VANISHED: Jodi Huisentruit

You're listening to a Tenderfoot TV podcast. Extraordinary Hydration from Liquid IV, powered by LIV HydraScience.
Look, we know how important it is to stay hydrated, especially if you're traveling or on the go, or even just stuck behind your computer all day. Liquid IV makes it super easy to stay hydrated all day long.
And personally, I love all their flavors. It makes water less boring.
And it's extremely easy. You just tear, pour, and enjoy.
Liquid IV has true-to-fruit flavors that keep you hydrated.

Choose from their line of sugar-free flavors like raspberry lemonade, white peach, or my favorite, rainbow sherbet.

Liquid IV is more than just a drink.

It's scientifically formulated to hydrate better than water alone.

Break the mold and own your ritual.

Just one stick and a 16-ounce glass of water hydrates better than water alone.

Treat yourself to extraordinary hydration from Liquid IV.

Get 20% off your first order of Liquid IV when you go to liquidiv.com and use the code

VANISHED at checkout.

That's 20% off your first order with code VANISHED at liquidiv.com.

Hey, it's Payne. A lot of you have asked for it, and now it's here.
We officially have merch from some of your favorite shows. We just introduced our exclusive line of t-shirts featuring designs inspired by our top podcasts like Radio Rental, High Strange, Up and Vanished, and more.
To celebrate the launch of our new merch store, for a limited time, we're going to give you 20% off. Of all t-shirts, just go to shop.tinderfoot.tv.
That's shop.tinderfoot.tv. Then use the promo code tftv20, that's tftv20, at checkout.
Right now, we have exclusive pre-orders and limited edition designs from your favorite shows. So don't miss your chance to grab them for 20% off.
Visit shop.tenderfoot.tv and don't forget to use the promo code TFTV20. Hey guys, it's Paint.
Hopefully by now, you know that we launched a brand new true crime show with my good friend Maggie Freeling. It's called Up and Vanished Weekly.
Each week, we dive into some of the most puzzling, unresolved cases, bringing you expert insights and fresh perspectives. Today, I want to share with you one of our newest episodes of Up and Vanished Weekly.
This is a case I worked on personally myself, Jody Husentrude, who went missing from Iowa nearly three decades ago. It's a very bizarre case, and we dive as deep as we possibly can

into it. While you listen, please go search Up and Vanish Weekly on your podcast app and follow

the show. There's more episodes out right now, with new episodes releasing every Wednesday.

I hope you enjoy it. This podcast discusses mature and sensitive content, including descriptions of violence that may be triggering for some audiences.
Listener discretion is advised. It's early afternoon on Tuesday, June 27th, 1995.

As the coolness of morning fades,

the news team at KIMT peaks outside a window of the station.

A circus of reporters and trucks are gathering,

and the sun seems to spotlight the frenzy.

KIMT is a local news station in Mason City, Iowa, so this type of scene is common. But today is different.
There's a notable change in the air. As various other news crews circle the station, an unsettling feeling grows amongst the colleagues.
They feel a pit in their stomachs. Earlier that day, Jody Hoosentrud, the station's morning news anchor, didn't show up for work.
As the team scrambled to produce the show in her absence, her co-workers went from thinking she'd simply overslept to now fearing something far worse had happened. Over the next few hours, they would learn the shocking reality of what had actually transpired that morning.

And Jody, Mason City's beloved morning news anchor, was about to become the day's top story. From Tenderfoot TV in Atlanta, I'm Payne Lindsey.
And I'm Maggie Freeling. And you're listening to Up and Vanished Weekly.
Hey, y'all. Welcome to Up and Vanished Weekly.
I'm Maggie Freeling. I am so thrilled you're joining us for our debut episode.
I'm sure you're here because you already know and love Payne. And some of you may know and may love me.
But for those who don't, I hope you get to

know me and you want to stick around. So to start, besides being a fanatic cat mom, my entire identity

is as a journalist. I need to know the who, what, when, where, why of everything.
It's truly

insufferable for everyone around me and myself. Lucky for you, though, that's why I'm here today.
I want to get to the bottom of every mystery and find out the facts of every matter. And this first case I feel particularly connected to because Jodi was also a journalist.
And she was young. She had her entire career ahead of her.
And I remember that point in my life, landing my first big job, scrambling to prove myself and get the story. And when we get lost in the shuffle like that, it's so easy to be blindsided by what we're least expecting.
Joining me today to talk about Jodi's case is Meredith Stedman, a producer at Tenderfoot who has worked closely with Payne and the team on the Up and Vanished series. Meredith, I am freaking stoked you're here.
So good to see you. Thanks, Maggie.
I'm honestly really excited to be here. It's been a while since I've been in the Up and Vanished universe.
Yeah. So, Meredith, I know that you've worked with Pain and the Up and Vanished team almost from the beginning, and you work on the Tenderfoot horror series Radio Rental, a favorite of mine, as well as hosting Rattled and Shook.
But I'm curious, how did you meet Pain and the team in the first place? Wow. Yeah.
So I have been around since the early days.

I got into working at Tenderfoot.

Actually went up and vanished, like kind of first came out.

It hadn't really blown up yet.

The case hadn't broken.

This is season one, Tara Grinstead's case, and I was following it.

I'm a writer, and I just cold emailed and offered writing assistance.

And then Payne needed more help.

And I just joined the team full time.

And then I've been here ever since.

Wow.

That's kind of the dream.

Just like following a case and having the person working it be like, hey, come on.

I did not expect it.

I'll never forget like the first blurb I wrote.

I think like Payne was like, hey, can you help me write something about the town of

Osceola? And I remember I hadn't been there yet. So I was like looking up Osceola and trying to describe it.
Wow. Crazy.
Haven't thought about that in a while. You also worked with Payne on Jodi's case for the Up and Vanish TV series.
When you first looked at the overview of the case, what stood out to you about Jodi? Of all the cases that I've worked on since working at Tenderfoot, this is one of the cases that has really stuck with me the most. I think it's because I felt I related to Jodi a bit more maybe than some of the other cases that we have covered.
And I think that's because she was this journalist. She's an anchor.
She had all these dreams of working in that space and making her way up to the national rankings and being on national TV. And I think I similarly kind of got into this career because I was interested in journalism.
When I went to school, that was what I initially tried to study. And I think I just kind of related to her dreams.
And it was so scary to think that someone so public-facing with so much promise disappeared like that. And I also felt a sense of kinship with her.
So it's kind of stuck with me all these years. Yeah, it's so interesting because that's exactly what stuck out to me, right? Like the young journalist, like I just was like, yeah, I could see myself going to my 3 a.m.
public radio shift and like being ambushed is horrifying. Yeah.
And there's so many options for who could have done it because she's so public facing. And you can see from all the videos of her, she seems like such a light.
I can just imagine how in this smaller town she could be an object of fixation for a lot of people. Mm hmm.
But yeah, the fact that she was doing such a service for the town and was so beloved, but then had so many weird interactions with kind of obsessive men, it just kind of makes me sad. And it really, I think, is another reason that it stuck with me.
I just, it doesn't seem fair. So it's been almost 30 years since she disappeared and we have no answers.
When you covered this for the TV show, you didn't just retell the story. You guys actually took a real deep dive, retracing steps of the original investigation and following up on investigative leads.
Can you tell me a bit about some of the things that you did? Yeah, yeah. I think that's maybe why of the Up and Vanish TV showcases, this is probably, for lack of a better word, my favorite, because we really did try to look into a lot of different angles, some of which I think are more possible.
Some are just, you know, to cover all bases, to look into every single thing that was mentioned to us. But we really went to that town.
We went to Mason City, Iowa, where Jodi was the anchor. We went to her apartment complex.
We talked to her co-anchor, the woman that was at the station at the time. We even talked to some people that were like anonymous tipsters or people that gave us new information that they tried to give the police prior and felt they weren't heard when they deliver that information.
So we really were talking to a lot of people that hadn't spoken in years and years about things that they heard and saw around those days when she disappeared. And if you saw the show towards the end of that episode, Payne actually tried to speak with one of the main persons of interest.
And it was honestly a pretty interesting interaction. Yeah.
And I want to get to that. But first, I want to go back and start with the morning that Jodi vanished, because we learned some critical information from a really small window of time.
Here's pain with more. As an early morning news anchor, Jodi had a strict routine.

On days she was on the air, she arrived at the station at 3 a.m., preparing for the 6 a.m. broadcast.

This meant she usually went to bed early the night before.

But leading up to her disappearance, in the early morning hours of June 27th,

several details seemed to indicate that her normal routine wasn't followed. Here's what we know.
Around 2 a.m. that Tuesday, Jodi's producer, Amy Koons, arrived at KIMT.
She started the process of preparing the crew for the day's morning segments. Before long, Jodi's usual 3 a.m.
arrival time came and went.

It wasn't until 4 a.m. that Amy looked at the clock

and realized she hadn't heard from Jodi all morning.

So she called to check on her.

The phone rang, and Jodi picked up.

She was groggy, and it was clear that Amy had woke her up.

When she realized what happened, Jodi apologized,

It's a good one. She was groggy, and it was clear that Amy had woke her up.
When she realized what happened, Jodi apologized, stated she'd overslept, and she'd be right in. But a short time later, there was still no word from Jodi.
Amy tried calling Jodi again, but this time there was no response. This few-hour period would later be determined as the window when Jodi disappeared, but at that time, Amy couldn't have known that Jodi was in danger.
She just assumed that Jodi had fallen asleep again. The morning rolled on, and after two hours of not hearing from Jodi, Amy began to grow more concerned.
At 6 a.m., someone from the station went to Jody's apartment to check on her, and still no answer. It was at this point they decided to call the Mason City Police Department to perform a wellness check.
Police arrive at Jody's apartment complex at 7 30 a.m. and immediately find something very out of place.
Next to Jody's red Mazda Miata, they saw different items scattered across the parking lot. Authorities identified a high-heeled shoe, a hair dryer, hairbrush, hairspray, and other belongings that looked to have fallen out of a bag.
As concerning as this scene looked, they became more alarmed when they found a bent car key. The police noticed that Jody's car mirror was bent backwards and found what looked like drag marks in the area, moving away from her vehicle.
At this point, it was shaping up to look like much more than an accident. Police canvassed the area, but found no other evidence.
They did some knocks on doors in the complex and got some early tips from neighbors. A few residents said they heard voices and potentially screaming in the early morning hours.

Authorities also noticed a pile of beer cans in an area of the parking lot that had a clear line of sight to Jody's apartment.

Were these mere coincidences or potential clues painting the picture of what happened to Jody?

The evidence in the parking lot showed signs of a struggle, but it was not enough to give police a full story. So the investigators shifted their focus to Jody's apartment.
While they didn't find anything that pointed to forced entry, they did find some used wine glasses and something interesting in the bathroom. Apart from her normal personal

items, authorities noticed that the toilet seat was left up, what's normally a pretty clear sign

that a man had been there at some point recently. Suspicions were mounting, and it became clear that

authorities needed to learn more about who may have interacted with Jodi that morning.

So first, we need to just talk about the scene, the evidence that the police found at Jodi's complex.

You have this high-heeled shoe. I think it was red.

A hair dryer, a hairbrush, hairspray, and a couple other belongings. But it literally looks like a woman was just dragged away from this car.
And they do find potential drag marks and a bent key as if she was going to put it in the door. To me, this seems like clear signs of struggle took place.
What do you make on this whole scene? Yeah, I'm glad you phrased it that way. It appears to be a crime scene, but we don't

know if a crime took place there because I remember feeling like, is there a chance this was staged? The pictures look almost like a bad student film. But do I think it's likely that the crime took place there, that the abduction took place there? Yes, I do.
Because what I've always found super unique about this case is that there's a very clear timeframe for when this took place. This probably happened somewhere between 3.30, 3.45, like somewhere in there.
And it's kind of rare, I think, to have such a really exact timeframe where this probably happened. And if we hadn't had that phone call from Amy, who knows what could have happened? It'd be the whole night would be a possibility.
But now we know it's like just this early morning time when she usually would be rushing to her car. So it does seem pretty likely that that's the crime scene.
Right. And so there's some red flags that when you start digging come up that maybe there was something going on in Jodi's life.
She mentioned she was being followed when she was out running. She was taking self-defense classes.
And of course, back then, her number and her address were publicly available. Wow.
What do you make of some of this? Do you think there was something going on in her life? Yes, I definitely do. There is the option that this is a random crime of opportunity, and that was definitely explored in our Up and Vanished episode about it.
But I think also, from everything we heard, there were several people that may have been infatuated with Jodi. She'd had a stalker in the recent past before she went missing.
I think it's pretty safe to say that though a random crime of opportunity is possible, there is so much evidence pointing towards a crime of passion that I don't think that can be ignored. Our discussion continues after a quick break.
Boca is on a mission to inspire more mindful oral care. It starts with proven ingredients and feel-good formulas, and culminates into a full-body experience.
Because when you take care of your mouth, your whole body benefits. Our magic ingredient, nanohydroxyapatite, NHAA.
First used by NASA astronauts in space, NHAA rebuilds teeth without fluoride, making it safe to swallow. NHAA is a form of calcium that makes up 97% of your tooth enamel and 70% of your dentin.
Because it comprises the primary foundation of teeth and bones, it's restorative for your teeth and enamel. Boca is fluoride-free, free from parabens, SLS, endocrine disruptors, artificial flavoring, and it's powered by nature.
There's delicious flavors. In addition to classic element, Boca offers delicious elevated flavors such as cocoa ginger and lemon lavender.
My hair is kind of red, so I prefer the cocoa ginger. And honestly, since I switched to this toothpaste, I feel better.
The kids' flavors are extra delicious. They offer the same efficacy and are safe to swallow.
Orange cream, watermelon mint, and new strawberry mango. The whitening toothpaste is made without painful peroxide and safe for sensitive teeth.
Uses PAP, coconut oil, and baking soda. For a limited time, Boca is offering listeners 15% off its best-selling toothpaste on Amazon and Boca.com with code VANISHED15.
That's VANISHED15. Make the switch to Boca for the whole family.
The holiday season is over, but the cold weather is sticking around. Luckily, Home Chef is delivering new hearty recipes and your favorite comfort foods to help you stay cozy.

Home Chef delivers fresh ingredients and chef-designed recipes conveniently to your doorstep to simplify your cooking experience. Users of leading meal kits have rated Home Chef number one in quality, convenience, value, taste, and recipe ease.
Whether you prefer classic meal kits with pre-portioned ingredients, quick 30-minute recipes, oven-ready options, microwave meals, or a dedicated family menu, Home Chef has everything you and your family need for hassle-free, delicious dinners. Home Chef has over 30 options a week and serves a variety of dietary needs.
Plus, it's economical. Home Chef customers save an average of $86 per month on groceries.
And when meal planning ends up on the back burner, check out Home Chef's new five-ingredient meals that simplify prep with super easy recipe steps using just five fresh pre-portioned ingredients. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering you, the listeners, 18 free meals plus free dessert for life.
And of course, free shipping on your first box. Go to homechef.com slash upandvanished.
That's homechef.com slash upandvanished for 18 free meals and free dessert for life. homechef.com slash upandvanished.
Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. Random crime makes headlines, but how common is it really? A 2022 article by News Nation with the same name offers some insight.
Citing statistics from 2020, they found that 25% of crimes are committed by a total stranger, 24% of crimes are committed by someone related to the victim, and over 50% of crimes are committed by someone the victim knows but is not related to. So, while many people think that crimes are most often incidents of opportunity committed by strangers, statistics seem to show otherwise.
Any crime should be taken seriously. If you're the victim of a crime, call 911 to report it immediately.
If you have information about a crime, call Crimestoppers USA at 1-800-222-TIPS. All right, now back to our case.
We were just talking a little bit about why this case resonates with us, because we're both producers and, you know, we both wanted to be journalists. And Jodi really made it.
She was like a local celebrity. And back then, you know, being on TV, there was no TikTok, nothing like that.
So Jodi, she was in the limelight. How much of this do you think is related to that? Oh, I think a lot.
I do. And I don't think that only people in the limelight can be obsessed over or stalked.
However, I think you're absolutely right. Like Mason City, Iowa, it's not a huge place.
And I think you're right. You know, no TikTok, no social media, like no other celebrities live there except for kind of the people on the local news.
And I think that she was a really hot commodity in the area. And I'm sure that made people feel a parasocial connection with her.
Maybe she was seen as kind of like a trophy, like a goal. If you could like be friends with her, if you could be in her circle.
And I kind of think that a lot of the stories we've heard pointed towards that too. A lot of people wanted to be around her.
Also, that's terrible that what you said about like her phone number and address being public information. It just makes me squirm.
It makes me so upset. Right.
I mean, the white pages or the yellow pages. I mean, 1995, it's like, yeah, our addresses are out there now.
But it's so interesting because, you know, as a producer, when you're trying to find someone, you get like 50 different addresses and who knows which one it is. And, you know, it's like AI aggregating your data with your moms and your dads.
But back then it was like you find her last name and there is her most recent address.

That's terrifying. And there's speculation around whether Jodi may have had someone in her apartment the night before she disappeared.
And that person may have been the last person to see her alive. Thankfully, some crucial details about the hours before her disappearance were about to be revealed.
Here's Payne with more. On the evening of June 11th, just a few days before she went missing, Jodi's friends and co-workers threw her a 27th birthday party at a lounge in nearby Clear Lake.
Everything was captured on video. You can see red balloons, party hats, and streamers.
A big banner reading Party Hardy Girl hung above the cake. With a figurine topper of a skier.
A nod to Jodi's love for the outdoors. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
Especially Jodi. You can see her smiling wide and laughing hard as she dances on the table.
singing all of her favorite songs. It seems like the kind of night you'd remember for a long time.
But in the video of the party, it also shows Jodi dancing closely with a man. It's a party, so that's not out of place.
But you can't help but notice a few odd details. First, there's a significant age difference.
Jodi turned 27, but the man she was with looked a lot older, about 20 years older. And secondly, the vibe seemed off, like he's much more into Jodi than she's into him.

So the question became, who is he?

His connection to Jodi and his interaction with her

and the hours leading up to her disappearance

will answer several burning questions,

but also raise many more.

Last night, new information on the case was released in a two-hour program on the Oxygen Network. Happy birthday to you.
For the first time, Happy birthday to you. The video of Jody Husentrout's last birthday party is made public as part of Up and Vanished, a two-hour show airing on the Oxygen Network.

The FBI and Mason City Police have both told Care 11 News the video is evidence in the case of the missing news anchor.

So I want to talk about this infamous video of Jodi dancing at her birthday party with a friend of hers.

This man is named John Van Syce.

The age of I want to talk about this infamous video of Jodi dancing at her birthday party with a friend of hers.

This man is named John Van Syce.

The age difference between the two of them is quite visible.

He is older.

She is very young.

And a lot of people say there's a weird vibe when you study the video.

Yeah.

Speculation is hard.

However, if you're just asking me how I feel, the video is weird. The video is super weird.
The whole thing about the video is weird. Jodi had had a birthday party very recently before she went missing.
And her friend, this man who I think she had like a 14-year age gap with or something like that, had apparently thrown her this party and had asked his friend to video it. And if you watch the video, it's like John Van Syce, the man who threw this party, is hamming it up.
I mean, he is like life of the party. They're dancing a lot.
He's touching her constantly, picking her up, sweeping her up in his arms, like, you know, bridal style. He's pressing their cheeks together.
He's getting on the table and pumping his fists. And there's also a few moments where she's dancing with someone else and he is just like staring at her.
I've only seen clips of the video because when I see this, I'm like, I don't know,

it's a drunk guy having fun.

But yeah, it does look like that.

The clip does.

But maybe if I saw more, I would think otherwise.

Well, I think what it would be is like you'd either be like, oh, they are best friends or oh, they're in love or they're dating or oh, my gosh, like some he must be

He said, like you'd either be like, oh, they are best friends or, oh, they're in love or they're dating or, oh, my gosh, like some he must be some really significant figure in her life. But the thing is that they'd met six months prior.
They weren't dating. And at least that's what her friend told us, that they had met like six months before.
And that's why I'm like, he threw this party. He's like clearly pulling out all the stops.
And she looks like she's having a lot of fun at the party. Arguably, he almost looks like he's having more fun.
Yeah. And he's really important because the night before she went missing, he is allegedly the last person to see her.
And he comes forward and says that the night before Jodi went missing. Apparently, John Van Sise, he's the one who said this, he's the one who put this out there, said that she came over to his house that night, the night before she went missing, and that they watched the videotape together.
and on the Up and Vanished show we actually talked to someone who anonymously claimed that the following day

when Jodi had gone missing

and it was just starting to be figured out that John Van Sise made some weird comments along the lines of being like, I have the video, like I have the video of the birthday, like I can prove it. And it almost seemed like he was desperate to prove that they had a good connection.
Now that's coming from this anonymous source who I did see in Mason City, Iowa, that I did like, you know, Payne, Donald Nye, the whole team like met this person, but you know, we can't verify that. However, I do think now that you, like I'm telling you that it was like they met within six months.
It is kind of strange, right? It's like now that you know that and you've seen the video or at least clips of it, you're like, oh, they seem like they'd be so much closer.

the police report initially had kind of gone into just like the facts of what they could verify and that was that that day before she went missing jody had gone to a charity golf tournament

had left around 8 p.m had gone home and then there was a phone call to a friend like on her call log

and then it's like a question mark and

Thank you. had left around 8 p.m., had gone home, and then there was a phone call to a friend on her call log.

And then it's like a question mark until the next morning when she's called from the station and they're like, Jodi, you're late. And she's like, huh? Oh, I'll be right there.
And that is all that is there on paper, from my understanding. And then John Van Sise kind of entered the picture and offered up information that Jodi had gone over that night and they had watched the videotape of her birthday party together.

then within the next couple of days john went on the news and made some strange comments and one

of the comments that he made publicly is that he was the last person to see jody alive which

is really odd because no one said she was dead.

Why would you say you're the last person that saw her alive?

Right.

You know, she's missing.

People at that time still had hope that she would be found.

It's also a weird statement to make because you don't know that unless you're the one that did something with her and she's no longer alive. Like, I wouldn't be like, oh, I'm the last one to see that person, even if I say alive or not.
Like, how do you know you're the last person to see her? And why would you want to be? Like, I wouldn't want to be the last person to see anybody. Even if he has nothing to do with it, it just feels kind of like a possessive remark remark to make like he just wanted everyone to know that they were very close and that he was the final person that she saw before she went missing and honestly like to say that publicly too it's like well everyone knows it was at night you know the night before like I think he kind of had a fixation on making sure people knew that they had a maybe romantic connection or maybe it could turn into that or something like that.
Yeah. And I also want to point out that we don't really know whose house, who went to whose house.
If Jodi went to John's house to watch the video before she disappeared or if he went to her house. This was just his word of what was happening that evening.
Unless the police have some other evidence that we haven't seen, I've never heard that was verified. However, in recent years, they got a warrant for GPS information about John Van Sise's car that day and like around Jodi's disappearance, they got a warrant to look into that and they sealed that warrant.
So we can't tell what was the information that they had that convinced a judge that they had enough information to go get that GPS information. And then nothing came out of it.
So it's like, presumably they didn't find anything damning. But they did have something that was enough to convince a judge to approve the warrant.
So that's interesting.

Yeah, and there's still a lot of unanswered questions about what happened to her the night before she disappeared and whether John's account of things is true or accurate if she went to his house. So I want to get into the discussion of theories with you and pick your brain a bit about what you think happened.
One of the theories that we've touched on is that she had a potential stalker. And again, Jodi had mentioned she had been followed when she was out for runs and reported this to authorities.
What are your thoughts on her being stalked? The stalking one is interesting because I totally believe she was stalked, but I don't know if there's evidence that it was always the same person or if it was the person who may have been in the parking lot that morning because there was some alleged report that someone saw like a van in the parking lot that morning. I want to just kind of make that connection.
So she had a ledge being followed by a white van. And then there was a witness who lived on the same street as Jodi.
He drove past her complex every day. And he said that that morning he saw a white Ford Econoline van parked in her apartment complex facing the street.
He didn't see a driver or anything. What do you make of that? I think it's very possible that that van in the parking lot that morning was related to the crime, especially I think they said that would have been around 4 a.m., which kind of fits the time period of when Jodi would have been abducted.
The police determined that none of the

other residents in the apartment complex were registered to a similar van. So it does seem like

this van was potentially out of place. Yeah, potentially out of place, whether it was the

same one as when she was jogging, unsure, but it could have been. It definitely could have been.

So some suspect she may have been a victim of a serial rapist. And there was a couple that were actually active in the area at the time.
Tony Jackson had four victims that were similar build and description to Jodi. He lived two blocks from the news station.
And Thomas Corsgadden assaulted multiple women, including one at knife point. He did have a van similar to the one seen in the parking lot at the time of her disappearance.
And allegedly he was trying to get tickets to an event Jodi was planning to attend. Do any of these names ring a bell for you? We definitely looked into that.
I think Tony Jackson in particular, the one thing that was kind of weird, I remember about his case, apparently he bought a car the day before she went missing. And also someone in jail that was in jail the same time that Tony Jackson was in jail for other victims that he had stalked and raped.
Someone in jail at the time with Tony said that he told them that he had killed an anchor, allegedly. Now, can we verify this? No.
You know what I mean? It's like, that's hearsay from jail. Like, it was passed on, finally got to us as like a tip is like, Tony Jackson said this.
It's hard to say because Tony Jackson was interviewed and Tony Jackson said, I'd never met Jodi Housin-Trude. I only know her because of the local news.
Tony Jackson was looked into and he was eventually cleared by the police. However, it's unclear why he was cleared because he didn't have an alibi for that night.
He apparently stalked people and it doesn't really seem like he was really investigated deeply. So I don't know why they cleared him other than he didn't seem to have a expressly like deep connection to Jodi.
And then this other guy, Thomas Corskadden, allegedly had a van similar to the one seen in the parking lot. And he's just another dude that's a freaking creep and assaulted multiple women, including one at knife point in the neighborhood.
So I think the point just being like, yeah, it's really possible that there's a lot of people that could have hurt Jodi. Yeah.
And there was also Dirk Jablonski. He was another man who apparently had a record of stalking women.
And he briefly lived in the same apartment building as Jodi. And he was at the golf tournament, allegedly, that she had been to the day before.
And someone we talked to said that they sent in a tip about him, like look into him and they didn't believe that the police had ever done it. We'll be right back after a quick break.
You're listening to Up and Vanished Weekly. ID Tech, the first and most trusted tech camp, is where kids ages 7 to 17 find their people.
The coding and creating people, the fire breathingbreathing, shell-spinning BattleBots people. The just-as-happy building games as they are playing them people.
At 75 prestigious college campuses all across the country, IDTech features over 50 epic courses like BattleBots, AI and machine learning, game design, and more. Visit IDTech.com and use code IDTech to save $150 on a week that's guaranteed to be a highlight of summer.
This show is brought to you by Boca. Boca knows that when you take care of your mouth, your whole body benefits.
That's why they create elevated oral care that fortifies your teeth. Boca's toothpaste uses a fluoride alternative called nanohydroxyapatite, or NHHA.
It's a form of calcium that makes up the majority of your tooth enamel and dentin to help to remineralize enamel, fresh in breath, and whiten teeth. Do your dentist proud by switching to Boca's ENHA toothpaste in delicious, fluoride-free flavors like element, lemon lavender, cocoa ginger, and refreshment whitening.
Boca's toothpastes are not only fluoride-free, but they're free from SLS, endocrine disruptors, and parabens.

Boca is the number one toothpaste on Amazon with over 40,000 five-star reviews.

For a limited time, Boca is offering listeners 15% off its best-selling toothpastes on Amazon and Boca.com with code HERHEALTH15.

That's HERHEALTH15.

Make the switch to Boca for the whole family at BOKA.com. Hey, everyone.
Before we get back to the episode, I want to take a second to bring attention to something unique about Up and Vanish Weekly. When Payne and I created the show, we knew we wanted to bring awareness to late-breaking missing persons cases, a way to highlight disappearances where authorities are desperately looking for tips and information about sightings to help track down missing persons who may still be in danger.
Each week, we'll bring you one of these cases in what we're calling our critical missing segment. Here's our producer, John, with more.
Hey, Maggie. So this is a really interesting one.
So at 1041 a.m. on January 18th of this year, a black 2016 Ford Fusion with North Carolina tag Juliet Lima Sierra 6635 entered the long-term parking lot at the Charlotte Airport.
It's believed the vehicle is registered to 32-year-old Alexander Gonzalez from Mooresville, North Carolina. The following day, Alexander's brother received a text from Alexander's phone around 8.45 p.m.
Then around 10.19 p.m. that night, the phone was pinged in Grapevine, Texas, and a second ping at 11.38 p.m.
shows the phone was either off or disconnected. And from what we know, Alexander hasn't been heard from since.
Alexander is of Hispanic ethnicity and has a height of 5 foot 10 inches and a weight of 175 pounds. He has shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes, and he was last seen wearing brown leather boots and dark wash jeans.
Alexander has a tattoo of a Japanese-style mask on his forearm, as well as

a tattoo of a standing frog also on his forearm. He also has a scar on his forehead above his

eyebrow. So, listeners, if you know any information about the whereabouts of Alexander Gonzalez,

please contact the Mooresville Police Department at 704-664-3311,

and you can reference case number 2025-000391. Okay, now let's get back to the show.
So just as we discussed, a very strong theory is that Jodi could have encountered a stalker or a serial rapist or murderer. But the other leading theory is that John Van Sice may have had something to do with her disappearance.
Obviously, he's been the main person of interest since the beginning. You guys also really focused on him.
After she went missing, he did a couple media appearances, and then he moved to Arizona. And that's where you guys found him.
So tell me about John Van Syce. And this is kind of who I think is your main person of interest.
This is where we spent a lot of the time of our investigation on Jodi Hoosentreat's case, because there was so much weird about John Van Syce as a person of interest. And I think there's a reason why he still to this day hasn't been cleared by the police publicly.
His alibi is that his friend LaDonna, she called him at like 6 a.m. to work out or go on a walk with her.
She called him and he was really groggy. And so she was like, he was definitely asleep.
And he was like, no, no, let's yeah, let's work out and that they worked out most days together. Again, like, don't know how you can verify that.
But they went on a walk together. And he didn't say anything about Jodi, except for in our interview with her, she said that she was like, John, you look like hell this morning.
And John was like, oh, well, I mean, all I did last night is Jodi came over and we watched the videotape of the party and we had a good time. OK, kind of a weird alibi.
The alibi is that not at the time she really went missing, but before the cops found out she was gone, at least not at the time I think think she went missing because I think she went missing somewhere around 4 a.m. That even leaves 5 a.m.
open, you know. But at 6 a.m.-ish, he had a friend call him and then they went on a walk and he didn't seem to know anything about it.
That's like the alibi. However, we also talked to another man that said that they would have been together around the same time that this walk would have been taking place and that they actually met up every morning.
And honestly, that was the man I believed. Like, we can't say his name.
He was anonymous. But I don't think that this woman, LaDonna, was telling the truth.
I don't think that they worked out every day together. I don't really know why she would say that.
However, I think the most likely thing is if they did go on a walk, I actually think there's a possibility that John called LaDonna to work out or go on a walk that morning, not the other way around. And somehow he got her to eventually say that she called first by saying maybe that people would think it was suspicious or like, could she help him out? Like it because he's innocent and yada yada however like if they did go on that walk that morning it still is 6 30 6 45 or something that she claims they finally met up and to me that doesn't really seem like an alibi right that seems hours before it's before the police got to the crime scene, because I think the police didn't get there until closer to 738.

I think they were called at like 730 in the morning after the morning news shift had ended.

But still, like, I don't know why we're assuming that Jodi went missing at seven.

Right. That's what, you know, we keep saying alibi, but it's pretty clear she went missing sometime around 4 a.m.
She's late for work, so she's going to be rushing to work. If she had left that area around 4 a.m., she would have been at work by 6 a.m., so she didn't.
So he needs an alibi for 4 a.m. Yes, and I guess the only alibi you can have is sleep, and that's fair enough.
However, here's the real thing that sticks with me. Amy Kuhn, who I mentioned a bunch of times, was the assistant producer at the Mason City TV station.
And she says that that morning, John Van Syce called to ask if Jodi was there and can I talk to her.

That morning, like early in the morning, I mean, this that had to be around the same time, supposedly, that he was on this walk with LaDonna.

And I believe Amy Kuhns. I really do.

She was the one that talked to Jodi that morning.

Firstly, no reason to lie, seemed really upset about it and very intense about Jodi's case.

She's the last person that we know talked to her.

And Jodi that morning. Firstly, no reason to lie, seemed really upset about it and very intense about Jodi's case.
She's the last person that we know talked to her. And she says that John Van Syce called sometime after that to ask if Jodi was there and can I talk to her? And then Amy Kuhn said she didn't show up for work this morning.
And then he said, well, is she sick? Like was really kind of insistent about like, why can't I talk to her? Where is she? And Amy said she thought it was suspicious and she told the police and she said that she didn't even know if it made it into the official police report. How would he know she was missing? Exactly.
Like, why and how, I guess, in theory he could have... Well, the thing is that I think Amy was saying that he he called asking like, oh, can I speak to Jodi? Not that he knew that she was missing.
But Amy said he never called before to her knowledge just to talk to Jodi that early in the morning before her news coverage. To me, it sounds like you're trying to make an alibi like, oh, how would I have known she was missing? I tried to talk to her.
Right. A very obvious person of interest.
Yeah. And I know, like, obviously you do a lot of like wrongful conviction work.
And I know there's like people zero in on suspects that seem really likely. It happened with Tara Grinstead's case and her boyfriend, too.
And I'm sure it caused him a lot of heartache. So I do think it's it.
You got to be sure about these things.

However, the stuff that happened with John Van Syce is really, really, really weird.

When you guys recorded the Up and Vanished TV show, Payne tried to reach out to John Van Syce to sit down with him and get his take on what he believed happened to Jodi. John

ignored the outreach. So Payne and the team flew to Arizona and actually approached John

at his house. I want to play a part of their interaction and get your take on it.
He's in the backyard. There he is right there, Payne.
So when Payne shows up at John's house, they spot him in the backyard. Payne's on the sidewalk, public property, and he calls over the gate at John to try and get his attention.
say about me do not bother us I'm

asking

you and he calls over the gate at John to try and get his attention. Stay up.
Do not bother us. I'm asking you.
Okay. Can I ask you a question before I leave? Sure you can.
Why does he not want to talk? Because he's... His friend's been helping.
He's doing something he didn't do for 20 years. That's why.
He told you he does not want to talk to you. Very simple, okay? And if you think that a man doesn't want to talk to you, that makes him guilty.
I didn't say that. Whatever your ideas are.
If you were me, though, and you talked to his good friend who's defending him, who is crying about this, who's really upset, and she encourages me to go talk to him. I know who it is.
What am I supposed to do? Don't ask you to talk to him, okay? How do that because you talked to la donna i i know i found out okay but here's the point the point is this this man has been hounded for 20 years 20 years i understand supposition on innuendo and he's done the truth will eventually come out. Period.
Hope me. How will it come out

if no one's talking anymore? You'll find out. How? Is there evidence that I don't know about?

I'm just trying to help John. I really am.
John refuses to talk with Payne and starts yelling,

cursing at him as Payne gets back in the car. You said she'd come back.
She never did.

I'll never understand, John. I'll never understand.
What are your thoughts on this whole scene? Well, confronting someone involved in any case is a bold move and will yield varying results. And I think that there are very logical reasons that John wouldn't want to talk after years of this case being in the limelight.
You know, we talked previously about how wrongful convictions happen. Sometimes the cops can zero in on the wrong person.
So that's always a possibility. I know I said it is weird that he left so quickly from Mason City.
however maybe he did just lose everything and the tension was too much and people were

zeroing in on him too much and it just caused him to need to leave. I can see how these things could be true.
At the same time, I do think there are a lot of pretty reputable people in Mason City that seem to have strange stories of things John did or said after Jodi went missing.

And of course, he's the last person, by his own admission, to maybe have seen her alive. So I think there's good reason to want those questions to be cleared up.
What's interesting about this interaction, though, is that after Payne went to John Van Sice's place, John Van Sice, I believe like days later, reached out to a journalist himself and

made... John Van Syce's place.
John Van Syce, I believe like days later, reached out to a journalist himself and made a final statement to the media. He basically had this guy named Steve Ridge write up this piece being like, this is my final note to the media, like, leave me alone.
I have nothing to do with this. I hope Jody's found.
So that's pretty interesting. You can check that out.
What do you think his motive would have been? Well, she did tell someone that she had rejected his ultimate romantic advances, that I think that he wanted them to be together and that she had said, I just want to be friends. And that had happened very shortly before this.
There's something to

all the theories here. And that's what makes this case so puzzling, truly.
Yeah. So I have a theory that I think is pretty good, too.
So there is this drug theory, and I think it's linked to Billy Pruin. So Billy Pruin was a friend of Jodi's, And he died shortly before she disappeared.

And from what I understand, his mom went to his house to look for him back in 1995. And when she found him, he was dead from a gunshot wound and she found a revolver on the ground a few feet away.
Initially, they said it was suicide, but they never found any gunshot residue or anything on his hands.

So it is now undetermined, his death. And the other interesting thing is, is if it was a suicide, he's left-handed.
He doesn't have a thumb on his left hand. So how would he have held the gun? Oh my gosh.
So, you know, to me, this seems like a pretty clear homicide, not suicide. So the question is, why would someone kill Billy Pruin? Billy was looking into like a meth problem in the Mason City area.
And originally, his death was ruled a suicide. And then they rolled that back and said undetermined.
So they didn't quite say homicide, but I do think rolling back on a suicide determination is a little strange. He was looking into this, and there was a theory that Jodi was looking into Billy Pruin's death because she's a journalist and was interested in covering these hard-hitting stories, actually.
and so she was looking into it and there was a theory that basically she might have gotten too far into it and had discovered some of these names and there's a theory that a couple of those people came after her and kind of disappeared her because she was getting too close to this drug linchpin operation in the area.

Yeah, so I think the name that you guys talked about was Dustin Honkin.

So he was a person of interest.

He was a meth kingpin in the area.

He was a person of interest in five disappearances

around 1993.

And he was actually charged with those five murders

in 2001 when they found the bodies.

So I think, you know, to me, this seems like a really good theory. A journalist friend is what I would consider murdered, and she starts looking into it.
At least she thinks it's suspicious, and she's looking into it. And maybe she was getting close.
Maybe they were like, we can't have her looking into what's going on here. And they got her too.
Looking into that, where do you lean? I mean, I think it's something that couldn't be entirely ruled out, you know, when we looked into it. I guess I wondered, like, all right, back in the day, there probably would have been a lot of, like, handwritten notes.
Like, if she was looking into this, I feel like we would have found a paper trail. But I wonder maybe that was there.
And if that was the case, I think I would feel more strongly about the Billy Pruin option, about her looking into like some drug lords and getting too close. I'd actually love to see if there's anything like a paper trail that exists for that option.
I don't think they ruled out Dustin Humpkin. So like that's something they could potentially still be looking into as with John Van Syce.
I don't think they ruled out Dustin Honkin. So like that's something they could

potentially still be looking into as with John Van Syce. I think that's where this case is left.

It's like they never could rule out John Van Syce. They never could rule out this

meth drug lord, Dustin Honkin. They did eventually rule out Tony Jackson, but actually it's kind of

not exactly clear why. So that is why it is hard for me to be like, oh, which way do I lean? I

Thank you. rule out Tony Jackson.
But actually, it's kind of not exactly clear why. So that is why it is hard for me to be like, oh, which way do I lean? I just remember how really bizarre the alibi was from John Van Syce and how many people brought him up when we were there.
Now, you know, as you well know, like people do love the local favorite theory. So there is that element.
But it is just kind of, it was overwhelming when we were there in Mason City. It kind of felt like the John Van Syce energy was overwhelming.
And some of the people we talked to brought up alternative theories. But yeah, Dirk Jablonski being another one of them.
I do remember that when. He was like stalked women and lived in her building and never really amounted to any noticeable investigation.
More of our discussion after a quick break. This show is brought to you by Boca, the brand on a mission to inspire more mindful oral care.
because when you take care of your mouth, your whole body benefits. Boca's magic ingredient is called Enha,

is a form of calcium that makes up 97% of your tooth enamel and 70% of your dentin. Boca's toothpastes are fluoride-free, but best of all, they come in delicious flavors.
Adults like you and I love elevated flavors like cocoa ginger, lemon lavender, and element. Well, our kids will love fun flavors that offer the same efficacy and are also safe to swallow like orange cream and strawberry mango.
Boca makes it easy to take care of your health, starting with your mouth with their best-selling oral care-like toothpaste, kids' toothpastes, toothbrushes, and their peroxide-free whitening toothpaste. For a limited time, Boca is offering listeners 15% off its best-selling toothpaste on Amazon and Boca.com with code HERHEALTH15.
That's HERHEALTH15. Make the switch to Boca for the whole family at BOKA.com.
Hey, it's John from the Up and Vanish team. If you're enjoying this episode, then you should check out the Tenderfoot original series, Culpable.
Now, fair warning, I helped produce the series, so I may be a little biased, but hear me out. In 2018, my good friend Dennis Cooper came across the case of 21-year-old Christian Andreacchio, who died under mysterious circumstances in his Meridian, Mississippi apartment.
After a 45-minute investigation, his death was ruled a suicide, despite evidence of potential foul play. Then, we investigated the shocking death of Brittany Stikes, a 22-year-old pregnant mother who was gunned down on a busy highway in rural Brown County, Ohio.
Even after a decade-long investigation, her killer is still at large. The common thread in each of these cases is the looming question of culpability.
Where does the blame lie in each of the victim's deaths? Listen to all episodes of Culpable Seasons 1 and 2 wherever you get your podcasts. Or binge ad-free exclusively on Tenderfoot+.
Now, back to the show. If you had all the resources in the world, what would be the first thing you did with this case? I think I'd want to see what was in that sealed warrant that the judge approved to see the GPS information related to John Van Seys' car.
I'd want to see all the interviews. And I'd want to know, like, did they put Amy Kuhn's statement in there about John Van Seys calling that morning?

Maybe it would help me rule him out more too.

But those things are just kind of behind closed doors.

So now you're only getting people talking about them,

talking about how they had reported it

to the police back then.

The problem with this case is,

I think Mason City, Iowa,

has had like four sheriffs or police department heads like since this case happened, maybe five. And so like with all that turnover, who's really keeping track of the details? I think that they weren't prepared for a case of this magnitude.
They thought she was going to turn up. Then too much time passed and too many hands passed over the case.
And now everyone's like, what are we going to do about it? Everyone's scattered. Some people aren't even alive anymore.
That's what gets so frustrating in these cases. The facts after so long just get jumbled.
So much hearsay and it does really jumble it. And you're even like, well, in the police files, is that even the correct thing? Is that even all that was said? Because we heard a lot of people doubting that police got the right accounts down.
So I don't know. It's all very hard to do.
And as someone said, actually, in the Up and Vanished episode about this, it's really hard to solve a case without a body. And I think that's super true.
Because if there was a location, if anything else was found, it would be easier to know who to link that to. But yeah, it's just such a question mark.
It is. Meredith, thank you so much for talking with me about this case.
There's so much that I learned just from speaking with you and the deep dive that you guys did. I really appreciate it.
Oh, thanks, Maggie. I mean, you're the queen of deep dives.
So I appreciate that. That's a lot coming from you.
So if people want to find out more about what you're working on, where should they go? I mean, I work across a lot of the true crime shows at Tenerfoot. So usually you can like at least at least hear my voice doing the disclaimer.
But I'm in the background on a few true crime shows that will be coming out in the next year, I'd say. And then more regularly, I also work on our horror shows, Radio Rental and Rattled and Shook, which is the one that

I co-host. So yeah, if you like horror and true horror, you could check out those.
And if not,

I'll be doing more true crime. So I'll be around.

When I decided to cover Jodi's case, I also reached out to Payne to catch up with him and get his thoughts on her investigation. Here's what he had to say.
It's just a bizarre mystery to me. I feel like it's a case that should have already been solved by now.
And it's worth revisiting in hopes to maybe help do that. It just seems odd that it hasn't been solved yet.
And so for my curious brain, it just makes me wonder, is it something that the police missed early on? You know, have they always had their suspicions, but there's just not enough physical evidence to actually bring charges and put someone behind bars? My biggest bone to pick with law enforcement when it comes to

unsolved missing persons cases that are decades old is just plain and simple. If it's been

20 plus years, clearly whatever methods you're using, whatever leads you've had,

whatever you've been doing isn't working, right? And so I think it's just common sense

Thank you. whatever leads you've had, whatever you've been doing isn't working, right? And so I think it's just common sense to try something different.
And, you know, there's always a fear with law enforcement where maybe there's this one piece of evidence that only the killer could know, and you don't want to put that out there. But you could do that for 100 years, and it never means anything.
At a certain point, I think you have to take the risk of releasing that, because you don't know what that might do. Maybe that piece of information that only the killer would know, somebody else knows too.

And then you find the killer.

I think that all these years later, if we're here still talking about it, we've got to try something new here.

And if you're withholding information, if you've got, you know, the keys to the castle, give them up or tell us that you don't have anything. If Amy Koons had known that the 4 a.m.
call to Jodi would be the last time anyone would speak to her before she vanished, I have no doubt she would have ran from the station.

A few years ago, Amy sat down with a local Iowa news station to discuss Jodi's disappearance,

which is still weighing on her.

It changed who I am.

It has shaped who I have become.

For many, many years, I was just really, really afraid of life.

It's been decades since Jodi aired her final segment at KIMT.

In all these years, authorities have been unable to uncover what really happened to her.

But those close to Jodi, including Amy, continue to be vocal about where they stand on it all. My gut says it was somebody she knew, and I think the person thought, if I can't have her, nobody will.
What I believe is that there's too many people in this woman's world that could have done this to her. And that is terrifying.
Any one of these people we presented could have found a moment to take advantage of a young woman in a vulnerable situation. And now Jodi has been gone for almost 30 years.
Jodi's mom has since passed away, and she never got the closure of knowing what happened to her daughter. But others close to Jodi, like Amy, are keeping her story alive until the truth about what happened in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995, comes out.
I want to tell Jodi's story, which is my story. If I can find a purpose behind all of this and help, even if I just help one person, mission accomplished.
Jodi Hoosentruth is described as being 5'3", 110 to 120 pounds, with brown eyes and blonde hair. She has no known identifying marks.
She would now be 56 years old. If you have any information about Jodi Husentrout's disappearance, call the Find Jodi tip line at 641-999-1109 or email team at findjodi.com or submit or email team at findjodi.com,

or submit an anonymous tip at findjodi.com,

or contact the Mason City Police Department

at 641-421-3636.

Y'all, thank you so much for listening

to this week's episode of Up and Vanished Weekly.

Be sure to tune in next Friday

as we dig into another new case. Until next time.
Up and Vanish Weekly is a production of Tenderfoot TV in association with Odyssey. Your hosts are Maggie Freeling and myself, Payne Lindsey.
The show is written by Maggie Freeling, myself, and John Street. Executive producers are Donald Albright and myself.
Lead producer is John Street. Additional production by Meredith Stedman and Mike Rooney.
Research for the series by Jamie Albright, Silesia Stanton, and Carolyn Talmadge. Edit and mix by Dylan Harrington and Sean Nerney.
Supervising producer is Tracy Kaplan. Artwork by Byron McCoy.
Original music by Makeup and Vanity Set. Special thanks to Orrin Rosenbaum and the team at UTA, Beck Media and Marketing, and the Nord Group.
For more podcasts like Up and Vanish Weekly, search Tenderfoot TV on your favourite podcast app, or visit us at tenderfoot.tv. Thanks for listening.
Hi, I'm Grace, host of Red Rum True Crime Podcast.

These cases focus on the true victims of crime.

Why not jump in at episode 114, the tragic murder of Jasmine and Aaliyah. The main suspect in this case gave an extremely bizarre interview to a number of press reporters whilst he was drunk and reportedly high.
He speaks about an awful lot on camera and has this completely inappropriate laughing and chuckling response when talking about the case. He may even have thought he was gonna get away with the double murder he'd been accused of but what he didn't know was that two undercover officers were on their way to catch him out and he easily and willingly took the bait.
You can find us wherever you get your podcasts. Just search Red Rum True Crime.
That's Red Rum, murder backwards, R-E-D-R-U-M, true crime. Well I just found out that my dad lived a secret life as a hitman for the Chicago Mafia for all these years.

It doesn't make any sense.

He was a firefighter paramedic.

How the hell can he be a hitman?

I need answers. So I am currently on a plane back to Chicago to interview everybody.

Anybody that knows anything about this.

I'm in shock. This is absolutely insane.
I just don't understand. I need to figure this out.
The shocking new true crime series, Crook County, Tenderfoot TV and I heart podcasts is available.

Now binge the entire series for free on the I heart radio app,

Apple podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts.