Kriti Mehrotra
It was early in the morning of June 27, 1995, when news anchor Jodi Sue Huisentruit was seemingly abducted right from her home, leaving the entire nation baffled to the core. The truth is that over three decades have gone by since the 27-year-old was last seen alive, and her case still remains wide open — detectives continue to pursue leads in the hopes of finding answers. This is explored in Hulu’s ‘Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit,’ which lets the world know several people of interest are being looked into, including Brad Millerbernd.
Brad Millerbernd Was Reportedly Infatuated With Jodi Huisentruit
A native of Winsted, Minnesota, Brad Millerbernd first came across Jodi Huisentruit in February 1994, the day he tied the knot with one of her closest friends, Patty Niemeyer. According to reports, this was during the reception after the couple had said their “I do’s” at the Mall of America in Minnesota alongside dozens of couples, thanks to a radio show conducting this event. A couple of the bride and Jodi’s mutual friends did notice that the groom became rather enamored by the latter almost instantly due to her bubbly personality, but it wasn’t anything new for them.
Therefore, the combination of Brad and Jodi was not given attention until the news anchor herself allegedly contacted Patty in early June 1995 to let her know he’d been trying to get in touch. By this point, the couple had long separated and filed for divorce, with the latter claiming he had such alcohol and anger issues that he got drunk to get drunk before getting verbally aggressive. with the latter claiming he had such alcohol and anger issues that he would get drunk just for the sake of it before becoming verbally aggressive. As per records, the 27-year-old told her friend that her estranged husband was attempting to contact her and keep track of her whereabouts because he was really interested in her.
Patty Niemeyer Led Investigators to Her Ex-Husband Brad Millerbernd
When Jodi sadly disappeared without a trace left behind in the early hours of June 27, 1995, Patty was only focused on helping investigators find her friend and being there for her family. At that point, she didn’t really think of Brad, with whom her divorce was finalized on June 23, 1995, that is, until he suddenly contacted her a decade later – on June 27, 2005, to be exact. As per her own accounts, he hadn’t called her since they separated in December 1994, so when one of the first things he said was that it was the 10th anniversary of when Jodi went missing, it creeped her out.
That’s when Patty started remembering what Jodi had told her about her ex’s possible infatuation, and even recalled the fact that Brad used to drive a white Ford Econoline for work. This vehicle is the same kind as the one reportedly seen idling in the parking lot of Jodi’s apartment complex at the time she disappeared – it was directly facing her apartment, too. Thus, Patty eventually wrote an e-mail asking authorities to look into him, which was never really followed up on until she sent them another e-mail years later after seeing an ABC ’20/20′ special on her friend’s case.
This time around, Patty detailed her ties with both Jodi and Brad before also indicating why she is suspicious, leading authorities to prioritize her tip since she was almost directly involved. She was subsequently interviewed as well as shown a composite sketch of a man two different witnesses reportedly saw creeping outside Jodi’s apartment complex on June 25, 1995. She immediately identified him as her ex-husband, even going as far as to say that his work took him all over the nation, so he could have been in that area, even if it was 3 hours away from his home in Winstead.
Brad Millerbernd Continues to Live His Life Quite Normally
It was around the fall of 2024 when Brad Millerbernd was first formally questioned by investigators, during which he reportedly told officials he’d last seen Jodi in mid-October 1994. He admitted to having a white Ford Econoline at the time, and he said that’s the vehicle he’d picked up the news anchor in for a hangout after getting in touch with her through Information. He didn’t hide that he’d initiated the contact, but the timeline seemed off to officials since the 27-year-old had only spoken to her friend about him in June 1995, just before their divorce and her vanishing.
Since then, the once alleged playboy Brad has willingly given samples of his DNA, the wooded area behind his Winstea d home at the time has been searched, and he has undergone a polygraph. The results of the latter remain confidential as of writing since the case is still ongoing, but no charges against the now-Marshfield, Wisconsin, resident have been filed, so he remains a free and innocent man. Therefore, he continues to live as normally as possible alongside his loving wife Jill Millerbernd, with whom he seemingly shares some adult children as well as loving grandchildren.
On a more professional level, Brad is a Minnesota School of Business and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire graduate who kickstarted his career back in 1991 as a Store Manager at Tires Plus. Then, merely 2 years later, he established his own processing equipment and fabrication business by the name of Millerbernd Systems, where he served as the President right until 2018. The once-volunteer firefighter then evolved into the Director of Technical Sales at Custom Fabricating & Repair, a position he held until November 2022, when he was promoted to Vice President of Dairy Processing. This is where the aviation lover, family man, patriot, and travel enthusiast proudly works to this day.
Read More: Jodi Sue Huisentruit: What Happened to the KIMT-TV News Anchor?
