Reading Between the Lines

It's been 29 years since Jodi Huisentruit, a news anchor from Mason City, vanished. Her disappearance on June 27th, 1995, remains one of Iowa's most intriguing cold cases. 

 

At 27, Jodi was a single, charismatic woman with a background as a champion golfer, a St. Cloud State University graduate, and a former flight attendant. Huisentruit, a dedicated morning news host at KIMT-TV, was known for her punctuality. On June 27th, she overslept and received a wake-up call from her producer, Amy Kuns. Despite assuring Kuns she would arrive shortly, Jodi was never heard from again. 

Police arrived at Jodi's apartment around 7 a.m. and found signs of a struggle. Her belongings, usually packed in a tote bag, were scattered near her red Mazda Miata. Her car keys were left bent in the car lock, suggesting she was taken. Despite thousands of tips and over 1,000 interviews, no arrests have been made. 

 

Police believe a single person committed the abduction. Eyewitness accounts show that screams were heard the morning of the abduction but were written off as normal for the area. Jodi was declared legally dead in 2001, but the search for answers has not stopped.

 

Since Jodi's disappearance, many armchair detectives have been drawn to her case. The rise of the internet, which freely offers access to information, has only increased interest. But it isn’t always an interest in solving the crime that draws people in. 

 

This interest in true crime isn't new; since Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" was published in 1966, the fascination with gruesome crime has grown. Podcasts and documentaries have further fueled this interest, treating true crime as entertainment. This could feel like rubbernecking to some. It isn’t that simple.

 

I have what some might call an obsession with true crime. I like knowing the details. My interest in true crime began with magazine articles in Cosmopolitan. I would skip the fashion tips in favor of crime stories. According to Psychology Today, about 80 percent of true crime media's audience is women. Women often empathize with victims, who are frequently female, and seek to understand crimes in an effort to protect themselves. 

 

With all of that considered, what strikes me as most interesting is women seem to gravitate towards true crime because it desensitizes them to crimes that they’re often victims of. Not only that, it offers a feeling of relief. 

 

We’re all told when we’re younger to never take candy from a stranger. But young girls are told to yell fire instead of help, and that an adult will never need a young girl's help. When we’re older we are taught to keep our keys between our fingers when we’re alone at night, to never use a parking lot that doesn’t offer lighting, to call dispatch when we’re being pulled over to confirm it’s a real police officer, and to make eye contact with people in public who are making us uncomfortable. 

 

If we can understand someone who commits atrocities against another human being, or at least understands what motivates them, that knowledge makes real life less scary. Consuming true crime material forces us to face our biggest fears. It also offers catharsis, especially when we see our justice system working.

 

Jodi Huisentruit's unsolved case remains a dark reminder of the dangers that exist and the ongoing search for justice that many women relate to deeply.
 

If you have any information regarding Jodi Huisentruit's case, please contact the Mason City Police Department at (641) 421-3636. You can also reach Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman at rherman@dps.state.ia.us.

 

Amanda Rink is the Editor of The Wright County Monitor. When she isn’t caring for her family, writing for the newspaper, or avoiding laundry, she can be found hiding in the woods with a cup of coffee and a romance novel.

 

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