00:00:00
[Music] And at this hour, investigators still have few clues about where Jodie Husen
00:00:11
might be. The FBI is now involved in the case, and they're beginning to concentrate their effort. Search dogs
00:00:16
turn up clues, but tonight it remains untested evidence. Where is she? Who knows? Something hasn't come forward.
00:00:23
Caroline Lo is in Tiffan, Iowa with an update right now. Caroline. Well, Ameilia, tonight there is a stained silo
00:00:28
door. Being a journalist, I know what gets covered and that's why we do things like billboards to try to get the
00:00:34
attention. [Music] We really wish we weren't here today. 23 years later, what happened to Jod is
00:00:42
still a mystery. You are watching News Channel 3 Daybreak. The time is 6:00, 64°. Some light showers falling in North
00:00:50
Iowa. Jod grew up in Minnesota. Then she went to Mason City in 1993 to become reporter, morning anchor.
00:01:01
This morning, our morning anchor, 27-year-old Jodie Husenfruit, apparently disappeared. She was running late.
00:01:08
Appeared that Jod had been attacked from behind and then dragged away from her car and her stuff is scattered behind. I
00:01:14
called her and I talked to her. She was there. It sounded like I woke her up. Um, her first question was, "What time
00:01:20
is it?" I said, "Jod, it's 10 after 4. You need to come in." That was the last contact anybody has had with Jod. It's
00:01:26
been 38 hours now since anyone has spoken to Jodie who's in truth. Good evening, everyone. I had such a strange
00:01:34
collision of emotions. Residents from all across North Iowa are in turn feeling the emotion and the desperation
00:01:40
for Jod's safe return. And I thought, I know her so well. And all of these folks
00:01:45
who are watching on TV right now feel like they really know her, too. They had her in their home every morning and they
00:01:52
loved her. Way to go, Kevin. She has a hard last name. Who's in tr after the 27th of June? She's Jodie. Doesn't need
00:02:00
a last name anymore. She'll always be just Jodie. The clock was ticking. I'm John Shine from Kimt Television,
00:02:10
Mason City, Iowa. We need your help. One of our news anchors is missing. It's been 42 hours since we last heard
00:02:18
from our dear friend Jod. There are lots and lots of theories. How would you classify John Vanis? I would classify
00:02:24
him as a friend. Jod spent more time with John Van SC in the last month that she was in Mason City than anybody that
00:02:31
we know of. And he said I was the last person to see her. I interviewed him the next day. Have the police indicated
00:02:37
whether or not you're a suspect? No, they haven't been any indication. They've interviewed me twice, but they
00:02:41
haven't any indication I'm a suspect. Is anybody live? The Mason City Police said
00:02:46
they're now concentrating their efforts on 12 people. There's been no detainments. There's only been people
00:02:51
that have been interviewed. It could be somebody we least expect. Did she ever express concern that she was being
00:02:58
stalked? Yes. Yeah. This case is not going to go away. We're never going to realize it.
00:03:07
Got a couple investigators out. You want to go back this way? These are phone in
00:03:12
tips, psychic leads. We have never closed the case. It's never been a cold case for us. It's been an active
00:03:19
investigation since it happened. But we're 23 years in, right? I'm not ready to quit yet. The more we keep this story
00:03:26
alive, it might just unlock the puzzle. I may be walking around with my cane and
00:03:32
maybe in a wheelchair, but I am staying on this until we find Jod. Somebody knows something. Is it you?
00:03:40
[Music] [Music] 48 hours. Find Jodie. Reported by Jim Axelrod. relay sound of music. I'm going to send
00:04:14
things right back to the studio. Thank you very much, Sarah. Are they or are they not? I think
00:04:23
they're just being questioned right now. Here's a look at what we're working on for Kimt News3 at 5.
00:04:37
[Music] The yellow ribbon is still there 23 years after anchor Jodie Husenrude vanished on her way to work in Mason
00:04:49
City, Iowa. I said earlier there's no way they still have those old desks. But and here it is. Here it is. Jod's old
00:04:56
desk still occupies the same spot in the Kimt TV newsroom. I'm certain it is. Doug Murbach was the news director back
00:05:06
then. I haven't been back in 15 years. Robin Wolfrram was also an anchor. Makes me sad to be right here for some reason.
00:05:14
Sad and then peaceful, too. Jodie was more than a colleague. She was a friend. What words pop into mind when you think
00:05:24
of Jod? I think the first word that always comes to my mind is effervescent. Good Thursday morning. Welcome to
00:05:29
Daybreak, June 15th already. I'm Jodie. who's in truth. And people would often describe her as bubbly. Kind of a bright
00:05:36
light in the morning to get people started for the day. She was your cup of Joe in the morning. Yeah. A lot of
00:05:42
energy, fame. I want to live forever. This was not going to be her last stop. Mason City. She always talked about
00:05:49
being on national television. We always would have these conversations, the two of us. She was beautiful. She was
00:05:56
engaging. She was smart. The only thing she had to overcome was that Minnesota accent. President Clinton leaves this
00:06:02
morning for the Group of Seven summit in Nova Scotia. And she was working hard on
00:06:05
that. She was working really hard on that one. But Jodie Husentr's dream of making it big ended the morning of
00:06:13
Tuesday, June 27th, 1995. The anchor of KINT's 6 a.m. newscast. She usually arrived at work by 3:30 in
00:06:23
the morning. If she's not there between 3:30 and 4, I give her a call, say, "Hey, are you awake?" all the doctor.
00:06:29
Producer Amy Coons noticed nothing unusual when she called and woke Jod up about 10 after 4 that morning. She was
00:06:37
asking about the show. She was concerned about the show and she said, "I'll be right there." But at 5:30, still no
00:06:43
Jodie. And this being a time before cell phones, Amy tried her at home again and
00:06:50
got her answering machine. At 6:00 a.m., Amy had to step up and deliver the news
00:06:55
in Jod's place. She loves her show. She calls it her show. You know, she wouldn't miss it for anything.
00:07:02
The police were called shortly after 7. When they arrived at Jod's apartment, she wasn't home, but they found her
00:07:09
shoes, haird dryer, and keys scattered on the ground near her beloved red Mazda Miata.
00:07:17
Jack Scher was police chief then. We do have things that would make us uh believe that there could be foul play
00:07:23
here. There were also apparent drag marks near her car. Signs of a struggle. The vehicle was processed on the
00:07:31
outside. We did process it for fingerprints. Police found someone's palm print on the car.
00:07:38
Special K9 units quickly began a search of Jod's apartment complex and the banks
00:07:43
of the Wnebago River. This is News Channel 3's Evening Edition. Police are investigating the
00:07:52
disappearance but aren't saying much else at this time. That evening, Kimt's lead story was the devastating news
00:08:00
about one of its own. Jodie Husen was and still is a very dear friend of mine as well as all of us here at Kimt and
00:08:07
we're inviting all of you to join us and keeping her and her family in your prayers this evening. Toughest thing
00:08:12
you've ever done in your career, Robin? Probably. Yeah. I don't know what it looked like to the viewer, but I just
00:08:18
know inside it was a mess. Police descended on the newsroom, searching Jod's desk for any evidence of
00:08:28
an angry or obsessed viewer. And Jod's natural warmth made her a target. You know, she went grocery
00:08:36
shopping and it took her two hours because she talked to three people along the way. And she always had time for
00:08:42
everybody. Joanne Nathy is Jod's sister. She definitely was too trusted. Not thinking that maybe some of those people
00:08:50
watching her had their own potentially troubling ideas. Yeah, that's what I worry about that she, you know, was too
00:08:58
personable. Way to go, Kevin. I'm getting there. Way to keep me in check. Revealing too much maybe what she did
00:09:04
daytoday. I live by a big swimming pool and I can hear the children swimming and
00:09:09
splashing and yelling. Everyone she met loved her. Do you know how many people think she was her best
00:09:16
friend? Stacy Steinman and Kim Feist actually were Jod's best friends. Do you remember
00:09:22
when she nicknamed us all stupid things and her nickname was Focus. She wanted us to call her Focus. They grew up
00:09:30
together in the small town of Long Prairie, Minnesota. In high school, Jodie lived up to her nickname when she
00:09:37
helped the golf team win two state championships. She just doesn't fail. What would she
00:09:43
say about what she wanted to achieve in life? She wanted to be famous. Yeah, she
00:09:50
did. She wanted to be famous and she knew that in high school that she wanted to be a news anchor. The Twin Cities
00:09:55
metro area is among the top 20 areas in the nation in total population. Jodie pursued her dream at St. Cloud State
00:10:01
University with a starring role on the school's TV station. Jill, I'm not clowning around and I say our show has
00:10:08
to come to a close. She was just 25 when she landed the 6:00 a.m. and noon anchor
00:10:15
slots at Kim. Joining us the time right now, 6:30, right on the button. Now she was gone. Jodie vanished just
00:10:25
days before she was to be in Stacy's wedding party, leaving Stacy to struggle with whether to go ahead with it. A good
00:10:33
friend of ours was a priest and we were just like, "What do we do?" He said, "Now's a good time to keep
00:10:42
people together. This is when we need prayer and pray for her and don't cancel the wedding." It's been 38 hours now
00:10:50
since anyone has spoken to Jodie Husentrude. Our News Channel 3 co-anchor disappeared yesterday morning, June
00:10:57
28th, 1995. The investigation was expanding. We had to ask for the FBI to give us some
00:11:04
assistance. And Jod's story was national news. Fear is growing in one Iowa farm town. Someone is missing. Not a face in
00:11:14
the crowd, but one of the most familiar faces in town. It just struck me as so I don't know so
00:11:21
sad and I was just sick and I thought this is not what we meant about being on national news.
00:11:33
[Music] Yellow ribbons there. the yellow ribbons there everywhere you go all along the
00:11:45
road. [Music] News director Doug Murbach was overwhelmed by Mason City's show of
00:11:54
support after Jod disappeared 23 years ago. It really gives you a boost to know that
00:12:05
people care. They really love Jody. She was not just a person on TV every morning. She was
00:12:12
our friend. Somebody's got to know something to bring her home. It's now been nearly 2 and 1/2 days
00:12:19
since the person who usually sits in this chair disappeared. June 29th, 1995. Investigators say
00:12:27
they've now narrowed their focus to around a dozen people they'd like to continue questioning. The police also
00:12:33
revealed Jod had reported a possible stalker nine months before she disappeared. We did find out that uh
00:12:40
Jodie did make a report of u an incident that occurred when she was out jogging.
00:12:45
How long ago was that report made? I believe that was in October of 1994. She got shook up one day when she was out
00:12:52
hiking or jogging on a trail and a black truck had followed her. But the police never got to the bottom of that incident
00:12:58
and Jod never reported another one. And now Joanne Nathy was pleading on TV for her baby sister's return. I just pray
00:13:08
that whoever has her out there, they'll just remember she's so sweet and good. She'd never hurt anyone. Just let her
00:13:16
go. It's been 84 hours now. Jodie who's in truth, the 27year-old colleague of ours, disappeared 3 and 1/2 days ago.
00:13:23
She was supposed to arrive June 30th. The fire department has intensified its search in the Wnebago River. Okay, go
00:13:31
put that line of class at the highway bridge. In case a body has floated to the surface,
00:13:37
it's a scenario no one wants to think about. I've never personally talked with Jod, but myself and everyone else
00:13:45
doesn't want to find Jod this way. July 1st, this announcement. We are now officially classifying this as an
00:13:54
abduction. Several neighbors have told police they heard a scream around the time Jod disappeared, but no one had
00:14:01
called for help. This type of white van was also seen in the parking lot that morning. I couldn't
00:14:09
even walk outside in the dark because I was so afraid of how it happened in Jod's parking lot. You had a police
00:14:17
escort home. Mhm. Whoever took Jod seemed to be familiar with her schedule. Could it have been someone she knew? To
00:14:26
find out, investigators were piecing together the last days of Jod's life. And this man popped up on their radar by
00:14:35
declaring he'd been the last person to see Jod alive. They've interviewed me twice, but they haven't given me any
00:14:41
indication that I'm a suspect. Jod's friend, John Vanice, told Robin in an interview that Jod had visited his home
00:14:48
the night before she was abducted. She was laughing the whole time she was there and she laughed the time she left.
00:14:54
How did he strike you? Way too happy and gleeful. And he wanted to be interviewed. She was like a daughter to
00:15:00
me. She was just like my own child. Uh I treat her like my own child. And so who
00:15:05
exactly is John Vanise? Drilling down into that question is complicated by the passage of time. But this certainly
00:15:14
helps. 23 years ago, days after Jod disappeared, 48 hours was in Mason City, and we spent time with the man who had
00:15:23
put himself at the center of the case. Honestly, she's alive somewhere. I just hope she's not hurt. Hope she's
00:15:34
okay. I hope she'd come back soon. Back in 1995, we caught up with John Vanise and Jod's close friend Anie Cruz
00:15:46
dockside where we learned the three often water skied off his boat. Vanise certainly wasn't hiding or acting like
00:15:53
someone under a cloud of suspicion. She wouldn't wants to sit around home and cry and and so she'd want to be out
00:15:59
having fun cuz that was her. Is her. It is. Everything is It is her. She's coming back. We'll be ready for
00:16:10
her. In the days directly after Jodie disappears, you're speaking in present tense. She was one of my closest
00:16:18
friends. You know, she was coming home. I I really thought that. Van SC, who was
00:16:23
a seed salesman, was recently divorced. He had once lived in Jod's apartment complex, but Jod and Anie had met him at
00:16:31
a bar. He offered to buy us both the drinks and just started talking to him and didn't know how we felt about him
00:16:38
and then we met him again and again and although he was 22 years older than Jod he became part of her inner circle. Just
00:16:46
a bunch of people we get along fine together and have a good time. Two weeks before Jod disappeared Vanice helped
00:16:53
Anie throw a surprise birthday party for her. That's the water skiing cake. Yeah.
00:16:58
You look at the pictures and she's smiling. She's so beautiful and happy and she's in her prime. Then the weekend
00:17:06
before Jod's abduction, she and Anie were out on Van Cis's boat. This is News Channel 3's Daybreak. On Monday, Jod was
00:17:15
back at work for the last time. Good Monday morning. Welcome to Daybreak. It's June 26th. I'm Jod who's in truth.
00:17:23
That afternoon, she played in a charity golf tournament where she complained she'd been getting some prank phone
00:17:30
calls. She told some people at this golf tournament that she was going to have to
00:17:34
change her phone number or do something or go to the police. It was later that Monday evening that
00:17:41
Vanise claims Jod came over to his home to watch a video of that surprise birthday party. And we watched the tape
00:17:49
and we chuckled and we laughed. We giggled. We we we he hauled. We did everything. We're going to cut this
00:17:54
portion out of the tape. We're going to cut this portion out of the tape. Then we laugh about it. The next morning, Jod
00:17:59
was gone. Would John Van Sice have a reason to harm her? Anie couldn't think of any. Without a doubt, I had no no
00:18:08
question there. There's no possibility in my mind that he could have ever. The police were also asking Anie what she
00:18:16
knew. The investigators are asking you about John Vanise. Yes. And you're saying it couldn't be John. No, he's our
00:18:23
friend. For me, I'm thinking, why would you hurt somebody that that brought so much joy in your life?
00:18:30
But Robin had long suspected that Vanise had feelings for Jod that weren't mutual. I truly believe that he had very
00:18:40
strong and deep feelings for Jod. And something he told her back then sent chills down her spine. I named my boat
00:18:48
after her because just just because she's Jodie, you can't help but love the woman. You just can't help but love her.
00:18:53
When he said I named my boat after her, that's when I said h that's an obsession. I remember holding
00:19:01
on to the microphone and just feeling so ill at ease and thinking to myself, I think you might have done it.
00:19:11
[Music] [Music] In the fall of 1995, some 3 months after Jodie Husen disappeared, her family
00:19:33
allowed a local TV reporter inside her apartment. Well, it's definitely a little strange
00:19:39
being in here. There were no obvious signs of a struggle. Dishes were still piled up in the sink.
00:19:46
I mean, clearly this is a woman that was just headed out to work. Had Jodie taken
00:19:50
the time to neatly make the bed before rushing to work? Other people had been in the apartment, so we don't know for
00:19:57
sure. There's apparently a message for her on the answering machine. A message she never had a chance to retrieve.
00:20:03
She'll be back. You just have to have patience. We can't be down cuz Jody wouldn't want
00:20:08
him. John Van SC remained under suspicion. 48 Hours has learned Jod befriended him
00:20:16
during what seems to have been a turbulent time in his life. There was his recent divorce and he'd been ordered
00:20:23
to install a breathalyzer device in his van. He had a series of arrests related to drunken driving. Did John's life
00:20:31
improve just through his connection to Jod? Absolutely. She brought so much joy into his life and he didn't have a lot
00:20:40
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.
00:20:48
Anie Cruz says Jod thought Vanise understood the boundaries in their relationship. She knew she knew he had
00:20:56
an interest but just blew it off. You know he's like a father to me. She made that mention
00:21:03
quite a few times in front of him. Yeah. Yeah. But some of Jod's friends doubted
00:21:08
he got the message. I cautioned her. I said, "Jodie, there's going to come a point in time when he's going to want
00:21:15
more." When she told us he named his boat after her, we go, that was our like, "Okay, Jod, something's weird.
00:21:22
This is a little much." But she didn't see it as odd. No, she laughed. I think she was like honored like, "Hey, it's
00:21:28
kind of cool." Jod's sister Joanne and other family members met John Vans a few days after
00:21:36
Jod's disappearance. You were a funloving group. We were we had a blast together. We just laugh and laugh and
00:21:43
laugh. 48 hours was there as Van Se told them about his friendship with Jod. I just I just love to watch him have fun.
00:21:51
She Joanne found his demeanor again. I tried to watch over. I tried to check on her once in a while. Not all the time,
00:21:59
just once in a while, see how she get off. In my mind, there's a good chance that he is linked to Jod's case some way
00:22:05
or other. What makes you say that? It's just that he was so obsessed with her. They go to her apartment. She
00:22:14
finished his clothes. They're mine. If I had a shirt she liked, you know, I'd wear it for a while, but I'd give it to
00:22:20
her. But Ben SC has never been arrested. He's never been named a suspect. I know
00:22:26
he hasn't. It's been 23 years. I know. If he is the one, let's get the evidence, but we have to be objective.
00:22:35
We have to have an open mind. It could be somebody we least expect. Looking back 23 years later, Anie now
00:22:46
believes Vanise could have harmed Jodie. When you think maybe it was John, what would his motive have been? and maybe
00:22:56
being rebuffed, maybe finally saying to her, I I'm not your father. I want to be
00:23:03
your boyfriend. That's the only thing I can think of. But the the thing that has
00:23:08
always puzzled me, like, why in the morning in the parking lot? Could what was in that parking lot have had
00:23:15
something to do with it? 48 hours obtained a copy of a search warrant for Jod's 1991 Miata and learned it was not
00:23:22
in her name when she vanished. It reads, "This license is listed to John Lassard,
00:23:28
the previous owner, pending title transfer." John Lassard is a prominent businessman. He told 48 hours the sale
00:23:36
to Jod was arranged by a friend who was a car salesman. The friend has since died, but his son remembers the sale.
00:23:44
She worked hard for that. She was proud of getting that car. She was excited about it. And that car seemed to be on
00:23:52
John Vanis's mind. His close friend, Ladonna Woodford, claims he told her the car was a birthday gift to Jodie from a
00:24:00
boyfriend. He said, "But she doesn't like want the car. She's going to give it back to
00:24:06
him." She never said anything about a gentleman buying it or paying for it or anything like that. So, I think that's
00:24:14
hogwash. Inconceivable to you. Yeah. Lassard says the only time he met Jodie was to hand her the car keys.
00:24:25
Anie says Vanise had a history of jealousy when it came to Jodie. If we were out somewhere, if she was visiting
00:24:33
with somebody, he would come join the conversation. Just swoop in. Pretty much. Yeah. He wanted to make sure that
00:24:41
everybody knew Jod was his. But Liddana insists Vanis had no romantic interest in Jodie and no reason
00:24:49
to hurt her. When you talk about Jodie, it was like, I'm protecting her. She's like my daughter. What if on June 26th
00:24:58
and then into the morning of June 27th, what if John Vanis had picked then to share with Jod that
00:25:08
he wanted to take it to the next level? And people always ask me that question, and this is what I say. He would not do
00:25:15
it where they think he did it, where she was abducted. He used to live in those apartments. Everybody knows him.
00:25:22
Leiddana feels Van C has been unfairly singled out by police and the community. It's just so horrible what they've done
00:25:30
to him. He lost his best friend. And it's sad. It's really sad. And Ladonna says she
00:25:38
knows where Vanise was the morning Jod was abducted. He was out taking a walk with her. It was their routine. As you
00:25:48
walk through this neighborhood, did he seem anxious? Didn't seem anxious. He seemed himself. And nothing seemed
00:25:55
unusual when she called earlier to confirm their plans. I call John 6:00 in the morning. I say, "Hey, John, are we
00:26:03
going to work out today?" You felt when you called him that morning that he was up there sleeping. Yeah, absolutely. We
00:26:12
didn't have cell phones, so I know he was home. And that is why Leonna believes she is his alibi. I called her
00:26:19
and I talked to her. She was there. Remember, Jod's producer spoke to her at around 4:10 a.m.
00:26:26
Leonna believes that Vanice, even though he lived only 5 minutes away, would not
00:26:32
have had enough time to abduct Jod, possibly dispose of her body, and be home by 6:00 a.m. I know the time frame
00:26:39
of when I called him, when I met with him, when we walked, it's almost impossible for him to have done this.
00:26:48
Police finally confirmed in the fall of 1995 that Vanise had passed a polygraph test, something he'd been telling
00:26:56
friends all along. But he remained on their radar. And soon another man would join him.
00:27:04
Tony Jackson is a predator. You got to look at this guy. [Music] May 4th, 1996. We're going to head down
00:27:20
to the river. Nearly a year after Jod disappeared, Gary, this is Anie. Anie Cruz was holding on to a sliver of hope.
00:27:29
Follow the river. That her friend could still be found. They said 18 to 19. We hope to find any type of evidence. Ooh,
00:27:38
yuck. any type of clues, you know, earrings, um, purse, anything that we can find. She led a search party through
00:27:44
woods. Start curving back here. The river's over here. 2 miles from Jod's apartment.
00:27:51
Huh? Despite Anie's efforts, nothing was found. 2 and 1/2 years after Jod vanished,
00:28:00
someone else, someone 140 miles away, started her own search for answers. to test potential evidence in the Jodie
00:28:08
Hughes and Trude case. Caroline Low was an investigative reporter at WCCCO TV in
00:28:14
Minneapolis. She started reporting on Jodie while covering a terrifying crime spree
00:28:21
in the Minneapolis St. Paul area. I covered a serial rapist who was accused of raping four women in 18 days. The
00:28:29
rapist was this man, Tony Jackson. He was arrested in 1997 after a routine traffic stop police
00:28:37
found in his car the tools of his trade. He's got rope, he's got handcuffs, he's
00:28:44
got his gun, he's got duct tape. Basically, it's a rape kit. Jario, formerly a detective with the Woodbury,
00:28:52
Minnesota Police Department, worked the Jackson case. All the victims that we know of, there is an element of
00:28:59
stocking. Jay explored Tony Jackson's past. He learned Jackson was living in Iowa when
00:29:08
Jod disappeared. And not just anywhere. The background investigation puts him in
00:29:13
Mason City, two blocks from the TV station that Jod worked at. This is where Jackson lived.
00:29:23
This is where Jod worked. Two blocks. It's chilling. It was like a bolt. When you see that, you go, "Wow,
00:29:32
this guy may be involved in Jod's case. We need to get this information down to the Mason City authorities."
00:29:39
Caroline visited the Mason City Police 3 months after Jay had sent them the Jackson information. She noticed the
00:29:46
file didn't seem to hold much interest. Woodbury police sent Mason City a fat file about the Twin Cities rapes. A file
00:29:55
that has been gathering dust. Minnesota sent me a copy and there. So, that was really nice of them. Caroline was trying
00:30:02
to get answers to questions about Jackson's past. She learned he was once a promising college basketball player at
00:30:10
Iowa's Waldorf College. [Music] He was a star basketball player. Problem is, he would do well and then he would
00:30:21
snap and he would get into violent episodes with people and he was kicked out of the college. Then a year and a
00:30:28
half before Jod disappeared, he enrolled at North Iowa Community College in Mason
00:30:34
City where he showed an interest in broadcasting. He does a couple talk shows. And so is it your thought that to
00:30:44
start watching the people in town who are on TV doing the news? Sure. He's going to watch them, see how they go
00:30:50
about doing their job. The time is 6:11 62 degrees. Some Jay's theory is Jackson
00:30:56
might have watched Jodie on TV, known her schedule, and even stalked her. Caroline also learned something that
00:31:06
troubled her. When he snapped, he snapped. She spoke with an ex-girlfriend of Jackson's who said they broke up 5
00:31:14
days before Jodie vanished. And it was it was violent. Very violent. I mean, it was a totally different person. It was
00:31:21
like the devil stepped inside of him and just took over. I sat in the living room
00:31:25
with this gal and she looks a lot like Jodie. It was chilling. The woman did get back together briefly
00:31:33
with Jackson until she says his anger took another scary turn. And she described how he had tried to
00:31:42
choke her and they took him into custody. Although Jackson was arrested for that attack, the charges were
00:31:48
ultimately dropped when the woman moved away and declined to proceed. Four months later, he would go on to
00:31:56
commit the Minnesota rapes. The verdict is guilty on all counts for a local man accused of being a serial rapist.
00:32:05
Jackson was sentenced to the equivalent of life in prison. Still, Caroline kept digging into any
00:32:13
connection to Jod's case. I want to get this guy as bad as the you the police do, you do. She learned about a former
00:32:20
jailmate of Jackson's. He says, "I abducted a a anchor woman and killed her." The man said Jackson boasted about
00:32:28
what he'd done in a rap song. Not wanting to forget the lyrics, the jailmate wrote them down. Yeah. He said
00:32:35
uh she's a stiffen around Tiffen and pilots of silage and a bo low below. Thinking that might mean Jod was buried
00:32:42
in a farm near a silo in the town of Tiffen a few hours from Mason City. Caroline
00:32:52
headed there. She brought law enforcement. So this would be the entry and kadaavver dogs. I'll work this side
00:33:00
and meet you in the back to search for human remains. Two of the three dogs alerted, which was
00:33:07
a sign that something had been there. And uh the boards that they found there were sent to the state crime lab. But
00:33:14
like so often in Jod's case, the lead led nowhere. Any forensics tying Tony Jackson to Jod? None that we know of.
00:33:23
None. On May 5th, 1999, the Mason City Police issued the following statement. After conducting a thorough
00:33:32
investigation, which included interviews, crime laboratory analysis, records review, and polygraph
00:33:38
examination, Tony Jackson is not considered at this time a viable suspect in the investigation. Boy, I tell you,
00:33:46
um, I've wondered about him, too. He's on the list. Jod's sister, Joanne, can't close the book on Jackson. He's a rapist
00:33:55
and living in the area, but the police say no that he that there was no way. And I I don't know, though.
00:34:04
48 Hours wanted to ask Jackson about Jod's case, but he declined to speak with us. He would not answer specific
00:34:12
questions, but in a rambling email wrote, "I stand firm in my integrity regarding the Jodie Husentrude case. I'm
00:34:20
going right now." And so the hunt for clues crawls on with another look at John Vans.
00:34:32
Hi John. My name is Jim Axelat. I'm with the CBS News broadcast 48 hours. [Music]
00:34:52
John Van Cis's friend, Ladonna Woodford, says roughly two years after Jod's disappearance, she received a visit from
00:35:00
an FBI agent. And he said, "I have a subpoena for you to appear at the grand jury to testify for John Van SC. They're
00:35:09
trying to uh indict him." And I was like, "Really?" Like, are you kidding me? Ladonna is going public with this
00:35:16
information for the first time. I went into the grand jury and I just told my story what I knew. How many times?
00:35:25
Leadonna says she was questioned about John Vanise for 5 hours. What do they have on John? Why did I have to go to
00:35:33
this grand jury? Why were they trying to indict him? Because at the end of the day, you don't think it's going to be
00:35:38
him? I'd be shocked. Did you ever have any contact with the FBI again after that? Mm-m.
00:35:45
There would be no indictment of John Vanice. Police continued to work the case and
00:35:52
the mystery of who abducted Jodie remained. So, yeah, it it was hard. You know, they
00:36:02
weren't solving it. We weren't finding her. On May 14th, 2001, now 6 years after Jod
00:36:10
disappeared, she was declared legally dead, Jod's family was forced to make the tough decision in order to settle
00:36:19
her estate. [Music] That's like the end of the chapter. That's like the end of the book. But you
00:36:27
still had hope even though you know realistically your mind is saying you know she's
00:36:35
probably not coming home. And despite the hundreds of leads detectives generated early in the
00:36:41
investigation over time tips slowed to a trickle and fewer detectives were assigned to the case.
00:36:51
That's when in 2003, journalists Gary Peterson and Josh Benson created the website findjod.com.
00:37:00
They were later joined by a team of former reporters and retired detective JL Bario. Who's going to consistently
00:37:07
look for Jod if we don't do it? She's one of ours. Their goal to keep Jod's story alive
00:37:15
and to crack the case. Did you feel they were overmatched? the Mason City Police
00:37:20
investigators. I think this is a very big case. I think this is something that they were not accustomed to dealing with
00:37:27
from the beginning. Anie says she was concerned with how detectives process the crime scene. You know, I was very
00:37:34
surprised it was not sectioned off. The whole area wasn't police taped off. Not the first day or so. But there's all
00:37:41
kinds of evidence that could have gotten compromised. That's that's what I thought. And what about Jod's car? a key
00:37:48
piece of evidence. That car was the only crime scene they have. This is a case with so little evidence. Until they find
00:37:56
her body, they don't have another crime scene. That car is your crime scene. But
00:38:00
investigators didn't hold on to that car for very long. It was released to Jod's
00:38:05
family just a couple of months after she disappeared. So, if the car is your crime scene, why would they give it back
00:38:11
to the family? I think that's a question for the police. Was that car given back
00:38:16
too quickly? Maybe. Jeff Brinkley is Mason City's fourth police chief since Jody disappeared because the evidence
00:38:27
that could have been in that car, especially given the technological advances since then, could be important
00:38:35
today, right? But you don't have that evidence. We don't have it, but we just have to live with what we've got and and
00:38:40
try to do as good as we can with that. Chief Brinkley says they do have some DNA samples and then there is that palm
00:38:47
print, but police won't tell us exactly what other evidence they have. Is Tony Jackson still a person of interest? Uh,
00:38:54
I'm not going to comment on that. Is John Vanise still a person of interest? I can't comment on that. But find
00:39:00
jodie.com broke the news that in 2017 John Vans, who currently lives in Arizona, was still on police radar. The
00:39:09
Mason City Police obtained a search warrant for GPS information on two of Vanis's vehicles.
00:39:18
What' you make of that? Very intrigued because it's the first thing we'd seen in years of any kind of official
00:39:23
document. The warrant is sealed, but Caroline thinks police were looking for information that could have led to Jod's
00:39:32
body. We surmised that they must have been trying to see if he was leading going to
00:39:39
visit some site that he might have buried Jody. I lived by a big that piece didn't pan out like we'd hoped. No one
00:39:46
was coming back from out of state to check out a potential body site. We didn't get any information that was
00:39:50
useful. Whatever information the police may have on anyone, they're not sharing.
00:39:57
Why won't you talk about any specifics in this case? I don't want to let the cat out of the bag. Um, I think that we
00:40:04
still that in the bag. Do you have Not completely? No. No, I don't think we do yet, but I think that we're very close.
00:40:12
So, does that mean we talking about weeks, months? I don't think it's fast. It's not fast. I don't think it's fast.
00:40:18
You ready? Yeah. Thank you. 48 hours traveled to Phoenix to ask John Van SC what he knows about Jod's disappearance.
00:40:30
My dad. Hi, John. My name is Jim Axelat. I'm with the CBS News broadcast 48 hours. How are you? Hi. We're conducting
00:40:37
an investigation into the disappearance of Jody Husen. I want to ask you a couple of questions. Got a lot of
00:40:43
people. On June 5th, 2018, on what would have been Jod's 50th birthday, the findjod.com team officially unveiled
00:40:58
four billboards around Mason City. It's time to bring Jodie home. Until then, these are the last images of Jodie
00:41:10
that friends and family hold on to. Way to keep me in check. When I think about her, I think about all the fun we had.
00:41:19
Welcome back to News Channel 3. Dave, Rick, it is She had a lot of sunshine to many people's world. 64° already
00:41:26
abundant sunshine here in Mason City. We're not giving up. Find Jod's not going to go away. I am staying on this
00:41:34
until we find Jod. Somebody knows something. Is it you? Plenty of happy farmers out there. I'm sure with the
00:41:41
rain eye the tomato plants and lawns and all that stuff. Welcome to midday. I'm Jody who's in truth.
00:41:53
[Music] [Music]