Transcript
Weeks now, New Jersey residents have been plagued by unexplained drones flying overhead. Is there intelligent alien life? And if so, has the government been covering it up? Alright. UFO sightings the military can't explain. Congressional hearings. Pentagon whistleblower. What does it all mean? What does it all mean? We are here to try and figure it all out with our new Ancient Aliens podcast. There is a doorway in the universe. Beyond it is the promise of truth. It demands we question everything we have ever been taught. The evidence is all around us. The future is right before our eyes. We are not alone. We have never been alone. Listen to the Ancient Aliens podcast available wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, everyone, and welcome to episode four zero five of the True Crime All the Time Unsolved podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson, and with me as always is my partner in true crime, Mike Gibson. Give me how are you? Hey. I'm doing pretty good. How about you? I am hanging in there. Yeah. Just hanging? Just hanging. Yeah. We are having, some serious wind tonight. I hear it. So if you hear some banging type noises that, in the background, that's what it is. Yeah. It's not actually someone trying to get out of a locked room. No. No. Could be later, but, depends on how Gibby acts Oh. During the recording. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had Lynn Brown. Hey, Lynn. Faye Knight. A knight like, you know, royalty. Yeah. Yeah. Bree Smith. Hey, Bree. Vernon Ford jumped out to our highest level. Well, I'm glad you're not going backward forward. Caleb Hockenberry. Hockenberry is a famous Hockenberry's. Gary. Hey, Gary. Annie Garcia. What's up, Garcia? It's just Maddie. Oh, Maddie. You can't fool us. Arlene McDonald. Hey, McDonald. CC Lemon. I'd love some lemon. Tim Cosgrove. Hey, Cosgrove. And last but not least, Michael Kelly. Hey. Thanks, Michael. Yeah. Appreciate the new support. And then if we go back into the vault, this week, we selected Debbie Duffy. Hey, Duffy. So appreciate the long term support as well. We also had a couple of great PayPal donations from Amanda Stewart Thanks, Amanda. And Jennifer Brunswick. You're awesome, Jennifer. So, Gibbs, right now on true crime all the time, we have an episode out on Mark Latunsky, and there is a lot wrapped up in this episode. We're talking about a man who kind of lured, if you wanna use that word Yeah. Other gay men over to his home where he kinda had a dungeon slash kill room He did. Set up. And there's cannibalism and some other, you know, really horrible things involved. And Kevin Bacon. And Kevin Bacon. Alright, buddy. Are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime All the Time Unsolved? I am ready. We're talking about the disappearance of Jody Husentrude. Jody Husentrude was a popular anchor At a local news station in Mason City, Iowa, she went missing early one morning while rushing out the door for work and has never been found. Jodi Sue Huusentrude was born on 06/05/1968. She was just 27 years old. When she went missing, Jody grew up in Long Prairie, Minnesota. Her friends told forty eight hours that she always wanted to be famous and knew by high school that she wanted to be a news anchor. You think you make a good news anchor? Well, if Ron Burgundy can do it, I think I can do it. Well, that's something I would say. But I will read anything that is put on the prompter. And by anything, I do mean. Yes. You would be you would be good. Jody attended Saint Cloud State University where she anchored for the school's TV station. And I think it's not uncommon for people growing up to say, you know what? I wanna be famous. Sure. Whether it's a a baseball player, an actor, an actress, whatever it may be, an astronaut. I don't know how many kids say, you know what? I wanna be Dan Rather. I wanna be Walter Cronkite. I wanna be Jane Pauley or, you know, whoever it is. Yeah. I don't know how many kids think that way. I I don't either. I I think maybe they if they wanna be famous, they wanna be Instagram famous today. Well, today. Yes. Absolutely. There was no Instagram in, the early nineties. If there was, it meant something differently. But she not only wished it, she made it happen She sure did. Which is kind of amazing. She worked at KGAN, a station based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. From February 1991 to April 1992, the Des Moines Register reported that she started off as an intern and was promoted to its Iowa City news bureau. Jody worked at a news station in her hometown. Before she moved to Mason City, Iowa in October 1993. She was hired by local CBS affiliate KIMT TV. She anchored the 6AM Daybreak Show and the noon slot. You can never do a Daybreak Show. No. No. I I remember when my wife and I were watching the morning show on Apple, and they had to get up at, like, 03:00 in the morning or something to to get in to start the the early morning show. No. That is not me. That's about the time I'm rolling into bed. I'm a say that's about your wind down time. Exactly. But Jody soon became a public figure in Mason City. Mason City Mayor Carl Miller said about Jodi per the Des Moines Register, this young lady is a true celebrity in this city. She's athletic, water skiing, and golfing. She really has gotten involved in the community. And I watched a couple of things about Jodi Hoosintrude. One of the things that did come out was that she was an amazing golfer. Yeah. One of the guys said anytime, like, the they went to some celebrity golf outing, She was like their anchor, their star. Oh, really? That's how good she was. You wanted her on your, team, your poor person. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Director Doug Murbach recalled that it took Jody two hours to shop for groceries because she stopped to talk to so many people. Oh, that is definitely not you. You do not like to have conversations with people while you're out. No. But I'm also not a celebrity. You know, you think about a news anchor in a smaller city. They are true celebrities, especially, you know, in years past where a lot more people watch the local news. Yeah. Now there's a lot of options for news. Sure. There is. But back in the day, you had about three. You know? And those people were celebrities. Then when you looked at the national news, those people were national celebrities. Right. I remember seeing some of the local news celebrities around town here when I was younger. Sure. You know? And you're like, oh, that's, what's his name or that's what's her name and, of course Because you could never remember their names. Yeah. That was always been a thing with me. Right? Or you see the weatherman, you know, because the around here, the weatherman, were always pretty popular back in the day. Mhmm. And some of them seemed friendly. There was a few that I remember thinking, that's not very nice. I'm just not wanting to stop and talk. Not so friendly. Yeah. Robin Wolfram, the evening news anchor, told forty eight hours that Jody dreamed of being on national television one day. However, Jody seemed content to stay in Mason City and was eager to renew her contract, which expired in October 1995. Director Doug Murbach told the Des Moines Register, she's very popular with our viewers. She's effervescent and lively. She wakes you up in the morning. I'm not saying she was perfect. There were times that she's been in my office. Uh-oh. I've had times like that. There were times where you were in my office. Yes. There was. And maybe some tough conversations were had. Maybe so. But what he is saying and and nobody's perfect. Right? But what he is saying is that she was very popular. People adored her. Now I mentioned Anchorman jokingly, but, you know, you do kinda get the sense of the character that Christina Applegate plays. There are some parallels here. Sure. You know, local news, she's striving to one day be a national anchor. But first, she's gotta be a local anchor, but her ultimate goal is to be is to go national. Jody's assistant was a woman named Amy c**ns, who did an interview with the group Find Jody years after she went missing. Amy said in this interview, Jody had been really up and down before her disappearance. She would fall asleep and edit bags and later in the day be really perky. I wondered what was going on with her. I would not be surprised if drugs were involved. You know, when you're getting up at 03:00 in the morning or 04:00 to be at work and on air by six, that could be tough, I would think. Yeah. And when she says drugs, no idea what type of drugs she's talking about. It could be like, uppers or something that would keep you awake. I remember when I was younger and and maybe they still do because I don't go inside the gas stations very often anymore. But when I was younger, they used to sell a menagerie of different pills at the counter. No dose? No dose. The but not even that. Like, these, what were they called? Like, white crosses? They came in this little pack. Yeah. And they were supposed to, like, energize you. There was just all kinds of, I'm sure none of this was FDA cleared. I'm sure not. It was made in somebody's basement and then packaged up. Amy was also asked about Jody's working demeanor. She said, I was Jody's assistant. She was very demanding. She would often snap at me, then she would turn around and clap, stand up at her desk and proclaim, I love life. I could never figure her out. And I'm sure everybody listening has worked for someone who's been extremely demanding. Yes. A lot of times, those people are very successful It's true. Because they are so demanding, but they can be tough to work with. I mean, they're not only they're demanding of you, but you're you learn that they're demanding of themselves. And probably why they're successful. Yeah. But they can be real a holes. Some some some people can. Yeah. I worked with one of those people before. Let's not name any names. In October 1994, Jody was jogging on a trail when a man in a white truck followed her. Jody filed a police report, but the man was never found. She discussed this incident with several people, but she didn't seem overly worried about it. And I can understand that. Right? You know, things happen to us on a a daily basis. Some things we might find a little bit suspicious or we think, that doesn't seem quite right. But are you sitting around worrying about it? You know, that you saw what you thought was a truck following you. You know, do you really think someone's out to get you? And I would say for the most part, no. People aren't thinking that. On 06/25/1995, Jody returned from a water skiing trip to Iowa City with several friends, including a man named John Van Sipes, who was in his late forties. John was a recently divorced seed salesman. He once lived in Jody's apartment complex in Mason City, but she and her friend, Annie Cruz, met him at a bar. Annie told forty eight hours that he offered to buy them a drink. She and Jody spoke to him throughout the evening and weren't sure how to feel about him, but they continued meeting him and they developed a friendship. The two young women often water skied off John's boat. You know, what's a great way to get some women to go out to the lake with you? Have a boat? Have a nice boat. I know that's why you bought one. I've yet to hear about any adventures you've taken on it, but it's a fishing boat, not a ski boat. Why are you doing air quotes with your fingers? Yeah. I don't know. According to forty eight hours, Jody befriended John at a difficult point in his life. On top of the divorce, he had been arrested for drunk driving and was ordered to install a breathalyzer in his van. Hey. Nothing nothing says, hey. You want you need a riot con. Get in with me. Let me blow this first. You mean the breathalyzer? I as soon as you said it, you started laughing. I can't stop. No. But I understand what you're saying. I mean, you know, especially if you if you're meeting somebody for the first time and they get into your vehicle and you've got one of these machines in your car, it's not gonna look great. We're probably not gonna feel too comfortable. No. Yeah. No. Annie Cruz told the show, she brought so much joy into his life, and he didn't have a lot of friends. And, you know, all of a sudden, now he's kind of accepted. You know, he's hanging out with us. We're having fun. She did say she knew. She knew he had an interest, but just blew it off. You know, he's like a father to me. She made that mention quite a few times. So I you know, I'm getting the sense here, Gibbs, that, you know, he's older than Jody, but he is interested in her. He finds her attractive. She's interested in being friends with him, but nothing more. Jody's friends cautioned her about her friendship with John. They thought it was strange that he named his boat after her, but she laughed it off. Okay. If a guy names his boat after you, I think he had to have some concern. Yeah. He wants more than tea and crumpets. Yeah. Yeah. He has designs or interests that go beyond the friendship that you think you have. John later told KIMT, I have named my boat after her just because she's Jody. You can't help but love that woman. Yeah. But somewhat of a obsession, don't you think? Maybe. But, you know, the word love can be used in a lot of different scenario. It can be. You know, there's romantic love. There's friendship type love. There's brotherly there's brother sister type love. You know, I don't know what you make of the way that he's using it. That's true. I do believe that he had designs on a a romantic relationship, and she did not. So you you think maybe more than just, like, you love the McRib? Yes. But I do love the McRib. You do. It looks like you're drooling right now. Jody returned to work on 06/26/1995 and anchored the morning news from six to 7AM. At 9AM, Jody attended the Mason City Chamber of Commerce golf tournament fundraiser. She played until they were rained out. Jody spent some time socializing at the clubhouse before she went home in the mid afternoon to get ready for an awards dinner at the Mason City Country Club. Okay. There's a lot of, time spent in country clubs and at golf outings, apparently, in this line of work. At 03:30PM, Jody rejoined her team at the country club and had dinner. Two of her golf partners said Jody mentioned she'd been getting annoying phone calls and planned to change her phone number. And we talked about her, you know, not making all that much out of thinking maybe this truck was kinda following her. Yeah. I think back in the day, a lot of people got annoying phone calls. Now annoying can mean a lot of different things. To me, any phone call is annoying unless you're telling me something I really need to know. Yeah. That's true. But most phone calls are annoying because it's somebody wanting to sell me something or tell me something that I don't care about. But annoying could also stray into kind of the sexually deviant side of things. Yes. And maybe that's sugarcoating it a little bit by using the term annoying. At 8PM, Jody said goodbye to her golf partners and news director Doug Murbach before heading home. At 08:24, Jody called her friend, Kelly Torgerson, in Mississippi. She spoke briefly to Kelly's husband because she wasn't home. He reported that Jody sounded cheerful and not worked. And I think that's always important. Right? People who talk to someone who is going to disappear later, Well, what did they sound like? Were they distressed? Did they sound anxious, fearful? And and he's saying, no. Didn't hear any of that. John Van Sise later told the police that Jody stopped by his home later that evening to watch a video of her surprise party, which he and Annie Cruz organized for her earlier that month. Hey, folks. Americans spend an average of 90% of their time indoors. But did you know indoor air can be up to a hundred times more polluted than outdoor air? Breathe Easy with Air Doctor, the award winning air purifier that eliminates 99.99% of dangerous contaminants like allergens, viruses, smoke, gases, mold spores, and more. Air Doctor was voted best air purifier by Newsweek, so it's no surprise that 98% of Air Doctor customers agree their home's air feels cleaner, safer, and healthier. Unlike other purifiers, Air Doctor captures invisible particles, 100 times smaller than standard HEPA filters. Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code TCATU to get up to $300 off today. Air Doctor comes with a thirty day money back guarantee, plus a three year warranty and $84 value free. Get this exclusive podcast only offer now at airdoctorpro.com, a I r d 0 c t 0 r p r 0 Com, using promo code t c a t t u. True Crime All the Time Unsolved is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes, and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. Jody disappeared in the early morning hours of 06/27/1995. While on her way to work, Jody lived at the Key Apartments, about a mile from the KIMT studio in downtown Mason City. She was supposed to be at work by 3AM, but she didn't come in at her usual time. Jody's producer, Amy, called her at 04:10AM. Jody answered the phone. It sounded like she had just woken up, but nothing else seemed wrong. Amy asked Jody if she was coming in, and Jody said she would be there in a few minutes. So no concern, really. Right? I mean, she slept in a little bit, but she said she's gonna be here. And I think the other thing is, you know, it's establishing for sure that Jody was alive and at her apartment at 04:10AM. And that's valuable information for the police. Later on, once they find out that she's missing, Amy said in her interview with the Find Jody group that Jody was late about once a week. Amy would call her to wake her up, and Jody would be at work within twenty minutes. And it sounds like maybe Jody didn't get enough sleep. Right. You know? Amy said she often seemed like she was sleepy at work, and she had a hard time getting up. Well, first of all, it's because you gotta get up at 3AM. And you're staying out a little bit later than you should. Right. I mean, theoretically, to get a good night's sleep, you'd have to go to bed at what? 08:00? And that would still only be seven hours. Yeah. Not enough. 07:00? Who who goes to bed at 07:00 besides my wife? Mark Wahlberg. Mark Wahlberg. Jody still had not arrived by 5AM, so Amy called again thinking she might have fallen back asleep, but Jody didn't answer. And to be honest with you, Gibbs, this happens to me a lot. You know, I set an alarm. I don't really have to be anywhere because I work in my basement. Right. But I do set an alarm because I don't wanna sleep too late. But a couple of times a week, I will turn that alarm off and Just let it go. Just go right back to sleep. Yeah. And the next thing I know, it's like an hour later and, Or two. Or two. Hope your wife doesn't hear this part. Oh, she knows. Yeah. She knows when I get up. Even though she's not home, she's teaching. So Jody doesn't show up. Amy anchored the show at 6AM. The newscast ended at seven. Still no word from Jody. Amy asked a coworker to call the police to conduct a welfare check. And you can kinda see it. Right? The worry is not there in the beginning because, first of all, this is kinda normal for Jody. As Amy put it, this happened a couple of times a week on average, and she did talk to her on the phone. Yeah. So what is there to worry about? That's true. Right? I I just talked to her. I mean, she was sounded half asleep, but I feel like she'll be here soon. But by 07:00, when you talk to her three hours ago and she's still not there, okay, then the worry becomes much greater. An officer arrived at the key apartments around 07:15AM. Jody's vehicle was still in the parking lot. Her heels, blow dryer, earrings, and hairspray were scattered on the ground nearby. Her bent car key was also found at the scene, suggesting a struggle. CBS reported there were drag marks near the car. Okay. So it looks like maybe somebody abducted her right by the car as she was trying to get in it. Yeah. I would agree with that. Now is she carrying, you know, her blow dryer, hairspray? Maybe she's gonna do some of that in the car, or maybe she's gonna use it once she gets to the station. And that kind of tells you she never even got the door open to put that stuff inside Yeah. When she was attacked. And maybe she was wearing her heels, or maybe she was carrying those too, but heels and earrings could have come off in in the struggle. Sure. I think the bent car key is interesting. Could it have been that she had gotten the key in the lock and then was grabbed, still had it in her hand, and it kind of bent and eventually came out Could've. Or something along those lines. Or if she fell to the ground and away the key And it bent that way. It looked like Jody rushed out of her apartment with her makeup kit and was abducted by someone lying in wait. The police searched a half mile area around the complex, which included part of the Winnebago River. Mason City Police Chief Jack Schleiper said about the search per the Des Moines Register. There were no traces of her. Other items linked to her have not been found in any place other than the parking lot. Information that we have acquired today and over the investigation would lead us to believe it is possibly a foul play disappearance. I don't think that's any stretch. Now if you don't find all that stuff by the car, it would be maybe a little harder to jump to that conclusion. But finding what they did kinda screams out that something bad happened to her. Yeah. Either something like that happened or someone's trying to set the scene up like something like that happened, but why go through all that work? Yeah. Because I don't know what you'd be gaining by setting up that scene. You're basically saying, hey. Something bad happened to her. Yeah. Now there wasn't much forensic evidence, but the police did find a hair and a partial palm print on Jody's car. A police lieutenant said investigators found the toilet seat up in Jody's apartment suggesting the possibility of a male visitor. The following day, however, the police chief told the press there was no evidence anyone was with Jody before she disappeared. But I would say, right, the toilet seat up does suggest that there was a male in the house and probably very recently because I'm I'm sure at some point, Jody had to use the restroom. Yeah. She would have put the the toilet seat down. Jody's friend, John Van Sipes, was identified as a person of interest early in the investigation. According to NewsNation, John called Jody's producer, Amy c**ns, at 07:20AM to ask if she was at work. This was considered suspicious behavior. At this time, it wasn't public knowledge that Jody was missing. So that would be strange for someone to do then? To call kind of out of the blue and say, hey, is Jody at work? Now, could it be that he watched the the morning news and noticed Jody wasn't on it? True. And was calling in to find out why, but that's not the way it was framed. It was framed as if he was just calling to see if Jody was at work. John and several other friends came to the apartment complex later that evening. The police told him he was the last one to see Jody alive after he said she came to his apartment the night before. And that's, a tough position to be in, to be the last person to see someone alive who has gone missing. But if you are, then you are. I'm right. I mean, if you met with someone the night before, then you would be the the last person or the last known person. The last known person. I think what's a little different here, you know, in a lot of cases, someone finds out that, okay, the person doesn't show up to work, but they never hear from them. This case is a little different because Amy called Jody's apartment and actually spoke to her, which means she was alive and well inside her apartment at 04:10AM. Yeah. So what happens after that is the mystery. KIMT reporters were at the scene that day, including Jody's friend and fellow reporter, Robin Wolfram. KIMT recorded John saying, she was like a daughter to me. She was just like my own child. I treated her like my own child. Okay. Yeah. I don't know what you make of that. You know, did they have a father daughter type relationship? Obviously, they weren't related, but did he think of her as a daughter? I didn't get that sense. I got the sense that he was romantically interested in her. Now she might have seen him as some sort of friend slash father figure because of the age difference. I don't think he saw it that way. He said about Jody's visit to his home and we watched the tape and we chuckled. We laughed. We giggled. We hee hawed. We did everything. We said we're going to cut this portion out of the tape, and then we'd laugh about it. We hee hawed. When's the last time you hee hawed? Probably the last time I watched hee hawed. Well, that would make sense then. Hee hawed. Why you watch hee hawed? There were no eyewitnesses to the abduction. Police looked at two sex offenders who live nearby, but they were ruled out as suspects. The police also analyzed Jody's nineteen ninety four police reports, but the suspect in that case remained unidentified. John Van Sipes remained a person of interest. At first, Jody's friend, Annie Cruz, insisted John would have no reason to harm her. Twenty five years later, she would tell forty eight hours. She believed John could have been involved. She thought the potential motive was rejection. However, she questioned why John would make a romantic advance towards Jody and her apartment parking lot in the early morning hours. And that does seem strange, right, if if you know that this woman has to get up and go to work. Well, first of all, she's, like, an hour late. So the timing of that seems strange. Now maybe he was waiting out there the whole time, which is possible, but I'm gonna just run a scenario by you. Let's say the night before when she was apparently over at his apartment, he made a romantic advance that was rebuffed. Now he could have done something right then and there, but let's say, no. He didn't. Jody went home. She went to bed, and he stood about it all night, maybe. Sure. And he made a plan. He got mad, and he said, you know, I'm gonna get her. I I guess, you know, you could put that forth as a motive. Yeah. Or or maybe something happened that night at his apartment that he didn't want to come out later. Yeah. Didn't wanna give her a check. But then again, why not do it at his apartment or do it as she's leaving? Maybe she made him feel like, you know, we'll talk about it tomorrow. Yeah. I just gotta get out of here. Robin Wolfram suspected John had feelings for Jody that she didn't return. Robin also thought John seemed far too happy during his news interview considering the tragic circumstances. And we get into this all the time. Right? How do people view someone who's giving an interview in the wake of some type of tragedy? Are they too happy? Are they too sad and the tears aren't real? Yeah. Where's where's where's their emotions at? Jody's family met John after her disappearance. Her sister, Joanne Nath, found him odd and thought he could be linked to her disappearance because he seemed obsessed with Jodie. Well, I think he probably was obsessed with her. Well, I I think you jumped on that pretty quickly, about the naming of the boat. It's kind of a big thing to name a boat. Yeah. And to name it after this woman with whom you're not romantically involved? Okay. I mean, I know you're obsessed with Jennifer Aniston. Mhmm. Was it weird when you name your lawnmower Aniston one, and then you named your truck Aniston two? I thought it was strange. You know, if if you had a boat, you probably would name it the Aniston. Maybe. Yeah. I don't know how your wife puts up with that. She likes her too. And she obviously views her as no threat whatsoever. Forty eight hours obtained a copy of a search warrant for Jody's vehicle and learned it was not in her name. The license was listed to John Lessard, the previous owner pending title transfer. Lessard is a local businessman. He told forty eight hours the sale was arranged by a friend of his who has since died. He only met Jody to give her the car keys. According to John's friend, LaDonna Woodford, John said the car was a birthday gift from Jody's boyfriend, but she didn't want it and planned to return it. Annie Cruz said Jody never mentioned anything about someone buying the car for her. She told forty eight hours that John was jealous when it came to Jody, often inserting himself into her conversations with others because he wanted to make sure that everybody knew Jody was his. Okay. And we're getting a lot more insinuation now of his kind of obsessive nature. Some substance here. Yeah. Around Jody. However, LaDonna Woodford insisted John was not interested in Jody romantically saying, when he talk about Jody, it was like, I'm protecting her. She's like my daughter. She also claimed that John was out taking a walk with her on the morning of the abduction, and he didn't seem nervous at all. John lived just five minutes away from Jody, but LaDonna doesn't think he would have had enough time to abduct Jody, possibly dispose of her body, and be home by 6AM when she called him to confirm their walk. Well, look. I think people will be surprised on what you can get done in a short period of time. Yeah. I mean, if you're you're you're talking about a five minute drive sometime between 04:10 and 6AM. That's almost a two hour period of time. Let's say 04:30 by the time she gets up, gets going, you're probably looking at about an hour and a half maybe or close to it. Sure. It's definitely not a a window of time where you conclusively say that, well, he couldn't have done it. Blood clots can happen to anyone at any age. Be particularly vigilant if you are going into hospital, have active cancer, or undergoing cancer treatment, are pregnant, or just had a baby, are in a leg cast, or had a lower limb injury, are taking the combined oral contraceptive pill, or oral HRT. Ask your doctor for a blood clot risk assessment. Visit thrombosis.ie. Police confirmed in the fall of nineteen ninety five that John passed a polygraph, which he told the Des Moines Register saying, I gave them all the information I could possibly give. I've tried to help as much as I possibly could. I've been able to verify where I've been and my times, and that's not a problem. Believe in them or not, I mean, it's still somewhat positive that he passed a polygraph. Well, it's much better than it, you know, showing deception or it being inconclusive. By June 28, the FBI was asked to assist the Mason City Police. The search was called off on June 29, and the police announced they had interviewed up to a hundred people. On July 1, Jody's disappearance was reclassified as an abduction. Investigators revealed that someone at the apartment complex heard a scream. On the morning of June 27, police were seeking a white mid eighties Ford Econoline van that was seen in the parking lot around the time of the abduction. The police received multiple tips and investigated different leads, but Jody's case went cold. Now one thing that I did think was very strange was that the FBI was asked to assist on the June 28. And the very next day, the the police said that the search had been called off. Seems strange. It does seem strange. You had the FBI in there because I'm assuming they thought at this point it was a kidnapping, something the FBI would get involved in. On 01/03/1997, a 21 year old woman was kidnapped by Raymond Henders. She claimed he referenced Jody's disappearance during their drive to Canada where she alerted authorities at the border check that she had been kidnapped. Alright. Pretty scary. Right? A 21 year old woman is kidnapped. I mean, very smart to alert authorities at the border, but it's really this claim that her kidnapper specifically referenced Jody's disappearance. Yes. So now it sounds like he could be a potential suspect. Yeah. Absolutely. Now in in what context, we don't know. Could he have seen that on the news and use that maybe to to scare her? It's possible. It's also possible he could have been involved. Skeletal remains were found in a remote wooded area near Northwood, Iowa in April 1997, but investigators determined they were not Jody's. In January 1998, Minneapolis investigative reporter, Caroline Lowe, identified a potential suspect, serial rapist Tony Jackson, who was charged with raping four women in eighteen days. In the Minneapolis area, he stalked the victims beforehand. Jackson was arrested in 1997 during a routine traffic stop. Police discovered rope, handcuffs, a gun, and duct tape in his vehicle. Not a good thing to not a good thing for the police to find in your vehicle. No. It it it definitely screams out, hey. This is my kit. Yes. Whether it's a rape kit, a murder kit, it's a kit that I'm using to get up to no good. Yeah. It's gonna be hard to explain that one. Jackson was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison for first degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, and first degree burglary. Jackson was a star basketball player at Waldorf College in Iowa, but he had violent episodes and was kicked out of school. Around early nineteen ninety four, he enrolled in North Iowa Community College in Mason City, Iowa and showed an interest in broadcasting. The theory is that he saw her on TV and started stalking her. And it happens. Right? One of the dangers of being a public figure, being on TV is that you could draw the attention of a stalker, both men and women. You think about some of the men who have had stalkers. David Letterman. It's true. I think McConaughey had a stalker Yeah. At one point. But, obviously, a lot of women, probably many more women have stalkers than men, but it can happen to anyone. It's much more likely, I think, to happen when you're famous, when your face is on the TV all the time. A lot of times, people become fascinated, enamored. Well, they think they're closer to you because of that connection. Yeah. Because a a good television anchor will draw you in. I mean, I think about one of those earlier cases we did about Rebecca Schaeffer. Yeah. There was a prime example of someone that was so obsessed with a very public person. Yeah. She was on a hit TV show, and, unfortunately, this person fixated on her Yeah. And killed her. Caroline Lowe spoke to Jackson's ex girlfriend who said they broke up five days before Jody was abducted. She said he was violent with her. She said it was like the devil stepped inside of him and just took over. Okay. The timing is interesting there because five days before the abduction, could that have been a stressor in his life that caused him to do something? Well, absolutely, it could have been. They briefly got back together, but he was arrested for choking her. The charges were later dropped because she moved away and declined to proceed with prosecution. Just four months later, Jackson committed the crime spree in Minnesota. Reporter Caroline Love thought the ex girlfriend bore resemblance to Jody. So, you know, when you're talking about theories, you have a woman who breaks up with him. He's fixated on Jody. The two are similar in appearance, and maybe he decides he can't take out his frustration on his ex girlfriend, that would be too obvious. So he's going to take it out on Jody. Yeah. Lowe kept looking into his case and learned that Jackson's former sawmill claimed he confessed to abducting and killing an anchorwoman. He claimed Jackson bragged about it in a rap song and wrote down the alleged lyrics. He said, she's a stiffen around Tiffen, in a pilage of silage, in a bilo, lobelo. You could have a career as a rapper. They would not be with those words. That's true. That was not the best rhyme that I've ever heard, but there was a theory that Jody was buried on a farm near a silo in Tiffin, A Few Hours from Mason City. Law enforcement brought cadaver dogs to a site in Tiffin to search for human remains, and the dogs alerted that something had been there. So, you know, you go back to the lyrics. They make a little more sense Sure they do. After you learn that. But this lead didn't pan out. On 05/05/1999, the Mason City Police issued a statement saying, after conducting a thorough investigation, which included interviews, crime laboratory analysis, records review, and polygraph examination, Tony Jackson is not considered at this time a viable suspect in the investigation. I mean, I think you had to be excited at first. I mean, it felt like it could have had legs. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Now to me, them coming out and saying that he's not a viable suspect is a big deal. They're essentially clearing him. Right? They don't have to do that. Why are they coming out and saying that? In my mind, they have to be, like, really, really sure that there's no way he could have done this because what if it turns out later that they arrest and charge him? The defense attorney is gonna say, hey. You came out and you said that, he's not even a viable suspect. Yeah. Exactly. So were you lying then, or are you lying now? Jackson wrote to forty eight hours in 02/2018. I stand firm in my integrity regarding the Jody Huisentruit case. He also did a prison interview with ABC in 02/2021 saying all that I can tell you about Jody is that she's become a central part of my life since I've been incarcerated. It's been something that I've been for many years, hoping will be resolved so that that stigma can be taken away from me so that I can rest. So you're saying I don't have nothing to do with it. I wish people would just send me along. Yeah. Now the fact that he's doing it from prison, you know, doesn't really add much to his credibility. But No. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Jody was declared legally dead on 05/14/2001. Her sister, Joanne Knapp, said about the decision per the Des Moines Register, this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Everybody tells us Jody is no longer with us, but I still hold out a faint glimmer of hope. Why wouldn't you? And I've said this before. It would be such a hard decision to make to have a missing loved one declared legally dead because you are almost saying this faint glimmer of hope I have, I'm extinguishing it Right. By making, you know, this declaration. You really never wanna give up. In April 2001, a new potential suspect was identified, a man named Anthony Zappa who abducted a teenage girl in Nebraska. On 01/23/1995, Zappa pleaded guilty to a string of burglaries. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but was released on appeal. He was readmitted to prison on 09/01/1995 and was paroled in March 1999. Zappa continued committing crimes and was wanted in five states for car theft, assault, and illegal gun possessions. He'd been on the run since November 2000. After failing to appear in Minnesota court on a burglary charge, he escaped five bounty hunters in March 2001, wounding '1 during a shootout, on 04/07/2001, '17 year old Anne Slooty was abducted from a shopping center parking lot in Kearny, Nebraska. And it was said that there were some notable similarities to the Jody Huisentrude case. Authorities found Anne's purse and other belongings scattered near her car in the parking lot. Witnesses said a man approached Anne. As she walked to her car, she was hit on the head and forced into a stolen minivan. The police found the van in Colorado, but there were no signs of Anne or Anthony Zappa. So I get the similarities. Right? It doesn't conclusively mean they're linked. They are similar. But I think anytime that you're going to attack someone, Gibbs, as they're getting in their car, is there a chance that there are some things that are gonna be dropped and left there? I'd say, yeah. Yeah. I think the chances are are pretty high. I mean, is someone who's trying to abduct a woman going to take the time to bend down and and pick up all these various items No. That they don't care about. Zappa was arrested on April 11 at a secluded cabin in Rollins, Montana. Anne Slooty was with him and appeared to be physically unharmed. She acted as a negotiator during the ten hour standoff with police, and that's kind of amazing in and of itself. You know, you've been kidnapped. Once the police catch up with you and your abductor, then you're kinda thrust in this role as kind of the negotiator to help end it. But you kinda maybe have to do it for your own life. To save, yeah, to save yourself. Authorities believe Zappa was in prison at the time of Jody's disappearance, but a review of Iowa DOC records showed he was released. He and his cousins lived 30 miles from Mason City. Well, his cousins weren't too far away. No. And cousins usually never are. Zappa was most likely ruled out as a potential suspect because there don't seem to be any recent articles about him in connection with Jody's case. So that's one of those things, Gibbs, you know, as you're researching a case, this guy comes up, and then it's like they just stop writing about him. So what does that mean? Either the police ruled him out or just nothing else has materialized and then really viable there. Yeah. TV journalist Josh Benson and Gary Peterson created the group Find Jody in 02/2003. This all volunteer team of journalists and former law enforcement hoped to close the case. Find Jody has produced podcast, hosted events, and put up billboards, bringing awareness to the case. Their website also has links to previous case coverage. And and it's a good resource if you wanna learn more about the case, dive in a little deeper. Fine Jody looked into the individuals questioned by the police over the years, including John Van Sise. In 02/2017, the police obtained a warrant for GPS information on two of John's vehicles. In 02/2018, Mason City police chief Jeff Brinkley told forty eight hours that they didn't get any useful information from the search, but that was all he would say. The search warrant has been resealed every year since. Blood clots can happen to anyone at any age. Be particularly vigilant if you are going into hospital, have active cancer, or undergoing cancer treatment, are pregnant, or just had a baby, are in a leg cast, or had a lower limb injury, are taking the combined oral contraceptive pill or oral HRT, ask your doctor for a blood clot risk assessment. Visit thrombosis.ie. NewsNation reported that investigators convened a grand jury. In 02/2017, Van Sise was subpoenaed to testify and provide finger and palm prints. Iowa authorities also convened a grand jury back in 1997. John's friend, LaDonna Woodford, told forty eight hours. She was subpoenaed and questioned for five hours. Van Sise was not indicted by either grand jury. Really sounds like they couldn't find anything to move forward with. Yeah. They just felt like there wasn't enough. In April 2019, Van Sise made his first public statement in twenty four years through private investigator, Steve Ridge, who's been working the case for multiple years. Per NewsNation, VanSci said he had absolutely no involvement in the apparent abduction of his friend, Jody Hoosentruit. He denied having a romantic relationship with Jody and said he was seeing another woman at the time. Jody was like a daughter to him. He also said he has fully cooperated with law enforcement, completed two voluntary polygraphs, had his DNA tested, and his finger and palm prints taken. Well, that's a lot of, voluntary cooperation. It is. And, I mean, I I think if you are a person who had something to do with someone's disappearance, Do you really wanna volunteer all of that up? I don't think so. I don't think so either. So by my way of thinking, either had nothing to do with it or you're going for broke. Right? You know you did, but you're hoping that by providing all of this, it makes you look as though you're not guilty, and they won't be able to match anything anyway. So I'll just cooperate. Yeah. Van Sise and his wife asked Rich to disclose that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. This weighed heavily in the decision to issue a definitive statement. Ridge said he viewed an 11 page medical evaluation and can attest to the formal diagnosis. And what do you make of that, Gibbs? So I feel like they're saying, this is what we're giving you. There's nothing else for us to give you after this point because his mind is gonna deteriorate? Yeah. And and if he doesn't do it now Yeah. He may not have the chance later on to, you know, make these statements. On 03/11/2021, a citizen located clothing and human bones in the shore of the Winnebago River near North Illinois Avenue in Mason City. Officers searched the area and found additional bones. But here again, there weren't any other, like, follow-up articles. So my assumption is that these bones were determined to not have any connection with Jody's case because, obviously, that would have spurred a lot of reporting. I mean, here's another set of bones found that's not hers, but, obviously, they belong to somebody. Well, it is disturbing that we're finding finding so many bones. Yeah. But it does come up in a lot of cases. Right? We're looking for someone, and we found bones. Okay. It's not that person. We found another set of bones. It's not that person. Okay. Well, who's killing all these people, or are they just dying naturally out in the in the woods or in these areas? In 02/2023, private investigator Steve Ridge did an interview with NewsNation revealing that Jody met a man just ten days before she disappeared. They saw each other eight times in ten days. They golfed together, went out for dinner and drinks. Bridge told NewsNation that Jody was preoccupied with this man, and he took her out of her normal routine, which might have created intense jealousy from others who were used to having regular access to her. This was the first time this information was made public. Because Jody was a public figure, he hoped someone who might have seen her on a date with this man would come forward. Bridge added that he believes there are three people who have information who have not come forward yet. He thinks they could reenergize the case if they do come forward. That's really coming late to the party, though. It is. And, you know, you can question his motives, I guess, if you want to. You know, he does work for John or or at least did. I I don't know if he's still working for him in in 02/2023 when he does this interview or not. So could there be, you know, a motive to put a different spin on it? Maybe. But, you know, if Jody was really seeing someone, well, who is that person? And, obviously, I mean, chances are high that police would consider them a person of interest. In late two thousand twenty four, private investigator Steve Ridge announced he had narrowed the suspect list from 29 to four people saying, I'm a % certain that I do have Jody's killer or at least abductor on my list. That's confidence. Yeah. It doesn't mean it's true, but he is saying it with a a large degree of confidence. Sure it is. 100% certain is about as certain as you can be. I don't know how you can be any more certain. Certainly. He believes jealousy over Jody's new relationship was a motive for her abduction. He told NewsNation, I think plain and simply, things came to a head. Given the fact that she had developed this new relationship, I believe this was ultimately the motive for a confrontation that would have occurred in the parking lot at her Keys apartments. Ridge also disclosed that longtime person of interest, John VanSites, was permanently incapacitated and unable to aid in his own defense, you know, which is sad for him. Obviously, if he didn't have anything to do with it, he never really got to see his name cleared. Right. Now if he did have something to do with it and a grand jury at some point indicts him while he's still alive, it it's gonna be tough. But at this time in 2024, when he's saying this, why would he need to worry about aiding his own defense? Well, I don't know if he's worried about it. I think this Ridge guy is just saying he'd be he would be unable to. In late two thousand twenty four, the police confirmed they searched a property in Winstead, Minnesota. The search focused on land surrounding a construction site where apartments are being built. The police didn't say what information led them to this area, and that's always tough. Right? They give you just enough to be tantalizing Yeah. But not enough to kinda let you know what's really going on or or what is driving them to take a look here. In late December two thousand twenty four, Steve Ridge revealed John Van Sys passed away on December 6 in Arizona. In January 2025, '2 Iowa attorneys filed a motion arguing that the 02/2017 search warrant should be unsealed since Van Sise died. The motion stated the state has no right to conduct an investigation after a person is deceased. PI Steve Ridge retains the attorneys who filed the motion. He said about unsealing the warrant, I think it's time to lift the cloud of suspicion that has hung over Van Sise and his family for many years. So I think it's quite obvious, Gibbs, that this investigator, Ridge, does not believe that that John Van Sysse was involved at all. Sounds like it. If anything, he's trying to get this, this warrant unsealed so that maybe it it sheds some light that will kind of take the heat off of John, even even though at this point he has passed on. In February, Cerro Gordo County attorney, Carlisle Dalen, filed a motion asking a judge to keep the warrant sealed, arguing the ongoing investigation would be compromised if the documents were unsealed. Currently, there's a hearing on the motion scheduled for March 3. June '20 seventh '2 thousand '20 '5 will mark thirty years since Jody Huisentruit was abducted. Anyone with information on her case can contact the Mason City Police Department at (641) 421-3636 or email Iowa DCI special agent Ryan Herman at r herman at dps dot state dot m n dot u s. You can also contact the Find Jody Group. So, you know, Gibbs, as we wrap this one up, there's no doubt about it. There were a lot of people who loved Jody Hoosintrude. She was kind of a a a shining light. She was a celebrity in her town and surrounding areas. I think the mystery here is and there there's a few of them. Most of the unsolved cases that we do, I feel as though, you know, someone sees somebody the night before and then has no idea what happened to them. This case is different. You know, you have someone talking to, Jody just after 04:00 in the morning. She says, okay. I'm on my way in. Something happened, it seems, from that point to the point where she got to her car. And what was that? Yeah. I think that's one mystery. Obviously, the the second mystery is who did it. You you have this John Van Sise guy who, you know, seems strange. Let's let's be honest. There were some strange things about Sure. There was. Him and and some of the things he said. Well, hopefully, we're hear more about what happened at this hearing. Maybe that will shed some light on who was involved. Well, there's there's definitely a reason why both sides are in disagreement about having, you know, this warrant unsealed. There there's there's something in there. And the county attorney, you know, argued that the investigation would be compromised if the documents were unsealed. I think that tells you right there, there's something in there. Yeah. But what is it? We don't know. It would be interesting to to find that out. But you have John VanSise, which a lot of people have looked at over the years as kind of being a a person of interest, if not a viable suspect. You know, if what Steve Ridge is saying is correct, you have this guy that Jody had met. She was in this new relationship. If all of that is true, then that guy, to me, becomes a very compelling person Sure. In this case. And you just wonder why there's not more out there about it. Was it because it was so new, nobody in her life really knew about it? And, obviously, that person's not gonna come forward and say, oh, by the way, I had just entered into a a very recent relationship with this woman Right. If they were somehow involved in it. So that that's a, you know, a a very interesting component for me. But that's it for our episode on the disappearance of Jody Hoosintrue. We we could find out some information sometime soon, at least on whether or not they're gonna unseal, you know, some of these documents. We got some voice mails, Gibbs. You wanna check them out? Let's hear them. Hey, Mike and Giddy. This is Christie from Tennessee. First time caller, but a long time listener. I I think I'm a listen to the Chevy Kehoe case, and I just wanted to thank you all for the podcast. Y'all do a great job with covering these cases with respect, and I also enjoy the banter between you two. I do wanna mention that there is a case from our local area, a girl named Summer Wells. She is five years old when she went missing in 2021. And, while she has been covered on other podcast, it's been a while. And I think with the research you all do, you all could do a great justice with covering her case. I believe her aunt also went missing, like, decades before. But, anyways, thank you all so much again for the podcast. And, yeah. Great. Thanks. Bye. Alright. Thanks for the voice mail, and and that's definitely a case that we'll look into. Yeah. Sounds like a good one to look into. Thank you. Hi. This call is from Indiana. I there's an unsolved, murder of a 10 year old boy, Blake Dickus, and his 26 year old stepmother, who was also murdered at the same time in Franklin, Indiana. I think it was February, and it's still unsolved today. You just don't see much coverage, anymore. But the thing that always stood out to me was the number of, or I guess the the amount of construction that was going on in the area at the time. They had just moved into their house, like, a month prior, Blake's step or Blake's father rather. And so there was construction going on in the subdivision, but there was also, a high school being built nearby. And so, I feel like they focused heavily on some burglaries that had gone on, but this was, like, during the day, with people home. So I feel like it would be less a burglary than something else. Anyway, I feel like, having eyes on that again might help the family out. Thank you. Alright. Another great suggestion. Sure. We will add it to the list and and check it out. Thank you. You know, some of those ones we do check out, and then we we find out there's just not enough out there, you know, to make a full episode about. Yeah. But, we'll we'll check on them for sure. Alright, buddy. That is it for another episode of True Crime All the Time Unsolved. So for Mike And Gabe. Stay safe and keep your own time ticking. Are you looking for your next case? Pluto TV has all your favorite crime dramas streaming for free. You're gonna need some backup. Which means suspense is free. Very cool. Watch CSI New York, Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods, Tracker, FBI, and SWAT all for free. You can't outrun this. Someone's gonna pay for all this crime, but it's not gonna be you. Take care of business, fellas. Watch all the cases, all for free from all your favorite devices. We got you. Feel the free. Pluto TV. Stream now. Pay never. Blood clots can happen to anyone at any age. Be particularly vigilant if you are going into hospital, have active cancer or undergoing cancer treatment, are pregnant or just had a baby, are in a leg cast or had a lower limb injury, are taking the combined oral contraceptive pill or oral HRT, ask your doctor for a blood clot risk assessment. Visit thrombosis.ie.
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