An Iowa television news anchor had a “secret final fling” with a mystery man just 10 days before going missing nearly three many years ago, based on a non-public investigator.
Cold-case sleuth Steve Ridge has been probing the mysterious disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit, a news anchor for KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa who vanished in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995.
Huisentruit, who was declared legally dead by authorities in 2001, told a colleague that morning that she had overslept and was running late for work.
“Through my digging, I learned that Jodi had a really secret ‘final fling’ with a person she met just 10 days before she went missing,” Ridge, who has been investigating the case for years, told The US Sun.
Ridge tracked down the unidentified lover, who police had cleared years ago after first declaring him an individual of interest.
He believes “jealously” was an element in Huisentruit’s murder since she “had strong admirers” and that her newfound love interest might “infuriate other suitors.”
On the morning of her disappearance, police conducted a welfare check at her home, where they found her belongings, including a lady’s red shoe and a bent automotive key, scattered round her red Mazda Miata that was parked out front.
Police interviewed neighbors who heard screams, indicating a struggle had taken place, based on Ridge, who revealed information to The US Sun that was previously only known to law enforcement.
Among the many fresh details was that Huisentruit’s love interest was a 27-year-old man was from out of state.
Based on Ridge, the 2 met at a bar and hit it off immediately. He said the couple spoke “nearly on daily basis and she or he initiated the calls.”
Ridge said he met the person, who gave him a tour of the Mason City home where he stayed during their relationship.
“That house is the last place Jodi went on a ‘date’ before she went missing,” Ridge told The US Sun.
Five days before her disappearance, Huisentruit and her beau “sat on the back deck having drinks overlooking the lake.”
The person told Ridge did that he and Huisentruit had “a direct attraction and bond.”
The private investigator said “they each knew their blossoming relationship might infuriate other suitors.”
Ridge added that he “has little question that jealousy played a job in Jodi’s demise.”
“I’m certain that his quickly blossoming relationship with Jodi played a central role in her abduction days later,” Ridge said.
“I think certainly that this relationship was clearly an element in what happened because this was not a random act of violence it wasn’t anything like that, it wasn’t a stalker that got here out of nowhere.”
The Post has sought comment from the Mason City Police Department.
Last month, Ridge doubled the reward to $50,000 for information that may help locate Huisentruit’s stays.
“Money is usually a powerful incentive to motivate someone who’s otherwise reluctant to come back forward,” Ridge said, based on Des Moines, Iowa, outlet KCCI. “Time just isn’t on our side, and we want to heat up this cold case.”