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Jodi Huisentruit, a 27-year-old KIMT-TV news anchor in Mason City, Iowa, disappeared from the parking lot of her building on June 27, 1995. The case remains unsolved to this day. Huisentruit was known for her big personality and passion for journalism. She was last heard from at 4 am, when she told a coworker she had slept late and was heading to work.
Evidence of a struggle—such as scattered belongings, a twisted car key, and drag marks—indicated a violent kidnapping. No one has been charged after extensive investigations, and her body has never been found. The case continues to fascinate the public, with new leads emerging as recently as 2024.
Hulu's three-part docuseries, Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit, released on July 15, 2025, explores the case in depth through new interviews and previously unreleased footage.
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Five chilling details of Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit
1. Evidence of a violent struggle
On June 27, 1995, police uncovered clear evidence of a violent altercation at Jodi Huisentruit's Key Apartments parking lot. Items like a hair dryer, hairspray, red high heels, and earrings were scattered around, but her red Mazda Miata was still there.
When she was attacked, a bent car key in the lock showed she had been in the vehicle. She was taken forcibly, as shown by drag marks in the dirt, and neighbors reported hearing screams at 4.30 am, which was her usual departure time for work.
The case grew more mysterious when an unidentified partial palm print was found on a light pole near her car. Although no suspect has been definitively linked to the evidence, these clues pointed toward a sudden, violent kidnapping, according to The Sun.
2. The mysterious white van
Around 4.30 am on June 27, 1995, when Jodi disappeared, a neighbor saw a white Ford Econoline van idling in the Key Apartments parking lot. Since it's one of the few possible clues concerning her kidnapper's escape route, this sighting has been a major focus of the investigation, according to TV Insider.
Despite thorough searches, the van was never found, and neither the driver's information nor the license plate was identified. When it was revealed that Brad Millerbernd, a new person of interest, owned a van similar to the one in question, the sighting gained more attention in 2025. The vehicle remains an unsettling, unsolved piece of the puzzle due to the lack of specific details about it, as reported by TV Insider.
3. Jodi’s reports of being stalked
Jodi Huisentruit shared disturbing experiences, such as harassing phone calls and feeling like she was being followed, with friends and coworkers in the weeks leading up to her kidnapping. These reports added a sense of premeditation to her disappearance by suggesting that she might have been the target of a stalker.
The information raised suspicions that her kidnapping was not random, even though no specific suspect was identified in connection with these incidents. Investigators had to piece together this lead after she disappeared because her concerns were not formally recorded with the police at the time, as reported by CNN.
4. A new person of interest emerges
In 2025, the Hulu docuseries revealed Brad Millerbernd, the ex-husband of Jodi Huisentruit's childhood friend Patty Niemeyer, as a new person of interest. Millerbernd, who lived three hours from Mason City, owned a white Ford Econoline van and reportedly resembled police sketches of a man seen near Jodi’s apartment, described as wearing a hat and having facial hair, according to TV Insider.
He had taken Jodi out once in 1994 and appeared nervous during a 2022 police interview lasting 90 minutes. While no charges have been filed, his emergence decades later highlights the case’s ongoing developments and the persistent search for answers, as reported by TV Insider.
5. The anonymous journal mailing
In 2008, the Mason City Globe Gazette anonymously received photocopies of Jodi Huisentruit's 84-page personal journal, which had been in police custody since 1995. The mailing, sent by the wife of a former police chief, raised questions about why it was shared and what insights it might contain. The journal’s contents have not been fully disclosed, but its mysterious delivery suggested someone believed it held clues to her fate, as per FindJodi.
This unusual event, combined with the fact that critical evidence was reportedly destroyed by a fearful individual shortly after her disappearance, adds an eerie layer to the investigation’s challenges.
Watch Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit streaming on Hulu.
