Officials search Minnesota property over 1995 disappearance of TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit

Iowa law enforcement officials last month searched a property in Winsted, Minn., as part of the investigation into the 1995 disappearance of TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit.

The search turned up the bones of farm animals but no human remains, according to Winsted Police Chief Justin Heldt. The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office, which serves McLeod County, confirmed that it has not recently examined any human remains from the Winsted area.

It’s not known publicly what brought investigators to the city of 2,200 about 40 miles west of Minneapolis, or whether the search represents a significant development in the case.

But Caroline Lowe, a veteran TV journalist who has followed the case closely for FindJodi.com, said it’s the first known law enforcement activity surrounding the case since 2017.

Lowe said she’s unaware of any connections Huisentruit had with Winsted, and added that it’s a development she and others did not see coming.

“It’s intriguing people,” Lowe said of the search. “Why Winsted?”

Huisentruit, a 27-year-old native of Long Prairie, Minn., and a graduate of St. Cloud State University, was an anchor at KIMT in Mason City, Iowa, when she disappeared on June 27, 1995, as she was heading to work.

She is believed to have been abducted, though her body has never been found. No one has been held accountable in the case.

For several days in mid-October, officers with the Mason City Police Department followed up a tip and searched a property in Winsted, according to Heldt and Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley.

Both declined to discuss specifics of the investigation. However, Heldt said the property in question is unused city-owned parkland surrounded by private property.

During a Winsted City Council meeting earlier this month, Heldt said no human remains were found on the property. He said Thursday that he had been given no reason to expect the Iowa investigators to return to the area.

“It could be another rabbit hole,” Lowe said. “There’s so many.”

The last time Lowe heard about activity in the case was 2017, when a person of interest was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury and provide palm prints and fingerprints. Investigators also got a search warrant to obtain GPS data on two of the person’s vehicles. But nothing came of it, Lowe said.

Lowe said she’s been unable to find any friends or family members aware of any ties Huisentruit had with Winsted, which is a three-hour drive north from Mason City. Winsted has hosted the Winstock Country Music Festival every June since 1994, but Lowe said she knows Huisentruit did not visit the festival in the weeks before she disappeared.

Huisentruit’s family, Lowe said, is curious about the Winsted development. “They didn’t know until they heard from me, so the police certainly hadn’t clued them in,” she said.