Iowa Police Get New Clue in 1995 Disappearance of Female Journalist

CHICAGO – It may be a long shot, but the Mason City, Iowa, police chief says there may be a break in the case surrounding the disappearance of missing television anchor Jodi Huisentruit.

Huisentruit, the morning anchor at television station KIMT in Mason City, vanished almost 11 years ago at the age of 27. It is believed that she was abducted while on her way to work in the early hours of June 27, 1995. Police later recovered her car keys, hairdryer, shoes and jewelry in the parking lot outside Huisentruit's apartment.

Since she disappeared, police have logged many hours looking into the case but every promising lead has wound up to be a dead end, until now.

Duane Arnold claims that outside his cabin in Britt, Iowa, he remembers discovering 11 years ago a grave-shaped section of earth that looked like it had then been recently disturbed. Arnold said he reported his finding to the authorities but claims the police never examined the exact spot in question.

So, Arnold hired a company to conduct ground-penetrating radar tests in the area. The company came across something; Arnold thinks it may be Huisentruit's body.

But the local police are skeptical. Hancock County Sheriff Scott Dodd told FOX News that the area Arnold is talking about was checked out as recently as January 2003. Dodd said police will review photos of their visit to Arnold's cabin and they may dig up the area.

John Skipper of the Mason City Globe Gazette told FOX News on Tuesday that there have been what locals call "Jodi sightings" throughout the years, none of which led investigators to the missing journalist.

"There have been new leads and clues and things of that nature periodically throughout the years," Skipper said.

"It's encouraging to have people who are landowners or just interested citizens forward leads to the police and have police investigate them," Huistentruit's cousin, Tad Jude, told FOX News on Tuesday. "I'm convinced one of these days, we're going to break the case. It may seem like a longshot but one of these days, we're going to find out where Jodi is."

FOX News' Steve Brown contributed to this report.