I'm glad you mentioned that they had gone out and physically searched for Jodi from time to time. I'm hoping someone still goes out and searches once in a while. More physical searching may yield good results at some point. Let's hope it's soon.
Thank you Woofbark for your post! Gary Peterson did great work on this case for a long time.
Interesting that Ron Vande Weerd (mentioned in the body search article) is the SAME detective who was accused in 2011 by Mason City Police Officer Maria Ohl of involvement in the case:
Who killed Jodi Huisentruit?: Fired Mason City police officer accuses investigators of role in cold case | City Pages (September 6, 2011)
And RVW's colleague, Frank Stearns (also accused by Officer Ohl) is the detective who kept Jodi's driver's license ON HIS WALL - instead of in evidence where it should be:
Huisentruit investigators live with frustration, hope (June 27, 2010)
And while Officer Ohl was branded as a liar and trouble maker by MCPD, they paid her $95,000 and made her sign a non-disclosure agreement:
Fired officer, Mason City, settle federal lawsuit for $95,000 (November 9, 2012)
Speaking of non-disclosure, the information at
www.findjodi.com makes clear that MCPD will not release the birthday video. Why not?
In 2015, Former Chief Michael Lashbrook opposed attention being drawn to the case by the Iowa Legislature. State Representative John Kooiker: "Chief Mike Lashbrook insisted that he did not want the letter to be sent to him or anybody else in Mason City.”:
Kooiker: Disappearance of Huisentruit remains troubling (December 28, 2016)
And yet in a Radio Iowa interview in 2015, the MCPD's front line detective on the case, Terrance Prochaska, claims they "take every tip seriously. He says they never overlook leads, even from psychics, and they listen to other people’s theories." Yet the date of TP's interview appears to be about the same time that a State Representative and member of the State House Public Safety Committee discovered that "certain leads first filed in 2008 had been ignored for at least seven years":
Case remains open 20 years after Jodi Huisentruit disappeared - Radio Iowa (June 26, 2015)
And less than 2 years after becoming Chief of MCPD in January 2016, Jeff Brinkley becomes a finalist for a Chief's job in West Des Moines.
Mason City police chief finalist for West Des Moines position (October 13, 2017).
Chief JB claims he “has been happy with his time in Mason City” in the article above, but the International City Management Association's code of Ethics says the following:
https://icma.org/sites/default/files/ICMA Code of Ethics (October 2019).pdf
Length of Service. For chief administrative/executive officers appointed by a governing body or elected official, a minimum of two years is considered necessary to render a professional service to the local government. In limited circumstances, it may be in the best interests of the local government and the member to separate before serving two years. Some examples refusal of the appointing authority to honor commitments concerning conditions of employment, a vote of no confidence in the member, or significant personal issues. It is the responsibility of an applicant for a position to understand conditions of employment, including expectations of service. Not understanding the terms of employment prior to accepting does not justify premature separation. For all members a short tenure should be the exception rather than a recurring experience, and members are expected to honor all conditions of employment with the organization.
And when Brinkley was hired, he said the following about information from the public:
New Mason City police chief coming from Ames (November 15, 2015)
"Citizens are co-producers of law-enforcement services, so we rely heavily on our community not just to fund us but to work with us. So I hope to continue to build on what sounds to me like is already a good system in place here with the department on that and have them be eyes and ears for us. We can't be everywhere, so we've got to trust when they say, 'Hey, something's wrong;' it's our job to figure it out and respond appropriately."
This is coming from the same Police Chief who refuses to call back an Iowa State Representative?
Clearly Brinkley’s lack of customer service struck a chord with others, as State Representative John Kooiker article in the Northwest Iowa Review was the subject of an article on North Iowa Today, which at the time was shared on Facebook over 900 times in the timeframe of just a few days.
Retiring state representative says Bookmeyer, other Mason City officials stonewalled him in Huisentruit investigation (December 30, 2016)
And Frank Stearns quietly retires in 2019 - shortly after Payne Lindsey’s visit to Mason City? He spent decades with MCPD and the only mention anywhere of FS retirement is in an unrelated article noting that FS was hired by county to assist the coroner. No proclamation, no retirement party, no articles. Nothing.
Cerro Gordo autopsies no longer to be done locally, extra cost could be $100K (September 10, 2019)
FS was out of sight until the recent billboard vandalism.
'Find Jodi' billboard vandalized on Mason City's north end (January 2, 2020)
And now MCPD demonstrates more passion in finding the vandals instead of finding Jodi.
Does any of this make sense to you? It doesn't make sense to me either.
And now…..Payne Lindsey of Up & Vanished fame is going to premier a TWO HOUR special on Jodi Huisentruit's case on February 15 on the Oxygen Channel. What will they cover for two hours unless it is new information (or an hour and 45 minutes of commercials)? And the cover picture on the link below is from the birthday party!
'Up and Vanished' Returns To Oxygen With New Season (January 9, 2020)
It’s safe to say the upcoming Oxygen Channel show is going to take this case to a new level – something that also happened when Payne Lindsey became involved in the Tara Grinstead case in Ocilla, GA. Payne and his friend Dr. Maurice Godwin, exposed the fact that local and state law enforcement declined to fully vet leads involving the grandson of a Georgia State Senator, Bo Dukes and his pecan orchard.
How an Arm-Chair Detective Solved a 12-Year Old Cold Case (November 17, 2018)
“…The grandson of a former state representative (Newt Hudson) and another former student of Tara's, Bo's family happened to own a pecan grove in Fitzgerald, the very orchard that was at the center of the town's gossip years ago in connection to the case.”
One of my favorite quotes is by Dr. Maurice Godwin:
Dr. Maurice Godwin (@drmgodwin) | Twitter “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
] could be linked to an ordinary cell phone? ::Thinking, thinking: