Law enforcement officials in Minnesota recently conducted a new search for the body of a beloved television news anchor who disappeared nearly 30 years ago — though they failed to dig up any human remains.
Police in Winsted told a group of reporters investigating the disappearance of KIMT-TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit that a sweep of a city-owned park in a rural area about 40 miles west of Minneapolis turned up animal remains.
Investigators were acting on a tip from a person at the apartment building site who noticed something unusual.
The Oct. 18 search, which was said to be the first public activity related to the cold case in years, was first reported by The Independent and FindJodi.com, a website operated by former journalists dedicated only to to unravel the mystery of Huisentruit’s whereabouts.
Huisentruit was 27 when she disappeared before dawn on June 27, 1995. She had told a colleague that morning that she had overslept and was late for work.
A co-worker showed up at her home in Mason City, Iowa, and found shoes, earrings and drag marks near her car — suggesting there had been a struggle.
Huisentruit was pronounced dead in 2001,
Winsted Police Chief Justin Heldt told FindJodi’s Caroline Lowe that it was not unusual to find animal bones where the search was conducted.
Heldt was not immediately available for comment.
Police in Mason City referred to The Post in a statement provided to FindJodi earlier this month.
“MCPD recently worked with Minnesota law enforcement officials to follow up on a lead in Winsted,” Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley said in the statement.
“MCPD continues to regularly receive, evaluate and follow up on information it receives regarding Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance. The information gathered from this effort will be used in the ongoing investigation.”
Brinkley said that “at this time, there is no additional information to release.”
Winsted Police Chief Justin Heldt told FindJodi that “due to the ongoing nature of the investigation,” he was “unable to provide any further details.”
Heldt was not immediately available for comment.
Last year, a private investigator told US Sun that Huisentruit had a “final covert run-in” with a mystery man just 10 days before he disappeared – although police cleared the man of any wrongdoing.
Steve Ridge, the private investigator, said he believed “jealousy” may have been a motive for Huisentruit’s murder as she “had strong admirers” and her newfound love interest could “enrage the other plaintiffs”.
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