25 years later: Team of investigators remains determined to solve case of missing news anchor

Hope may be hard to come by in the year 2020, but a team of investigators who volunteer their time and talents to solve the 1995 disappearance of an Iowa news anchor are determined to keep it alive, despite 25 years of obstacles to finding the truth of what happened to Jodi Huisentruit.

“You never give up hope. That’s what keeps you going,” said Caroline Lowe, one of the team members of FindJodi.com.

Lowe is among a volunteer group that consists of journalists, retired law enforcement officers and other professionals across the country, all of whom are determined to keep working on the missing news anchor’s case through FindJodi.com.

Lowe spent more than three decades as an investigative reporter for the CBS station in Minneapolis, WCCO. She covered many crime stories during her time there, but the case of Jodi Huisentruit is one she could never shake.

Lowe always felt drawn to tell– and pursue– the story of the bright and ambitious small-town Minnesota native with big city dreams who was well on her way to meeting her goals. Lowe never met Huisentruit, but the case became personal.

To fully understand the passion that fuels their mission, one must travel back in time 25 years to Mason City, a small town in northern Iowa, back to what should have been just another morning that late June.

Long before sunrise on Tuesday, June 27, 1995, Jodi Huisentruit hurried out the door of her second-floor apartment.

She had received a call shortly before reminding her she was running late for her shift at KIMT, the CBS affiliate serving Mason City and the surrounding areas, including portions of southern Minnesota.

Huisentruit had grabbed what she needed to finish getting ready at the studio. She had scooped up those items and carried them down the stairs to the front entrance of building C at the Key Apartments.

Once she opened the door leading to the small parking lot, Huisentruit had about 12 steps to her 1991 red Mazda Miata. The young journalist had purchased the car not too long prior to that morning, perhaps a birthday gift to herself, as she had just turned 27-years-old two weeks earlier on June 5.

But somehow in the seconds it should have taken her to unlock her car, place her belongings inside, jump in the driver’s seat and start the engine, someone snatched Huisentruit from the parking lot and away from her life, her hopes, her dreams, her future, her family, and her friends.

Two journalists, who used to work in the same television market as Jodi launched Findjodi.com in 2003. Gary Peterson, now retired, and Josh Benson, teamed up while working at KAAL, the ABC affiliate serving Mason City.

Over the years, they built the site and a dedicated team, all of whom volunteer to find and follow leads while keeping Huisentruit’s case in the public eye.

The latest effort of FindJodi.com is the FindJodi podcast, launched earlier this month. Two episodes have already been released. The team plans a special episode for Saturday, June 27, to mark the solemn occasion of the 25th anniversary of Huisentruit’s abduction.

Lowe said we can all help with a simple gesture of keeping the Huisentruit case in the spotlight.

In honor of the 25th year, the FindJodi team is asking people across America to keep a light on for Jodi. They ask you take a picture and post it to social media with #lightsforjodi.

The FindJodi.com also updated a missing persons flyer (below) they invite everyone to share on social media.