AUSTIN, Minn. – A local radio host is helping to shed new light on the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit.
And he’s doing it by turning the dial to a different medium: podcasts.
“I saw inside podcasting itself there was a sub-bubble bursting of true crime genre podcasts. And there was a lot of great investigations being done,” said Scott Fuller, Content Director and Host at KAUS-AM in Austin, Minn.
THE MYSTERY AND THE PODCAST
On June 27, 1995, Huisentruit – a morning television anchor -- never made it to work at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa. Police later discovered signs of a struggle in the parking lot of her apartment building. Despite national attention on the case, Huisentruit was never found. In 2001, her family asked the courts to declare her legally dead.
Fuller said he originally tried to recruit other investigative podcasters to delve into the Huisentruit case; and when they declined, Fuller stepped up to the plate.
“They were interested, but they wouldn’t commit. And so one weekend, I needed content for a show on Monday and Tuesday here at KAUS… I spent 40 hours that weekend writing and producing the podcast,” he said.
The result? An eight-part podcast series that – through music, interviews and analysis – explores key aspects of the Huisentruit case, beginning with her disappearance and reviewing some of the popular theories and suspects. Already, more than 12,500 people have downloaded the podcast, and Fuller has been featured on national radio programs.
“What I ended up doing was just kind of re-presenting the case to some people in that podcast audience,” Fuller said, acknowledging that he drew extensively from the FindJodi.com website that has documented the investigation into Huisentruit’s disappearance.
FINDJODI.COM
Members of the FindJodi team – most of whom are current or former journalists dedicated to working on the case – say they welcome the attention Fuller is bringing to Huisentruit’s disappearance. Meantime, Fuller says he’s grateful for the team’s work and unwavering commitment to Huisentruit and her family.
“They keep her case alive,” he said, adding, “They have a community of people online who have thankfully for me gotten behind this podcast and given it their blessing and their support.”
HOPE FOR FINDING JODI
Fuller describes Huisentruit as a “a bubbly news anchor who had nothing but good left to give for the rest of her life."
And while he's learned much about her case, the radio host-turned-podcaster said he doesn’t have a preferred theory on what happened to Huisentruit. But Fuller does believe her case can be solved. He ends every podcast episode by giving the Mason City Police Department’s phone number: (641)421-3636.
“It’s nothing that anyone that’s familiar with the Jodi Huisentruit case isn’t going to know,” Fuller said about the podcast, before adding, “But I believe if everyone knew what I know about Jodi’s case, it would be solved… As the saying goes, someone knows something.”
To listen to the “What happened to Jodi?” podcast, simply click here: https://www.myaustinminnesota.com/podcast/what-happened-to-jodi/
And stay tuned for updates on the Jodi Huisentruit investigation -- both on Fuller's podcast and the FindJodi.com website.