Cold case of missing news anchor rocked by claim of confession in roadside meltdown: report

A private investigator has reportedly identified a possible suspect in the three-decades-old mystery surrounding the cold-case disappearance of an Iowa news anchor. 

The case began in the early-morning hours of June 27, 1995, when Jodi Huisentruit did not show up to work to anchor the local morning news in Mason City, Iowa. 

Her disappearance sparked a three-decades-long search by authorities that prompted multiple theories surrounding the case, though her body has never been recovered and no one has been charged with a crime. 

However, private investigator Steve Ridge told FOX 10 that he recently received a tip pointing to a potential suspect in the case.

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"[The tipster] was dating a suspect in the case or person of interest who eventually, in her presence, confessed, and it came at a very heated moment when the two of them were being tailed by authorities up in Minnesota," Ridge said, according to the outlet. "He finally pulled over, and he was hitting the steering wheel and said, 'I didn't do it. I didn't do it. I didn't do it' and he finally hit the steering wheel and said 'I did it.'"

Ridge did not reveal the identity of the possible suspect or whether they are still alive, FOX 10 reported. He told the outlet he provided the evidence to the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation.

"I was able to conclusively determine that this female informant had a short term romantic relationship with the suspect," Ridge said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "I secured and verified photos, handwritten letters, canceled checks and other items."

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Ridge added that he would like to "award the $100,000 reward to the person who can lead us to Jodi’s remains."

The update comes two years after John Vansice — the last person to see Huisentruit alive and the self-described primary person of interest — died before the case could be solved.

SEARCH FOR MISSING NEWS ANCHOR EXPANDS AFTER AUTHORITIES GET NEW TIP

"She always had a concern about being stalked because she is on TV every day and everybody can see her," Vansice previously said.

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"Jodi and I became very good friends. Nothing more, nothing less," he reportedly added. "We did things as a group with other people, and we just got to know each other a lot, and we liked each other. We had a lot of fun together. It’s like a father-daughter situation."

Vansice reportedly moved to Arizona and spoke to Ridge several times before his death in 2024.

"He denied any role in the disappearance of Jodi and said he cared very much about her and that he would never possibly hurt her," Ridge said, according to FOX 10. 

The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation declined Fox News Digital's request for comment.