461 - Heed This Advice

On today’s episode, Georgia and Karen cover the disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Speaker 00

  Cash Flow Crunch? OnDeck's small business line of credit gives your business immediate access to funds, up to $200,000, right when you need it. Cover seasonal dips, manage payroll, restock inventory, or tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. With flexible draws, transparent pricing, and control over repayment, get funded quickly and confidently. Apply today at ondeck.com. Funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

• 0:36Speaker 01

  Calling all amateur detectives and podcast obsessives.

• 0:40Georgia Hardstark?

  Virgin Voyages' second True Crime Voyage sets sail March 20, 2027, for a five-night escape to Grand Turk and the Beach Club at Bimini.

• 0:48Speaker 01

  As part of the On Air at Sea collection, this immersive sailing brings together fan favorite podcasts, including DisgraceLand, Buried Bones, and Wisecrack for live recordings, behind-the-scenes access, exclusive meet and greets, and crime-themed programming that you won't find anywhere else.

• 1:04Georgia Hardstark?

  All aboard our award-winning, kid-free ships.

• 1:07Speaker 01

  Head over to virginvoyages.com/truecrime to secure your spot.

• 1:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye.

• 1:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Hello.

• 1:32Speaker 01

  And welcome.

• 1:33Georgia Hardstark?

  To my favorite murder.

• 1:35Speaker 01

  2025.

• 1:36Georgia Hardstark?

  It's 2025.

• 1:38Speaker 01

  That's your daughter.

• 1:40Georgia Hardstark?

  That's Karen Kilgariff.

• 1:41Speaker 01

  2025.

• 1:42Georgia Hardstark?

  It's 2025. Is that a good number? Is that a lucky number? How do we feel about that?

• 1:47Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 1:48Speaker 01

  Oh, oh, the numerals. Just love 2025.

• 1:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Do they?

• 1:51Speaker 01

  Uh huh.

• 1:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 1:52Speaker 01

  Yes, because if you add all of that up, it goes to nine. And nine is the power number for girls that wear black nail polish, for girls that wear glasses, for girls that like books.

• 2:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Crystals. Do we have a lot of crystals going on?

• 2:05Speaker 01

  Lot of crystals. Nine is the number of crystals.

• 2:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 2:09Speaker 01

  And you should have nine crystals on your windowsill.

• 2:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, shit. Okay, I'll get on that. We're recording this before the new year, so I can get on that and do it.

• 2:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, that was all, that was all acting. All that Happy New Year stuff.

• 2:26Georgia Hardstark?

  We're tricking you. We're here to trick you.

• 2:29Speaker 01

  Showbiz, baby. Get used to it.

• 2:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Drink your tiny Coke.

• 2:33Speaker 01

  Can't I have a tiny sip every time we're supposed to be talking?

• 2:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Well, I've had a fucking energy drink that hasn't hit me yet, so.

• 2:41Speaker 01

  You better chug that thing. Is it a Celsius?

• 2:44Georgia Hardstark?

  No, no, it's just like one of those shots Celsius.

• 2:48Speaker 01

  Please put your finger up like this when it hits.

• 2:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Not the like good kind of like medicinal fuck you up, takes yours off your life kind. And I love those. It's like one of the like juice, juices with caffeine.

• 3:00Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 3:02Speaker 01

  I mean, I just immediately, when you're like the kind that fucks you up, it just reminds me of buying those big black pills on the counter at 7-Eleven. Remember those like last minute impulse buys?

• 3:14Georgia Hardstark?

  They call them trucker speed, right?

• 3:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, trucker speed, but like, who knows? It looked like it was made of ashes, like old charcoal briquettes. And they're like, yeah, you'll totally get a bunch of energy from this.

• 3:25Georgia Hardstark?

  And nodos, remember crushing up? Don't, don't do that, everyone. Listen, we're from the 90s. We're allowed to crush pills up and snort them. We, we've done that. We did it for you. It burns. Don't do it.

• 3:36Speaker 01

  Yeah. If you're a youngster that has a real problem with millennials and Gen Xers, then, then heed this advice.

• 3:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 3:43Speaker 01

  Stay away from that shit. Just stick to your yerber mate.

• 3:48Georgia Hardstark?

  That's right.

• 3:49Speaker 01

  You're doing it right. Just, it's fine. You're fine.

• 3:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God, I can't believe we survived the 90s.

• 3:55Speaker 01

  God damn it. I used to eat those fuck, swallow those gigantic horse pills that were black to somehow think that it was going to like, speed me up and like be exciting. And I think I was trying to do some sort of dumb diet thing. Always where it's like, eat these, I won't eat spaghetti. It's just like, you know what?

• 4:17Georgia Hardstark?

  You know what?

• 4:18Speaker 01

  Eat the fucking spaghetti, especially now more than ever eat the spaghetti.

• 4:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Especially if it's that kind that's got, that's made from lentils.

• 4:26Speaker 01

  What?

• 4:28Georgia Hardstark?

  No, yeah, there's no, yeah, yeah.

• 4:31Speaker 01

  No, no.

• 4:33Georgia Hardstark?

  You refuse?

• 4:34Speaker 01

  I will not.

• 4:36Georgia Hardstark?

  It's my brand. I made it. You didn't know that I started a lentil

• 4:39Speaker 01

  Oh, I'm so sorry. I love the Hard Stark Lentil Lidl Company.

• 4:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Try them today.

• 4:47Speaker 01

  Georgia's gonna be a vegan in 2025.

• 4:49Georgia Hardstark?

  That's correct.

• 4:50Speaker 01

  It's her new thing.

• 4:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Yep. All things vegan. Is it, is it working yet? Am I awake? It's hard. It's weird to go from nap to energy drink to podcasting.

• 5:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think it's cool. It's kind of like, uh, it's the dark triad. Put your finger up like this when you start to feel it.

• 5:05Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay. Okay. You'll know. You'll love it. It'll be me. It'll be like the real me.

• 5:10Speaker 01

  There she is.

• 5:11Georgia Hardstark?

  There she is.

• 5:12Speaker 01

  There she is.

• 5:13Georgia Hardstark?

  There's the reason she needs social breaks because she just gives it all.

• 5:19Speaker 01

  Into that microphone.

• 5:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Um, so we're still on break this episode, which means only one story today, but I'll make it powerful. I promise.

• 5:29Speaker 01

  Yeah. Georgia loves acting and she loves storytelling. She's kind of a folklorist.

• 5:35Georgia Hardstark?

  I'm kind of like the epitome of the number nine.

• 5:38Speaker 01

  You're such a nine.

• 5:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Hi, it's me. I'm nine.

• 5:41Speaker 01

  It's me. Hi, I'm the nine. It's me.

• 5:43Georgia Hardstark?

  I'm the nine. It's me. So we hope everyone had a good holiday and a good new year, New Year's Eve.

• 5:52Speaker 01

  Oh my God, I hope you had the worst New Year's Eve. I hope you drank so many wine coolers around 10. And then around 11, you're like, I fucking gotta throw up. I have to. My little gold dress is gonna be ruined.

• 6:07Georgia Hardstark?

  All that spaghetti I ate for dinner.

• 6:12Georgia Hardstark?

  It's gone. The girls told me to eat the spaghetti and it's gone.

• 6:16Speaker 01

  They made me eat the lentil spaghetti and now it's back.

• 6:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Hard Stark brand lentil spaghetti sure is, sure comes up gross.

• 6:25Speaker 01

  There's a tiny picture of your face on the package, making a face like, I don't like this. I would not be eating this if I was you.

• 6:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Seriously?

• 6:34Speaker 01

  I have had to eat a lot of gluten free stuff with Nora.

• 6:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 6:37Speaker 01

  And yeah, there's some that's like shockingly delicious. And then there's some that you're like, I need, I need a washcloth to get this out of my mouth. Cause it's so gross. Crazy.

• 6:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Some of the desserts are like fucking incredible.

• 6:51Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 6:52Georgia Hardstark?

  You'd never know.

• 6:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, you could never tell the difference.

• 6:54Georgia Hardstark?

  I'd only accidentally eat it or buy it. I wouldn't do it on purpose.

• 6:58Speaker 01

  You wouldn't seek it out?

• 6:59Georgia Hardstark?

  No. Okay. We have a couple Exactly Right Media highlights. This is our podcast network, Exactly Right Media, and here's some highlights.

• 7:07Speaker 01

  Okay, so don't tell your dad we said this, but we think you should join our fan cult. So you can get access to all of these crazy new videos that we're making. You get a $20 credit to our store and much, much more. So go over and visit fancult.supercast.com and get in on the action because there's a lot of action.

• 7:28Georgia Hardstark?

  There is a lot of action. And if you have a moment, please go follow us on social media. Our handle is at Exactly Right on all platforms and you can get updates on all of our podcasts, including I Said No Gifts and Ghosted by Roz Hernandez.

• 7:41Speaker 01

  And if you would like to prove you love our podcasts, make it your New Year's resolution to rate, review, and follow us and them and Everything Exactly Right wherever you like to listen.

• 7:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, next time we're like in a waiting room and you're like, I don't know, I'm so sick of Instagram or whatever, just go to your podcast app and give that little heart a tap on your favorite podcast because it really does make a difference.

• 8:03Speaker 01

  It makes a huge difference. And then just go through and kind of like, you might want to delete some pics in your phone. Just let's clean that phone up.

• 8:12Georgia Hardstark?

  I guess rate, reviewing, and subscribing is kind of like our like semi-annual report. Or what's it called when you get like?

• 8:19Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 8:20Georgia Hardstark?

  At work?

• 8:20Speaker 01

  Like a performance review?

• 8:22Georgia Hardstark?

  That's it. Thank you. Yes. Think of it as a performance review. And like, it doesn't really matter, but also it does matter. They can use it to fire you in the future if it's not good. So like, we need a positive performance review in the form of rate, review, and subscribe.

• 8:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's right. You can really, you can really push the needle in the positive direction.

• 8:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Sure. Or the negative. I mean, listen, we might have pissed you off. You might be vegan. Listen.

• 8:45Speaker 01

  Free will, baby. It's your life. Do what you want. You know, we don't boss in that, in that way, but we do suggest strongly with a kind of mean looking eye.

• 8:54Georgia Hardstark?

  That's right. With a fist raised.

• 8:58Speaker 01

  Rate, review, and subscribe.

• 9:01Georgia Hardstark?

  The holidays are coming, which means we'll all be spending more time away from home.

• 9:05Speaker 01

  Whether you're visiting family or doing something actually fun, you want to know your home is protected while you're away.

• 9:10Georgia Hardstark?

  That's why now is a good time to think about home security with SimpliSafe.

• 9:14Speaker 01

  Unlike traditional security systems that alert you after a break-in starts, SimpliSafe is designed to help stop intruders before they get inside. These days, you're worried about your house, you're out of town, and then something comes up and you get to look on your phone and SimpliSafe is going to show you not only the video of like, it's a raccoon at your front door, but also that they have staff that's sitting there, they already know. And if it was something different or worse, they would have already been on it.

• 9:40Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, I really think that's invaluable peace of mind that just like relying on your neighbors, paying attention is not going to give you. We've partnered with SimpliSafe to offer our listeners their biggest savings of the year. 70% off your new system with professional monitoring when you visit simplisafe.com/mfm.

• 9:57Speaker 01

  That's simplisafe.com/mfm. And when you order, write in MFM at checkout and it tells them we sent you and it really helps the show.

• 10:05Georgia Hardstark?

  SimpliSafe, ahead of crime in real time.

• 10:07Speaker 01

  Goodbye. Nothing makes you take a good, hard look at your furniture like inviting people over for the holidays.

• 10:13Georgia Hardstark?

  So give your home a little holiday upgrade with Article.

• 10:16Speaker 01

  Article makes it effortless to create a stylish, long-lasting home at an unbeatable price.

• 10:21Georgia Hardstark?

  They take great care in curating their collection, focusing on pieces that stand the test of time. There's no filler, every item is chosen for its craftsmanship, design, and lasting value.

• 10:30Speaker 01

  And with Article's 30-day satisfaction guarantee, you can shop with confidence, knowing that if you're not completely in love with your new furniture, you can easily return it.

• 10:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Plus, Article's customer care team is available seven days a week. I know we're getting into fall and winter, but we live in Los Angeles, so my outdoor furniture is just like the perfect focal point for the pool parties we still end up having. Sorry, everyone, when it's like sunny and gorgeous year round. I sit on my Article patio furniture every morning and have my coffee and watch Cookie Lay in the Sun. And the whole thing is just so peaceful and pretty. Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more.

• 11:08Speaker 01

  To claim, visit article.com. com/murder and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

• 11:14Georgia Hardstark?

  That's article.com/murder for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more.

• 11:19Speaker 01

  Goodbye.

• 11:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Holiday shopping gets a lot easier when you can find something for everyone.

• 11:23Speaker 01

  Especially when everyone includes yourself.

• 11:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Find thoughtful, high-quality gifts for everyone on your list at Quince.

• 11:30Speaker 01

  Quince makes beautiful everyday essentials with high-quality materials like Mongolian cashmere, organic cotton, and premium stretch denim. They're the kind of things you love to give as a gift or get yourself.

• 11:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Their 100% Mongolian cashmere sweaters start at just $50 and they also have beautiful 14-karat gold earrings and bracelets that make great gifts.

• 11:49Speaker 01

  I was so excited when I got home and I got to break out my gray Quince cashmere sweater that I wear constantly around the house. We've been waiting for even the slightest temperature drop so that we could get into sweater weather and finally it's here and I celebrated with my beautiful Quince cashmere sweater that I think I got the second year we started doing ads for them.

• 12:12Georgia Hardstark?

  They laugh.

• 12:13Speaker 01

  They do.

• 12:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Give the gift of quality this holiday season.

• 12:16Speaker 01

  Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com.

• 12:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.

• 12:23Speaker 01

  Now available in Canada and the UK, too.

• 12:25Georgia Hardstark?

  And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was My Favorite Murder. It's the best way to support the show.

• 12:31Speaker 01

  Goodbye.

• 12:36Speaker 01

  Okay, this is one of those episodes where there's just one story and this is one of those episodes where it's just your story.

• 12:42Georgia Hardstark?

  How happy about that, are you?

• 12:44Speaker 01

  I love it so much.

• 12:45Georgia Hardstark?

  I know. Isn't it weird when you're like, I gotta record today. I don't have to do jack shit today.

• 12:50Speaker 01

  I don't, you don't have to do, say a bunch of bullshit about the 90s at the top. Continually divert the conversation into a weird direction.

• 13:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 13:01Speaker 01

  And boom, that's podcasting.

• 13:03Georgia Hardstark?

  You've made a podcast.

• 13:04Speaker 01

  Five stars.

• 13:05Georgia Hardstark?

  It's a great hobby, if you can get it. So, okay, so I am doing a classic cold case. You know, that's my obsession.

• 13:15Speaker 01

  Your passion.

• 13:15Georgia Hardstark?

  And this one specifically is a cold case that many people are obsessed with. And it's still being actively investigated. Up until recently, there was even a little break. And this is one of Iowa's biggest unsolved mysteries. This is the story about a young TV news anchor who disappeared in 1995. This is the story of Jody Who's Intrude. You know what I'm talking about?

• 13:37Speaker 01

  No, I've never heard this.

• 13:39Georgia Hardstark?

  You'll know when I start to tell you because it's like one of those ones that are like, how hasn't it not been solved? But also, how is there such a small amount of evidence? And so everyone's able to like, put their own theories on it. There's groups of people who have certain theories. There's like, people fighting each other about whose theory is right. So I have mine. I want to hear yours at the end of this.

• 14:01Speaker 01

  I'll fight everybody.

• 14:03Georgia Hardstark?

  I know you will. And so I'm ready for that. So the main source I used for the story is an episode of 2020 called Gone at Dawn. And the rest of the sources can be found in the show notes. And if you've watched any of these true crime shows, you've seen this case probably.

• 14:17Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 14:19Georgia Hardstark?

  So this is the weird part of the story. It's four in the morning on June 27, 1995. We're in Mason City, Iowa. Mason City is a small city of about 29,000 people. It's up by Iowa's northern border with Minnesota, about halfway between Minneapolis and Des Moines. So it's like a smaller town outside of the big cities.

• 14:41Speaker 01

  Every once in a while, when we talk about a state, and then you say something like that, where it's like, it's up by Minnesota. And then I'm like, I absolutely thought those two states were nowhere near each other.

• 14:53Georgia Hardstark?

  You think I wrote this? This is fucking Ally. This is fucking my researcher Ally Elkin giving me details. I didn't fucking know that. I went on a map. And I was like, wow.

• 15:01Speaker 01

  You know what? I'm gonna get you and me for Christmas in Christmas past, Christmas future. I'm gonna get us the United States map placemats. And then we are going to know these states by heart in one year.

• 15:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay. Perfect. So here we are. For most people in Mason City, it's the middle of the night. It's 4 a.m. Like, who is up that early? But for 27-year-old Jody Who's Intrude, it's time to wake up and get ready for work. Because she is an anchor for the morning show on the local TV network K I M T TV. She's a newscaster and she's supposed to be getting into the office at this point to prepare for the show, do her hair and makeup, get ready to go on at 6 a.m. So ouch, oh my God, who chooses that life? I would just be fired immediately.

• 15:50Speaker 01

  So difficult. Also because like then you have to go to bed at 9:30 probably and you have to make sure no one wakes you up.

• 15:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 15:58Speaker 01

  So that you can get your full night's sleep.

• 15:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Sure, there's no insomnia. You're not allowed to have insomnia, which causes my worst insomnia when I can't, I'm not allowed to have insomnia, you know?

• 16:07Speaker 01

  Yeah, the pressure's on.

• 16:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 16:08Speaker 01

  Like, go to sleep right now.

• 16:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, you have to be a very disciplined, like, reliable, obviously, person.

• 16:14Speaker 01

  The one thing I do love about that, though, of getting up and being that kind of morning person, first of all, it's badass.

• 16:19Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes.

• 16:19Speaker 01

  So there, you know, you're really doing it and you're in it.

• 16:22Georgia Hardstark?

  And you have a dream and you're like doing all the, yeah, it's this incredible dream.

• 16:26Speaker 01

  Living your dream.

• 16:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 16:27Speaker 01

  But then you're also out with like people who deliver newspapers.

• 16:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 16:31Speaker 01

  The guy that works at the donut shop.

• 16:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 16:34Speaker 01

  A very select group of people are up in the morning when it's still dark.

• 16:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 16:39Speaker 01

  And it's a cool, it's cool to like dip into that.

• 16:42Georgia Hardstark?

  But then, see, this, this story reminds me that it's still nighttime and the creeps are still out. Like, I guess that's

• 16:50Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 16:50Georgia Hardstark?

  This time of night is a really, is like when people break into cars a lot. Like, there's still nefarious shit going on and you think, well, it's my morning, so everything's fine, but it's like still dark out and it's deceiving, you know?

• 17:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, middle of the night in a lot of ways.

• 17:05Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, I don't think you're, you're as alert because it's your morning, but it's really dark out still. So Jody's originally from Long Prairie, Minnesota. She's been working as an anchor at the TV network for two years, though she's only lived in Mason City for a relatively short time. Jody has lots of friends. She's bubbly, she's social, she's outgoing, as I think you kind of have to be, to be a female newscaster, it seems like.

• 17:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think that would be part of your makeup.

• 17:29Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, it's like you and the head of the sales team, like you guys are all like.

• 17:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:33Georgia Hardstark?

  To have this personality that I've always been like, how do you do that?

• 17:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, the outward facing, kind of like, good morning, Mason City.

• 17:41Georgia Hardstark?

  I made cupcakes. When did you fucking make cupcakes?

• 17:44Speaker 01

  I know.

• 17:45Georgia Hardstark?

  She's pretty much exactly what you'd imagine a young TV news anchor to be. She's got this like, kind of blonde bob. She looks to me like a cross between Belinda Carlisle, because she's also got the like 90s, you know, bob, kind of big teased bob cut. She looks a little bit like Britney Spears as well. So cute, dimples, like, really beautiful, exactly what you'd think of. And so the problem right now at 4 a.m. is that Jodi isn't at work yet, as she should be. So the show's producer, a woman named Amy Coons, calls Jodi at her apartment. The two women both have to be at the studio well before fucking crack of dawn, so they have an agreement to call each other by 4 a.m. if one of them isn't at work to kind of watch each other's back and make sure no one's overslept.

• 18:29Speaker 01

  Nice.

• 18:30Georgia Hardstark?

  So here's where our story differs from every other story we tell that begins this way. Jodi actually picks up the phone.

• 18:36Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 18:37Georgia Hardstark?

  And Amy's call has woken her up when she's supposed to be at work. So Jodi asks what time it is, Amy tells her, and Jodi, you know, scrambles. She says, I'll be right there, and hangs up. And it should take Jodi about 10 minutes to get to the studio. She has like a bag that she brings. She'll do her hair and makeup while she prepares for the show. So she's running late, but she still has time to scramble and get there.

• 18:57Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 18:58Georgia Hardstark?

  But at 4:30, Jodi still isn't at work. Amy calls again, and this time she gets Jodi's answering machine, and at 5 a.m. Amy calls one more time, still gets no answer. And at this point, Amy is scrambling to put together a show without Jodi, but it's like not on her mind that something is wrong. She just figures she fell back to sleep. She had woken her up the first time. Amy winds up going on for Jodi when the morning show starts at 6 a.m., and when the news director gets into the office at 7 a.m., and the staff tells him Jodi never showed up, he immediately calls the police and asks to go check on her. So when the police get to Jody's apartment, they first check inside. Nothing seems amiss, but when they go back outside to look at her car, which is a red Mazda Miata, which is so cute for a young working woman to have, you know?

• 19:44Georgia Hardstark?

  It's still in its parking spot, but there are signs of a struggle. And there are some photos from this and it's just like chilling.

• 19:51Speaker 01

  You know, it's chilling to me too, when you said that the news director immediately called the police because the news director has been in the news for I'm sure a long career. So anybody else that's just kind of paying attention to other things, that news director is like, I know these stories, we're calling the police.

• 20:06Georgia Hardstark?

  I've seen some shit, totally. And like, even if she had like fallen back to sleep when Amy called her, by 7:00 AM, she'd probably have been awake by then and freaking out.

• 20:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, because you have that kind of early morning internal alarm clock.

• 20:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. So here's what's going on with the scene. The driver's side mirror on the car is bent backwards. Jody's belongings are scattered on the ground, like there's a pair of red pumps that have essentially fallen off her feet, a pair of earrings, a can of hairspray and her hairdryer. I remember she probably had her like go bag with her to get ready at work. So she was probably on her way to her car to go to work to finish getting ready. And something happened outside of her car. On the ground, investigators also find the key to Jody's car. It appears to be slightly bent. And on the ground near the car, investigators find what looks like drag marks, like these little indentations that look like someone's being dragged.

• 21:04Georgia Hardstark?

  And investigators also find one partial handprint on the outside of the car. And I mean, so there's a lot of scenes that you hear about that don't give any clues as to what happened, which really delays someone getting searched for. And I think that all this evidence there is almost this lucky thing because they know immediately something's wrong. Like I've been reading about J.C. Dugard's abduction and it was just gone without a trace. Nothing left behind. And that's just almost worse because you have nothing to go on. But here you have evidence to go on.

• 21:37Speaker 01

  And like a little window of time where it's like, oh, I had talked to her here. And then I knew she was running to her car.

• 21:45Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. It had to be between this time and this time. Yeah, totally.

• 21:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 21:49Georgia Hardstark?

  And I think everyone who's obsessed with this case is like, for me personally, it's like the answer is somewhere in here. In this little area and window of time, but. So the apartment complex where she lives, you know where the parking lot is, is a group of two story, mid-century type buildings. Three neighbors from the complex said that they heard a scream at about 4:30 a.m. Of course, no one called the police. One witness reports that they specifically heard a woman scream, leave me alone.

• 22:19Georgia Hardstark?

  Do you like, do you have what I have where it's like, I thought I heard one gunshot, but I don't know. And so you don't call the police, right? And it's like, I don't, it doesn't sound, I mean, this is LA. Some people are like, what are you fucking talking about? Every once in a while you hear a gunshot in LA.

• 22:34Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 22:35Georgia Hardstark?

  In your neighborhood.

• 22:36Speaker 01

  For sure. That's definitely happened, but you wouldn't, you, what would you say to the police when you called? You would be like, I heard what I think is a gunshot and they'd be like, okay, anything else? And they would hang up on you because they literally don't help you a lot of the time.

• 22:51Georgia Hardstark?

  If I heard a woman scream in the middle of the night though, I think then I would.

• 22:55Speaker 01

  And say, leave me alone. And you would at least, I would love it if there were more dudes that were like, I gotta go out there and at least go, at least look.

• 23:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. Like that hometown we read recently where the dad like caught her and ran inside and fucking caught.

• 23:12Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, yeah.

• 23:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. I think that Vince and I, if we were fucking woken up at four in the morning by a woman screaming, would fucking take care of shit and call the police.

• 23:22Speaker 01

  Some action.

• 23:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Take some action and also call the police. Yeah.

• 23:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:25Georgia Hardstark?

  You know, you don't mind your own business. That's like rule number one.

• 23:29Speaker 01

  Mind your own business up until a point.

• 23:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 23:31Speaker 01

  And then when business gets scary and dangerous.

• 23:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 23:34Speaker 01

  Go ahead and don't mind your own business.

• 23:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. A scream is a cry for you to butt in to my business, you know?

• 23:41Speaker 01

  And as a woman, you can stay in your apartment and start calling the police.

• 23:45Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. You don't have to go outside. Okay, PSA, now we have that out.

• 23:49Speaker 01

  I mean, PSA that we're making up based on something we wish very badly didn't happen.

• 23:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. So curiously, another witness who lives across the hall from Jody says she heard a commotion outside Jody's apartment the night before. She says she heard a man banging on Jody's door saying, "Open the door, I know you're in there." But that said, this person tells this story like weeks or months later, not immediately after Jody's disappearance. So it's hard to like really pin down exactly what happened. So while police are still at Jody's building, a friend of Jody's comes over and says that he believes he was the last person to have seen her. This man's name is John, I'm not going to say his last name, but it's, you know, all over the internet. And he's older than Jody. He's 49, so like

• 24:37Georgia Hardstark?

  20 years older than her, but the two really do seem to be close friends. He had recently thrown a surprise party for her 27th birthday, and the night before she disappeared, he says she had gone to his house to watch a home video from that party. And there's actually a problem, though, with this sequence of events. And here's another camp that believes that this guy fucking totally did it. So, the day before Jody disappeared, she had played in a charity golf tournament. That tournament was followed by dinner at the country club, and Jody had been at that dinner. Multiple people report that she had left dinner at 8:00 PM. But John maintains that she came over after the dinner to watch the video. The video is about 15 minutes long, but investigators know that Jody made a long-distance

• 25:21Georgia Hardstark?

  phone call from her apartment at 8:24 PM. So this timeline doesn't add up, right? Jody wouldn't have had time to get to John's from the dinner, watch the video, and then drive home in time to place the call. So it's just this weird discrepancy.

• 25:39Speaker 01

  And sorry, it was his story that that's, that was the timeline?

• 25:42Georgia Hardstark?

  No, it was his story that she came over. And that is the actual timeline. So it's like, I don't know if they confronted him or not, but they're like, you know, this doesn't add up, which to me is like, super suspicious.

• 25:53Speaker 01

  Right.

• 25:54Georgia Hardstark?

  But why would he offer that info if it wasn't true? That's the question. Because he's trying to hide something.

• 25:59Speaker 01

  Right.

• 26:00Georgia Hardstark?

  But John makes himself available to the police. He's generally very cooperative and other friends of theirs confirmed that they were just friends. There was nothing weird going on. But of course, the relationship raises eyebrows. And John goes on multiple local news segments in the wake of Jody's disappearance. You know, talking about her saying he had nothing to do with it. He tells police and local news media that he had been asleep when Jody was abducted, which is understandable, it was four in the morning. And a friend of his says that she went on a walk with him that morning from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. Is it weird that I'm like, well, I could see them being friends if they were both in AA? Because that's, that's the only time you meet like older people, I feel like, in AA.

• 26:42Speaker 01

  That's so specific.

• 26:43Georgia Hardstark?

  It is.

• 26:44Speaker 01

  You might as well say, that's the only time I've ever met anyone.

• 26:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Honestly, like, yeah. Oh, you've been in the program for a long time? Like, let's hang out, yeah.

• 26:53Speaker 01

  Cool, yeah.

• 26:54Georgia Hardstark?

  In another TV interview, John mentions that he named his boat after Jody.

• 26:58Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 26:59Georgia Hardstark?

  It's unclear whether he did this before or after her disappearance.

• 27:03Speaker 01

  It's not after, it's not after. That would be insane.

• 27:07Georgia Hardstark?

  But why before? That, to me, that's insane too. Like, you're naming your boat after a friend of yours?

• 27:11Speaker 01

  Well, I don't know, is, which one? I'm just saying, which one's weirder? I think after. She, your friend disappeared and you're like, great, I'm gonna go name a boat after her?

• 27:20Georgia Hardstark?

  After, to me, is like a tribute. Before, to me, is an obsession.

• 27:24Speaker 01

  I hear you and I raise you, after is making it about you. Where it's like, I name, because all you're doing is pointing out to other people that you named your boat after her.

• 27:34Georgia Hardstark?

  But someone who would kill someone and doesn't understand how things look would think that it's like a way to be like, see, I'm honoring her memory. Like, look how normal this is.

• 27:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:44Georgia Hardstark?

  I don't think they'd understand how, I agree, it's fucking creepy.

• 27:48Speaker 01

  I feel like either way, it's creepy. What are you doing? What's the last time you heard someone, unless it was their child or their grandchild?

• 27:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 27:56Speaker 01

  I don't know.

• 27:57Georgia Hardstark?

  No, it's, it's odd. It raises flags.

• 28:00Speaker 01

  You know what it is? I don't like if he did do it, I don't like if he didn't do it. That's how I feel about this story right now.

• 28:05Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. He's of course treated as a person of interest for years. He's taken two polygraphs and police will not discuss whether or not he passed. He says that he did. And Jody actually kept a journal and she mentions him in it often. And she writes about having fun with him on a recent water skiing trip and has nothing negative to say about him, but I don't fucking tell the truth in my journal. Do you?

• 28:29Speaker 01

  I don't have a fucking journal.

• 28:32Georgia Hardstark?

  I have a once in a while journal when I feel like it.

• 28:35Speaker 01

  I want to go find it and read it.

• 28:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Exactly. That's why I don't fucking tell them the truth or anything.

• 28:39Speaker 01

  No. But you take the time to lie.

• 28:42Georgia Hardstark?

  I'll write like thoughts that I have at the moment, but I won't write like details and secrets.

• 28:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:47Georgia Hardstark?

  You know?

• 28:47Speaker 01

  Okay. You're just more like recording stuff that happened.

• 28:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Not recording stuff that happened, just getting whatever thought is in my head out, but no details.

• 28:56Speaker 01

  Got it.

• 28:57Georgia Hardstark?

  So if you read it, it might not make any sense to you.

• 28:59Speaker 01

  I always felt like you were beholden to tell like deep feelings and secrets in a journal. That's why I'd always be like, I should start doing this for my mental health. And then literally two days later, I'd be like, throat over my shoulder.

• 29:10Georgia Hardstark?

  For me, and I'm betting for you too, growing up with a sibling means that you don't write jack shit in a fucking diary. Or they're going to read it and make fun of you and hold it over your head for the rest of your life.

• 29:20Speaker 01

  Absolutely. Do you know that my sister, one time I wrote a letter, a boy that I went to camp with wrote me a letter and we got home, I had a huge crush on him. And I wrote a letter back to him and my sister went and took it out of the mailbox.

• 29:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, wow.

• 29:35Speaker 01

  Cause she knew, she knew it was like the wrong move.

• 29:38Georgia Hardstark?

  And actually, oh, she, that was nice.

• 29:40Speaker 01

  I know. But of course I was like, I didn't know until, and then she told me like two years later, she's like, you never, cause I was like, oh my God, I sent him the most embarrassing letter. She goes, no, you didn't.

• 29:52Georgia Hardstark?

  But what if that had been like heartfelt and real?

• 29:55Speaker 01

  She was at camp, she knew how not real it was.

• 29:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay. Wow. That's actually really touching.

• 30:01Speaker 01

  She was, Laura was the

• 30:02Georgia Hardstark?

  She's looking out.

• 30:03Speaker 01

  The meanest, most loving older sister of all time, where she was like, please stop acting like this. And I'd be like, I'm not going to. And then she'd be like, okay.

• 30:11Georgia Hardstark?

  You're gonna have to keep following me and picking up my trash along the way.

• 30:16Speaker 01

  Everything's a show. Come and fix it.

• 30:21Georgia Hardstark?

  The holidays are coming, which means we'll all be spending more time away from home.

• 30:25Speaker 01

  Whether you're visiting family or doing something actually fun, you want to know your home is protected while you're away.

• 30:31Georgia Hardstark?

  That's why now is a good time to think about home security with SimpliSafe.

• 30:34Speaker 01

  Unlike traditional security systems that alert you after a break-in starts, SimpliSafe is designed to help stop intruders before they get inside. These days, you're worried about your house, you're out of town, and then something comes up and you get to look on your phone, and SimpliSafe is going to show you not only the video of like, "It's a raccoon at your front door", but also that they have staff that's sitting there, they already know. And if it was something different or worse, they would have already been on it.

• 31:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, I really think that's invaluable peace of mind, that just like relying on your neighbors, paying attention is not going to give you. We've partnered with SimpliSafe to offer our listeners their biggest savings of the year, 70% off your new system with professional monitoring when you visit simplisafe.com/mfm.

• 31:17Speaker 01

  That's simplisafe.com/mfm. And when you order, write in "MFM" at checkout, and it tells them we sent you, and it really helps the show.

• 31:25Georgia Hardstark?

  SimpliSafe, ahead of crime, in real time.

• 31:28Speaker 01

  Goodbye.

• 31:29Georgia Hardstark?

  Holiday shopping gets a lot easier when you can find something for everyone.

• 31:32Speaker 01

  Especially one everyone includes yourself.

• 31:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Find thoughtful, high-quality gifts for everyone on your list at Quince.

• 31:39Speaker 01

  Quince makes beautiful everyday essentials with high-quality materials like Mongolian cashmere, organic cotton, and premium stretch denim. They're the kind of things you love to give as a gift or get yourself.

• 31:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Their 100% Mongolian cashmere sweaters start at just $50, and they also have beautiful 14-karat gold earrings and bracelets that make great gifts.

• 31:58Speaker 01

  I was so excited when I got home and I got to break out my gray Quince cashmere sweater that I wear constantly around the house. We've been waiting for even the slightest temperature drop so that we could get into sweater weather, and finally it's here. And I celebrated with my beautiful Quince cashmere sweater that I think I got the second year we started doing ads for them.

• 32:21Georgia Hardstark?

  They laugh.

• 32:22Speaker 01

  They do.

• 32:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Give the gift of quality this holiday season.

• 32:25Speaker 01

  Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com.

• 32:29Georgia Hardstark?

  Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.

• 32:32Speaker 01

  Now available in Canada and the UK too.

• 32:34Georgia Hardstark?

  And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was my favorite murder. It's the best way to support the show.

• 32:40Speaker 01

  Goodbye. Sometimes being a little salty is completely justified.

• 32:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Pair your salty side with something sweet with the new salted caramel flavor from Kachava.

• 32:52Speaker 01

  Kachava is a whole body shake with plant-based protein, fiber, greens, and other nutrients to help fill nutritional gaps.

• 32:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Just two scoops provide complete nutrition your body craves with protein, fiber, greens, and so much more.

• 33:05Speaker 01

  Their new salty caramel flavor combines sweet caramel with a little salt, so you get that salty-sweet balance along with the nutrition Kachava is known for.

• 33:13Georgia Hardstark?

  When the day demands your salty side, fuel it with plant-based protein that actually tastes delicious.

• 33:18Speaker 01

  I really do love Kachava and I really do think it does taste delicious for getting you through the morning, filling in the gap if you just need some protein and you need some vitamins. It's such a nice little treat.

• 33:29Georgia Hardstark?

  It's such an easy way to get everything you need and it tastes good too, which is just huge bonus.

• 33:34Speaker 01

  So embrace your salty side.

• 33:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Go to kachava.com and use code MFM for 15% off your first order.

• 33:39Speaker 01

  That's Kachava, K-A-C-H-A-V-A dot com, code MFM. Goodbye.

• 33:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, we're back in. So they call the state troopers, the police call the state troopers in to come help the Mason City Police to look for Jody, which we always like. They bring in dogs and search a nearby river. There's also like park grounds across the street from her apartment building. It seems like maybe campers hang out there, maybe also people party there. Like it's, and also like if she has a stalker, it's a good manage point to like watch from. You know what I mean? No sign of Jody is found though in that park area. And inside Jody's apartment, police noticed two things. There are two wine glasses by the sink and the toilet seat is up in Jody's bathroom.

• 34:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Which would suggest

• 34:25Speaker 01

  Dear

• 34:26Georgia Hardstark?

  A male guest.

• 34:26Speaker 01

  With no manners.

• 34:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. This leads, of course, people to wonder if a man had been in her apartment the night before she disappeared. I've also read somewhere that there were beer bottles by, like, by the dumpster outside, as if someone was hanging out waiting around, but

• 34:41Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 34:41Georgia Hardstark?

  I, you know, can't find anything further on that. And no further evidence is found, and it sounds like the glasses aren't tested for DNA, or if they are, there's no, an account for male DNA, like, you know, they haven't, it's an open case, so they haven't really said, but you'd think that they would let us know if that was the case. So people point out that Jody is a local celebrity, and so that might have been a factor in her disappearance. It is a small town, and I think the newscaster is like a big deal there, right?

• 35:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, it would be a huge deal.

• 35:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, there's no fucking online influencers, there's no online, it's like, this is, these are the celebrities.

• 35:16Speaker 01

  And like, it's a person you turn on your TV, you're seeing them all the time. I feel like somebody like a newscaster would be especially prone to a stalker in that way.

• 35:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. So Mason City is very small, in other parts of the country, we would call it a town, it's not, you know, a city. And Jody lived life like a regular person, even though people started their mornings with her every single day. So it's not unheard of for TV news personalities to have stalkers, in fact, obviously, it's very common. And Jody was a young woman who lived by herself in a small apartment complex without any kind of special security. She was listed in the phone book, and so it probably wouldn't be hard for someone to figure out where she lived.

• 35:55Speaker 01

  No security.

• 35:57Georgia Hardstark?

  You go to the news station, you wait till she comes out, you follow her home.

• 36:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:01Georgia Hardstark?

  I mean, it's, yeah, kind of terrifying.

• 36:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:05Georgia Hardstark?

  So the current lead investigator on the case says that the stalker angle doesn't add up for him. And remember, Jody was late for work the day she disappeared. So on a normal day, she would have walked out the door at 3:00 in the morning. So a stalker waiting for her would have had to stay outside her apartment building for a whole extra hour to grab her on the day she disappeared. And the investigator doesn't think that that's likely, and I hate to contradict him, but

• 36:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, he's wrong.

• 36:31Georgia Hardstark?

  If he knew she had to be at work, he could have just waited.

• 36:36Speaker 01

  I'm sorry, you're trying to say that stalkers wouldn't wait an extra hour? I feel like that is what they do.

• 36:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, it's like, today's the day, I'm gonna do it.

• 36:44Speaker 01

  They wait all the time, did stalking.

• 36:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. And then the other thing people think about is that if she did have someone over the night before and she was being stalked, that might have upset the stalker enough to wait for her and attack her.

• 37:01Speaker 01

  Yep, that makes sense.

• 37:02Georgia Hardstark?

  So that kind of is an angle I really think is strong. So nine months before she went missing, in October of 1994, Jody made a police report saying that she had been out jogging, she was being followed by someone driving a white truck, and the night before Jody disappeared, a neighbor reported seeing an unfamiliar white van in her building's parking lot.

• 37:21Speaker 01

  Don't like that.

• 37:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Some people also say that she was going to change her phone number because she was getting nasty calls from someone. And there's one other angle that people always wonder about. I mean, this is kind of loose for me, but Jody had been covering the growing issue of drug use in the Midwest, so people think that she was possibly killed by people who didn't want her to keep reporting on it, but I mean, she was not an investigative journalist. I can't imagine she was like, breaking any crazy news that like gangs were worried about her sharing.

• 37:53Speaker 01

  Right. It's all after the fact kind of stuff that already happened.

• 37:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, so that seems unlikely to me. So two years after Jody's disappearance, in 1997, a serial rapist is arrested and ultimately convicted, and this man lived in Mason City about a block or two away from the TV studio where Jody worked.

• 38:12Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 38:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Police look into him in connection with Jody, based on an account from a jailhouse informant, but they ultimately rule him out, which I'm like, based on what? Because it must have been, it had to be like, he was out of town that day or something to rule him out, you know?

• 38:27Speaker 01

  Right.

• 38:28Georgia Hardstark?

  It's pretty crazy. There's another man from nearby Minnesota who has a record of sexual assaults going back to the 1970s. He was known to spend time in Mason City, he owned a white van, not unlike the one that the witness had seen, in Jody's apartment building's parking lot. And this man's ex-wife actually says that he had a special interest in Jody.

• 38:49Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 38:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. And two witnesses who have had conversations with this man say that he bragged to them about being involved in her disappearance. So I just want to know how close they were looked at and like, can we do it again, please? There are private investigators, there's, you know, regular investigators on this. You'd have to think that they looked as much as they could into these people.

• 39:11Speaker 01

  If anyone came and said, hey, this guy bragged to me that he was involved, you know that they looked into that person.

• 39:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, right. And that does happen all the time.

• 39:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:21Georgia Hardstark?

  And it's, and they had nothing to do with it.

• 39:23Speaker 01

  Right.

• 39:24Georgia Hardstark?

  In 2004, police served this guy with a search warrant for his finger and palm prints, and the officer who executed this warrant says that this man became irate when presented with the search warrant.

• 39:34Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 39:34Georgia Hardstark?

  But he had to comply. He was never charged. Police say they've cleared him. In June of 2001, Jody's family makes the awful decision to declare her legally dead. But no one has given up on finding out what happened to her. In 2003, a group of journalists formed a website called findjody.com. And this group is still extremely active. So for journalists, this case hits home because it's a big community made up of some people who knew Jody personally, but also other journalists who didn't know her. And this just hit them. It seems so, it's one of their own.

• 40:11Speaker 01

  One of their own, yeah.

• 40:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. So this is another crazy little like breadcrumb to throw in there. In early June 2008, 84 photocopied pages of Jody's personal journal were anonymously mailed to a local newspaper. The original journal had been in the possession of the former Mason City Police Chief. So who sent this? Well, it turns out the sender was identified as the wife of the former Mason City Police Chief.

• 40:43Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 40:43Georgia Hardstark?

  He had taken, you know, copies of this home or the journal, I don't know which, and she sent them maybe in a bid to like, try to fucking get this solved, you know? It's just weird. It's just a weird violation. Maybe she was hoping that someone would glean some information off of it, you know? It's been, it had been 13 years, so.

• 41:00Speaker 01

  Is there anything in it that like, helps people or it furthers anything?

• 41:05Georgia Hardstark?

  It doesn't seem like it, no. I mean, maybe, yeah, who knows? It is that thing where like they keep stuff secret so that only the killer knows. But eventually if there's no leads at all, you've got to put some information out there.

• 41:19Speaker 01

  Right.

• 41:19Georgia Hardstark?

  To try to get some leads.

• 41:20Speaker 01

  Right.

• 41:21Georgia Hardstark?

  So in 2017, John, the older friend guy who named his boat after Jody, is subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury for a second time, like they're on this guy. He gives finger and palm prints and a DNA sample. The results of that grand jury proceeding is sealed, but I feel like it happened in 2017. If they had anything on him, he would have been indicted by now, right?

• 41:46Speaker 01

  It seems like it.

• 41:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. John recently gave a statement saying he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and he has reiterated that he had nothing to do with Jody's disappearance.

• 41:56Speaker 01

  Sorry, so ultimately, the reason they went to him first was just because they were close?

• 42:02Georgia Hardstark?

  I think he showed up that day when they were searching, when they like went to the crime scene.

• 42:08Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 42:08Georgia Hardstark?

  He kind of inserted himself, you know, which we always, in true crime, that's a red flag. But he does, he did think he was the last person to see her the night before.

• 42:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, and if you heard, if someone told him she might be missing, he might run over there to see what's going on.

• 42:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Sure, yeah. Or he's driving by and it's his friend's apartment building and something's going on in there, yeah. Right, so it could be totally innocent. That's why I'm not saying his last name because who the fuck knows?

• 42:36Speaker 01

  Right.

• 42:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Right? And like, if we find out what happened and this whole time this guy's been hounded and had nothing to do with it.

• 42:43Speaker 01

  Which happens a lot.

• 42:45Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 42:45Speaker 01

  When they're like, they just, the police decide this one person is guilty and they're gonna, they're gonna bend it all around to fit that.

• 42:52Georgia Hardstark?

  It's just like, this sudden violent act, to me, it either seems like a stalker or a crime of opportunity. Like some, a guy, someone, some nefarious person was there, maybe breaking into cars or peep, like peeping Tom. And at 4:00 AM, she happens to come out.

• 43:09Speaker 01

  And when you first said that she screamed, "Leave me alone."

• 43:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 43:12Speaker 01

  To me, I interpreted that as that she had dealt with this person before.

• 43:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. Like, I know you, I know, I've seen you, "Leave me alone, because you won't leave me alone."

• 43:21Speaker 01

  You won't leave me alone.

• 43:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Tips still come in all the time on this case. Most recently, just this past October that we just had, investigators got an anonymous tip about possible human remains on a farm in Winstead, Minnesota. And it was known that like, it was about Jody. So people were like, excited that something was finally going to happen in this case. It turns out that the bones were just farm animal remains. But you know, it did once again stir up interest in the case. The Find Jody group still maintains billboards around Mason City, asking for people to come forward with tips about this case. They get tips regularly and they run down all of them, hoping to finally solve this almost 30-year mystery.

• 44:03Speaker 01

  God.

• 44:04Georgia Hardstark?

  I know. Jody's sister, Joanne, says, quote, "I don't like the word closure. You're not going to close something. We're always going to think about Jody. We're always going to miss her." End quote. And that is the story of the disappearance of Jody Huzntrut.

• 44:20Speaker 01

  That is so crazy.

• 44:22Georgia Hardstark?

  That's just one of the ones that like, holds space in my mind at all times, you know?

• 44:26Speaker 01

  Yeah. The drag marks.

• 44:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 44:28Speaker 01

  The clarity that it was something potentially violent, dangerous, scary.

• 44:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Shoes, the shoes left behind.

• 44:38Speaker 01

  Bent key.

• 44:39Georgia Hardstark?

  I know, I know. You know, whenever there is a crime in the immediate area, or even larger, it's like, does this match? It kind of reminds me of the Springfield Three, who just disappeared out of nowhere as well. It's just so like...

• 44:53Speaker 01

  Did you do them?

• 44:53Georgia Hardstark?

  I did that one. Oh, Drew just told me, episode 95. Good to know.

• 44:58Speaker 01

  But that was 200 years ago, so...

• 45:00Georgia Hardstark?

  That was in 1999 that I did that. It's 2025 now.

• 45:06Speaker 01

  Good to know. Yeah. Good update. I think it's that thing of like, it's a, it doesn't surprise me that there are all kinds of theories, camps, and people discussing it and fighting about it.

• 45:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 45:17Speaker 01

  Because it's all to the good of, let us figure this out.

• 45:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 45:21Speaker 01

  So, you know, again, theorizing about why people like true crime. But it's like, if we all put our brains together, here on Reddit or anywhere else, can we please just get this going one step forward?

• 45:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Right. Because the investigators haven't been able to find anything. So like, why not have more people put their eyes on it 30 years later? It's like,

• 45:40Speaker 01

  And I think you're right about when you're like, re-interview some of those people or just like, is there anything that like, you know, that much later could could change or break or oh, this alibi actually isn't solid or any of those things?

• 45:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, like her phone records. Was there some, was there someone calling her and saying weird things like, yeah, it sucks that like, you know, we have GPS tracking now, which is so great. But back then, there's just like, nothing to go on.

• 46:05Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 46:06Georgia Hardstark?

  That's my story. We'll go back to two stories very soon.

• 46:11Speaker 01

  I mean, here's the thing I think about all the time and my frustration with your cold cases, because, because we all want a button ending, which is not how life works and how many, many, many crimes, the majority of crimes do not work that way. But then there is that potential of like, and here is the break that, you know, 30 years later, here's the headline we've been looking for.

• 46:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. And it does fucking happen. It happens all the time, you know?

• 46:38Speaker 01

  It does.

• 46:38Georgia Hardstark?

  So.

• 46:39Speaker 01

  I just saw one on TikTok by a huge person on there. Her name's True Crime Mama. And she tells the story of this couple. It's the 44 year old missing persons case of Charles and Catherine Romer. And yeah, and they just, and the guy with the sonar.

• 46:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. What's his, what's, what's their name?

• 46:59Speaker 01

  It's a man named Jason Serrata, who has his own sonar equipment. He searched the pond directly. It's like behind this old hotel. And then you can see where the driveway basically goes down. So if they drove and like, for whatever reason, just drove and drove into that in this big old Cadillac and it sank, like, you can just kind of see of like, oh, my God, if it was like the mills at night.

• 47:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, no lights.

• 47:24Speaker 01

  Something happened. They were drunk or something. And then just like, and that's that. If no one witnessed it, they wouldn't know.

• 47:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. Yeah, those cases just give me the chills. And I think there's probably so many missing person cases that can be attributed to that. And there are like, a lot more companies and people now who are taking that seriously. You know, the town doesn't have the money to use that equipment. On the lakes, but these individuals are, and I think that's amazing.

• 47:54Speaker 01

  Yeah. Well, amazing job. I mean, it feels very trite to say, I hope, I hope there's some breaking news, the way there, there can be breaking news sometime. I really hope there is.

• 48:05Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. Should we go back to, um, what do we do now? Fucking hoorays? Do we do what are you even doing right now? Should we do a new one for 2025?

• 48:14Speaker 01

  Yes, we should start a new one.

• 48:16Georgia Hardstark?

  What's your, what does nine mean again?

• 48:19Speaker 01

  Say it again. Oh, I made all that up.

• 48:23Speaker 01

  Did you think I, I swear to God.

• 48:25Georgia Hardstark?

  I swear I've heard that the number nine means.

• 48:29Speaker 01

  I mean, that was, it was an amalgamation of all this stuff that I just look at on my phone and see and da da da.

• 48:34Georgia Hardstark?

  It was great. I believe it.

• 48:36Speaker 01

  It is true that 2025 adds up to nine.

• 48:40Georgia Hardstark?

  Sure, but that doesn't mean anything, though, it turns out.

• 48:43Speaker 01

  No, it doesn't. All the things about nine. I just wanted people to feel good. I want people to like, let's start interpreting numbers exactly the way we want to, to tell ourselves that we are going to be powerful and strong and exactly what we want to be.

• 48:59Georgia Hardstark?

  It's chronic positivity.

• 49:01Speaker 01

  Let's, let's go into toxic positivity.

• 49:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Toxic positivity. I love it.

• 49:06Speaker 01

  Chronic, toxic, delusional positivity for 2025. Why not?

• 49:11Georgia Hardstark?

  So what should we have people tell us? Like, what, what are you, what are you excited about this year, maybe?

• 49:17Speaker 01

  What's your power number?

• 49:19Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. Tell us what your power number is, and then you have to get a tattoo of it.

• 49:23Speaker 01

  Hashtag four, hashtag 22.

• 49:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's do, what are you, what are you excited, what are you even excited about this year? What are you even excited about in 2025? That's, that can be our like, new, like, question. Why don't, why don't we answer it since we obviously don't have any emails from it yet?

• 49:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's true. We can't, because it's not the future.

• 49:41Georgia Hardstark?

  We truly can't.

• 49:43Speaker 01

  What I'm excited about for 2025.

• 49:46Georgia Hardstark?

  And you can manifest something too. Make something up that like, that's going to be the year that I get another dog, or whatever.

• 49:52Speaker 01

  Can you imagine the dream coming true of getting another dog? I think I would like to do some more serious actually writing, like write a script. I think that's gonna be my thing because I talk about it all the time. There's like seven I've actually said on this podcast. So poor man's copyright, but by talk about it too much, I now need to just actually do it. And I think that I'm going to make the time, find the time and actually do it.

• 50:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Fuck, yeah, you should. I love that.

• 50:20Speaker 01

  Thank you. What's yours gonna be?

• 50:21Georgia Hardstark?

  What's mine gonna be?

• 50:23Speaker 01

  It has to be far enough away that it's hard, but still like what you ruminate on, a thing that comes back to you a lot.

• 50:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's see, in 2025, I'm gonna become proficient in gardening.

• 50:37Speaker 01

  Ooh.

• 50:39Georgia Hardstark?

  That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna like read Gardening for Dummies. I'm gonna not stop watering plants.

• 50:46Speaker 01

  Okay. No joke, I have a gift for you.

• 50:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 50:49Speaker 01

  Because I accidentally bought two of this book. It's a book called Plantopedia.

• 50:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes.

• 50:55Speaker 01

  And Bradford Berlowski, who works in our legal department in the Great Lakes office, told me to get it because he is a total green thumb. And he was like, I actually just got this book and it tells you like water this plant, don't water this plant.

• 51:06Georgia Hardstark?

  That's what I need.

• 51:06Speaker 01

  Type of thing. And wherever I bought it, I accidentally bought two.

• 51:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 51:12Speaker 01

  So I will wrap it up as if I meant for you to have it and you can have it.

• 51:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Thank you. Thank you. I'm excited for that. Yeah, I'm gonna do that this year. I'm gonna be a responsible adult who doesn't kill plants.

• 51:24Speaker 01

  That's good.

• 51:24Georgia Hardstark?

  And who cultivates a beautiful garden that I'm proud of.

• 51:27Speaker 01

  Great.

• 51:28Georgia Hardstark?

  What are you even gonna do in 2025? Let us know.

• 51:31Speaker 01

  What are you planning to do? Oh, you're trying to make it sound like the other one?

• 51:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 51:34Speaker 01

  What are you even planning to do in 2025?

• 51:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, let us know in the comments of all our, all our places.

• 51:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, just like we'll power number this into existence.

• 51:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 51:43Speaker 01

  And until then, stay sexy.

• 51:44Georgia Hardstark?

  And don't get murdered.

• 51:48Speaker 01

  Elvis, do you want a cookie?

• 51:57Speaker 01

  This has been an Exactly Right production.

• 51:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Our senior producer is Alejandra Keck.

• 52:02Speaker 01

  Our managing producer is Hannah Kyle-Crighton.

• 52:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

• 52:07Speaker 01

  This episode was mixed by Liana Scolacci.

• 52:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Our researchers are Maren McClashern and Ally Elkin.

• 52:12Speaker 01

  Email your hometowns to [email protected].

• 52:15Georgia Hardstark?

  Follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at MyFavoriteMurder.

• 52:19Speaker 01

  Goodbye.

• 52:25Speaker 03

  Cash Flow Crunch. OnDeck's small business line of credit gives your business immediate access to funds, up to $200,000, right when you need it. Cover seasonal dips, manage payroll, restock inventory, or tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. With flexible draws, transparent pricing, and control over repayment, get funded quickly and confidently. Apply today at ondeck.com. Funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

• 52:55Speaker 01

  Calling all amateur detectives and podcast obsessives.

• 52:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Virgin Voyages' second True Crime Voyage sets sail March 20, 2027, for a five-night escape to Grand Turk and the Beach Club at Bimini.

• 53:07Speaker 01

  As part of the On Air at Sea collection, this immersive sailing brings together fan favorite podcasts, including Disgrace Land, Buried Bones, and Wise Crack, for live recordings, behind-the-scenes access, exclusive meet and greets, and crime-themed programming that you won't find anywhere else.

• 53:24Georgia Hardstark?

  All aboard our award-winning, kid-free ships.

• 53:27Speaker 01

  Head over to virginvoyages.com/truecrime to secure your spot.

• 53:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye.

• 53:32Speaker 00

  Cool fall nights always make me want to entertain more. A few friends around the table, maybe a fire outside when the sun goes down. Before everyone comes over, I stop at Total Wine & More. Right now, there's a cranberry-flavored wine, a crisp apple wine, even a pumpkin spice cream that's perfect in coffee after dinner. And with the lowest prices, I can bring home a few different fall flavors for everyone to try. Find your favorite fall flavors at the lowest prices at Total Wine & More. Spirits are not sold in Virginia and North Carolina. Drink responsibly. Must be 21.