(NewsNation) — A licensed private investigator who has worked on Jodi Huisentruit’s missing case since 2019 has narrowed the suspect list to four people.

Steve Ridge says jealousy over a newly discovered secret relationship may have led to the 1995 disappearance of the Iowa TV anchor.

Ridge during a Saturday interview on “NewsNation Prime,” revealed that Huisentruit had begun dating an out-of-state man in the days leading up to her disappearance. The relationship, which began two Saturdays before she vanished, involved “almost daily contact” including dinner dates, golf outings, and drinks at the man’s residence.

Huisentruit disappeared on her way to work at KIMT-TV in Mason City. Police found her belongings scattered near her car, with a bent key suggesting a possible abduction.

“I think plain and simply, things came to a head given the fact that she had developed this new relationship,” Ridge said. “I believe [this] was ultimately the motive for a confrontation that would have occurred in the parking lot at her Key Apartments.”

Ridge also disclosed that John Vancise, long considered a person of interest in the case, is now “permanently incapacitated” and unable to aid in his own defense, effectively eliminating the possibility of his prosecution.

Through his investigation, Ridge says he has narrowed his list of suspects from 29 to four individuals, though he declined to name them. “I’m 100% certain that I do have Jody’s killer, or at least abductor, on my list,” he said.

Ridge emphasized that finding Huisentruit’s remains is crucial to building a prosecutable case. “If we had the remains, I can almost guarantee that eventually we would have established links to one of the four people who I have on my list,” he said.

Minnesota property searched in Jodi Huisentruit case

In 1995, Huisentruit was on her way to work as a morning news anchor in Mason City, Iowa. But she never arrived at the station.

Now, almost 30 years after she vanished, investigators have confirmed they searched a property in Winsted, Minnesota, just west of Minneapolis.

According to the group FindJodi.com, the search centered around land surrounding a construction site where an apartment complex is being built.

The disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit

Huisentruit’s producer called the police when she didn’t appear for the show. There were no signs of anything amiss in her apartment.

Her disappearance was ruled an abduction after items, including her hair spray and earrings, were found near her car in the parking lot.

The keys to her car were also there, bent, and investigators said there were signs of a struggle.

Little forensic evidence was recovered, though police did find a hair and a partial palm print on Huisentruit’s car.

Suspects in Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance

After her disappearance, interest centered around two sex offenders who lived nearby, but investigators ruled them out.

Vancise was a friend of Huisentruit’s who was 20 years older than her and who had recently thrown a party for her birthday.

He also called the news station asking if she was there before she had been reported missing.

Vancise said he cooperated with investigators and was not involved in Huisentruit’s disappearance.

Huisentruit had also mentioned being followed by a man in a white truck a year before she disappeared.

Her family had her declared dead in 2001, though no body has ever been found.

Investigators have not said what information led them to search the Minnesota property, but the case remains open.

Anyone with information on Huisentruit’s case should contact the Mason City Police Department or Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

NewsNation’s Rich McHugh and Steph Whiteside contributed to this report.