Jodi Huisentruit, an Iowa television news anchor had a “secret final fling” with a mystery man just 10 days before going missing nearly three decades ago, a private investigator has revealed.

An Iowa television news anchor had a “secret final fling” with a mystery man just 10 days before going missing nearly three decades ago, according to a private investigator.

Cold-case sleuth Steve Ridge has been probing the mysterious disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit, a news anchor for KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, who was 27 when she vanished in the early hours of June 27, 1995.

Huisentruit, who was declared legally dead by authorities in 2001, told a colleague that morning that she had overslept and was running late for work.

“Through my digging, I learned that Jodi had a very secret ‘final fling’ with a man she met just 10 days before she went missing,” Ridge, who has been investigating the case for years, told the US Sun.

Ridge tracked down the unidentified lover, whom police had cleared years ago after first declaring him a person of interest.

He believes “jealously” was a factor in Huisentruit’s murder since she “had strong admirers” and that her newfound love interest might “infuriate other suitors.”

Jodi Huisentruit, a news anchor for KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, vanished in the early hours of June 27, 1995.
On the morning of her disappearance, police conducted a welfare check at her home, where they found her belongings, including a woman’s red shoe and a bent car key, scattered around her red Mazda Miata that was parked out front.

Police interviewed neighbors who heard screams, indicating a struggle had taken place, according to Ridge, who revealed information to the US Sun that was previously only known to law enforcement.

Among the fresh details was that Huisentruit’s love interest was a 27-year-old man who was from out of state.

According to Ridge, the two met at a bar and hit it off instantly. He said the couple spoke “just about every day and she initiated the calls.”

Huisentruit, who was declared legally dead by authorities in 2001, told a colleague that morning that she had overslept and was running late for work.
Ridge said he met the man, who gave him a tour of the Mason City home where he stayed during their relationship.

“That home is the last place Jodi went on a ‘date’ before she went missing,” Ridge told the US Sun.

Five days before her disappearance, Huisentruit and her beau “sat on the back deck having drinks overlooking the lake.”

The man told Ridge did that he and Huisentruit had “an immediate attraction and bond.”

A private investigator says Huisentruit had a “secret fling” with a mystery man just days before she went missing.
The private investigator said “they both knew their blossoming relationship might infuriate other suitors.”

Ridge added that he “has no doubt that jealousy played a role in Jodi’s demise.”

“I am certain that his quickly blossoming relationship with Jodi played a central role in her abduction days later,” Ridge said.

“I believe without a doubt that this relationship was clearly a factor in what happened because this was not a random act of violence, it wasn’t anything like that, it wasn’t a stalker that came out of nowhere.”

Law enforcement officials say the investigation into her disappearance remains open.
The Post has sought comment from the Mason City Police Department.

Last month, Ridge doubled the reward to $50,000 for information that will help locate Huisentruit’s remains.

“Money can be a powerful incentive to motivate someone who is otherwise reluctant to come forward,” Ridge said, according to Des Moines, Iowa, outlet KCCI. “Time is not on our side, and we need to heat up this cold case.”

Vanished Without a Trace: 29 Years Later, Fight Over Hidden Evidence Could Crack Jodi Huisentruit Case

Jodi Huisentruit, a 27-year-old Iowa news anchor, vanished nearly 30 years ago. As authorities continue searching for her remains, a private investigator is pushing to unseal case records.

Huisentruit, a native of Long Prairie, Minn., was on her way to work as a morning anchor at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, when she disappeared in the early morning of June 27, 1995.

Over the years, private investigator Steve Ridge has pushed for the courts to unseal records relating to the case.

On March 27, Senior Judge James M. Drew in Cerro Gordo County ruled to partially unseal a 2017 search warrant connected to Huisentruit’s disappearance, while keeping the supporting affidavit under seal to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.

Ridge’s attorneys, Nellie O’Mara and Jesse Marzen, sought to unseal records related to GPS tracking devices placed on two vehicles tied to John Vansice.

Vansice has long been considered a person of interest in the investigation, but he has never been charged in the case.

The vehicles, a 1999 Honda Civic and a 2013 GMC 1500, were reportedly registered at the Arizona address where Vansice was living in early 2017.

The vehicles did not exist at the time Huisentruit’s disappeared in 1995.

Judge Drew denied the motion to reopen the court record to support unsealing the search warrant. The court ordered that the affidavit must remain sealed, since the investigation remains active.

Jodi Huisentruit was on her way to work as a morning anchor at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, when she disappeared in the early morning of June 27, 1995.

Private investigator Steve Ridge has pushed for the courts to unseal records relating to the case. Fox News
The court noted that the affidavit might reveal information only the perpetrator would know, such as specific times, items found or scene details. It added that an unsealed affidavit could help potential suspects “know what to hide.”

The judge stressed that, even after 30 years, public curiosity alone does not justify jeopardizing an active investigation.

Huisentruit’s family released a statement on the Jodi’s Hope Facebook page, saying 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,” the family said in a statement.

“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.”

Judge Drew denied the motion to reopen the court record to support unsealing the search warrant.
Huisentruit was 27 when she disappeared in June 1995. The news anchor vanished in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995, in Mason City, Iowa.

After Huisentruit didn’t make it to work by 7 a.m., Mason City Police were notified.

Her vehicle was found at her apartment, along with a bent car key, her high heels and 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.

New details emerge of ‘fling’ news anchor Jodi Huisentruit had with man she met just ten days before she disappeared and photograph reveals location of their final date

The 30-year mystery of how news anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared may finally be solved, after new details about a secret fling with a mystery man she met just ten days before she vanished have emerged.

Jodi Huisentruit overslept for her job as an anchor at Mason City, Iowa news station KIMT on June 27, 1995, when a co-worker called to check up on her.

The 27-year-old assured her colleague that she would rush into the station in time for her 6am broadcast.

She was never heard from again, and was formally declared dead in 2001, though Iowa cops consider the case active and open.

But a crack PI claims he has previously unreported information about a fling with a man from out of state that the journalist met just ten days before she went missing, as well as a photograph showing the site of her final date before her disappearance.

News anchor Jodi Huisentruit (pictured) has been missing since 1995

PI Steve Ridge told the Sun that she met the as-yet-unnamed man, who was staying in a home on Clear Lake, at a bar.

They quickly made a ‘fast connection’ with each other, Ridge said.

The pair then started an intense relationship, where they saw each other almost every day for a week.

The private investigator said they spoke ‘just about every day and she initiated the calls.’

But despite the intensity of their blossoming relationship, Steve Ridge said that Jodi ‘had not told even her closest friends about this relationship’ in order to avoid unwanted drama.

She was never able to tell her friends about her new fling.

When police arrived at her home just after 7:00 am to conduct a welfare check after she failed to report to work nearly 30 years ago, they found Huisentruit’s belongings scattered around her now-infamous red Mazda Miata in the parking lot, including a woman’s red shoe and a bent car key.

She was just 27 years old when she disappeared after failing to turn up to her job at a news station in Mason City, Iowa

She is understood to have been in a secret fling with an unknown man she met just 10 days before her disappearance

According to police, there were also signs of a struggle and neighbors reported hearing screams at around 4am.

A partial palm print was smudged onto Huisentruit’s car, but investigators were never able to match it with a suspect.

Ridge said that five days before she went missing, Jodi met her date at his lakeside home, where they sat on the back deck, which he managed to get access to in order to document it.

‘The last time she had a date – it’s such a powerful picture…a few days later Jodi was gone.’

He revealed that local cops put the mystery man under surveillance after identifying him as a person of interest in the case, ‘even [scooping] up his street-side garbage for examination.’

The investigator is convinced that her fling with this man played an important part in her disappearance.

‘I am certain that his quickly blossoming relationship with Jodi played a central role in her abduction days later,’ Ridge said.

PI Steve Ridge (pictured) is convinced that her fling with this man played an important part in her disappearance

‘I believe without a doubt that this relationship was clearly a factor in what happened because this was not a random act of violence it wasn’t anything like that, it wasn’t a stalker that came out of nowhere.’

‘This clearly was someone she knew and had interacted with who was very aware of all of the relationships or people that she saw and so that’s why this is kind of sensitive information,’ the investigator explained.

Though he was later cleared, Ridge warned that publicly identifying the man ‘could jeopardize an eventual prosecution in this case.’

He believes that jealousy was the primary cause of her disappearance.

Ridge said the pair both knew that their relationship would ‘infuriate other suitors’, adding: ‘Jodi had strong admirers.’

‘A common theme here is anyone who shows an interest in Jodi is potentially in harm’s way because of jealousy and so this would fall in that category as well. I have one very strong possibility of who that party is. I think he did have some relationship with her.’

Though the case has seemingly gone cold in recent years, law enforcement is reportedly treating it as an active investigation, with Ridge claiming that they have their eye on at least one person of interest.

‘They remain hopeful that there will still be some kind of evidence that will allow them to move forward with an arrest or indictment,’ the investigator added.