Judge releases part of search warrant in Jodi Huisentruit disappearance case
(ABC 6 News) – A Mason City judge released part of an eight-year-old GPS search warrant tracking a person of interest in Iowa anchor Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance nearly 30 years ago.
In June of 1995, Jodi Huisentruit disappeared on her way to work and has not been seen or heard from since. During that time John Vansice became a “person of interest” in the investigation.
The ruling states that sometime prior to February 14th, 2017, Vansice moved to Arizona and law enforcement learned that Vansice would drive from Arizona to Iowa.
On February 28, 2017, Mason City Police Investigator Terrance Prochaska applied for the search warrant authorizing law enforcement to place GPS tracking device on two vehicles belonging to John Vansice. The application was supported and by an affidavit and the requested warrant was granted.
Vansice, a former seed salesman, maintained that he had nothing to do with the KIMT-TV anchor’s disappearance until his death.
The warrant, embedded below, tracks Vansice’s movements from March 2 to March 6, 2017.
Most of the search warrant — including the affidavit, or written statement use to justify the warrant application, remains sealed because the Mason City judge determined that releasing it could compromise the ongoing investigation.
The Huisentruit family released a statement on the possible unsealing of the warrant in March:
“As a family, we’ve received a number of inquiries about the legal battle currently playing out in the courts with Jodi’s case. Without getting too deep into the weeds, we all agree that if the release of the information would hinder the investigation in any way, then the search warrant should remain sealed. We are not onboard with the information being released to the public, especially while the investigation 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 public comment to make on this matter.”
Related: Jodi Huistentruit’s family, investigator weigh in on potential unsealing of documents
Anyone with any information on Jodi’s case should contact the Mason City Police Department at (641) 421-3636 or email Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman at rherman@dps.state.ia.us. You can always reach out to FindJodi.