As Tad DiBiase, a former Assistant United States Attorney, and someone who specializes in “
no body” cases explains – “No case ever goes cold as long as there are detectives actively investigating.”
According to Merriam-Webster, cold cases are unsolved criminal investigations not being worked on because of a lack of evidence. A term Rochester Police takes differently.
“It’s not just sitting on a shelf collecting dust with nobody looking at it at all,” said Rochester Police Captain Casey Moilanen. “A cold case to me would be a case where you’ve followed up on everything that you can follow up on. You don’t have any more leads or tips coming in. You really just can’t think of anything else to do.”
Twenty-eight years ago, Jodi Huisentruit went missing. An incident that would change the Mason City community forever.
A moment
Scott Fuller, a Podcaster with
FindJodi says many don’t forget.
“Talking to people who were around Minnesota and Iowa, it’s like a JFK moment. If they were here, they remember hearing about Jodi disappearing,” said Fuller.
On June 27, 1995, Huisentruit got a call she was late to anchor the morning show but never showed up. A shoe, bent key, and Jodi’s red 1991 Mazda Miata, were the few clues investigators have to go off of.
“You just never know where different information that people walk in the room with can fit into the investigation,” said Chief Jeff Brinkley with the Mason City Police Department. “And how that can put us on a path that helps us to get some resolution.”
Fuller became interested in Jodi’s case when he was asked to do a podcast special. Now a team member of FindJodi, this has become personal for him.
“Getting to know over the years her sister, and her family and friends. Just a world where that can happen and no one is caught I think I have a problem with,” said Fuller.
Private Investigator Steve Ridge has been working independently on this case since the 90s.
“I don’t think time is a factor in motivation,” said Ridge. “I think progress is. I continue to gather new information on a steady basis and I think that it will all eventually fit together.”
New information including this finding: Ridge said when Jodi got her red 1991 Mazda Miata, the transaction was “a bit of an arms-length transaction” and a third party was involved. Ridge says this could mean the person who gave Jodi the car in part as a gift, was not the previous owner.
“I’m still hopeful that there is some kind of evidence whether that’s stuff we know about, physical evidence, or maybe something we don’t know about that can be tested with advanced technology,” said Fuller.
“The Mason City Police Department has given me that hope. They’re constantly referring to advancing technology without being specific about what they’re referring to,” said Fuller.
28 years ago Tuesday, Mason City News Anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared. Beginning years of searching for answers. Her family is not the only one who has had to live with the emotional rollercoaster of not knowing what happened to their loved one...
www.kaaltv.com