A judge heard arguments Monday on whether a sealed search warrant as part of the case of missing Mason City TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit should be unsealed.
Attorneys representing private investigator Steve Ridge claim the warrant regarding GPS data for two vehicles connected to potential suspect John Vansice should be opened, since Vansice died in December and any investigation into his involvement has ended.
Cerro Gordo County Attorney Carlyle Dalen opposes the motion, saying unsealing the warrant could hinder the investigation. Ridge attorney Nellie O’Mara believes not releasing the contents of the warrant hinders the case moving forward.
“They’re trying to get more help for the investigation, yet he’s not even willing to unseal a search warrant that may have information in there that people may know, that may be able to help out with the investigation,” O’Mara says. “I think he’s really contradicting himself there where he’s asking for help with the investigation but yet won’t release the information that may help with it.”
Huisentruit vanished in 1995. Ridge attorney Jesse Marzen says the public has an interest in knowing what police are doing and it’s time to bring full resolution of the case with Vansice’s family.
Marzen says, “I believe that this family your honor also has an interest in clearing the name of this individual who lived the last years of his life under the cloud of suspicion and accusation based on this situation.”
Dalen says opening the warrant will give the public facts and circumstances in the case that are not out to the general public, possibly hurting the investigation.
“If you have a witness, or if you have somebody that comes in front of law enforcement at this point of time, and they say certain information, how do we know if they are accurate or not if this information is out to the general public?” Dalen says. “You can’t figure out if they’re telling the truth. But if only the officers know, and this is information that only the officers know, well then they can evaluate if that person is telling the truth. There’s a lot of reasons why all these facts and circumstances should not be given out to the general public.”
Dalen says no portion of the warrant should be unsealed, and the fact that it’s been almost 30 years since Huisentruit disappeared should not factor into a decision.
“This investigation is no more slowed up because of anything, it’s a long investigation and very difficult, but it’s ongoing. In a lot of cases, you have new technology, you have new things that might draw light to your investigation,” Dalen says. “Sometimes you have some eyewitnesses that come forward at a later date. That’s why a lot of these people are here supporting it because they’re still involved, all these people, in this process.”
District Senior Judge James Drew says he’ll issue a ruling on the case within 30 days.
(By Bob Fisher, KLKK, Clear Lake)