Iowa newscaster Jody Huisentrud, 27, went missing nearly 30 years ago. As authorities continue to search for her body, a private investigator believes her mysterious disappearance was a crime of “jealousy” and “passion.”
Huisentrud, a native of Long Prairie, Minn., disappeared in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995, on her way to work as morning anchor at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa.
“This is one of those cases that kind of stands out,” certified private investigator Steve Ridge told Fox News Digital.
“Jody was a young, energetic television anchor who was very photogenic and very charismatic, and I think even people who didn't know her felt a certain charm about her. The entire Mason City community is very close-knit. It's a knit, somewhat inbred community, and they wholeheartedly accepted Jody…This incident haunts them and casts a very, very dark shadow over them.”
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Jody Huisentrud was a television anchor until her disappearance in 1995. (Findjodi.com)
Ridge has been investigating Huisentrud's case pro bono since 2019, but has been tracking him since 1995, when news of his disappearance broke. He offered a $100,000 reward to anyone who could lead police to her body.
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“I just can't stop. I just want to get to the bottom of this,” Ridge told Fox News Digital in a detailed interview about the case. He said that despite his public nature, Huisentrud started his career in journalism at a train station near his home and was very approachable to local residents.
“Mason City was a very small town and Jody was very accessible. I mean, she was everywhere… She loved going to the local pubs and having fun and talking to people.” Ridge explained. “That's very different from most TV anchors in most big markets, where there's actually a pretty big disconnect between the person you see on the air and the real face… She's just an exception. And the town adopted her and loved her.”
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Ridge said he believes he may know exactly what happened to Huisentrud, but he does not want to know who is responsible for her disappearance “so as not to jeopardize the possibility of prosecution or arrest.” He did not reveal the identity of the person believed to be to Fox News Digital.
“I had narrowed down the list of suspects and persons of interest in my own mind to four people,” he said. “So I can say without a doubt, I know that one of those four is responsible for Jody's disappearance. If you don't mind, who is my favorite? I haven't revealed it and I will. I have no intention of doing so.”
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Ridge said he has interviewed nearly 1,000 people over the years about Heisentreut's case, including two persons of interest and others he believed had valuable information. . He also oversaw several search efforts based on tips to find her body.
“Those were private searches, in some cases on private property, and we had to get permission from the property owner,” he said. “In fact, I'm still working on about six very specific avenues of exploration. It's like branches on a tree. You come out of one branch, and it's three more, and then three more. , and then develop into 10 more. So you can drill down to each of them.”
Her disappearance was ruled a kidnapping, with her belongings including a hair dryer, red shoes and a bottle of hairspray found next to her car at the apartment complex, and police found signs of a struggle. Witnesses also reported seeing a suspicious white van and hearing screams. FOX9 reported.
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Exterior view of the apartment complex where TV anchor Jody Huisentrud lived and disappeared on June 27, 1995. (Steve Kagan/The Life Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Mr. Ridge has laid out a leading theory about the events leading up to Mr. Huisentruyt's possible kidnapping.
“Jody had what appeared to be a secret last affair 10 days before her disappearance,” he said. “She met a man at a bar on a Saturday night. They became instant friends and played golf together. They ate together and drank together. She was at his mansion. …That budding relationship created a great deal of jealousy, and as it turned out, the crime was a crime of passion.
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“I believe that the person involved in her kidnapping intended to confront her and discuss it with her, and things got out of control and she was eventually abducted from the location and possibly her body. I think they were kept within about a 42 mile radius of the “Key Apartments.” ”
The newscaster was declared legally dead in 2001. Mr Ridge said finding the remains would require a “huge amount of effort”.
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A storefront window with a flyer with a missing poster for Jody Huisentrud, who disappeared on June 27, 1995. (Steve Kagan/The Life Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“The biggest hurdle is where and how the bodies were disposed of,” he said. “I think her body was carefully weighted down with a certain type of weight that would sink very deep in any body of water… There are very many in and around certain areas of the state. There is a body of water. So… it's like a needle in a haystack.”
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However, the private investigator said he is determined to continue unraveling various clues and helping police solve the Heusentruyt case. He has been in regular contact with her sister, Joanne Nate, and said the investigation continues to bother her.
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“She says, 'Sister, I just want to live until I find out what happened to my sister,'” he said. “My hope is that one day I can bring comfort to her, her family, Jodi's friends, and the Mason City community as this situation hangs over them like a cloud.”
