Co-host (19:02)

Whether I'm searching for my next place to buy or rent or I just want to scroll through some dream homes. We use the Redfin app and Peyton and I have actually fun fact been using Redfin for years.

Peyton Moreland (19:16)

We actually one of our first homes.

Co-host (19:19)

Was found on Redfin and I'm pretty sure we use didn't we use the Redfin Realtor as well? Yes, almost. So so if that's not a endorsement, I don't know what is, you can filter for price, beds, baths, square footage, and so much more. And if you find a place you love, Redfin makes it easy to go see it in person. Just schedule a tour right from the app.

Peyton Moreland (19:43)

And you know what? If. If you're not one of the people who has found the pleasure of looking at houses you cannot afford on Redfin at night in places that you do not live, and you're not a real person, you need to join the club right now, okay? Because there's something fun about it. Plus, if you're looking to sell, Redfin, agents know how to get you the best price possible for your home. And that's because they close twice as many deals as other agents. And with a listing fee as low as 1%, Redfin's fees are half of what others often charge, which means you'll have more money to put towards your next home.

Co-host (20:16)

Also, my dad actually sold his home through Redfin too. Remember that? And it was because they charged only 1% or whatever. So he's like, I'm gonna sell my home through them.

Peyton Moreland (20:24)

Yep.

Co-host (20:25)

Anyways, we're a Redfin family over here, so whether you're looking to buy, rent, or sell, Redfin has got you covered. Download the Redfin app to get started.

Peyton Moreland (20:34)

The good news was that the officers had plenty of other people to investigate in this case. After all, Jody was locally famous. She appeared on the news, and virtually everyone who owned a television in that area probably knew who Jody was. Which meant that like a lot of celebrities, Jody sometimes got unwanted attention from her fans. Based on some comments that she had made to her friends before her disappearance, she may have also had at least one stalker. Police learn that on October 8, 1994, about six months before her disappearance, Jody had gone to the police and asked for their help. That day, she had noticed a white pickup truck following her around. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like anything really came of that report. There's no record of the investigators tracking down the truck driver or making an arrest. And Jody also never filed any follow up complaints. So maybe this was a one off incident and not a big deal. Except the next spring, in March, Jody mentioned to some friends that she had signed up for self defense classes. She said it was because she felt like at this point in her career, she needed some extra protection, which isn't necessarily normal. And then the most disturbing detail came from just one day before her disappearance. Police learn on June 26, Jody had been playing golf with some friends. And as they were making their way through the Course, she mentioned to two of her companions that she had changed her phone number recently. Apparently, she was getting a lot of unwanted calls on her old number. In Jody's own words, these calls were nasty and naughty. She couldn't get the caller to leave her alone. So in the end, she had taken the only course she could, and now she had a whole new phone number. But sadly, nobody knew who was behind all of this. Who had been possibly following her in the white truck, calling her and making her feel like she needed to learn self defense. Jody's friends didn't even know if this was all one person. Maybe there was one prank caller, someone else following her in a truck, and some other factor that made her want to take those courses. And it's also worth mentioning that if Jody did have one or more stalkers, it was impossible to know their motives. It could have been a fan who was obsessed with her after seeing her on tv. It could have been someone from her own life or social circle, or an angry ex, or someone who had romantic feelings for her and took them to an extreme. It also could have been someone who hated Jody because of the work she did. Remember, Jody was a reporter. This wouldn't be the first time we've seen a reporter get hurt from things they are reporting on. A big part of Jody's job was investigating powerful people and bringing uncomfortable truths to the light. So maybe one of the stories she was working on had gotten her too close to someone who was dangerous. Really. I mean, police are looking at this case and thinking, geez, the possibilities for motive are endless. So they were basically at square one in terms of figuring out who had been making Jody feel uneasy and frightened and who had done this. So they began by looking at the people who were close to her, as in physically close to her. People who lived or worked near the areas where she spent a lot of her time. And as it turned out, there were two people who lived near her apartment who had previous records as sex offenders. One of these men was a serial rapist who lived just two blocks away from Jody. And the other man also lived nearby, and he also had been convicted of sex crimes. Except when the police questioned both of these men, they both insisted they were innocent. And a lot like what had happened with John, There was no hard evidence to show that either of these men had anything to do with Jody's disappearance. They did have a history of violent crimes, for sure, but that didn't automatically mean that they could be blamed for every disappearance that ever happened in Mason City. So that was probably the biggest issue with Jody's case. There were a lot of theories floating around, but not much evidence to support any of them. She might have been kidnapped by a friend, a stalker, a sex offender, or honestly, anyone else. The police could not rule anybody out, and they also didn't have any clear leads to follow. So as time went on, Jody's case went cold. It seemed almost impossible that this very recognizable celebrity could just vanish without a trace. And yet, to all appearances, that is exactly what Jody did. Six years go by, and in 2001, with no breaks or arrests, her family has Jody legally declared dead. Obviously, this was not an easy decision for them to make. And of course, they still hoped that Jody was alive out there somewhere. But after so long, it is hard to stay optimistic. And on top of that, there were certain legal matters they had to deal with related to her assets and bank accounts in order to settle her affairs. Her family had no choice but to declare her dead and begin the difficult process of grieving and trying to move on. Then two years after that, a group of journalists launched a website called Find Jody. This is just more progress in this case. Interestingly, the people who created this website were not Jody's friends or family members. They had never even met Jody before her disappearance. They were journalists, just like her. Some of them had actually covered Jody's case on their own networks. And afterward, they just couldn't get her story out of their heads. I mean, one of their own had randomly disappeared. So they got together, they wanted her found, and they also wanted her to receive justice. On this website, they posted news articles and updates. They shared videos and photos of Jody so no one would forget her face. They kept her name alive, and they collected donations so they could keep advocating for her and honestly for other missing people. In 2010, they decided to up their website and formed a non profit to fund their ongoing work. And as it turned out, the general public was also eager to see what they had to share. The website was very popular, and at its peak, it was getting hundreds of visitors a day. Now that might not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that the early 2000s were still a time where there were fewer websites and fewer people visiting them. But the Find Jody page was one of the best resources for information about this case. There were no true crime podcasts or true crime TikTok back then. Anytime the police thought that they'd made a new break, findjody.com was there to report on it. For example, they covered the headlines. When the police subpoenaed John Van Cise, the friend who had made the birthday video. This subpoena actually happened in 2017, meaning the police had reopened Jody's case and were probably reinvestigating early persons of interest. Yes, 2017, meaning it had been 22 years since Jody's disappearance. They were still searching for leads. Now, the subpoena required John to give the police his fingerprints and palm print and to share some GPS information on two different vehicles he used to own. Unfortunately, the investigators never announced what they learned from the prints or the GPS data, if anything, and they didn't arrest John or reclassify him from a person of interest to a suspect. So as near as we can tell, nothing really came of this new break in 2017. And then afterward, the case would go cold again for another seven years. Which takes us to the latest set of developments in Jody's case, which actually all happened in the fall and winter of 2024. Okay, so it starts in mid October when someone made a tip to the police. Unfortunately, the officials haven't released the tipster's identity and we don't know exactly what the person said either. I think it's safe to say that investigators in this case are keeping things closed down. We do know though, that the information on this tip led the investigators to a town called Winstead, Minnesota. Now, Winstead is a community of about 2, 200 people. Anywhere else, it would count as a small town, but in rural Midwest, it was considered a small city. It was also just about a half hour outside of Minneapolis, and it was 130 miles north of Mason City where Jody disappeared in those early morning hours. So it wasn't very close to her apartment. But for whatever reason, the police still thought that the information on this tip that led them to this city was worth searching. So in November, police descended on an empty field. An apartment was under construction not too far away, but the land the police were searching was part of a public city owned park. Now, we don't know exactly what they were looking for, if they expected to find a body or a murder weapon or a clue. But I do know that after the search was over, the police confirmed that they had failed to recover any human remains. There were some animal bones, but that was to be expected in a rural, mostly empty park. If they found anything else that was of interest in this recent search, they haven't disclosed that publicly. However, it does sound like the officials might be getting closer to learning what happened to Jody. There's definitely things going on behind the scenes that we do not know about. And I'm basing that assumption in part on a statement from a man named Steve Ridge. Steve is a private detective who has been working on Jody's case for a long time. And according to him, when he began his investigation, he had a huge list of potential suspects. It included every person he could think of who might have had the means, motive, and opportunity to hurt Jody back in the 90s. Then Steve eliminated people from that list one by one. He was checking alibis, he was gathering evidence, confirming their motives, and so on. By November 16, 2024, Steve had crossed off all but four names on this list that he had made. And he was very confident that one of these four people was Jody's killer. He just needed a bit more evidence before he could say for sure what person was responsible. It was tantalizing, being so close to finally having an answer. Now, in an interview, Steve said that while investigating Jody's death, he uncovered what he believes to be that Jody was murdered by someone who had romantic feelings for her. That was his thought. And the killer was jealous because she had been seeing someone new right before she went missing. So, according to Steve, on June 17, 1995, which is about a week and a half before before her disappearance, Jody had gone out to a bar. It was a Saturday night, and the weekend crowd was all there. Before the night was over, Jody struck up a conversation with a man. There was an immediate spark and an instant attraction. Over the course of the next 10 days, they went on no fewer than five dates. This is what Steve learns. Yes, you heard that right. They went on five dates in 10 days. Mini golf, dinners out, and she even went over to his place at least one time. They also talked on the phone every single day. Steve says Jody was falling for this guy. Interestingly, she didn't tell many of her friends about her new man. My guess is that the relationship was just still too new. She'd known him less than two weeks, but she did mention him to one or two people. And those people actually told the police about the new boyfriend when Jody vanished. So while Steve's looking into this and he uncovers this information that police know about, he thinks that there's a possibility that word made it back to one of Jody's male friends or companions that she was seeing someone new. And possibly that guy became violently possessive. This man very well might have killed Jody once he realized that she didn't feel the same way about him that he did about her.

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Peyton Moreland (35:47)

Dear old work platform it's not you, it's us. Actually, it is you. Endless onboarding, constant IT bottlenecks. We've had enough. We need a platform that just gets us. And to be honest, we've met someone. They're called Monday.com and it was love at first. Onboarding. Their beautiful dashboards, their customizable workflows got us floating on a digital cloud. 9 so no hard feelings, but we're moving on Monday.com, the first work platform you'll love to use. In Steve's opinion, the murderer probably buried Jody very close to the apartment where she lived, not hundreds of miles away in Minnesota, but actually somewhere within a 26 mile radius. So this would mean that the tip police searched earlier does not line up with Steve's theory. Now, Steve never said who he suspected this person was who was so obsessed with Jody that he might have been willing to kill her. However, the PI did make an interesting comment in a recent interview with News Nation. Steve on this news station said he thought the killer, even if he was caught, would probably never be convicted. Steve didn't explain how the alleged murderer would escape a conviction, but it's worth mentioning that when he gave that interview, John Van Cise, the friend who made the birthday tape, happened to show up at the crime scene and also call her work to see if she made it in the next day. He was in his late 60s. He was reportedly suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which would have made it impossible for him to ever go on trial if he was accused of a serious crime. So people start putting two and two together. And given Steve's comments about the killer probably never getting a conviction, and the fact that Steve thinks it was a male friend who was close to Jody, it's possible that John was Steve's top suspect. Now, this is not for sure. This is just what people have considered. And if that was the case, I can now say with certainty that John will never face justice for Jody's disappearance if he was involved. Because he died of natural causes on December 6, 2024, his family kept the news quiet for a few weeks. They never released an obituary. And now we will never know what he knew, if anything, about what happened to Jody. Now, I know people just put two and two together thinking that John was the guy that Steve was talking about. But there is possibility out there there is another person of interest who couldn't be convicted because he is also already dead. This man's name is Christopher Revac and he might be a serial killer, but it's hard to say because there are a lot of allegations about his history that are impossible to confirm. But here is what we do know. Back in 1995, Christopher's ex wife lived in Mason City. This is the same city where Jody went missing that same year. Obviously this is not a super strong connection, but if Christopher was in contact with his ex and visiting her in Mason City, he might have seen Jody on the news or even ran into her on the street. More importantly, over 10 years later, in 2006, a 21 year old woman named Deidre Harm went missing in Wisconsin. And the circumstances of her disappearance were, were eerily similar to Jody's. Deidre was 21 years old, hitting bars with some friends and then vanished without a trace. Months later, her body was found and it was clear she had been murdered. And then a year after that, in 2007, Renee Williams also went missing. And this time after leaving her shift as a bartender in a Missouri town. So in this completely separate investigation from Jody, detectives put together a list of everyone who had been at the bar that night and who might have talked to Renee. And one of her, her customers was Christopher. Okay, this is the same Christopher whose wife lived in Mason City and he could have been visiting her, putting him in proximity to Jody. And even more alarmingly, Christopher's wife came forward not too long after this and said that Christopher had confessed to her and he allegedly told her point blank that he had killed Renee. So in this again, completely separate investigation, this was enough. For the police to arrest him and put him in jail. But before his case could go to trial, Christopher took his own life. And any information he might have had died with him. So that means to this day, they can never be sure if he really murdered Renee. It seems likely, but maybe he lied when he confessed to his wife. I mean, he was at the bar where Renee was before she died. And then his wife also came forward and said he did it. But we won't know. We'll also never know if he had anything to do with Deidra's murder or Jody's disappearance. This is just a connection people have made. But very recently, In December of 2024, a podcast called Forgotten Wisconsin Cold Cases presented this theory. Okay, that Christopher had killed all three women. And if he was responsible for these three murders, he might have committed more, too. It was impossible to say how many victims he may have had. They are just kind of assuming that Christopher was a serial killer. Either way, the police took those allegations very seriously, and they opened up an investigation right away. And as of this recording, we are still waiting to hear the outcome. And if there is anything stronger to link Christopher to Jody. Officially, Jody's case is still open and unsolved, and the police are willing to explore almost any possibility. So I'll end today's episode by saying that if you know anything about Jody's disappearance, officials are still accepting tips. And I'll also say the police suspect that Christopher might have had more victims, including people who could have survived his attacks. So if you or someone you know escaped an attempted abduction in the Midwest in the 90s or 2000s, again, please let the police know. The Mason City Police Department can be reached at 641-421-3000, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is at 515-725-6010. If you don't have a tip and you still want to help out, findjody.com does still accept donations to continue funding their work. Even a social media post could help. The point is, there are a lot of people out there who are still looking for answers, even after all these years. And what we can do is spread awareness about Jody's case and the other cases that might be linked to hers. And hopefully all of these efforts will pay off soon. And that is the unsolved case of Jody Husentrute. Thank you so much for watching or listening today, and I will see you next time as we dive further into the dark together. Goodbye.