MASON CITY, Iowa (KTTC) – A statement made by the Cerro Gordo County Attorney is at the center of a motion filed Wednesday in the ongoing legal battle to unseal a 2017 search warrant in the Jodi Huisentruit cold case.

Huisentruit went missing on June 27, 1995 while on the way to her morning anchor job in Mason City.

The motion filed Wednesday by private investigator Steve Ridge’s attorneys, Nellie O’Mara and Jesse Marzen, alleges a statement the county attorney made during a court hearing may not be accurate.

On Monday, a judge heard arguments on whether a 2017 search warrant should be unsealed. The search warrant was for the GPS data from two of suspect John Vansice’s cars. He is believed to be the last person to see Huisentruit alive. Mason City Police have publicly said nothing useful came of the search warrant. Vansice passed away in December of 2024, prompting the legal battle to unseal the warrant.

Ridge and his attorneys argue the state has no right to conduct an investigation into someone after they have died.

Cerro Gordo County Attorney Carlyle Dalen told the court the investigation is ongoing, and the affidavit holds details that could be detrimental to the investigation if made public.

Dalen told the court many law enforcement agencies are working on the investigation, including the Iowa’s Cold Case Unit out of the state attorney general’s office.

“Now you even have the cold case unit down at the attorney general’s office that are working on this,” Dalen told the court.

According to a motion filed Monday, Ridge and his attorneys allege Dalen’s statement regarding the cold case unit may not be true.

The motion stated after Monday’s hearing, Ridge reached out to Director of the Iowa Cold Case Unit Steven Ponsetto about the agency’s involvement in the investigation. Ponsetto confirmed it is not involved in the investigation and no agency has requested help from the unit.

Now, Ridge’s attorneys are asking the court to hold another hearing on the matter. The motion stated they want to reopen the record to submit the discovery into evidence.

KTTC has reached out to Dalen but has not heard back yet since outreach was at the end of the business day.

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