IA IA - David Schultz, 53, Wall Lake, 21 November 2023 #2

[Interested_But_Confused]

I wonder where in his truck his wallet was found. When truckers are loading, would they in general leave their wallet and phone locked in the cab, so as not to lose them in a barn? Would they just lock up the entire cab, or would they lock them in a separate compartment inside it, like a locked glove box? I’m sure it all depends on the person and their comfort level with where they are, so I’m just wondering in general if the wallet and phone were visible to LE immediately, like on the passenger seat, or if they found them elsewhere. I imagine the phone would be right there, but could his wallet have been locked up from the loading site?

ETA: If this was some bizarre random attack, and if his wallet was locked in a glove box or somewhere, perhaps that accounts for the coat and those other items being found in the ditch as the perps could have searched the coat pockets for money. But then why take him away? Nothing makes sense in any scenario!

I can't remember which interview it was, but I'm sure Sarah said David would throw his wallet onto the top of the dashboard when he got in the truck, because it wasn't comfortable for him to drive with it in his pocket.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I can't remember which interview it was, but I'm sure Sarah said David would throw his wallet onto the top of the dashboard when he got in the truck, because it wasn't comfortable for him to drive with it in his pocket.

Good memory! Thanks.

 

[Onebest]

Could David have intentionally left the cash in the truck for his wife?

 

[Joe Friday]

I can't remember which interview it was, but I'm sure Sarah said David would throw his wallet onto the top of the dashboard when he got in the truck, because it wasn't comfortable for him to drive with it in his pocket.

Sarah said something along the lines, David didn't want to hurt his back or it hurt his back regarding why he didn't leave his wallet in his pocket.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Sarah said something along the lines, David didn't want to hurt his back or it hurt his back regarding why he didn't leave his wallet in his pocket.

That's the interview I'm referring to. I just can't find/remember which interview it is.

Sarah mentioned David throwing his wallet on the dashboard in the long Sioux City Journal interview, but the part about him not being able to drive with it in his pocket *isn't* in that interview.

 

[Pitsleuth]

Are there cases where someone has “staged” a suicide? As in, took their own life but wanted to make it look like a murder/abduction or disappearance? I don’t really understand why someone would do that, short of a psychotic break (drug induced or otherwise).

 

[Kittybunny]

Could David have intentionally left the cash in the truck for his wife?

I think it's a definite possibility.

 

[Kittybunny]

Are there cases where someone has “staged” a suicide? As in, took their own life but wanted to make it look like a murder/abduction or disappearance? I don’t really understand why someone would do that, short of a psychotic break (drug induced or otherwise).

There was one really bizarre case that comes to mind, I think he was a police officer who staged a suicide to look like a murder.

Found it! Illinois officer staged suicide to look like murder after embezzling thousands | Illinois | The Guardian

I think there are others as well perhaps, under the mistaken assumption that many people have, that life insurance does not pay out if it is a suicide, that would be the only reason I could think of to do that. But then, presumably, you would want your body to be found within a reasonable timeframe.

Edited to add link.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Are there cases where someone has “staged” a suicide? As in, took their own life but wanted to make it look like a murder/abduction or disappearance? I don’t really understand why someone would do that, short of a psychotic break (drug induced or otherwise).

There are definitely cases where suicides were staged to look like murder or an accident.

It's hard to say if many people have staged suicides to look like an abduction or disappearance, because if they're never found, it's impossible to know what happened to them.

 

[Kittybunny]

I agree with @OldCop that the random assortment of items in the ditch feels staged. Also, I think the turning the wrong way, away from civilization, feels deliberate. But it could be driven by many factors.

Here's another case that might be of interest, this one was actually a walk away staged to look like foul play:

Found Alive - TX - Brett Detamore, 38, Houston / Bear Creek Park, truck found torched, 21 June 2023

Brett Detamore has been missing since early yesterday morning. Texas EquuSearch is already involved. His wife is apparently a pretty popular online/SM influencer and so there are a lot of posts online because family have been using her IG account to get the word out...

www.websleuths.com

Car was found torched near a park, but because it was a much more urban area there was a lot of cameras that told the tale. He was having financial difficulties, and was being sued for various financial misdeeds.

Brett Detamore missing: West U husband, father accused of faking disappearance due to defrauding people through business | abc13.com

Circumstances%20around%20Brett%20Detamore's%20disappearance%20are%20under%20question%20after%20a%20lawsuit%20alleges%20he%20faked%20the%20situation%20to%20defraud%20others.

abc13.com

Not implying that David did this to escape legal trouble, just trying to find examples of staging.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

I agree with @OldCop that the random assortment of items in the ditch feels staged. Also, I think the turning the wrong way, away from civilization, feels deliberate. But it could be driven by many factors.

Here's another case that might be of interest, this one was actually a walk away staged to look like foul play:

Found Alive - TX - Brett Detamore, 38, Houston / Bear Creek Park, truck found torched, 21 June 2023

Brett Detamore has been missing since early yesterday morning. Texas EquuSearch is already involved. His wife is apparently a pretty popular online/SM influencer and so there are a lot of posts online because family have been using her IG account to get the word out...

www.websleuths.com

Car was found torched near a park, but because it was a much more urban area there was a lot of cameras that told the tale. He was having financial difficulties, and was being sued for various financial misdeeds.

Brett Detamore missing: West U husband, father accused of faking disappearance due to defrauding people through business | abc13.com

Circumstances%20around%20Brett%20Detamore's%20disappearance%20are%20under%20question%20after%20a%20lawsuit%20alleges%20he%20faked%20the%20situation%20to%20defraud%20others.

abc13.com

Not implying that David did this to escape legal trouble, just trying to find examples of staging.

BBM. This raises a good point and is so obvious I can't believe I hadn't really thought about it.

The area of Iowa where David went missing is very rural, but it's still likely there would be some cameras along Hwy 71 and near to the drop-off point at Wiechman's.

By turning right, north up Union Avenue, whatever happened was virtually guaranteed not to be caught on video.

 

[mst]

<modsnip - no link/rumor> I asked if there would have been a stop sign at the intersection he turned the wrong way. Just using my imagination but let's say there's someone on foot at the intersection that flags him down and says "my car is broken down just up the road, can you give me a ride". Dave does and arrives at a car that he's forced into. I can't come up with any reason to have that window down in the cold

Apparently, once a load of pigs is loaded, the doors to the trailer are closed and locked. Does anyone know if msm has posted about them being unlocked when they found the rig?

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

<modsnip - no link/rumor> I asked if there would have been a stop sign at the intersection he turned the wrong way. Just using my imagination but let's say there's someone on foot at the intersection that flags him down and says "my car is broken down just up the road, can you give me a ride". Dave does and arrives at a car that he's forced into. I can't come up with any reason to have that window down in the cold

Apparently, once a load of pigs is loaded, the doors to the trailer are closed and locked. Does anyone know if msm has posted about them being unlocked when they found the rig?

<modsnip - quoted post was snipped>
Edit to add, No one is going to mess with the trailer doors, those pigs have to be offloaded into a special receiving pen. You can't open the door and just get one pig out, especially not piglets.

 

[mst]

<modsnip - quoted post was snipped>
Edit to add, No one is going to mess with the trailer doors, those pigs have to be offloaded into a special receiving pen. You can't open the door and just get one pig out, especially not piglets.

but something or someone could be placed in or remembered

 

[MorningDove]

I'm not sure what is up!? Certainly something seems hinky! What the heck went on that night? How?? If he was running late, someone knew that and took advantage of it! I mean the location is super remote! I doubt there was any traffic to speak of. It really feels targated at this point. Why?

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

<modsnip - quoted post was snipped>


but something or someone could be placed in or remembered

<modsnip - quoted post was removed for no link/rumor
I don't know if there are videos on line or not, but no, you can't open the doors, to lift up and put a body in after the pigs are loaded. The doors get opened only when in position to let the load out.
MOO

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

Normally WS allows even a random podcast when a family member is being interviewed. In this case however, JLR and the JLR Investigates podcast are not approved for linking to or discussion in this case or any other case at Websleuths. This is regardless of whether a family member or case insider is being interviewed.

 

[Mauig’ma]

I'm not sure what is up!? Certainly something seems hinky! What the heck went on that night? How?? If he was running late, someone knew that and took advantage of it! I mean the location is super remote! I doubt there was any traffic to speak of. It really feels targated at this point. Why?

Yes super remote but that’s Iowa. A lot of counties in Iowa have remote land, houses etc. Iowa is mostly flat farmland. This time of year and having no snow he should be easy to find if he’s laying somewhere deceased imo

 

[OldAce]

I keep coming back to him turning right instead of left. I feel like that's at the crux of what happened. It does not sound like this would have been an unfamiliar area or route for him. On top of that, there is GPS and other nav systems. So what made him go the wrong direction?

Possibilities:
-Forced to drive that way by someone else in the truck or who enters truck at the stop
-Turned the wrong way because he is suffering some sort of medical event that causes him confusion, whether he realizes it or not
-Turned that way by choice to go somewhere else or meet someone purposely not on his actual path
-I guess I should put down turned that way totally by accident/got lost but I just don't think that's realistic for him

Any others? Looking at this list, I don't even know which one I think is most likely. If his truck was found going the right direction, that would open up more possibilities to me (like stopped to help a stranded motorist, someone was blocking the road, etc). But he wasn't going the right way. If someone he knew planned to target him by blocking the road or flagging him down, how could they have known he'd go the wrong way ahead of time? If he was planning to take off of his own accord, why did he have to go the wrong way? It's not like his truck was inconspicuous when it was sitting in the middle of a road, so he may as well have left it in the middle of the road going the right way. This is the part that just doesn't make sense to me.

I think the truth when found will either you 1 or 3.
Medical would have left a body in the truck or in close proximity and quickly found. Rewind mentally various medical scenarios in your mind of what could have happened and he still be wandering around yet not observed.

 

[OldAce]

Would they not have also taken his cash, though? That’s a huge oddity to me when I think of this with any foul play slant.

Grudge settlements are more important than money sometimes. And in the active act of venting your pent up rage, might not be concerned with other details. And this actually often results in the clues being left that apprehend them.