Steve Ridge, a prominent media consulting executive and native Iowan, recently convinced John Vansice to do several in-depth interviews about Jodi Huisentruit.
Ridge is the chief operating officer with Magid, Incorporated, which helped develop Jodi’s on-air talents from the beginning of her television news career in 1992 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The company’s consultants continued to work with Jodi when she was the morning news anchor at KIMT-TV in Mason City.
As a native Iowan and Magid executive for the past 36 years, Ridge has been strongly interested in the mystery surrounding Jodi’s disappearance. This interest prompted him to reach out to Vansice, who had granted no interviews since leaving Mason City in the late 1990’s.
Ridge talked with FindJodi.com’s Caroline Lowe about he got Vansice to open up, why Ridge feels a personal mission to help find Jodi, and what he learned from his conversations with Vansice.
Q: What prompted you to do your own digging on the Huisentruit case?
A: My gut tells me that the Jodi Huisentruit disappearance can be solved. If a major break-through in a 39-year-old cold case can be solved, a 24-year-old case should be solvable.
For years, the 1979 murder of high school senior Michelle Martinko at a brand-new mall in Cedar Rapids has hung over my hometown. Michelle attended the same high school that I graduated from many years ago. She had gone to buy a new winter coat after a concert choir event. She was found murdered in her dad’s car the next morning, a victim of roughly seventeen stab wounds, I believe. I was running the news department at the ABC affiliate in Buffalo, New York at the time, and could only follow the story from a distance. Since my return to Cedar Rapids, in 1983, every anniversary has been a stark reminder – just like Mason City has relived June 27, 1995. Hope had faded in that case, as well.
The local police used new technology to test blood at the scene which yielded a composite sketch based on DNA. When I saw the sketch, I thought I recognized the killer and was in contact with the lead detective in the case. Surprisingly, there was a rare eye-color match and my lead looked very promising. I agreed to help discreetly secure portrait photos at a location where police preferred not to be seen snooping around. Ultimately, this individual was not a match. However, a matter of months later, someone was arrested and charged — potentially unlocking a 39-year-old cold case. This arrest made me think that solving the 24-year-old Jodi Huisentruit cold case should be within reach. Really, discovering an audition tape that Jodi send to us triggered my action. I looked at three-quarter inch video cassette, with the business card Jodi had taped on top and realized I had the skills to help crack this case.
Q: How is your investigation connected to your work as a media consultant?
A: Ironically, my firm helps with every aspect of our TV and newspaper client’s product, from content and marketing to monetization. Jodi’s video was but one of approximately 17,000 anchors and reporters we had archived. Our research in many local markets continues to show that true enterprise and investigative stories resonates strongly with viewers. It is one of the last effective ways to differentiate a news product. Our mid-career training program, The Magid Institute™, has featured an annual investigative reporting three-day program. Expanding on that program, we have created a very specialized service to train the new generation of reporters on ethical journalistic investigative techniques. We actually work with individual clients on a topic of their choosing, helping them navigate a structured investigative process in real time. Some onions have many, many layers. Timing is everything. A golden gut is helpful. Mine is bronze, at best. I hope to see a whole new generation of curious journalists who thrive on uncovering and discovering.
Q: Did you ever personally work with Jodi or know her?
A: I did not. I do have many friends and employees who knew Jodi. Struggling with the pronunciation of her last name, some of them nicknamed her, Jodi Juicy Fruit. The syllables matched nicely, and the name rhymed, so it stuck with some who refused to learn how to spell her name properly since they expected her to move on after a short tenure.
Q: How and when did you first approach Vansice, and how did he react?
A: Honestly, he hung up on me, and I can’t say I blame him. Twenty-three years of calls from strangers like me. So, I reached his wife, Jane, and asked her to indulge me long enough to understand my unique relationship to the case. I was able to share with her that Jodi’s best friend at the time of her disappearance worked for my firm right out of college.
Q: Why do you think Vansice agreed to talk with you after so many years refusing to talk with the media?And why now?
A: Timing is everything. I had to laugh when I saw 48 Hours employ the ambush technique. Great video, but no story. He too knew Jodi’s best friend who had worked for my company. And, we we’re fellow Iowa Hawkeyes. I told him that I am not a reporter, which I am not. Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you make your own luck. I’d prefer not to share the recipe.
Q: Where did you conduct your interviews with Vansice? And how much time did you spend with him?
A: I have agreed not to disclose the precise time and location of our meetings. I’d guess we are now up to about eleven hours of conversation all totaled. It is very ironic, however, that John and his wife drove right down the main drag in Cedar Rapids so recently without being recognized.
Q: Any overall impressions after spending so much time with Vansice?
A: Yes, but none that I will share. My responsibility is to stay objective and not be judgmental. Stick to the facts. I told him at the outset that I had to be open-minded enough to consider that he might be guilty. He said that was entirely fair. He never once refused to answer a question. That was unusual for a person-of-interest back in my days as an investigative reporter.
Q: What were the main things you learned from your conversation that you hadn’t already known from following the investigation in the news?
A: Actually, it was a stark reminder that everyone connected with this case is a human being. I think everyone should stop to think that if he is innocent, consider what he has had to endure to twenty-four years. You can’t get that time back. I’m also glad that I was sensitive enough to call Jodi’s sister JoAnn to get her blessing before I did anything else. Through the telephone line, I could feel her pain. This is not a made-for-TV murder mystery. So many people, so many families and friends have had to suffer not knowing. And, bear in mind, I have not solved this case. I simply got a once-in-a-lifetime interview. Although, I did the same thing in 1975 in Sioux City when I got an exclusive interview with a young couple that was eventually arrested and tried for a double murder.
Q: Why did you agree to help Vansice share his story by releasing a statement through you?
A: This not about me. The end goal is justice. Closure for Joann and everyone else. I suspect the interview highlights in the form of a statement may help breathe new life into a very cold case. I can understand why John Vansice is reluctant to speak with the media. He really has nothing to say that he has not already said, at least as it relates to his involvement with Jodi’s disappearance. Sure, the peripheral stuff is fascinating, but it does not solve the case. That is ultimately the only thing that matters.
Q: Did Vansice say why he has avoided talking directly to the media and giving give his side of the story when he’s been mentioned by police as a person of interest?
A: He did not, but I did not ask. That would be like asking, are you sure you want to tell me all of this.
Q: What are your thoughts about how he’s been treated by the news media?
A: I will only say that I think the news media should have spent more time looking at alternative possibilities. That alone might have balanced the focus on John Vansice.
Q: Did Vansice say why he thinks he’s remained on the police radar in Jodi’s disappearance! Have they told him why he’s a person of interest?
A: I think the continuing subpoenas for inspection of cars, finger prints, palm prints and DNA swabs tend to make it clear that he remains a person of interest. I think John Vansice remains the most highly visible person of interest. I suspect that the police have several other suspects, some not yet revealed. I now believe that this case will be solved.
Q: Were any questions off limits in your interviews with Vansice?
A: Absolutely none. I asked him everything. It can be uncomfortable to look a man in the eyes and ask, “…did you kill her?”, “did you have anything to do with it?”, “…do you have any knowledge of who did this?”
Q: Have you formed any personal opinions about whether you think Vansice had any involvement with Jodi’s disappearance or who else might be responsible ?
A: I will not comment on John Vansice, but I will say that I think there are a number of other people who might be responsible. I will leave that investigation to others. I hope to teach investigative skills, not exercise mine.
Q: How did John Vansice describe his relationship with Jodi? Some of her friends said they felt he was obsessed with Jodi.
A: Father-daughter. I never met Jodi, and I only recently met John. Having not observed them together, I reserve judgement.
Q: We’ve heard a lot about the fact Vansice named his boat after Jodi. What did he tell you about that?
A: John Vansice tells me that her name was never emblazoned on his boat. I’m sure if it had been that would have been the money shot for 48 Hours. Although, they apparently did overlook the mat at the front door. That would have been a powerful visual in and of itself. John told me that referring to the boat as Jodi was his way of showing his admiration for her and that she was flattered by the gesture. I think people have heard this so much that they actually think that they have seen video of Jodi on the back of the boat. I watch 48 Hours and I watch it. It is nicely done and highly ethical. I do, however, think I could help improve it given the combination of my skills.
Q: Investigators have questioned Vansice’s claim Jodi stopped by his duplex the night before she disappeared to watch a video of a surprise birthday party he’d hosted for her. Did he have anything to say about that?
A: John said that it was fact.
Q: Did Vansice say how and when he found out Jodi was missing?
A: John said a friend came by his residence to tell him and then drove him to the scene.
Q: Do you plan to continue your conversations with Vansice?
A: Time will tell. We did not make any specific arrangements. If he is eventually vindicated, I would definitely reach out to him.
Q: Do you anticipate sharing future statements from Vansice regarding Jodi’s case?
A: I do not. I think this was a one-time deal.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share with FindJodi.com followers on what you’ve learned in your digging? Any surprises?
A: How much there is to learn with a little digging. There is more stuff out there to be mined.
Q: Looking back at your old videos of Jodi, anything that stands out about her potential in the television news business?
A: Jodi was unique. This is not in rank order, but I think she was authentic, endearing, determined and competitive. I believe, however, that she was also a free spirit, naive and therefore vulnerable.
To learn more about Steve Ridge, you can do so here.
12 Comments
What if the real suspect has been under your noses all along? What if it’s NOT a he but a she? What if she’s been secretly in love with one of the “persons of interests, and being fully aware of his feelings for Jodi, she decided that the only way she’d have him to herself is by getting rid of Jodi? And what if she thought about doing just that, for a long time and finally acted on her impulse? What if she knew exactly how to get rid of the body, because perhaps, years before, she did the same thing? Imho, a person like that would let no one get in the way of whomever she fancies….
The killer of Jodi Sue Huisentruit of Mason City Iowa and Julie Ann Holmquist of Hallock, Minnesota is
Keith Dwayne Nelson
Federal Inmate: 07440-031
USP Terre Haute
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute, Indiana 47808
Use this address for in person visits.
USP Terre Haute
U.S. Penitentiary
4700 Bureau Road South
Terre Haute, Indiana 47802
Phone: 812-244-4400
Fax: 812-244-4791
Mid-1980’s Ford Econoline van has been recovered.
City Of Kansas City, Missouri
KCMO Vehicle Impound Facility
7750 East Front Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64120
816-513-0670
Latent fingerprints of Adult Female – Jodi Sue Huisentruit
Latent fingerprints of 16 year old girl – Julie Ann Holmquist
Clothing of both murder victims were recovered from van.
Rings belonging to both victims were also recovered from van.
Kansas City Missouri Police Department
Homicide Unit – Seventh Floor
Captain Keith Kirchloff, Commander
1125 Locust Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
816-234-5111
Administrative
816-234-5000
keith.kirchloff@kcpd.org
They recovered the white Ford Econoline van during the murder investigation of Pamela Irene Butler in 1999. The van has brand new tires on all four wheels bought in Hallock, Minnesota.
Latent partial palm print of his left hand was recovered from Jodi’s red Mazda Miata.
Jodi’s pant suit was recovered in the van registered to Keith Dwayne Nelson of Kansas City, Kansas. Gold ring with diamonds was recovered by Kansas City, Missouri Homicide Division.
Why hasn’t this informaton been released? I just watched the 48 hours episode regarding her unsolved murder originally aired back in the fall.
E-mail address: THA/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV
Joann Nathe
808 Ash Street South
Sauk Centre, Minnesota 56378
320-352-6207
Clarice Holmquist
609 2 Street South East
Hallock, Minnesota 56728
218-843-2107
I promised both Imogene “Jane” Huisentruit and Clarice Holmquist that I would solve the murders and they were both stalked and murdered by the same man, Keith Dwayne Nelson who was diagnosed as schizophrenic and he is a souvenir killer. All six of his victims will look alike, the sign of a serial killer.
The mortal remains of Jodi Sue Huisentruit also known as Jane Doe # 1.
Dr. David L. Fredrickson MD
Stearns County Medical Examiner (Retired)
Stearns County Medical Examiner Office
P.O. Box 217
Saint Cloud, Minnesota 56302
Phone: 320-259-3730
Fax: 320-259-3963
Stearns County Minnesota
Jodi’s mortal remains were recovered in 1996 on the edge of Saint Cloud, Minnesota obstructing a farmer’s drainage ditch.
The victims of Keith Dwayne Nelson 07440-031
Jennifer Renee Odom 12 Blanton, Florida Bundy clarinet
Broke Bond – Burglary charge served sentence.
Jodi Huisentruit 27 Mason City Iowa
Julie Ann Holmquist 16 Hallock, Minnesota Knife with broken tip missing. Blue jogging shorts and red T-shirt blouse were recovered by Kansas City Missouri Homicide Unit. Class Ring from Lakeville, Minnesota. Birthstone matches boyfriend’s birthstone. Clarice didn’t know Julie was dating a boy from Lakeville, Minnesota.
Jane Doe Waitress bloody latent fingerprints on Pizza box were Nelson’s prints. Eight inch butcher knife with black handle found in Mother Nelson’s kitchen knife drawer. Did not match
her kitchen knives.
Michanne Mattson Kansas City, Kansas small handbag recovered.
Pamela Irene “Pammy” Butler 10 Male sperm recovered one in four quadrillion matched Keith Nelson’s DNA. Pammy’s clothing recovered at crime scene. Latent fingerprints recovered from van matched Pammy’s.
All the victim’s will look like a would be girlfriend who rejected him, he kills anyone who looks like her. M.O. is similar to Theodore “Ted” Bundy. Keith Nelson kidnapped six women, killed five and raped four of them.
Does Lt. Frank Stearns know that threatening a State of Minnesota witness and Threatening a Federal witness is a Class A Felony = 20 years imprisonment. Minnesota IS NOT IOWA. Does he know what JURISDICTION means?
Curtiss Dale Cedergren was in CANADA on his Honeymoon at the time of the abduction of the late Julie Ann Holmquist 16 years old at the time.
Nelson gave Jodi’s tote bag to a female acquaintance index cards, some with Jodi’s handwriting on them were in the tote bag. Tote bag was discarded, she did not know it was evidence in a unsolved Homicide.
Jennifer Renee Odom 12 of Blanton, Florida
School jacket with “Jenny” written above pocket and has Gator emblem on back of jacket.
Red plush acrylic sweater now the color of orange or rust.
White Bundy clarinet with serial number 622747 on it.
Broken gold charm from charm necklace.
Hernando County Sheriff Office
P.O. Box 10070
Brooksville, Florida 34603
Phone: 352-754-6830
Fax: 352-796-0493
Anonymous Tips (352) 797-TIPS/8477
Internet: http://www.hernandeosheriff.org
I promised Ms. Rene Converse I would solve her daughter’s murder and my computer has been
rather faulty of late and I can’t afford to replace it.
May I ask what your thoughts are now on Jodi’s case since the graffiti on the billboard?
I find it interesting that the police are more concerned about finding the vandals than actually finding the person or persons involved with her disappearance . I am not condoning the vandalism but am questioning why Frank Stearns name has come up so often in this case and there have been so many rumors about his involvement. Perhaps people who may know something are afraid to talk, especially if there is some truth in it they may fear putting themselves or their family in danger. Ironic there was someone who “talked” about knowing what really happened to Jodi and that persons mysterious death was never solved. I feel so sorry for her family , it is so sad to loose someone and then have to wonder what really happened to her and that they may never know.
I was thinking the same theory ! After watching the documentary & now reading up on this so called interview.
Johns Vansiee at the time had a girlfriend that is now his wife? As it is written & claimed he had at the time.
So some good questions would be.
Where was this girlfriend at the time when John & Jody were watching the birthday video till 10 or so late at night at his house as he claims ?
Why no one ever seen or knew of a suppose to be girlfriend before or after Jody even disappeared ?
I dont know but it is starting to sound like maybe even a case of a jealous woman rage. Any woman as a matter of fact that possible could of acted out due to some kind of envy & jealousy of Jodi. It would not be the first time something like that has ever happen.
A woman could of very well been the one stalking Jodi also for a number of reasons I can think of.
Johns wife would be the first on that list. If you think about it.
Is this pompous guy Ridge interviewing for a job or something? How about less about Ridge’s ‘skills’ and bragging about his past and some answers about what Vansice revealed.
What’s John’s timeline? Specifically, when did Jodi arrive and leave that B’day tape evening? Anyone else present? Any tense discussion? Who’s idea to watch the B’day tape? Was JV in Jodi’s apt anytime that night or morning? What time did JV retire? When did he awake? Did JV walk that morning or not? Who called who? When/where did they meet if they walked? When did he return if they walked? If not what did he do that morning? Was anyone in his home that morning?…
What does JV think happened to Jodi? Does he know of any enemies of Jodi? CanJV elaborate why Jodi’s friends think JV wanted more than a friendship? Did Jodi have boyfriend(s)? Did Jodi ever tell JV she just wanted to be friends? Why does JV think LE still sees him as a POI if he’s been so cooperative with them (polygraphs, hypnosis…)?
Maybe if Ridge talked about himself less, he’d have something to share after being granted unlimited access.
Still praying for Jodi after all these years. Praying for a miracle.
In the last several years I have visited some possible sites. I even looked up a site in the country west of Fertile where a dead woman’s purse with her 2 daughters things was found floating east on the Winnebago River. I went there because a Psychic on a radio years ago that Gary was on was giving her take on where Jodi was. I just wish the authorities would check that spot out in that wooded area there. A couple years ago I called the police in MC and the police never answered the phone, but later left me a message saying they were holding some kind of practice thing in MC and wasn’t taking calls. That was scary and NEVER made any sense. So still we pray for answers and maybe one day our prayers will be answered and she will be found… alive I pray.