Latest news with #Huisentruit
New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
New person of interest revealed in 1995 vanishing of beloved Iowa news anchor: documentary
A new person of interest has been revealed in the baffling cold case of Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit, who vanished from her home on a summer morning over 30 years ago. Brad Millerbernd, the ex-husband of Huisentruit's childhood best friend Patty Niemeyer, was investigated by Iowa police after tips came in suggesting he might be connected to the 1995 suspected abduction, according to the Daily Mail. Millerbernd lived about three hours away from Huisentruit's Mason City apartment when she vanished, and his ex-wife told filmmakers in a newly released documentary that he perfectly matched never-before-seen police suspect sketches. Advertisement 4 Jodi Huisentruit vanished as she was heading to work in June 1995. She has never been found. 'I see Brad Millerbernd,' Niemeyer said in the ABC News documentary, 'Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit.' 'That is him to a T.' Millerbernd has denied any involvement in the suspected abduction, and been 'very cooperative' with investigators, the documentary noted. Advertisement Huisentruit was 27 years old when she called into work around 4 a.m. on June 27, 1995, to say she was running late. But by 6 a.m. she never showed up and the morning's broadcast went ahead without her. When she still hadn't been heard from hours later, police went to her apartment and found signs of a struggle strewn across the parking lot. 4 Brad Millerbernd and Huisentruit's friend Patty Niemeyer. The couple divorced days before the crime. Hulu Her car keys were found bent on the ground near her car, while a blow dryer, a high-heel shoe and hair spray were lying abandoned nearby, according to PEOPLE. Advertisement 'Things went from we're just looking for somebody missing to we're looking for somebody that was abducted,' an officer from the Mason City Police Department said in the documentary. But those searches proved fruitless, and aside from a palm print found on a light pole in the parking lot, little to no evidence left by the perp was ever recovered. By 2001 Huisentruit hadn't been found, and she was officially declared dead. And three decades after she vanished, no sign of her has turned up — and no suspects have ever been named. But on the 10 year anniversary of Huisentruit's disappearance, Niemeyer told filmmakers that her ex-husband called her after years without contact to say 'Do you realize what day it is?' Advertisement The call 'freaked' her out, and she was left with a sinking feeling her ex could be behind the disappearance. 'You know that burning gut feeling that you get? I couldn't let it go,' she said. 4 Huisentruit was an anchor at an Iowa news station when she disappeared in 1995. No suspects have been named. Millerbernd and Niemeyer divorced in June 1994 — just four days before Huisentruit went missing, a detail investigators said was compelling in the documentary. And Niemeyer recalled that Millerbernd seemed to be fixated on the young reporter during their marriage, often bringing her up and asking what she was doing. 'That always bothered me,' she said, but explained that she told herself 'Oh, it's nothing.' But in 2017 she called police to report her suspicions, and after she followed up several years later police reached out to Millerbernd for questioning. They learned that Millerbernd had dinner with Huisentruit the fall before she vanished — and that he called her weeks before the abduction. Advertisement 'Coincidences happen,' MCPD Detective Terrance Prochaska said in the documentary, 'But this one, there's a lot stacked up in June for sure.' 4 Witnesses said they saw a white van lurking around Huisentruit's apartment when she disappeared. Millerbernd also drove a white van similar to one witnesses said they saw lurking around Huisentruit's apartment the morning she disappeared. Nevertheless, Millerbernd was never named a suspect and he has denied any connection to Huisentruit's abduction. Advertisement Police also noted he was 'very cooperative' — despite appearing 'shaken' and 'dazed' at points during the questioning — and even agreed to provide DNA samples and take a polygraph test. The only other prominent person of interest in the disappearance was John Vansice, a friend of Huisentruit who had been hanging out with her at her apartment the night before. He also denied any involvement in her death. 'Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit' premiers on Hulu on July 15.
USA Today
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Hulu documentary follows missing TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit's unsolved disappearance
Over 30 years after Iowa TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared during the early morning of June 27, 1995, a new Hulu series is revisiting her case and the national attention it drew. "Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit" (streaming now on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+) features for than 20 new interviews from Huisentruit's friends, family, colleagues and Iowa law enforcement officials. The three-part series was produced by ABC News Studios and Committee Films, the latter of which previously developed an episode for ABC's "20/20" on Huisentruit's disappearance in 2022. "We were given exclusive access to new leads in the case by the Mason City Police Department — generated by a tip from our previous ABC 20/20 episode on Jodi," Committee Films wrote in a social media post. The ethical reckoning of true crime | The Excerpt "Even if you think you know everything there is to know about her case, you don't. This is a definitive look at the case, but also a moving tribute to Jodi, who brought joy to everyone she knew," the production company continued. The documentary crew also got inside access to KIMT-TV, where Huisentruit's desk remains untouched, according to a news release. Who was Jodi Huisentruit? Huisentruit, who was 27 years old at the time of her disappearance, was a Long Prairie, Minnesota, native who graduated from St. Cloud State University in 1990. She was an avid skier and moved to Mason City to become the morning and noon anchorwoman two years before her disappearance, having previously worked at television stations in Cedar Rapids and Alexandria, Minnesota. What happened to Jodi Huisentruit? The morning of her disappearance, Huisentruit answered a call from her KIMT-TV producer. She said she had overslept and was going to head into the office. The producer called again at 5 a.m. with no response before coworkers requested police to perform a welfare check at her apartment. Police believed she was grabbed as she tried to unlock her red Mazda Miata shortly after 4 a.m. Law enforcement found a hair dryer, a red pair of shoes and a bottle of hairspray next to her car at her apartment complex. Police found a palm print on the vehicle along with signs of a struggle. No arrests or charges have been made in the case, and Huisentruit was declared legally dead in 2001. Her mother, Jane Huisentruit, said in a 2005 article that she believed her daughter is at the bottom of a lake near her home. Her cousin, Mary Lee Moberg, believes a man stalked her. Over the years, Huisentruit has remained in the public eye thanks to friends, family, and others interested in the cold case. Huisentruit's disappearance has been the subject of numerous true crime shows and podcasts. In 2024, a licensed private investigator offered a $100,000 reward for anyone who could lead police to her remains. Watch 'Her Last Broadcast' on Hulu Last month, on the 30th anniversary of her disappearance, Huisentruit's family posted a statement on the website "It is hard to fully comprehend that it has now been 30 years since our dear Jodi was so senselessly taken from us: 30 years since we last saw her smile, heard her infectious laugh, or had a chance to hug her and tell her how much we love her," the statement said. "Our sincerest gratitude to all who have worked tirelessly on Jodi's case and continue to do so, including law enforcement and We will never be able to say thank you enough, and we wholeheartedly appreciate your dedication to finding Jodi and solving her case." Anyone with information on Huisentruit's disappearance is advised to call the Mason City Police Department at 641-421-3636. How to watch 'Her Last Broadcast:' the new series on Jodi Huisentruit's disappearance The three-part docuseries will be available for streaming starting on Tuesday, July 15, on Hulu or Disney+. Contributing: Virginia Barreda, José Mendiola, The Des Moines Register
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Time of India
News anchor Jodi Huisentruit 'vanished' 30 years ago and now a documentary reveals chilling witness' claim. Where to watch?
American news anchor Jodi Huisentruit has been missing for 30 years. Jodi was on her way to work shortly after 4 a.m. on the morning on June 27, 1995, when authorities believe she was violently abducted. Now, a three-part documentary on Jodi Huisentruit reveals a chilling claim by a witness. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Jodi Huisentruit docuseries What happened to Jodi Huisentruit still remains a mystery to date. The 27-year-old from Long Prairie, Minnestosa, was a morning anchor at KIMT-TV, serving north central Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. Everyday, Jodi Huisentruit was up before dawn every day for Daybreak at 6 am and she aspired to go June 27, 1995, DayBreak producer Amy Kuns called Huisentruit at home shortly after 4 am to see why she wasn't at work yet, as she was usually there closer to 3 am."I called her twice. I talked to her and woke her up that first time," Kuns remembered in a 2011 interview. "The second time, it just rang and rang. I don't remember the times. I had obviously woken her up. She asked what time it was. I told her. She said she'd be right in." She never made it to her apartment, police found signs of a struggle, including a bent key outside her car. Her disappearance was quickly ruled an abduction and over the last three decades, authorities have been unable to find her or recover her Huisentruit didn't obviously disappear into thin air. Jodi was declared dead on May 14, 2001, but, to this day, no body or any other physical trace of her has ever been search warrant sheds light that investigators placed a GPS tracker on a friend's car in 1999 and on the friend's pickup truck in 2013, according to CBS News. But the friend is yet to be charged with a crime and had been with the local TV news anchor the night before she also caught a break in 2022, when an ABC 20/20 episode on Huisentruit's disappearance led a witness to reach out to the Mason City Police Department and share information she kept secret for more than two decades, as the network highlights in the new trailer for its years after Jodi Huisentruit 'disappeared', a new three-part documentary on her disappearance is set to debut this week, reports Fox 9. " Her Last Broadcast : The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit" is a new documentary on the disappearance of the Iowa news anchor, which will also take a look at the case, including a new tip that led authorities to search a property in Minnesota last Jodi Huisentruit documentary is being produced by ABC News Studios. The new series, 'Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit', includes more than 20 new interviews with family members, detectives, witnesses and friends of Jodi Huisentruit. ABC News Studios in a press release said the series also promises "never-before-seen material and new, groundbreaking information" about the case."An exploration of the power of persistence, public memory, and journalism, Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit breathes new life into one of the country's most haunting unsolved mysteries," the network says. "Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit" will debut on Hulu on Tuesday, July the 30th anniversary of Huisentruit's disappearance in late June, an online group dedicated to finding the truth about what happened to the television news anchor shared a statement demanding the person responsible come forward and explain what happened."[Thirty] years. It's time,' the group Find Jodi said, according to CBS. 'Don't make Jodi Huisentruit's family and friends wait another year for you to come forward. They need answers and justice.'
CBS News
29-04-2025
- CBS News
Judge unseals portion of search warrant in Jodi Huisentruit case
An Iowa judge has released a portion of a 2017 search warrant which showed GPS tracking data of a car owned by a person of interest in the Jodi Huisentruit case. Huisentruit was working as a news anchor in Mason City, Iowa when she disappeared on June 27, 1995. Outside her apartment building, police found signs of a struggle, and investigators believe someone attacked her as she headed to her car for the early news shift. Nearly 30 years later, her disappearance has yet to be solved. The partially unsealed warrant applied to a GPS device which was placed in a 1999 Honda Civic and 2013 GMC Pickup Truck, which was owned by Huisentruit's friend, who was a person of interest in her case. The person of interest was with Huisentruit the night before she disappeared. Jodi Huisentruit (credit: CBS) He died in December of last year. Attorneys argued for the warrant to be unsealed to provide closure to the family. The data tracks a vehicle during a four-day span as it traveled from Baxter, Iowa through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico before it came to a stop in Phoenix. According to a "48 Hours" report, the man was living in Phoenix in 2017. Other details of the warrant remain sealed as the investigation continues, according to KIMT. For more than a decade, journalists and retired law enforcement involved with the group Find Jodi, have asked anyone with information to come forward. After the "48 Hours" report aired in 2019, tips poured into the Mason City Police Department. Note: The above video first aired on March 3, 2025.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Yahoo
Hunt for missing Midwest news anchor focuses on fight over unsealing evidence
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. News Anchor's Mysterious Disappearance Was Crime Of 'Jealousy': Private Investigator 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. Read On The Fox News App 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. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub 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." Search For Missing News Anchor Expands After Authorities Get New Tip The judge stressed that, even after 30 years, public curiosity alone does not justify jeopardizing an active investigation. READ The Order: 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." SIGN UP TO GET True Crime Newsletter Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X 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 article source: Hunt for missing Midwest news anchor focuses on fight over unsealing evidence
