I’m Not Saying It Was Aliens, But…

A short primer on why you shouldn’t try to explain unsolved mysteries with outlandish espionage conspiracies.

Last Friday this newsletter offered a deep-dive into a hobby file “true crime” case of mine, the Jodi Huisentruit mystery, on the 30^th anniversary of her abduction. Hopes that the anniversary might result in some new information from law enforcement regarding her disappearance were dashed, as usual, leaving open troubling questions about what Mason City, Iowa cops knew about the TV news anchor’s sad demise – both three decades ago and now.

Jodi’s disappearance seems fated to remain a mystery, barring an unexpected break in the case such as a deathbed confession. We hope for the best while expecting more of the same. My assessment offered four whodunit scenarios, all of them plausible, even if just barely. A fifth possibility lingers, namely that Jodi was abducted by persons unknown who were never on police radar: what the FBI calls an UNSUB (for Unknown Subject).

We simply don’t know what happened to Jodi Huisentruit, despite so many advances in criminal investigation since the 1990s. That nagging mystery inevitably leads to speculation, some of it unfounded, even unhinged. Jodi’s disappearance has even birthed a bona fide conspiracy theory that’s so odd and implausible that it merits a brief discussion.