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Jodi Huisentruit's Disappearance Still A Mystery 20 Years On

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Next month will mark 20 years since an Iowa TV anchor went missing.

Jodi Huisentruit's disappearance has remained a mystery ever since, but a group of retired police officers and journalists have organized to keep her story alive.

They were in Iowa Wednesday to spread the word about a special tribute they have planned.

In a city square in Mason City, Iowa, a new poster reminds people of the past; a young woman known to those who have grown up with the case -- one which a team is committed to closing.

Beth Bednar is the author of "Dead Air: The Disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit."

"It's something that has always nagged at me. I truly feel that call to just be involved and helping to find her," Bednar said.

Former WCCO crime reporter Caroline Lowe covered the Huisentruit case for years.

"It just hasn't gone away. A picture of Huisentruit sits at my desk in California because it reminds me that she hasn't been found," Lowe said.

Lowe, Bednar and Jay Alberio -- a retired investigations commander with the Woodbury police -- made the trip to Mason City. They invited the community to mark 20 years since Huisentruit went missing.

On that Saturday next month, they will walk the eight-tenths of a mile from Huisentruit's apartment to KIMT TV station, where she never made it to work that morning.

"We came up with the idea of Jodi's Journey. She was going to work that morning, and she never finished her journey," Lowe said.

The team of six from across the country has met monthly online for the last 10 years, and they have updated readers of FindJodi.com with old and new clues.

"People are still very interested in this case and they're still coming in," Bednar said.

Police have said they still get a couple of tip calls a month.

"It's really both important to the community, her family and to whoever committed the crime, and we want to let that person know we haven't forgotten," Lowe said.

They are unable to forget as they wait to mark another sad anniversary, still without answers.

"If we get a dozen people, a hundred people, that's great," Alberio said. "It's just to get the word out there."

The walk to finish Jodi's Journey is scheduled for Saturday, June 27 at 10 a.m.

There will be an informal press conference after the walk, where the Find Jodi team will take questions.

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