Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit is a three-part docuseries, directed by Maria Awes, that examines new evidence in the case of Huisentruit, a popular young news anchor at KMIT in Mason City, Iowa. She disappeared in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995, as she was scrambling to get to the station to anchor the morning news broadcast. While she was declared dead in 2001, Huisentruit’s body has never been found, and the case has puzzled Mason City police for three decades.
Opening Shot: “JUNE 27, 1995.” A phone rings, and we see a reenactment of Jodi Huisentruit lying in her bed, having overslept.
The Gist: In the docuseries, Awes talks to Huisentruit’s sister, JoAnn Nathe, as well as people who worked with her at KMIT, her childhood friends, and current and former members of the Mason City PD. Investigator Terrance Prochaska is the current officer who is looking into the new leads, having led the investigation for a number of years.
Once Huisentruit didn’t come into work on the morning of June 27, it became apparent that she had gone missing. When police went to her apartment building, there were signs of a struggle by her car. This was definitely an abduction case, but as time went on, she continued to be missing.
Some months earlier, Huisentruit had reported that someone was following her, but nothing came of that. Then law enforcement turned to John Vansice, a friend of Huisentruit’s who seemed to be more romantically attached to her than even she realized. But the new piece of evidence came after a 2022 report on 20/20 about the case; Patty Niemeyer, a close friend of Huisentruit, reiterated what she had reported to Mason City police in the past about her ex-husband, Brad Millerbernd.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Her Last Broadcast has the same feel as other recent ABC News Studios shows, like Little Miss Innocent and Scamanda.
Our Take: Aside from an overreliance on reenactments, nothing about Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction Of Jodi Huisentruit really stood out… until the end of the first episode. That’s when Patty Niemeyer talked about emailing both Awes and the Mason City PD about Millerbernd, a lead she had e-mailed the police department about five years earlier. Investigator Prochaska tells Awes that they took Niemeyer’s second email more seriously because she gave more information, namely that she was “best friends” with Huisentruit.
Um… what? Is this really a new piece of information after thirty years? Prochaska tells Awes that because they were close friends, Niemeyer had no reason to lie. It boggles the mind to think that Niemeyer wasn’t questioned at some point during the initial investigation and her relationship to Huisentruit noted in the case files.
It’s kind of strange that Awes took this at face value and didn’t press Prochaska or anyone else from the Mason City PD about this. At the very least, the email that Niemeyer sent in 2017 should have been given more attention than it got, but it seems like Millerbernd’s name just went on a “to contact” list.
It makes us wonder what else law enforcement missed over the past three decades, but this isn’t what Awes, and her fellow producer/husband, Andy Awes, was after in this docuseries. The docuseries is more about the police pursuing that new and promising lead that they got 3 years ago rather than a rehash of where law enforcement went wrong. Still, it feels like a missed opportunity.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: Awes gives Niemeyer composite sketches from witness accounts of someone seen outside of Huisentruit’s apartment building and asks Niemeyer what she sees; Niemeyer replies that she sees the face of Millerbernd.
Sleeper Star: No one really stands out.
Most Pilot-y Line: Awes is interviewed on-camera, and she sounds like she’s reading off cue cards.
Our Call: STREAM IT. We wish Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction Of Jodi Huisentruit imparted more information about the 30 years worth of dead ends law enforcement has run into in the case of Huisentruit’s disappearance, but the series is still worth watching to see where this new piece of information leads.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.