Hunt for missing Midwest news anchor focuses on fight over unsealing evidence

Jodi Huisentruit a -year-old Iowa news anchor vanished nearly years ago As officials continue searching for her remains a private investigator is pushing to unseal incident records Huisentruit a native of Long Prairie Minn was on her way to work as a morning anchor at KIMT-TV in Mason City Iowa when she disappeared in the early morning of June Over the years private investigator Steve Ridge has pushed for the courts to unseal records relating to the incident On March Senior Judge James M Drew in Cerro Gordo County ruled to partially unseal a search warrant connected to Huisentruit's disappearance while keeping the supporting affidavit under seal to protect the integrity of the ongoing research NEWS ANCHOR'S MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE WAS CRIME OF JEALOUSY PRIVATE INVESTIGATORRidge's attorneys Nellie O'Mara and Jesse Marzen sought to unseal records related to GPS tracking devices placed on two vehicles tied to John Vansice Vansice has long been considered a person of interest in the research but he has never been charged in the situation The vehicles a Honda Civic and a GMC were reportedly registered at the Arizona address where Vansice was living in early The vehicles did not exist at the time Huisentruit's disappeared in Judge Drew denied the motion to reopen the court record to help unsealing the search warrant The court ordered that the affidavit must remain sealed since the inspection remains progressing GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUBThe court noted that the affidavit might reveal information only the perpetrator would know such as specific times items unveiled or scene details It added that an unsealed affidavit could help prospective subjects know what to hide SEARCH FOR MISSING NEWS ANCHOR EXPANDS AFTER OFFICIALS GET NEW TIPThe judge stressed that even after years masses curiosity alone does not justify jeopardizing an working assessment READ THE ORDER Huisentruit s family disclosed a comment on the Jodi s Hope Facebook page saying they do not backing unsealing the documents As a family we ve received a number of inquiries about the legal battle now playing out in the courts with Jodi s matter the family revealed in a message Without getting too deep into the weeds we all agree that if the release of the information would hinder the review in any way then the search warrant should remain sealed We are not onboard with the information being published to the citizens especially while the study is open and ongoing We do recognize there are a number of differing opinions on this we respect that and ask that you respect ours as well At this time this is our only residents comment to make on this matter SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTERFOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME CREW ON XHuisentruit was when she disappeared in June The news anchor vanished in the early morning hours of June in Mason City Iowa After Huisentruit didn't make it to work by a m Mason City Police were notified Her automobile was identified at her apartment along with a bent car key her high heels and signs of a struggle To date she is supposed to have been abducted but extensive investigations have failed to uncover any concrete evidence as to what happened or where her remains could be