Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - NEW TWIST IN THE SEARCH FOR GLAMOUROUS TV ANCHOR: WHERE IS JODI HUISENTRUIT?

Episode Date: July 12, 2026

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,  but private investigator Steve Ridge has announced a new lead.  He says a former girlfriend came forward claiming an initial person of interest (now deceased)  confessed, "I did it." Ridge's findings were submitted to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).The investigation remains officially open. Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact the Mason City Police Department at [phone] or submit tips to FindJodi.com 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 I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A new twist in the desperate search for a beloved TV anchor who vanishes on her way to work. Does an alleged confession shed light on what happened to Jody, who's intrude? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. It was early, early morning still dark outside June 27.

Jody Huesen-Truitt was woken up by the sound of her phone ringing. It was 4 a.m. And she was late for the morning shift at K-I-MT-TV, Mason City, Iowa. She sounded like she was asleep. She apologized and headed to the station. Got herself together and was never seen again. Somewhere in the very short walk between her apartment and her car, she was kidnapped.

4 a.m. The items she gathered together were strown around her Mazda. Drag marks on the asphalt suggested a struggle. Her case remains unsolved. These are the facts. Today's forecast shows mostly windy and cool temperatures with scattered showers. Our high is 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. Thank Cloud State's increased enrollment has not been enough to make Eastman's Nautil Center take on any dramatic changes this year. With photographer Maureen Slater, I am Jody who isn't true for you, TBS News. Just hearing her voice seemingly makes this all so real. Now, you're hearing Jody'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 start. 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 to you an all-star panel to help figure out where is Jody Hues and Shrewd. First of all, the tip line 970458 Jody J.O.D.I. 970458-5634. With me, Jay Albario, former commander Woodbury Police Department, investigative unit manager, Woodbury, Public Safety, former U.S. Marine. You can find him right now at findjody.com, Dr. Jory Crosin, psychologist, faculty, St. Leo University consultant, and author of Operation SOS. With me, Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor, author of Red Flags. You can find her at Wendy Patrick Ph.D.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 Fine Jody podcast. She's also a Caroline Lowe TV, Caroline Lowe joining us, but first to a very special guest joining us. This is Jody's sister, Joanne Nathie. Joanne, thank you for being with us. Well, thank you again for having me. Joanne, it's a, 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 it's ever happening. We thought Jody would be safe in Mason City. It wasn't that big of a community. and she took a lot of safety courses and stuff, and 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 it happened in 95, and of course, it's been really hard on everybody, and not just the family, it's friends. She meant a lot to so many people. Do you remember when you first learned Jody 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 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 were. 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. But then when Halverson said, oh, she's missing Joanne. Are you sitting down? I said, missing. Well, we'll find her, you know. There's some mistake. Why would she be missing, you know? 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 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 would 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. Jory Crosan, a 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 fiancé 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 Nathie is saying about Jody Hughes and Trude. 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 that 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 in the back. that was hard for me. That would never have occurred to me that that could have happened. Just like with Joanne Nathie, Jody's sister,

she immediately thought, oh, there's been a car crash. Missing. What? 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. And it's not like closing up the event, but it's trying to make sense out of ambiguity. And 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 as you take in more information, you can, you know, 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, you know, that stress level down so you can keep a rational, cognitive process going on with the information that you're taking in. You know, 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 Kyrgyz, KSTP TV. Sounded like I had just woken her up. Amy Coons called Jody's apartment at 4 a.m. the morning Jody disappeared. I wondered if anything was going on like maybe somebody was in her apartment. You know, I listened for other voices.

Jody had said she had overslept and would be right in. At 420 that morning, tenants hear screams in the parking lot. Jody has never heard from again. Caroline Lowe founded a podcast called Find Jody 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 Jody 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 Jody happened in the parking lot right adjacent to her building. It looks like there are about 12 steps from Jody's building to her car that she was most likely ambushed, attack from behind. Okay, right.

Are you talking about her building where she lived or her building where she worked? From where she was running late, as we heard Amy Coons, her producers 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 trying to make sense of it. Guys, we're talking about a beautiful TV anchor that goes missing Jody Houston Trute. 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 to say, 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 5.30, still know 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 a step up and deliver the news in Jody'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 seven. When they arrived at Jody's apartment, she wasn't home, but they found her shoes, hair dryer, and keys scattered on the ground near her beloved red Mazda Miata.

You are hearing our friend Jim Axelrod at Find Jody, CBS 48 hours. The search on for Jody, Who's in True. Let me go back to Kee. 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 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 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, J. Albiro,

Jay, tell me what you know of the morning Jody goes missing. An examination of the photos that the 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 Jody 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 an indication 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, and 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 Jody's car is. That's really interesting to Wendy Patrick, prosecutor, author of Red Flags at Wendyprachate. PhD.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. An 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 same. And we're just hearing that from J. Elberio. Yeah, no, that's huge. And I usually go as soon as possible when after the crime 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 Albirio and Caroline Lowe described 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? There was 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 submitted to her car because her here, Alberio, describing how the key to the car was bent, suggesting she had gotten it in and it was pulled away. With such a 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 6 KAA. What happened to Jody? Outside of Jody'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 Jody's morning producer, morning assistant producer, I was the last one to speak with her before she disappeared. Amy Coons was working that morning. Jody disappeared. She tells police, Jody was often late for work. And that morning she called Jody and says Jody answered and told her she was on her way in. We still have our jobs to do, and we just got to get the show on the year. Coons went on to anchor that morning in Jody's place.

It wasn't until hours later that a phone call was made by the station to police that Jody never arrived to work. Oh, man, man, that is critical to Joanne Nathie. This is Jody's sister. They didn't call for how many hours? Those are critical hours in finding Jody. Yes, 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. Certainly Amy Coons never thought that Jody was being abducted. Of course. She just thought she had overslept, you know.

Listen. And you're there for heart-wrenching knockouts. The world's biggest stage! And breathtaking triumph. In 20206 FIFA World Cup, the knockout stage. Every match, every moment.

Listen on TSN Radio. Join the globe. On the road to the July 19th final. 2026 FIFA World Cup. Stream it all live on TSN Radio. Available on IHeart Radio. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace What happened to TV anchor Jody Hoosenshut?

No arrests have been made. And only a handful of POI's persons of interest have been named. Why? Earlier this month, a local PI, Steve Ridge, claims there's a dramatic breakthrough. He says he IDs the person responsible for Jody's abduction by getting a second-hand confession from one of the alleged suspects former partners. Who? An unnamed woman claims she was dating a man just months after Hoos and Troops disappearance. Who told her, he quote, did it. Now, according to this PI,

private investigator, Ridge, the woman provides evidence to support her claims. These are the facts as we know them. Caroline Lute, isn't it correct that, you know, I heard another co-worker say that Judi was never late to work. So I've got to conflict. 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 are reported.

So it's guessing that they've checked the records to verify that. But back to Amy, Amy said that she was basically crashing to get the show on. She was initially just kind of angry at Jody that she'd overslept. And she told me 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 dry or shoes and all that, that doesn't mean they came off of feet. That means, to me, that's what she was going to wear onto the air. Guys were talking about Jody, who's in truth, just 27 years old that goes missing seemingly into thin air. So Caroline Lowe, what can you tell me about all the items that were scattered in the parking lot? What we know is there are a pair of red high heels, which would seem to suggest that Jody 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 hair spray. There was a blow dryer. There are 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, Jody did not run to her car carrying all these things in her arm. 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 be 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 Mastery, Evening Anchor K-I-M-T. Listen. Jody wasn't there. And so an associate producer, Amy Coons, calls Jody at her apartment. Jody 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, Jody probably just fell back asleep. Jody 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 6 o'clock without Jody. And so it was just a few minutes after 7 o'clock right after she had gotten off the air. Amy Coons calls Mason City Police for a welfare check. Nancy, can I clarify something there? Yes, please do. Amy did not make the phone call. Amy was still sitting on the set at the 7 o'clock when the show ended. A co-worker came in. She asked the co-worker to call police because she still

had to do a morning update. So a co-worker called the police at 713. First officers arrived on the scene at 716. Interesting. That makes me feel a little bit better about the time. timeline because the whole day hasn't passed. Take a listen to more of our friends at K-I-M-T. Listen. Mason City Police found Jody's car in the parking lot of the apartment complex 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 a critical window in which you have a chance to save the person. straight out to Dr. Jory Croson, psychologist, faculty, St. Leo University.

You know, another wrinkle in this case is that Jody Husing-Trute 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. Jory, 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 Jody Hughes and Trute is actually in love with them. It's, it happens quite often, doctor. Yes, it does with, you know, celebrities or anybody that's in the public light, you know, 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, it 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 Albirio, it was so early in the morning that she was leaving, correct? What time was it? We asked me from the information it was about 4.30 in the morning. Yeah. There's not a lot of people out in about at 4.30 in the morning. Take a listen to our friends at K-IMT. The search for Jody 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. To Joanne Nathie, this is Jody's sister. Do you remember the use of psychics trying to find Jody? Oh, yeah. We had telephone calls and we were on a show with 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.

was a little late probably. She did jam pack her days way too much. She worked, um, 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 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. 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-MT. Three neighbors that apparently heard screams that morning. Yes, true. And none of them are able to really give an indicator about what those screens. or about.

Listen, and you're there. For heart-wrenching knockouts. The world's biggest stage. And breathtaking triumph. In 2026 FIFA World Cup, the knockout stage. Every match, every moment. Listen on TSN Radio. Join the globe.

On the road to the July 19th final. 2026 FIFA World Cup. Stream it all love. on TSN Radio, available on IHeard Radio. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Now, this PI, Ridge, has made more than one sensational claim about the case in the past. He doesn't name either person, either the alleged suspect or the woman that rats him out, but he shared his findings with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the DCI.

The Mason City Police Chief Mike McKelvey warned, quote, misinformation spread by social media sleuths and private eyes, that information is having a, quote, detrimental effect on the investigation. That suggests to me that he doesn't believe what the PI is saying. Well, these are the facts that we know to be true. To Wendy Patchett, California prosecutor, author of Red Flags and host of today with Dr. Wendy KC.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 Akitos, as they say,

mournful or plaintive whale. That really started the timeline. This is in the middle of the night. And here, the neighbors hear these screams. Wendy? 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 awake and 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 4.35 o'clock in the morning, and there's a big difference. 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 Curgus at KSTP TV. Jody'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 stopped her, watched her, know what her schedule was, and was definitely going to plan on, I'm doing something that morning. Right up to her disappearance, this group of people socialized with Jody. As they realized Jody'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 always a possibility that could be somebody that we know. Now take a listen to Brian Maastry and Beth Bednar, former anchor, from K-I-M-T and K-A-A-A-L, 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 Sice.

John Van Sice is considerably older than her recently divorced in both to Mesa City. He 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 Jody alive. To Caroline Lowe investigative journalist, and you can find her at findjody.com, find Jody 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 Seiss. 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 Seiss, her other friends, Annie 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 Alberia, former commander, Woodbury Police Department, Jay, did he, he worked with her in what capacity? No, John VanCycex 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 as it 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. He was also helping her learn out of water ski. To Joanne Nathie, what was her relationship with John Van Sice? 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, Jody would say, you know,

so but I after hearing about after it all happened we know that he was quite obsessed with Jody 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 Jody they said Jody are you sure that John isn't more interested in you than you think and it was just very obvious that he, that he has been, was very interested in her. Yeah. As a matter of fact, you're absolutely correct, Joanne Nathie. This is Jody's sister joining us. Take a listen to Mary McQuire, K-I-M-T. Forced to play the role of both journalist and friend, Robin Wolf from

reported on the disappearance, even interviewing the man who Jody was seen with last. What was his demeanor like? A joyful almost, strangely happy. And, telling me how he named his boat after and how he just loved her. She has no doubt in her mind, that man, an older gentleman who is friends with Jody, is the one responsible for her disappearance. I cautioned Jody 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, find Jody.com, a website dedicated to 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. While what they were seeking was two vehicles associated with John Van Sice, 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, as they said, is they were after a shoot 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 has not been named as a suspect number one. Let's just state that. Any potential palm prints or fingerprints is something found on that car. Oh, absolutely. And, you know, Joanne and your other guests, what we've done is we've bumped the timeline back to even the night before. So you talk about that palm print, where it came from, who might have 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 pall print like that would have been an enormous piece of evidence. Nancy, 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 anyone. Everybody in the area knows Jody, who's in truth. They see her every single morning. Take a listen to Jennifer Austin, K-A-R-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-Lon. 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 Fine Jody team, a group of investigators who continue to look into the unsolved case. What happened to Jody? They launched a podcast this month on what would have been Jody's 52nd birthday, hoping to keep eyes on her story and find answers about what happened the early morning of June 27, 1995.

when Jody 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 the 6 a.m. and noon news. Her home number, her address, or 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, ABC6, KAA. I can't remember Jody ever being sick or late for work. She's a professional journalist. Then general manager John Schein, seen during a press conference later that day, describing a very different Jody, 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 going to 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 Brankley 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 Lowe, investigative journalist, findjody.com. Caroline, where does it stand now? There was one reporting of a body found out of Mason City River. We don't believe, remains. We don't believe that was Jody. A P.I. 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? 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 & Trout 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? Very caring about us. She always wanted us to be happy.

That was a big interest, you know. She was working at a resort and her time off, she'd invite us up to use. facilities and oh she was just so bubbly she's 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 murbeck 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 is not playing with a full deck to become obsessed and sitting and listening to her daily routine.

She would often talk where she went jogging and what activity she was going to do that day. And she probably did too much of that on the air. You know, it was too personable. But they liked it. The viewers loved it. The police chief goes on to state the majority of leads brought forth by PIs and amateurs have been, quote, duds. Seemingly, her family

rejects the news as well. They put out a statement claiming that misinformation routinely shared about Jody's case subjects them to a, quote, different kind of pain. It makes them relive it all over again, maybe even

get their hopes up for nothing. That has got to hurt immensely. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, crime stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed human.