The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit’?

Jodi Huisentruit would’ve been 57 years old now if her life hadn’t seemingly been cut short on June 27, 1995. In the early morning hours of that day, Jodi received a call from her boss at KIMT in Mason City, Iowa, inquiring about her whereabouts for her scheduled shift as a news anchor at the station. She indicated that she had overslept and would be on her way shortly, but Jodi never arrived at work and was never seen again.

Her disappearance, and the mystery surrounding it, is covered in the Hulu docuseries, Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit, which should appeal to true crime aficionados. However, because the case has been covered extensively over the past 30 years, it’s challenging for the docuseries to break new ground. However, one intriguing person of interest makes for a compelling possibility of what could’ve happened to Jodi on that June morning.

Jodi Huisentruit was a star news anchor for KIMT in Mason City, Iowa, and was well-liked by her friends and colleagues. Jodi’s career was on the rise, and her vibrant personality made her disappearance all the more tragic and puzzling. On the morning of June 27, 1995, KIMT producer Amy Kuns called Jodi at 4:00 a.m. after she noticed that Jodi had failed to report to work on time. Jodi answered the phone, said she overslept, and that she would be on the way to the station momentarily.

By 6:00 a.m., Jodi still hadn’t arrived, and Kuns filled in for her on the morning show before calling Mason City police at 7:00 a.m. to request a welfare check. What they found when they arrived was Jodi’s red Mazda Miata in the parking lot, along with signs that some kind of struggle had ensued outside her car. Her car key was bent on the ground, and her belongings, including her red high heels, were strewn across the ground. Investigators quickly suspected abduction, as there was no sign of Jodi at the chaotic scene.

Her Last Broadcast Offers a Relatively New Person of Interest

If you’re a true crime lover, the Jodi Huisentruit mystery ranks high on the list of unsolved crimes. It’s also a case that has been profiled in various programs over the years, which makes any new take on the mystery feel more of the same, as many of them have covered similar ground. From America’s Most Wanted to Unsolved Mysteries to 20/20, the Jodi Huisentruit case has been profiled in great detail, but Her Last Broadcast explores one theory that hasn’t received as much public attention.

A new piece of evidence comes from a 2022 20/20 segment on the case, which is reexamined in more detail in Her Last Broadcast. Patty Niemeyer, who was a close friend of the popular news anchor, indicated that she spoke to Mason City Police in the past about her ex-husband, Brad Millerbernd, possibly being involved in her disappearance. The interesting tidbit about Niemeyer’s revelation is that she had emailed Mason City PD about her ex-husband five years prior, but nothing came of it.

When Maria Awes, who directed the docuseries, inquired as to why the email was ignored the first time but taken more seriously this time around, Investigator Terrance Prochaska said the second email had more credibility because she indicated that she was Jodi’s best friend, something she backed up with photos and other information.

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Millerbernd became an intriguing person of interest because, according to Niemeyer, following the end of their relationship, he randomly called her during one of the anniversaries of Jodi’s disappearance. This was strange to Niemeyer because between the time they broke up and that particular anniversary, Millerbernd hadn’t contacted her, so she found the phone call odd.

She also claimed Millerbernd seemed obsessed with Jodi and owned a white work van, which is significant, since neighbors had reported seeing a suspicious van and an unfamiliar man near the apartment complex in the days leading up to Jodi’s disappearance. There is also a composite sketch previously unseen by the public, which Niemeyer believes resembles Millerbernd (whether it appears so to viewers of the docuseries will likely depend on whether they consider Millerbernd a viable suspect).

Although Millerbernd doesn’t appear on camera, Investigator Prochaska interviews him off-screen about an earlier encounter with Jodi and whether he was in the area during the time of her disappearance. Even though he’s described as being nervous and a bit dicey about his encounter with Jodi before her disappearance, it appears to be another dead end. He willingly provides a sample of his DNA. As of this writing, following the release of the docuseries, he has not been elevated to a suspect, nor has any evidence been found to indicate his involvement. He takes a polygraph test off-camera. Although investigators have not revealed the results, they report that he cooperated fully.

Are There Other Persons of Interest in Jodi’s Disappearance?

Other persons of interest explored in the docuseries are a serial killer named Christopher Revak, who had a girlfriend who lived in Mason City at the time of Jodi’s disappearance, as well as a serial rapist named Tony Jackson, who resided two blocks from the news station where Jodi worked when she disappeared. Jackson is interviewed for the docuseries, and while it’s clear he is a nefarious character who committed many deplorable acts, what feels sincere is that he had no connection to Jodi’s disappearance and became entangled in various theories about what may have happened to her.

He referenced her in a rap song he wrote, but it became clear she was used in this song after he learned of her abduction. The serial killer angle goes down a similar path, offering an intriguing connection to another person of interest in the case. Ultimately, Revak was not considered a viable suspect, and he has since passed away.

Revak’s connection to the case becomes eerie once it’s revealed that his girlfriend’s residence, although she had moved away by the time of the disappearance, was next door to John Vansice, a person of interest and friend of Jodi’s who saw her the night before her disappearance. Vansice has been the main person of interest and focus in numerous accounts of the case, mostly because he stated that Jodi visited him the night before she disappeared to review videos of a birthday party he had planned for her.

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Although many found Vansice’s intense interest in Jodi unusual, especially given their age difference, investigators were never able to link him to her disappearance, despite his vehicle movements being watched and submitting DNA to see if his palm print matched an unknown print from the crime scene. Vansice maintained his innocence until his death in 2024, and Mason City PD reported they never found evidence linking him to the case.

Authorities declared Jodi Huisentruit dead in 2001 at the age of 32, and her disappearance remains unsolved. While Her Last Broadcast presents compelling theories and benefits from rare access to investigators, it ultimately offers no definitive answers. It remains an open investigation and is still being pursued by the Mason City PD, but as more time passes, it looks more and more like the morning of June 27, 1995, will remain a true mystery for the foreseeable future. Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit is now available to stream on Hulu.