July 13, 2025

When Iowa TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit fails to show up for her morning show, coworkers know something is wrong. Huisentruit's red Mazda Miata is still in the parking lot, as well as other evidence that suggests a struggle had taken place near the car. Her personal items, a hairdryer, lipstick, and red high heel shoes, as well as a bent car key, were strewn about the area. Police recovered an unidentified palm print from her vehicle. Neighbors report hearing screams at about the time that Huisentruit would have been leaving for work. The popular TV personality is still missing more than two decades later.  Search warrants issued at the time for a personal of interest have now been partially unsealed.  Joining Nancy Grace today: Joann Nathe - Victim's Sister Wendy Patrick - California prosecutor, Author: “Red Flags” www.wendypatrickphd.com 'Today with Dr. Wendy' on KCBQ in San Diego Dr. Jorey Krawczyn - Police Psychologist, Adjunct Faculty with Saint Leo University; Research Consultant with Blue Wall Institute, Author: Operation S.O.S. - Practical Recommendations to Help “Stop Officer Suicide” Jay Alberio - Former Commander, 27 Years Woodbury Police Department, Former Investigative Unit Manager for Woodbury Public Safety, FindJodi.com, Former U.S. Marine Corps Caroline Lowe - Investigative Journalist, FindJodi.com, "Find Jodi Podcast" CarolineLoweTV on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. A beautiful and beloved news anchor seemingly vanishes on her way to the newsroom for her morning appearance on air. But now her family grieving share a new and very disturbing theory. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. Before dawn in the early morning on June 27, Jodie Hussentrout woke up by the phone ringing. The 27 year old was groggy and disoriented. She reached for the receiver

in her Mason City, Iowa apartment. On the other end, her producer at KIMT News, who told her it was past 4 a.m. She needed to hurry and get to the newsroom. Hussentrute did hurry, got it together and raced out to her car. She was due on air within the hour for her morning show called Daybreak. But when the producer, Amy Coons, tried again to call Jodie, she got only an answering machine. A fill-in took the air and the search was on for Jodi Hussensruth.

In the last days, her family reveals their stunning fear. Their fear, their gut feeling is that someone became obsessed with Jodi from watching her on TV, thinking she's so beautiful, she's so articulate, she can be so funny, that that is my ideal woman according to family. Family believes that this unknown stalker may not have intended for Jodie to die, but maybe everything just went wrong. What do we know about those early morning hours when Jody Hussentrout seemingly vanished off the face of the earth?

And what clues are left behind? Today's forecast shows mostly windy and cool temperatures with scattered showers are high as expected to be in the upper 60s. The clouds will continue through this evening. Showers will end, but the windy and cool temperatures will prevail. St. Cloud State's increased enrollment has not been enough to make Eastman's not listen or take on any dramatic changes this year. With photographer Maureen Slater, I am Jodi, who is in charge for UTVS News.

Just hearing her voice seemingly makes this all so real. Now you're hearing Jodi's voice when she was a student reporter at St. Cloud University for the campus TV station, University TV. And she went on from there to become a rising star in the TV industry, really making her mark. The viewers were enthralled by her. They gravitated toward her, not just because of her good looks, not just because she was prepared and articulate, but she had a warmth about her that seemingly went out across the airwaves to everybody watching, beloved in her market until suddenly she just goes missing. Let me introduce you an all-star panel to help figure out where is Jodi Hussensrud?

First of all, the tip line, 970458 Jodi, J-O-D-I-9704585634 with me, Jay Alberio, former commander, Woodbury Police Department, investigative unit manager, Woodbury Public Safety, former U.S. Marine. You can find him right now at FindJodi.com. Dr. Jori Crosin, psychologist, faculty St. Leo University consultant, and author of Operation S.O.S. With me, Wendy Patchett, California prosecutor, author of Red Flags. You can find her at wendepatchettphd.com, and she's the host of Today with Dr. Wendy on KCBQ San Diego.

Investigative journalist. You can also find her at FindJody.com and she is the founder of the Find Jody podcast. She's also at Caroline Lowe TV. Caroline Lowe joining us, but first to a very special guest joining us. This is Jody's sister, Joanne Nathy. Joanne, thank you for being with us. Well, thank you for being with us. Well, thank you again for having me. Joanne, it's unfathomable to me how someone that is so present in the lives of her

local TV community can just disappear. It's like someone just cut off the TV and she's gone and that's the end of it. It seems very, very surreal. Yeah. We never, you know, anticipated anything like this ever happening. We thought Jodi would be safe in Mason City. It wasn't that big of a community and she just, she took a lot of safety courses and stuff and she, she was a lot of safety courses and stuff and she she was careful she really was she wanted to have a good reputation in the community

and yeah we were just stunned I mean when that when it happened in 95 and of course it's been really hard on everybody they're not just the family it's friends she meant a lot to so many people. Do you remember when you first learned Jodie was missing? Yeah, I remember it very well. What happened? Well, we were on a bus trip up north, my mom and aunt, just with a group of ladies, you know, and we were going to this casino because of ladies, you know, and we were going to this casino because in 95, the casinos, well, they had started prior to 95. But anyway, it was going to be a fun day. And so we were up in Walker, Minnesota, and then they asked us to come to the room when we got there and that there was an emergency phone call. It was shortly after we arrived.

And so we came in and they said it's from Mason City and right away my mom said, oh no, Jody. And we thought maybe she'd been in a car accident. That's what I thought. And she'll be okay. You know, she'll, but then when Halverson said, oh, she's missing Joanne, are you sitting down? And I said, missing? Well, we'll find her, there's some mistake, why would she be missing? But then we got pretty nervous about it all, of course, and we left, they provided a vehicle for us to go back to Long Prairie,

they brought us, it was quite a drive too, but yeah, it was very hard. Then we got back and nobody had found her, you know, by the end of the day. And so then we were getting very worried, but we thought it'd be, that it was some kind of a mistake that she would be found and she'd be okay. That was our original thought. You know, to Dr. Jorie Cross and psychologist faculty, St. Leo University joining us. Dr. Jory, I know I'm projecting right now, but I've also seen it with many, many other crime victims. When I first

was told my fiancee was dead, at first I thought there was some kind of a mix up and if I could just get to him, I could fix it and I could get him to the hospital and everything would be okay. I thought there'd been a car crash, just like what Joanne and Nathie is saying about Jodie, who's in truth. And I know you hear her saying, well, we thought it was a car accident. Then we thought missing, well, there's just some mix-up, we're going to fix this. Why does our mind, why do our minds go to something that we can comprehend? Like I couldn't comprehend that Keith had been shot five times in the face and the neck and the head and the back. That was hard for me. That would never have occurred to me that that could have happened. Just like with Joanne Nathie, Jodi's sister, she immediately thought, oh, there's been

a car crash missing. What? No, this is wrong. We're going to get this all straightened out. Why is that? What is that? It starts off as like a protective mechanism for ourselves, you know, to try to make some positive sense out of it.

You know, the term we use is closure. It's not like closing up the, you know, the event, but it's trying to make sense out of ambiguity. And, you know, you think of, well, maybe it was a car accident, they're okay, they're going to be found. You continue to put the positive perspective on it. And it helps kind of keep you stabilized so that as you take in more information, you can better assess it and apply it to the situation. Is it some sort of a defense mechanism? Well, I call it more of a protective mechanism, you know, trying to keep that stress level down so you can keep a rational cognitive

process going on with the information that you're taking in. Some people, they react, you know, just where they totally break down and, you know, they're not able to do anything. Guys, take a listen to our friend Ross Kyrgis, KSTP TV. Sounded like I had just woken her up. Amy Coons called Jodi's apartment at 4 a.m. The morning Jodi disappeared. I wondered if anything was going on, like maybe somebody was in her apartment.

You know, I listened for other voices. Jodi had said she had overslept and would be right in. At 420 that morning, tenants hear screams in the parking lot. Jodi is never heard from again. Caroline Lowe founded a podcast called Find Jodi Podcast. You can find her also at Caroline Lowe TV. Caroline, thank you for being with us. You've been on the case for some time.

Let's start at the beginning. What do we know of the last time that Jodi was seen alive? No, wait, no. Let's start with the scene. Let's start with her place where she was. What do we know? What we know is it appears that whatever happened to Jodie happened in the parking lot right adjacent to her building. It looks like there were about 12 steps from Jodie's building to her car that she was most likely ambushed, attacked from behind. Okay, wait. Are you talking about her building where she lived or her building where she worked?

We're talking from where she was running late as we heard Amy Coons, her producer say she was running late and so she's rushing to her car, she's carrying her things she needs to get ready for work. Most likely her hair was wet being so late and she had a blow dryer with her. Somebody attacked her from behind and from all signs that we can tell there were signs of a struggle. She was dragged easterly according to the police. You know what? I'm going to break everything down that you're saying. I got to go through it one fact at a time and digest it and try to make sense of it. Guys, we're talking about

a beautiful TV anchor that goes missing, Jodie Hustentruit. Take a listen to our friend Jim Axelrod. The anchor of KIMT's 6 a.m. newscast. She usually arrived at work by 3 30 in the morning. If she's not there between 3 30 and 4, I give her a call. So hey, are you awake? Producer Amy Coons noticed nothing unusual and she called and woke Jody up about 10 after 4 that morning. She was asking about the show, she was concerned

about the show and she said I'll be right there. But at 530 still no Jody and this being a time before cell phones, Amy tried her at home again and got her answering machine. At 6 a.m. Amy had to step up and deliver the news in Jodi's place. She loves her show. She calls it her show. You know, she wouldn't miss it for anything. The police were called shortly after 7. When they arrived at Jodi's apartment, she wasn't home, but they found her shoes, hairdryer, and keys scattered on the ground near her beloved red Mazda Miata. You are hearing our friend Jim Axelrod at Find Jodi, CBS 48 Hours. The search on for Jodi Hughes and True. Let me go back to Caroline Lowe, investigative journalist. Caroline,

let's start again at the beginning. Now you're telling me she was leaving, you believe she was leaving her apartment building that morning. She was running a little late for work. Her hair was still wet because she had a hairdryer with you with her. I assume that was found in the parking lot. You're telling me she was only 12 feet out from her apartment or 12 feet from her vehicle. And how would you know she was dragged behind? That information came years ago from police, um, police investigators. She was dragged behind. That information came years ago from police investigators.

She was dragged easterly. They saw marks in the silt, if you will, and they believe that that's what happened, that she was dragged easterly most toward Kentucky Avenue, which is the main road going by the key apartments where Jody lived. With me, former commander, 27 years Woodbury Police Department, Jay Alberio.

Jay, tell me what you know of the morning Jodi goes missing. An examination of the photos that media had, the information that the Mason City Police had put out there in the past. So based on all that, my interpretation and from the facts is that Jodie was at her car and it appears that she was attempting to put the key in the door lock to open the door to her car when she was grabbed, more likely from behind. Because there's indications that the key that she had was bent, which tells me that she had the key in the door lock when

she was grabbed. So the force of somebody grabbing her pushed her towards the front of the car possibly and bent that key. And also the driver's side mirror on the door was also bent forward. And again, that indicates there's a struggle taking place and the perpetrator has grabbed her and has taken her towards the front of her car away from her apartment building. You know, in the examination, we've been down there, we've driven through the parking lot

and looked at the scene because the scene will tell you volumes of what happened. And it's a very tight parking lot where Jodi's- Yeah, that's really interesting. To Wendy Patrick, a prosecutor, author of Red Flags at wendypatrickphd.com, Wendy, I never was so arrogant as to try a case in front of a jury without having gone to the scene. In fact, very typically, obsessively gone to the scene many, many times, often on my off time, looking at it, trying to make sense, reenacting in my mind what happened, who could

see what or not see. And in court, Wendy, it made all the difference because I've had many defense witnesses take the stand under oath and state what they saw or didn't see. And intimate knowledge of the scene makes it very easy to say something like, well, wait a minute, isn't there a big tree and a hedge around the building? So you're saying you could see through the hedge what happened at the front door? Is that what you're telling me? You have to know the scene and we're just hearing that from Jay Alberio.

Yeah, no, that's huge. And I usually go as soon as possible when after the prime was committed because especially in a case like this, where you have an incident in the morning, you want to know when exactly the sun came up, when people would be out walking their dogs, when you'd see the joggers, when you would be able to have seen the evidence left behind. You know, we all know the first few hours after a kidnapping or an abduction are the most critical, the most crucial because that's when the bad guy or whoever abducted the victim is able to make the escape. So yes, and you're also right, it gives you enhanced credibility in front of not just

the jury, but also the judge to where you are the one in the courtroom that has done your homework. You've been there and you're in the best position to be asking these questions. It also helps you catch liars. But in this case, we're hearing Jay Alberio and Caroline Lowe describe what happened and the scenario is really important. Now, what have I learned? I've learned that she was most likely attacked from behind. What does that mean? Either somebody she didn't know, somebody that felt they had to sneak up on her in the sense that maybe it was someone

she did know, but they had bad dealings, so they had to sneak up on her. It tells me that she fought tooth and nail, that she had almost made it to her car because we hear Alberio describing how the key to the car was bent, suggesting she had gotten it in and it was pulled away with such force, it bent the key. Now we are hypothesizing what happened, but there's a lot of evidence to prove that. Take a listen to reporter Lee with ABC 6KAL,

what happened to Jodi? Outside of Jodi's apartment, investigators found evidence of a struggle. Her personal items scattered in the parking lot, jewelry, shoes, and a bag near her red convertible. And perhaps one of the most important pieces of evidence, a broken key. As Jodi's morning producer, morning assistant producer, I was the last one to speak with her before she disappeared. Amy Coons was working that morning. Jodi disappeared. She tells police Jodi was

often late for work and that morning she called Jodi and says Jodi answered and told her she was on her way in. We still have our jobs to do and we just have to get the show on the air. Coons went on to anchor that morning in Jodi's place. It wasn't until hours later that a phone call was made by the station to police that Jodi never arrived to work.

Oh man, man, that is critical to Joanne Nathie. This is Jodi's sister. They didn't call for how many hours? Those are critical hours in finding Jodi. Yes, that's true. Um, I'm sure they just, well, maybe she, you know, overslept and she would be in. That's what I've understood. But it was critical time period.

It's too bad that they didn't call. But you know, I don't know. It happened. It happened. The cards were dealt and we're working with what we've got. Caroline, what? Certainly Amy Coons never thought that Jodie was being abducted. Of course.

She just thought she had overslept, you know. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. According to a gorgeous young TV anchors family, they are convinced someone became obsessed with Jodie Hussentrout from watching her on TV and deciding, that's the woman for me. Maybe not intentionally harming Jodie, but they believe a kidnap attempt went wrong. What happened that morning? Caroline Lute, isn't it correct that, you know, I heard another co-worker say that Jodie was never late to work. So I've got a conflicting report on that.

Well, is that significant? Yes, because if she was never late to work and she was late this morning, that is what we call, quote, routine evidence, evidence of habit or routine. It's very hard to break. You know, when you're in the TV business, you can't be one minute late, or there'll be an empty chair sitting there. You need, if you're 15 minutes early, you're late.

So I'm curious about that. And I'm also curious, the coworker said, Caroline, that they called her and she said, I'm on the way. Is that correct? We have no information otherwise and that's what police have reported. So I guess, guessing that they've checked the records to verify that. But to back to Amy, Amy said that she was basically crashing to get the show on. She was initially just kind of angry at Jodi that she'd overslept. And she told me that just the other day, one of her biggest fears was she would lose her job if she didn't get that show produced and

on the air. She never imagined. Yeah. She's right about that because people would tune in and there'd be nothing there. So yeah, she would probably have lost her job. Another question to Caroline Lowe, very often I would take clothes, shoes, makeup, whatever jewelry that I was going to wear that night with me in my hands in a bag, in a backpack, folded up with me. So I'm assuming that everything that was found in the parking lot, when we hear hair dryer, shoes and all that, that doesn't mean they came off her feet. That means to me, that's what she was going to wear onto the air. Guys were talking about Jodi Huisentruit, just 27 years old that goes missing seemingly

into thin air. So Caroline, what can you tell me about all the items that were scattered in the parking lot? What we know is there were a pair of red high heels, which would seem to suggest that Jodie was likely wearing something with red or all red that day. We don't know exactly as far as we know what she was wearing has never been found.

There was hairspray, there was a blow dryer, there were earrings, so the basics of what you would wear to go on the air. What's missing is a bag that she carried it in. We've never heard anything about whether that was located. Presumably, Jodi did not run to her car carrying all these things in her arms. Doesn't make sense. So where is that bag?

Where is the purse that she normally would have had? We don't know. And we also know that she was in a hurry because she was running late. So she may have grabbed things and then they came out of her hands. But I find that also odd. Why would she have been carrying earrings and other things in her hands and trying to open up the car door? Guys, take a listen to our Cut 7A. This is Brian Mastry, Evening Anchor, KIMT. Listen. Jodi wasn't there. and so an associate producer,

Amy Coons, calls Jodi at her apartment. Jodi sounded as though she had just woke up and told Amy, okay, I'm getting around, I'll be in. So then the time passes. It's now 4.30, it's now five. Amy, I'm assuming, always thought, well, Jodi probably just fell back asleep. Jodi not coming in right on time wasn't necessarily

unusual from talking to the people who worked in the morning. She wasn't always right on time. Show starts at six o'clock without Jodi. And so it was just a few minutes after seven o'clock, right after she had gotten off the air. Amy Coons calls Mason City Police for a welfare check. Can I clarify something there? Yes, please do.

Amy did not make the phone call. Amy was still sitting on the set at seven o'clock when the show ended. A coworker came in. She asked the coworker to call police because she still had to do a morning update. So a coworker called the police at 713. First officers arrived on the scene at 716. Interesting. That makes me feel a little bit better about the timeline because the whole day hasn't passed. Take a listen to more of our friends at KIMT. Listen.

Mason City Police found Jodi's car in the parking lot of the apartment complex. It was maybe 20 feet, 25 feet from the front door. They did find her car in the parking lot and her key had been found bent. If you see that scattered, a key bent in her fairly new car, there's a palm print on the car. There's a struggle. She's been abducted. She's probably still alive. There's a three-hour window in between the phone call and the welfare check.

And that's a lot of time for somebody to do something and get away. That is conventional wisdom. If someone is killed in an abduction, very often the first three hours are the critical, that's the critical window in which you have a chance to save the person. Straight out to Dr. Jorie Crosin, psychologist, faculty St. Leo University. You know, another wrinkle in this case is that Jodie Hughes-Entrute was in everybody's living rooms and bedrooms and dens and kitchens all across the viewing area.

People thought that they knew her. Not only that, there are a lot of people out there that, for instance, I know this sounds crazy, Dr. Jorry, that think you're sending them nonverbal messages or that you are speaking to them in code in some way. Of course, these people have mental issues, but they believe, for instance, somebody young and beautiful like Jodie Hughes and Truth is actually in love with them. It happens quite often, Dr. Yes, it does with celebrities or anybody that's in the public light. I guess all the reporters that can kind of relate to that. But the one thing is that, you know, from the psychological perspective

of who did this, I mean, it seemed to be pretty well planned out. And most people that, you know, either have those kind of delusions, I mean, they can still plan it out well, but committing it to this degree of almost perfection, you know, was that time of day early in the morning, they had to wait, she was late. I mean, there's a lot of things that, you know, what we don't have answers for. And I'm assuming to you, Caroline Lowe, that there were no security cameras in the parking lot? No security cameras. And as far as we know, no eyewitnesses.

Oh man, of course to you Jay Alberio, it was so early in the morning that she was leaving, correct? What time was it? We estimated from the information it was about 430 in the morning. Yeah, there's not a lot of people out and about at 430 in the morning. Take a listen to our friends at KIMT. The search for Jodi was immediate. The response was overwhelming. I mean, she's in your living room every morning in Mason City and the surrounding communities.

People feel as though they know you. And so everybody wanted to help. You had dogs, you had psychics, you had so many people looking just to see if they could find clues. You had so many people looking just to see if they could find clues. To Joanne and Nathan, this is Jodi's sister. Do you remember the use of psychics trying to find Jodi? Oh yeah, we had telephone calls and we were on a show with the psychics too at the beginning. Could I clarify something? That always bugs me that I hear them say, like I heard this morning again, that she was late many times for work. And I never had that impression of a few times

she was late for work, but Jody was very conscientious about her job. I mean, she wanted perfection. I would not say she was late many times. A few times she was a little late probably. She did jam pack her days way too much. She worked, stayed up late writing thank you notes and you know, she just used every hour. I don't know. You know, and I was trying to clear that up earlier, Joanne Nathie, through my research

and investigation of the case, I found other co-workers that said she was never late or rarely late. She was so conscientious, but no, she was late a few times, I'm sure. Yeah. I'm glad you said that because I don't like the impression it leaves and more important. It factors into what happened that morning because she told the coworker, I'm up, I'm on my way. Here I come.

Yeah. And I'm sure she was very nervous at that point because she was so conscientious. I'm sure. Take a listen to Brian Mastery, K.I.M.T. Three neighbors apparently heard screams that morning. Yeah, none of them are able to really give an indicator about what those screams were about. what those screams were about. What those screams were about. Crime stories with Nancy Grace.

Was Jodie Hussentrue kidnapped by a stalker? Someone that became obsessed from watching her on TV? That is the gut-wrenching theory her family believes. What other clues were left behind? To Wendy Patchett, California prosecutor, author of Red Flags, and host of Today with Dr. Wendy Casey, BQ in San Diego. Wendy, you know, a timeline can start with something seemingly innocuous. And I will refer to a really good example where in the Nicole Brown, Ron Goldman double murder,

the neighbors were first alerted by the dog. I believe the dog's name was Akita's, as they say, mournful or plaintive whale. That really started the timeline. It was in the middle of the night. And here the neighbors hear these screams, Wendy. Wendy Barron That's right. And you know, a lot of people would have called the police right away upon hearing those screams. And a timeline would also include people that were up at 6 a.m. This was a morning anchor. She was in the morning

rooms of the breakfast tables across the small town where more people were likely to know her, to recognize her, to know her name. It also, when you talk about a timeline, you would want to know if she had a stalker, and I've prosecuted several men who have stalked news anchors specifically, but they were news anchors that were on when they were awake. So that timeline would also sweep in everyone that would necessarily have seen her, have seen something who would have been up, who know who she is,

because they would have been awakened in a position to be not only sharp, many people are sharper in the morning, but also in a position to notice something out of the ordinary, like those screams that as you point out really starts that timeline. Yeah. I mean, if you hear a scream at four or 35 o'clock in the morning, and there's a big difference of hearing the neighbor calling the dog and a woman

screaming, I'm very surprised. No one called police, but you know what? Again, that's what we're working with. They did not take a listen. Now to Ross Curious at KSTP TV. Jodi's closest friends in Mason City are for the first time talking about their suspicions. Because it could possibly be someone that we know. With all the times I've talked to detectives, they feel that someone stalked her, watched her, knew what her schedule was, and was definitely

going to plan on doing something that morning. Right up to her disappearance, this group of people socialized with Jodi. As they realized Jodi's abductor might not be a stranger, they grew uncomfortable with one of their friends. I see signals you may not have seen that make me think that there's, there is always a possibility that could be somebody that we know. Now take a listen to Brian Mastry and Beth Bednar, former anchor from KIMT and KAAAL, speaking to our friends at ID.

Investigators start to zero in on someone who was with Jody the night before. They knew that she had been with a friend 20 years her senior, John Van Sise. John Van Sise is considerably older than her, recently divorced and broke to Mesa City. They spent a lot of time together. Two weeks prior to her disappearance, John had had a birthday party for her to celebrate her 27th birthday. It seems as though he was the last one to see Jodi alive. To Caroline Lowe, investigative journalist, and you can find her at FindJodi.com, Find Jodi podcast, and Caroline Lowe TV. Caroline, who is this guy? And so he's the last one to see her alive the night before? That's what he says.

His name is John Van Sise. He was 22 years older than Jody. And just two days earlier that weekend, he and several of Jody's friends had gotten together in Northern Iowa to go on a water skiing trip. In fact, she writes about him in her journal. The last thing she writes about two days before she disappeared,

talks about what a great time she had with John Van Cise, her other friends, Ani Cruz and Tammy Baker. So he's an older friend who spent a lot of time with her in the last couple months before she disappeared. And to you, Jay Alberio, former commander, Woodbury Police Department. Jay, did he, he worked with her in what capacity? No, John Van Sys did not work with her, with Jody. Their acquaintances, as far as we know, John had lived in the apartment complex at one time. That's possibly where he met Jody, they became friends,

had a mutual interest in water skiing, and John had a boat. So John was taking her water skiing, and we believe that he was also helping her learn how to water ski. To Joanne Nathie, what was her relationship with John Van Sise? Well, actually, I didn't know about the guy until this all happened. She had mentioned to my mom, my mom cautioned her that she was not really dating this guy, but he was a friend you know and stuff

and my mom said well you better be careful because you know he might be getting romantically interested in you oh we're just good friends Jodie would say you know and so but I after hearing about after it all happened we know that he was quite obsessed with Jodie. Why do you say that? Oh, just he wanted to always be around her and he wanted to, you know, he said he even named his boat after her, which was odd. And the friends knew that too. They cautioned Jodie. They said, Jodie, are you sure that John isn't more interested in you than you think. And it was just very obvious that he has been, was very interested in her.

Yeah. As a matter of fact, you're absolutely correct, Joanne Nathie. This is Jodi's sister joining us. Take a listen to Mary McQuire, KIMT. Forced to play the role of both journalist and friend, Robin Wolfram reported on the disappearance, even interviewing the man who Jodie was seen with last. What was his demeanor like? Joyful almost, strangely happy and telling me how he named his boat after her and how

he just loved her. She has no doubt in her mind that man, an older gentleman who is friends with Jodie, is the one responsible for her disappearance. I caution Jodi about their friendship in television. We have a gut instinct about things. My gut and my instinct tells me that he's responsible. But Wolfram isn't the only one who shares those same suspicions about him. Last March, FindJodi.com, a website dedicated to the case reported Mason City police served him with a search warrant seeking

GPS data on two of his cars. Straight out to Caroline Lowe. Caroline, what can you tell me about the search warrant served on this guy, this much older gentleman, 22 years her senior that apparently was besotted with her. The search warrants occurred in 2017 and what their police were seeking was two vehicles associated with John Van Sise, vehicles that he did not have back in 1995. They weren't manufactured until a few years later. We don't know specifically what they were seeking. Their probable cause statement, the affidavit is not public. What we do know specifically what they were seeking. Their probable cause statement, the affidavit is not public. What we do know, as I said, is they were after she disappeared.

The possible theory is that they were seeking to see if maybe he was going to some kind of a crime scene when he was back in Iowa. He was subpoenaed before a federal grand jury in that same month where he was ordered to provide palm prints, fingerprints and DNA sample. But we don't know and the chief later said it did not produce any evidence. I'm guessing, Wendy Patrick, that they would want to compare, he's not been named as a suspect number one. Let's just state that. Any potential palm prints or fingerprints to something found on that car.

Oh, absolutely. And you know, Joanne and your other guests, what we've done is we bumped the timeline back to even the night before. So you talk about that palm print, where it came from, who might've made it. Now we're sweeping in people that may have seen her within even the last 12 hours. And yes, you know, forensics, I know this happens a long time ago, but we still today had some of what we had even back then. Good old-fashioned forensics, especially in a case like this, where that's all that they had left at the scene. There was no footage or cell phone pinging like we do nowadays. A paw print like that would have been an enormous piece of evidence. It's a new information has come out from that 2017 search warrant, which shows the GPS tracking data of a car

owned by that person of interest. He died December of last year. The data tracks a vehicle during the four day span as it traveled from Baxter, Iowa through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico before stopping in Phoenix. The rest of the information has not been released. It could have been released. It could have been anyone.

Everybody in the area knows Jodi Huisentrup. They see her every single morning. Take a listen to Jennifer Austin, KARE11. Don't think because the world is consumed with other news that she's forgotten. Caroline Lowe is an investigative journalist and part of the Find Jodi team, a group of investigators who continue to look into the unsolved case.

What happened to Jodi? They launched a podcast this month on what would have been Jodi's 52nd birthday, hoping to keep eyes on her story and find answers about what happened the early morning of June 27th, 1995, when Jodi left her apartment late for her job anchoring the morning news. America's most highly publicized missing children. She never made it. She was very easy to follow.

You knew her schedule anchoring this 6 a.m. noon news. Her home number, her address, were even listed in the local directory. She would have been very easy to find. What could have been done differently and can there be a save? Take a listen to our cut 16A. This is Laura Lee, ABC 6KAL.

Listen. I can't remember Jodi ever being sick or late for work. She's a professional journalist. Then general manager John Shine, seen during a press conference later that day, describing a very different Jodie, a devoted employee who took her job seriously. I've made it clear this case is not going to go away for us. For many decades, this case has puzzled the Mason City Police Department.

What do you think you as a chief can do different than the chiefs prior to you that have had this case under their tenure and nothing has come about? I'm not gonna sit here and second-guess decisions made by officers in the field 25 years ago about what they did. I will tell you that I don't believe that any of them probably thought that we would still be working this case today. Chief Jeff Brinkley says bringing a fresh pair of eyes to the case could help. Cold cases, I think, are of interest to a lot of people. It's obviously a case that affected Mason City. And so, if we could put some closure to that, I'm interested in doing that. To Caroline Low, investigative journalist, findjody.com. Caroline, where does it stand

now? There was one reporting of a body found at a Mason City river. We don't believe... Remains. We don't believe that was Jody. A PI popped up and said he had information that he is still not shared with anyone in the family. Have there been any developments, Caroline, that we could really sink our teeth into? Caroline Hickman-McDowell, MD, PhD, PhD, PhD, PhD, PhD, PhD Nancy, I really wish I could say there were. And we get tips all the time at FindJody.com, but we have no information that authorities, anybody is any closer to finding Jody Hughes and Troup today than they were

years ago. To Joanne Nathie, this is Jody's sister. Joanne, what is your most vivid memory of your sister, Jody? Well, she was always so very caring about us. She always wanted us to be happy. That was a big interest. You know, if she was working at a resort and her time off she'd invite us up to use the facilities and oh she was just so bubbly. She was a personality plus. You know, she probably didn't have the best speaking ability necessarily but oh her personality on the air just came through. I know Doug Marbeck told me the ratings were very high and

One thing though she revealed too much about her personal life on the air also But that's you know, Jody. She was so personable with everyone and people felt they really really knew her and all you need is somebody who's not playing with a full deck to become obsessed and sitting and listening to you know her daily routine. She would often talk where she went jogging and what activities she was going to do that day and she probably went she probably did too much of that on the air you know it was tooable, but they liked it. The viewers loved it.

FindJodie.com. We wait as justice unfolds. Goodbye, friends. This is an iHeart Podcast.