According to a private investigator, Jodi Huisentruit, a missing news anchor for KIMT-TV who lived in Mason City, Iowa, had a "secret fling" just 10 days before she suddenly vanished almost three decades ago.
The 27-year-old woman went missing on June 27, 1995. Private investigator Steve Ridge, who works on cold cases, has been digging into all the details associated with the case. Huisentruit was declared legally dead by authorities in 2001. The morning of her disappearance, she had told a colleague that she overslept and was running late for work.
“Through my digging, I learned that Jodi had a very secret ‘final fling’ with a man she met just 10 days before she went missing,” Ridge shared. He has been investigating her case for years and was able to track down the man, who remains unidentified and whom police cleared years ago after first declaring him a person of interest.
Ridge went on to share that he believes jealously played a part in Huisentruit’s alleged murder, noting that she “had strong admirers” and that her newfound love interest might “infuriate other suitors.” Neighbors had heard screams on the morning she went missing, indicating that a struggle took place.
More from LittleThings: Bodies Of Missing Father And Son Found 24 Days After They Disappeared While Kayaking
A welfare check was conducted at Huisentruit’s home on the morning of her disappearance. Police found her belongings, which included a woman’s red shoe and a bent car key, scattered around her red Mazda Miata parked out front.
Her secret lover was a 27-year-old man at the time, who Ridge was able to meet up with to learn more information about their fling. The two apparently hit it off at a bar where they first met.
According to the man, he and the missing news anchor spoke "just about every day and she initiated the calls.” Ridge was able to get a tour of the guy's Mason City home where he lived during the time of the relationship.
“That home is the last place Jodi went on a ‘date’ before she went missing,” Ridge noted. The man told the private investigator that he and Huisentruit had “an immediate attraction and bond.”
Apparently, they both knew that their relationship had the potential of making others mad. Ridge stated that he “has no doubt that jealousy played a role in Jodi’s demise.”
“I am certain that his quickly blossoming relationship with Jodi played a central role in her abduction days later,” Ridge said of the secret lover. “I believe without a doubt that this relationship was clearly a factor in what happened because this was not a random act of violence, it wasn’t anything like that, it wasn’t a stalker that came out of nowhere.”
