Person of interest in Jodi Huisentruit case deemed responsible for WI murder

MASON CITY, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities disclosed this week that a person of interest in Jodi Husentruit disappearance, who died by suicide in 2009, was responsible for the 2006 murder of a woman in Wisconsin.

The Wood County Sheriff's Office announced Christopher Revak was responsible for Deidre Harm's death and that the case is closed. 

Revak was a person of interest in the Jodi Husentruit disappearance, but Mason City Police Lt. Frank Stearns told a local newspaper in 2009 that police found no evidence connecting him to the case.

READ MORE: Jodi Huisentruit disappearance: 30 years later, push for answers continues

Who was Christopher Revak?

Big picture view:

Revak was found dead after he committed suicide in a Missouri jail cell while facing charges for the 2007 murder of Rene Williams in Ava, Missouri. Law enforcement say Revak was at the bar she worked at on the night she went missing. Her case is still unsolved.

Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker released a memorandum saying he considered the case of Deidre Harm closed and that he believed his team gathered enough evidence to win at trial. 

A Mason City police investigator spoke with a Wisconsin investigator to compare notes on Revak in 2024 despite his possible connection already being dismissed, according to FindJodi.com.

It was believed that a Revak's ex-wife had once lived in the same home as once of the last people to see Jodi alive, but investigators found she moved out six months before Jodi disappeared. 

Jodi Husentruit disappearance 

The backstory:

Jodi was on her way to work shortly after 4 a.m. on the morning on June 27, 1995, when authorities believe she was violently abducted. Police found signs of a struggle outside her apartment building, including a pair of high heels and a bent key outside her car.

Declared legally dead in 2001, her body has never been found and no arrests have ever been made.

Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley says his department receives information year-round regarding Jodi's case that they are constantly following up on.

"We haven't put this down, we haven't stopped working, we have not stopped pursuing leads and information," Brinkley told FOX 9 in June. 

Most recently, his officers helped search a location in Winsted, Minn., last year after getting a tip, but nothing concrete came of it. 

Another recent development came this past March, when part of a search warrant from 2017 was unsealed. 

Brinkley said he is confident the case will be solved and justice will be served, no matter how long it takes.

$50K reward

What you can do:

A $50,000 reward is still being offered for information on Jodi's disappearance. Those with information are asked to call Mason City Police or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.