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Find Jodi Huisentruit
Case File, The Crime 14

The White Van

By Scott Fuller @FullerOnAir · On February 26, 2020

True or False: Jodi Huisentruit’s abductor(s) drove a white van.

No matter how you answered, you might be right.

A white van has been referenced in connection with Jodi’s disappearance countless times since she was taken from the parking lot of her apartment complex on June 27, 1995.

The van is mentioned in the timeline so often it’s practically become a fact of the case. As one of Jodi’s co-workers said 10 years after she vanished: “white vans still trigger something in my head.”

But the truth is, we don’t know for sure what Jodi’s abductor(s) drove that morning.

The purpose of this post is to demonstrate why we at FindJodi.com try not to rely too heavily on this ‘fundamental’ aspect of Jodi’s abduction.

Where did the white van come from?

Investigators did not publicly classify Jodi’s disappearance as an abduction until nearly a week after she disappeared.

When they finally did – at a news conference on July 1, 1995 – they also revealed their interest in a mid-80’s model white Ford van.

Police had immediately focused on the van after a tip was called in by Randy Linderman, a man who lived on the same street as Jodi’s complex and commuted past it daily.

Linderman was driving a carpool that morning and said he saw a white Ford Econoline van parked in front of Jodi’s apartment, facing the street. He couldn’t tell if the engine was running, but saw the van’s front parking lights were turned on (he’d initially noticed the vehicle thinking it could have been a police car).

Linderman says the headlights were off.

He didn’t see a driver, or anyone else inside or around the vehicle.

As Linderman described his sighting to me in March 2019:

“I saw a white van parked in the parking area, having gone down that road many times, I’d never seen it there before… if I had to say a time, I’d probably say 3:50 (AM)”

Linderman called police later that day after hearing about Jodi’s abduction.

His tip was taken seriously. Police quickly determined that none of the other residents of the apartment complex were registered owners of a similar van. By mid-afternoon, an alert had been issued for any van matching its description.

Linderman’s account of the van he saw in Jodi’s parking lot early that morning has never wavered. (It was a white Ford Econoline van; “I know my vehicles,” he told me.)

As stalwart and consistent as Linderman has been about what he saw, it’s important to keep in mind that all of the white van speculation in Jodi’s case comes from this single eyewitness sighting, which, according to Linderman, lasted no more than a 15-20 seconds while on his way to work.

Randy Linderman himself is very open to the possibility that the van he saw had nothing to do with the case.

“I can’t say for sure it was involved,” he says.

For 24 years, Linderman’s sighting was the only connection of a white van to Jodi’s disappearance.

The second van sighting

Last year I spoke with another witness who also saw a white van parked nearby on the morning Jodi was abducted.

“Connie” (who asked that her identity be withheld due to the nature of her profession) was renting the upstairs portion of a home directly across the street from the apartment complex in 1995.

On the morning of Jodi’s abduction she saw a similar light-colored van parked on the street outside of the complex entrance, facing south.

“I remember 4:00-4:30 (AM) hearing a car door… I’d never heard it before, the street was really, really quiet. I saw what looked to be a white or a light gray van on the street, not in the parking lot but on the street. I really didn’t think too much about it. I didn’t see any people. As I was falling back asleep I heard another door close. When I woke up two hours later the van was gone.”

Connie says it was unusual for any vehicle to be parked on the street at all, especially so early in the morning.

She believes one of the car door sounds she heard may have been the sound of the van’s rear hatch doors being closed.

Persons of Interest

Some of the persons of interest associated with Jodi’s case drove a van at the time she was abducted.

None of the vans were white.

Thomas Corscadden, a sex offender from Austin, MN, owned a different colored van in 1995. Mason City Police stated in 2004 that Corscadden’s palm prints did not match the one taken from Jodi’s vehicle.

John Vansice, a friend of Jodi’s who claimed to be with her the night before she vanished, also owned a van at the time.

Vansice’s van (pictured) was blue, not white.

Photo: KSTP-TV

Tony Jackson, a serial rapist who lived just two blocks from Jodi’s television station, is not known to have driven a van during the summer of 1995. Jackson was officially eliminated as a suspect by Mason City Police in 1999.

No public person of interest in the case is known to have driven a white Ford Econoline van.

Where to park the van?

There are at least two witnesses who remember a white van in the area at the time of Jodi’s disappearance, but nobody saw her being abducted into one.

Would a van waiting in position for Jodi have its parking lights turned on?

Perhaps the van was delivering newspapers or picking up somebody else who lived there. I’ve been told of an electrician who owned a similar van and often did work for the apartment complex.

There are many explanations for the van that would have nothing to do with the case.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that Randy Linderman (and maybe Connie, too) actually did see the vehicle used to take Jodi.

We’re still very interested in any tip about Jodi’s case involving a white van.

As with so much of Jodi’s case, the white van could be everything.

Or it could be yet another dead end.

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Scott Fuller

Scott Fuller

Scott has spent more than 15 years as head of programming for terrestrial radio stations in Maine, Wyoming, and Minnesota. He currently works for KAUS AM/FM in Austin, MN, where he has overseen on air operations since 2009. Scott began podcasting in 2003. In recent years, he's conducted in-depth investigations of high profile cold cases in several states through various ongoing podcast projects, including the 1995 disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit. He joined FindJodi.com in January 2020.

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14 Comments

  • 47WestRange says: February 26, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    I would like to believe that if the white van was not used in Jodi’s abduction, that the person who owns the white van would have come forward. Whoever owns the white van is fully aware that they were in Jodi’s parking lot or parked on the street on June 27, 1995.

    Did the Country Club, where Jodi was the night before, own a white or light-colored van? I believe Jodi’s disappearance and the murder of Billy Pruin are connected to Dustin Honken and Angela Johnson. Billy was apparently vocal about the Meth issue. Dustin and Angela had already murdered 5 people in 1993. It seems to me that because they had not been caught, it’s logical that Dustin and/or Angela murdered Billy. According to reports, Angela was working at the County Club the night of the charity event. If the County Club owns a white van, it’s possible Angela used it and the Country Club didn’t know, therefore never reporting that the white van was in Jodi’s parking lot. Reports have stated that a larger person had to have committed the crime. Angela Johnson seems to fit that profile. Have Dustin and Alison provided palm prints?

    Many “stories” don’t see to add up, but it somehow has to be tied to the Meth ring in or around Mason City. There was enough money at state for Dustin and Angela to murder 5 people in 1993. Were other pockets being lined with cash? Anyone in or around the area all of the sudden come into a ton of money in or around 1995?

    Can’t someone determine the white vans that were in the area back in June 1995? Have police taken palm prints of everyone suspected of involvement? If not, why? Does an independent law enforcement agency need to look into things.

    Again, if the owner of the white van was not responsible, they would have come forward immediately. It’s been 25 years. I have not read every detail about the case, but don’t believe that the owner of that van has come forward. Makes me believe the white van holds the answers. Where is the van?

    Reply
  • MikeD says: February 26, 2020 at 10:06 pm

    With Jerry Burns mentioning Jodi during his police interrogation for the murder of Michelle Martinko, I would be interested to know if in 1995 Jerry Burns or his business owned a white van. Jerry Burns had no trouble killing Michelle 1 hour away from where he lived, and Mason City is just 2 hours away from where he lived in Manchester Iowa. Manchester is in the KGAN viewing area, so it’s certainly possible he had seen her on tv before and Jodi would be his type. Maybe there is a possibility Jerry’s work took him to Mason City on occasion? Worth looking into now that he has been convicted.

    Reply
  • Scott says: March 1, 2020 at 10:30 pm

    Maybe do a test to see what different vehicle colors would look like at 3:30AM-4:30AM in similar artificial lighting to what would have existed in the area? Is it possible that certain colors appear differently at night/twilight?

    Reply
  • Maria Carmen Gonzalez says: March 2, 2020 at 11:10 am

    Has the authorities gone on Ebay or other websites to check out the van? It is a classic model and besides it could be a different color now, not white or grey. Also, the many chop-shops in the state, it is possible to convert that particular van into a truck. The one van my cousin had in the 80’s had a passenger slide door. Which could be what witnesses heard that morning.

    Reply
  • Rosalie Maher says: March 2, 2020 at 11:48 am

    Did they check out van rentals in the area at the time this information was provided. I didn’t realize they didn’t report it as an abduction for so long. It seems reasonable that the person(s) who abducted Jodi knew the time she left for work. The fact that the parking lights were on could have been an accident and they weren’t aware they left them on. Have they considered two people took Jodi? Could one have still been in the van they didn’t see. Is the palm print a man’s and was it on the door where it was held shut while Jodi tried to use her key to get in her car. Didn’t her car have a remote opener?
    Did they check the palm prints of all the suspects? Was the electrician interviewed? If he did work there he certainly would have met Jodi. It seems there are a lot of unanswered questions around this white or light colored van.

    Reply
  • Carol L Kohn says: March 2, 2020 at 11:50 am

    It could have been a very dirty van that looked white in the darkness with little lighting. Maybe had been on gravel roads before getting there as they were looking for a place to go with Jodi. Just a thought.

    Reply
  • 47WestRange says: March 2, 2020 at 12:41 pm

    Did someone own the van and lend it to a friend or co-worker around that time? As I mentioned earlier, the white van had to have been used to transport Jodi somewhere. If that van’s owner had nothing to do with Jodi’s disappearance, the owner would have come forward immediately and said they were the electrician for the apartment or given some other story as to why their van was there. The van would have then been fingerprinted for evidence. There is NO rational explanation for that van being there other then to transport Jodi somewhere. If it had no windows, people would not be able to see Jodi struggling inside. I do believe there was more than one person involved. Unless Jodi was murdered or knocked unconscious in the parking lot, someone had to be restraining her while someone else was driving.

    The #1 suspect and his walking partner could be a fit. Is she the only one who claims to have an alibi for him? Where was she at that time? If they walked every morning, why is there a need to call him? What was the relationship with the walkers? Was she jealous of Jodi?

    Reply
    • Cy Sisquehon says: June 4, 2020 at 8:17 pm

      Good points 47 West. Maybe this Mason City PD should have you on the force. Maybe this would already be solved. Is there any way of finding out if John VS’s lady walking friend had a white or silver van. I have found her to be suspicious from the first time I heard her being interviewed.

      Reply
  • Mrs Jack McCoy says: March 3, 2020 at 6:57 am

    Like 47WestRange I believe this is all linked to the Pruin murder and am intrigued by the idea that the country club might have own a white delivery van.

    Question, is there any commercial rail that runs through Mason City or nearby? I lived in western Iowa near a rail hub for a while and noticed rail employees being transported to and from stops on a daily basis in white Econoline vans. Just a thought.

    Reply
  • Marion says: March 3, 2020 at 1:27 pm

    I remember that people saw a white van..If that is the case…they would have either hidden it,left the area or painted it a different color..Wasn’t there also,a person of interest,living down the street from Jodi? Was he looked into..
    I have been following this case for so many years…I just hope and pray that someday there will be answers.Such a beautiful lady,inside and out.Someone could come forward but doesn’t look like it will ever happen….no conscience..RIP…beautiful Jodi..

    Reply
  • Dave says: March 7, 2020 at 12:04 pm

    Didn’t JV have two vans at the time? One for work – silver or white and a blue one for personal use? Isn’t it possible that at 4:00 in the morning in darkness, that a silver van could be mistaken for a white one – especially if you only saw it for a few seconds?

    Reply
  • 47WestRange says: June 23, 2020 at 11:13 pm

    There are several possible suspects. I don’t like how fast MCPD let Thomas Gary Corscadden off the hook. Ron Vande Weerd is quoted as saying there is nothing linking Corscadden to Jodi. The polygraph or lie detector is a joke. Too many guilty people have passed it. Here’s what makes this pile of crap a top suspect – an possible his friend, Randy Seward (sp?):

    – According to his WIFE, he was obsessed with Jodi
    – Was upset that he couldn’t get tickets to a viewing of the news
    – Is a sex offender with a light yellow van that matched the one seen the morning Jodi vanished.
    – In said van, a mattress and all the pornographic items of an EXTREMELY sick piece of crap.
    – The van MYSTERIOUSLY burns shortly after Jodi disappears? Are you EFFING kidding me?
    – In the interview with Randy Seward (spelling?), he says when talking about the search of his farm, “They went through the bonfire pile, thinking “WE” had burned her body.” For some reason, he says “We had another friend who had a pickup over there” and points. Was it the blue truck that Jodi thought was following her? Randy seems like a real piece of work in this video taken 9 years after Jodi disappeared. Ron Vande Weerd says Corscadden’s palm print didn’t match.

    QUESTION: Was Randy Seward interrogated? And the other friend who owned the pickup?

    What kind of people associate with sex offenders? Correct! Other scum. Does Randy’s palm print match? Did MCPD even check it?

    I have always thought multiple people, at least two, were involved. Unless they killed Jodi instantly, someone would need to drive the van while others were tending to her. With Randy’s “no remorse” way of talking in the interview, he and the pickup guy could have carried this out with Corscadden,

    With Corscadden’s history, I don’t think he would have immediately killed Jodi. Who had the yellow van when it burned? Where are the remains of the yellow van. Surely, technology still could have pulled something from it. Does the palm print match Randy, the pickup guy, or anyone associated with any of them? What else does Corscadden’s wife know. She are said he was obsessed with Jodi. Where was he that day? His behavior the next several days? Could GPS data be pulled from the yellow van?

    Reply
  • 47WestRange says: June 28, 2020 at 11:11 pm

    Another article says Corscadden’s van was white. I searched Thomas Corscadden on YouTube today. Sifting though the videos, I came across Louise Corscadden (LouTube). She looks like she could be Jodi’s daughter.

    With Thomas Corscadden making several trips from Austin, MN to Mason City, IA, and his history, he should be the #1 suspect. Has the area been searched between Austin and Mason City? Someone as sick as him would not have just killed Jodi and disposed of her body. My guess is that he stopped somewhere between Mason City and Austin. Highly likely that he raped her before killing her. If only him, he would have needed to pull over somewhere, dispose of her body, and get to wherever he was supposed to be that morning.

    My family was in Ankeny, IA, this weekend. In driving there and back from Rochester, along with the anniversary of Jodi’s disappearance, I started thinking about where Corscadden could have left Jodi. There are more than a few heavily wooded areas right of the highway. Lord knows what could possibly be in those areas. Did they bring cadaver dogs to search?

    When I came across Louise Corscadden on YouTube tonight, things got a bit strange. I think she looks like Jodi, but I could be way off. I think she is from Belfast, Ireland. As I am having these bizarre thoughts about her possibly being Jodi’s daughter, I did the math. If Corscadden raped Jodi in June 1995, nine months arrives in March 1996. It just so happens that a search for March 1996 brings up an article of Thomas Corscadden talking to a court agent that raised suspicion of his possible involvement with Jodi’s disappearance. He was quoted as saying Jodi was dead. Crazy that occurred exactly 9 months after she vanished. The websleuth’s website discusses Jodi’s case. Very strange that immediately following Jodi’s discussion is that announcement that a missing boy from Belfast, Ireland, was recently missing and found murdered. Crazy.

    I have provided my thoughts on here about a handful of suspects who easily could be guilty. It’s disgusting to think that so many different scenarios could have led to Jodi’s disappearance. John Vansice, Dustin and Angela, Tony Jackson, Thomas Corscadden. I’m likely blanking on someone else.

    Corscadden seems the most likely. A sex offender before and after Jodi disappeared. Owner of a white van. Had an obsession with Jodi. Had a mattress and carpet, along with other things sick people drive around with in their vehicle. The van burns in a fire right after Jodi vanishes? How is it NOT Corscadden? EVERYTHING points directly to him.

    Lie detectors don’t always work. Too many murderWRs pass them and then are later convicted. The palm print not matching Corscadden does let him off in my opinion. He had too many other matches to be the #1 suspect. He and his ex-wife need to be re-interrogated.

    Sorry for the long rant. I am disgusted by people who murder people and get away with it for 25+ years. I hope they identify the scum and he is still living to pay for what he has done. I want justice for Jodi and would like to see the person or people involved suffer.

    Reply
  • Kimberly Whitcomb says: December 15, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    I wonder if they ever questioned if there was any flooring being replaced in the apartment complex around the time she disappeared. Long panel vans are used by flooring installers and they always back them in. Unfortunately a lot of those guys can be super shady people, and it’s not hard to hide a small woman’s body in rolls of old carpet and pad.

    Reply
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