Knox
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2009
- Messages
- 30,269
- Reaction score
- 192,346
I don’t recall Sarah or anyone else mentioning a dog, other than in his obituary. Perhaps it died prior to his going missing.
Found Deceased IA - David Schultz, 53, Wall Lake, 21 November 2023 #3
- Thread starter amandabanana
- Start date
Sac County and surrounding counties are rural areas with small towns and communities. People know or have a pretty good idea who the drug and meth users are. Even some of the well to do people you would never suspect think there drug use is a secret but its not. Everone knows everyones business. I don’t know Sarah but have defended her on other sights and always gave her the benefit of doubt. However, living with someone doing meth , I just feel she had to know he was a tweeker. The signs are so obvious.
Even if anyone did suspect drug use it’s totally impossible to “make” someone stop or get help unless the user decides to on their own. IMO SS is a victim of DS actions. She may very well have tried to help him. DS was responsible for his own actions, no matter how well intended (feed his family) and sadly paid the highest price and so is his family. JMO.
Knox
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 17, 2009
- Messages
- 30,269
- Reaction score
- 192,346
What you state is all true. But there was always something wonky about Sarah’s portrayal of David and his disappearance.
It is entirely possible she didn’t know and found this out before the rest of us. She had my sympathy no matter when she found out.
The whole thing reminds me the Nicholas Francisco disappearance in that it seems the spouse learned things the public didn’t know during the investigation. Of course the endings of the two cases are quite different.
The whole thing reminds me the Nicholas Francisco disappearance in that it seems the spouse learned things the public didn’t know during the investigation. Of course the endings of the two cases are quite different.
I fully agree with that. Yes, I do feel she was a victim of her husband’s actions. But, was she an enabler too? I also agree with some one who previously said something about her behavior was wonky. As I go back and read the different interviews and statements, IMO I leaning towards she was an enabler and was trying to keep the drug use hidden for whatever reason, which could be many. If she was considered enabler, would that have changed the outcome, maybe, maybe not. I still support SS in every way.
Ah, well. Case is closed. LE , SS and the whole scenario shut down. There are many questions of what, when and how that will never be answered.
Some gained, some lost, and some have escaped any connection.
SharonNeedles
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 18, 2018
- Messages
- 1,610
- Reaction score
- 17,016
Actually I think I can relate… I’ve lived in small Iowa towns for the majority of my life and one thing they all have in common is social segmentation. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to describe it as as a caste system. I’ve experienced that from both sides. She seemed concerned from the start that LE wasn’t going to prioritize this. I don’t necessarily think she was wrong about that.
detectivewannab
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2022
- Messages
- 190
- Reaction score
- 1,291
If they would of done there job and grid search that area it would of saved her and they alot of heart ache. Someone needs to answer for it.
Ken McClure is the Sheriff of Sac County. If you don't think he is doing a good job, vote for someone else.
NoSpoonFeeding
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2021
- Messages
- 2,261
- Reaction score
- 11,306
No one can be held accountable for not finding a needle in a haystack and yes grid search is the best way to search for a body but it is most difficult to organize. They simply do not and did not have the tremendous manpower needed, nor blanket permissions to search private property, to do grid searches for many square miles of land. A great effort was made to find the victim and that was with LE knowing and/or suspecting the information that we now know. MOO Retired LE and have searched for many missing persons
JerseyWasHome2
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2018
- Messages
- 2,647
- Reaction score
- 25,130
Agree, but… instead tens or hundreds did ‘wild’ non-grid searches zooming all over for miles, exaggerated claims by some as to how many thousands of acres they covered which were also not grid searches. We have a thread here on WS devoted to cases where people were later located in a very small radius of where they went missing… and it just makes me think a grid search is absolutely necessary and this should be addressed by all police forces across the US. There may not be manpower to do a grid search, but what about the manpower wasted to perform expanded searches over the next weeks or months, when the initial area was not thoroughly covered and if it had been, those subsequent searches would not have been necessary.
From what I’ve read, there are rules about immediate searches. Like LE should look 10 yards on either side of a road. Don’t quote me on that, but it’s not very far off the path of where someone was last seen or their vehicle found. Then additional searches are supposed to expand out from there.
And they had manpower to search other areas, like when his phone pinged east of there in that park, but sadly if they had just focused within that immediate area… And I know they used planes and drones, but most articles I read said they were using thermal imaging, not video, any by then he must not have been exhibiting any heat that they picked up. Perhaps HD imaging drones would have also discovered him. Lessons learned for the next search…
Last edited:
This has been my issue from the beginning with David. I have seen way too many missed within a short distance of where they went missing. My question is how can we do better for the next one? If there is a missing toddler miraculously "resources" are available, as should be. If there is lack of resources available for adults, then maybe this should be transparent, options for additional resources should be expressed to the families of missing? I do not have all the answers. It is a problem, and it needs a solution.
Interested_But_Confused
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2023
- Messages
- 1,194
- Reaction score
- 11,658
Death certificate: Trucker David Schultz died from hypothermia related to methamphetamine intoxication
David Schultz died from hypothermia related to acute methamphetamine intoxication, according to a copy of the death certificate for the Wall Lake trucker. Dr. Kelly Kruse, a state medical examiner, listed Schultz's manner of death as an accident.
"I think it was close enough to the road that searchers thought, 'Well, we don’t need to look here because we could definitely see him,'" Sac County Attorney Ben Smith told The Journal Thursday.
Schultz's body was shielded from the road by shin-high corn stalk stubble, he said.
The Sac County attorney basically admitted they didn't even initially search the area where David was found. It appeared to be such an open field, so close to the road and so close to the neighbouring farm, that everyone just assumed he would be visible. Call it incompetence, lack of experience with searches, or whatever you want. They probably should have found him sooner but they didn't.
Kittybunny
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2015
- Messages
- 1,612
- Reaction score
- 18,896
This is such a heartbreaking case. I saw a man the other day at the trampoline park who reminded me so much of David, and it made me so sad to see this guy with his sons. David truly pushed himself to the brink, and then over it, to provide for his family and keep up his trucking lifestyle. I did a project for work last year where I had to interview about 30 truck drivers, and truly - it is an incredibly grueling and thankless job, especially with all the technology tracking their every move, getting calls when they've finally just fallen asleep, etc. etc. I know David wasn't an OTR trucker, but like so many owner-operators that are stuck on this hamster wheel of never-ending debt and repairs that they can't seem to get out of, I'm sure he felt the pressure.
As a person in recovery from my own bout of addiction (alcohol), I empathize with how quickly something that is a crutch to get you through a difficult time, help keep you going or calm you down, can become something that you no longer control, but it controls you.
I also know that denial from our loved ones can be a powerful thing. I can completely understand how Sarah would prefer to believe and/or has been led to believe (by Jake of the Cajun Navy and thousands of speculative bloggers and posters online) that it had to be foul play, and how in some ways that is an easier pill to swallow than a drug-related death. I truly hope that a compassionate and caring member of law enforcement takes the time to sit down with Sarah and share all their evidence with her and how they arrived at their final determination. Including the video of him, any text messages related to meth purchases, etc. Only through acceptance of the truth can she start healing.
As a person in recovery from my own bout of addiction (alcohol), I empathize with how quickly something that is a crutch to get you through a difficult time, help keep you going or calm you down, can become something that you no longer control, but it controls you.
I also know that denial from our loved ones can be a powerful thing. I can completely understand how Sarah would prefer to believe and/or has been led to believe (by Jake of the Cajun Navy and thousands of speculative bloggers and posters online) that it had to be foul play, and how in some ways that is an easier pill to swallow than a drug-related death. I truly hope that a compassionate and caring member of law enforcement takes the time to sit down with Sarah and share all their evidence with her and how they arrived at their final determination. Including the video of him, any text messages related to meth purchases, etc. Only through acceptance of the truth can she start healing.