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

[LC2]

Interesting thought, about having to put themself there, just in case they were seen.

It was supposedly a 'friend' of the wife, IIRC---didn't she say one of her friends saw him and almost hit him? Or do I have that wrong?

I wonder if it was a male or female friend?

That’s what I read as well. Seemed odd to me.

 

[B4igo2it]

23 degrees, ice on the roads - camera near Sparkey's

Iowa 511 Travel Information

Reports regarding traffic incidents, winter road conditions, traffic cameras, active and planned construction, etc.

www.511ia.org

 

[Joe Friday]

This is the scenario that initially crossed my mind, mechanical problems and hit by a passing driver that took body to avoid responsibility for own negligence, examples DUI or speeding. Window of time to dispose of impact to vehicle and impact of vehicle on body.

Now the situation seems more mysterious. Probably law enforcement knows much more than public today.

I think if David was hit by a passing vehicle there would be evidence of that at the scene. There would likely be blood stains, scuff marks on the roadway, clothing and broken car parts scattered around that would show something had happened.

JMO

 

[Joe Friday]

I keep coming back to the “friend” that almost hit his parked semi at 5:30 am. It makes no sense to me why this person wouldn’t call and report such an odd thing? It poses a huge risk for one thing, to future motorists. Maybe this “friend” didn’t almost hit him at all, and this piece of info that got put out to the public just puts this vehicle at the “scene” should it happen to come up later?? Maybe this friend is the reason DS took this particular road? You’d stop for a friend. Just another thought. And Jmo.

You would at least think the friend of David's wife would have maybe contacted her to say something about David's truck sitting parked in the middle of the road and how strange that must have seemed since it was reported that David's wife said this person almost collided with the truck. But it sounds like David's wife didn't learn about this near collision from her friend until after the truck was found from what was reported. Which of course could be wrong.

 

[mst]

"According to law enforcement, family and friends report last hearing from 53-year-old David Schultz of Wall Lake during the early morning hours of Tuesday, Nov. 21"

This bothers me from the original report from the LakeView Police. He was talking to someone in the early hours of the morning that wasn't his wife. I think that most likely LE has spoken to whoever it is and isn't sharing that information with his wife for a reason

To me, most likely scenario would be another (trucker?) friend who is also awake at this hour. My husband (not a trucker, but does do some driving) gets lots of messaging in with friends while waiting around for things to be delivered, ready to be picked up, waiting on paperwork, etc. Also I don’t think communication would have to be 2 way, he could very likely have sent his wife a list for the grocery store trip in the morning while she was sleeping or sent a meme to a friend, but simply someone has evidence of a message from him in the early hours and LE believes (do they?) it’s actually him sending it.I don’t think this implies anyone actually physically saw him and spoke with him.

it says friends and family. Maybe I am being too literal.

 

[Joe Friday]

23 degrees, ice on the roads - camera near Sparkey's

Iowa 511 Travel Information

Reports regarding traffic incidents, winter road conditions, traffic cameras, active and planned construction, etc.

www.511ia.org

Great find. The cameras there near Sparky's cover the intersection David would have gone through exiting and entering Hwy 20 if he stopped at Sparky's. I sure hope LE is reviewing footage from this camera along with the camera located east of Fort Dodge.

Unfortunately there is no camera listed on the site at the Hwy 20 and Hwy 71 interchange where David's truck would have turned north on N14/Union Ave if that is the direction the truck took after exiting Hwy 20.

 

[mst]

You would at least think the friend of David's wife would have maybe contacted her to say something about David's truck sitting parked in the middle of the road and how strange that must have seemed since it was reported that David's wife said this person almost collided with the truck. But it sounds like David's wife didn't learn about this near collision from her friend until after the truck was found from what was reported. Which of course could be wrong.

I brought this up earlier somewhere. The wife tells us that her friend saw him at 530. Did the friend keep it to herself until the wife reported him missing? If the friend thought it was strange the truck was in the middle of the road, why didn't she/he stop to see if David was ok?

 

[Joe Friday]

Some have speculated that David may have gone to the delivery location and perhaps something happened there and the truck was then driven away to where it was found. Had there been a camera at the Hwy 20 and Hwy 71 intersection it would have captured that.

While Google Street Viewing yesterday I did find what I think are cameras (Circled in red) on an implement dealer located on the corner to the east of the driveway of the buisness where it is believed David was to deliver in Sac City. These cameras may have captured David's truck if in fact he was at that location prior to the truck being found.

 

[mst]

Did anyone do a map with suspected route? I can't find it

 

[detectivewannab]

Did anyone do a map with suspected route? I can't find it

 

[detectivewannab]

I feel the police got this. Just waiting to get more evidence before the arrest. With phone pings and cameras, they will solve this. Praying for his family.

 

[Joe Friday]

I feel the police got this. Just waiting to get more evidence before the arrest. With phone pings and cameras, they will solve this. Praying for his family.

I so hope you are right.

Although many times in missing person cases, there is no movement towards an arrest until a body is located.

 

[seestr8]

I keep coming back to the “friend” that almost hit his parked semi at 5:30 am. It makes no sense to me why this person wouldn’t call and report such an odd thing? It poses a huge risk for one thing, to future motorists. Maybe this “friend” didn’t almost hit him at all, and this piece of info that got put out to the public just puts this vehicle at the “scene” should it happen to come up later?? Maybe this friend is the reason DS took this particular road? You’d stop for a friend. Just another thought. And Jmo.

If you were pulling up behind a semi with a livestock trailer at 5:30am you wouldn't be able to discern who's truck it is unless you're very familiar with it. Also, if I was a female driving in the dark that early in the morning on a county highway, there's no chance that I'm stopping to see if everything is okay. Especially if the trucks lights are off.

The most likely scenario here is that she was driving ~60mph on Hwy 71 in the dark, was a little bit shocked when she came up on the truck so fast and then thought "holy $h!t, that's not safe", and probably didn't think about it again until she heard that he was missing and his truck was found there.

In rural Iowa, agriculture is everywhere all the time. If you see something like a semi stopped in the middle of a road you just assume there's some agriculture logistics happening. It's annoying, but people run into the back of tractors and trailers pretty often during the fall months. If I saw that, I really don't think I would call anyone.

 

[24Roses]

Could It have been the dispatcher he was talking to at that time? I recall he had talked to them about running late.

I've been thinking aot about that running late comment, too. I wonder IMHO if he was upset because the pig delivery was going to be later at night than he wanted because his stepdaughter, grandson, and her partner was visiting. Not that he was physically running late. Although I'm sure he made deliveries at late hours before.

 

[stickb0y7]

There are so many unknowns and possible scenarios, I just had to brainstorm a list of what I believe is known and unknown:

• Last seen by his wife around 8:30p on Nov 20.
  • Possible unusual behavior when he left, around not saying good-bye to one child
  • Driving a Peterbilt with a livestock trailer that says BROWN
  • Was to pick up a load of pigs from around Eagle Grove and deliver them to around Sac City
  • Don't know if he had to get the trailer first, or get fuel en route, or went somewhere near Brushy Creek
• Apparently made it to EG and got pigs loaded
  • Don't know if he helped load
  • Don't know if he put on different clothes (coveralls, boots) to help load.
    • Reports of the loading clothes not found could be relevant if he did have them with him.
  • Possibility of some altercation happening at this location
    • People have said there's shady barns around the area and possibility of meth users (or meth labs)
    • If he left this location with a passenger, possible he was forced to drive to where the truck was found
    • If he did not drive the truck from this location, why would someone else drive the truck to where it was found? Seems likely they would have known the destination but why drive an hour to ditch the truck near where it was going anyway? To me it would make more sense to put the truck somewhere more remote or away from the destination.
• Don't know the exact destination.
  • Possible it was the pig company just east of Sac City on 255th or any of dozens of farms around SC
  • I believe it was said that he was going the wrong direction though
• The police say he was heard from in the early morning hours of Nov 21 - no clues as to whom or when exactly
• The "friend" claimed to see the truck where it was found around 5:30a
  • Probably others saw the truck before and/or after that
    • School bus route?
    • Kids driving to school or any kind of morning before-school activities
    • Other truckers / farmers
    • People going to/from work
  • It was dark the entire time - sunset around 5p and sunrise around 7a
  • Don't know anything about where it was between pick-up time and 5:30a
    • Don't know if he went directly to where the truck was found and then it sat there for most of the night, or if it only arrived shortly before 5:30a.
    • Seems unlikely if David was of sound mind and not forced that he would go anywhere between loading and drop-off hauling a load of live pigs
    • Could have gone to Brushy Creek, Sparky's, or many other unknown places in that amount of time
    • Any of those locations could have been the place of an altercation or picking up a passenger
• The guy he hauls for came to his house looking for him in the morning
  • He didn't make his drop off and they hadn't been able to reach him
  • Don't know how long they had been trying to reach him
  • One report also says he didn't pick up the next load
• Truck was officially found near N14 and D15 with pigs loaded in the trailer around 3:30p on Nov 21
  • Jacket was found near the truck
  • Phone and wallet were in the truck
  • Don't know if the truck was running, or if lights were on or off
  • Don't know how much fuel was in the truck
  • Since we don't know the destination for sure, we don't know if this was on route or off route
• Possible scenarios:
  • Altercation at the pick-up
    • he was forced to drive somewhere by a passenger or some other means of coersion
    • someone else drove the truck from there
  • Altercation somewhere after pick-up (same possibilities as above)
  • Altercation at the drop-off (same possibilities as above)
  • Stopped where the truck was found for one of many reasons:
    • If this is the case, I have to think the truck was on the right route, but I believe it's been said he was off-route, so a random issue or accident happening here isn't likely
    • Possible he was off-route accidentally
      • Dispatch told him the wrong drop off
      • David got mixed up where he was supposed to go, or misunderstood
    • Issue with the load
    • Issue with the truck
    • Someone or something in the road
      • Animal
      • Motorist
      • A trap of some kind
    • Planned meetup with someone by David
    • Medical issue
  • If he was off-route and assuming was supposed to be delivering to the pig company, and assuming the truck went directly to where it was found, the decision point would have been at the exit ramp off 20, assuming he took the fastest route - the truck went right instead of left. Wonder how thoroughly that area was searched, maybe he dropped something out the window there, a piece of paper, a ring, etc.
  • Motivations/causes:
    • Accident or medical issue
    • Self-harm
    • Fleeing
    • Drugs
    • Money / debt
    • Affair
    • Kidnapping

I'm exhausted

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

If you were pulling up behind a semi with a livestock trailer at 5:30am you wouldn't be able to discern who's truck it is unless you're very familiar with it. Also, if I was a female driving in the dark that early in the morning on a county highway, there's no chance that I'm stopping to see if everything is okay. Especially if the trucks lights are off.

The most likely scenario here is that she was driving ~60mph on Hwy 71 in the dark, was a little bit shocked when she came up on the truck so fast and then thought "holy $h!t, that's not safe", and probably didn't think about it again until she heard that he was missing and his truck was found there.

In rural Iowa, agriculture is everywhere all the time. If you see something like a semi stopped in the middle of a road you just assume there's some agriculture logistics happening. It's annoying, but people run into the back of tractors and trailers pretty often during the fall months. If I saw that, I really don't think I would call anyone.

I agree, and it also occurred to me that she/he may not have even known it was David's truck. Just drove by it, then learned the next day it was found in that location and she had an "Aha!" moment that it must have been what she saw.

 

[Tippy Lynn]

If my friends husbands truck was on the road, not moving, with a load of hogs, at that time of day and it wasn’t something that I had seen him do previously I would at a minimum alert someone.

 

[masquerading]

If my friends husbands truck was on the road, not moving, with a load of hogs, at that time of day and it wasn’t something that I had seen him do previously I would at a minimum alert someone.

But did the friend know this was David’s truck? Did the friend notice that it was still full of pigs? It was dark, and due to the wording of “nearly collided” with the truck, I’d guess the truck lights weren’t on. I don’t live in rural Iowa but rural Indiana and have encountered tractors/farm equipment in a similar fashion. I didn’t almost hit it because it wasn’t fully dark yet, but there was a huge tractor pulled maybe 1/4 of the way off the road, blocking my lane completely. Nothing nefarious was happening, it’s just where the tractor ended up at the end of the day I guess. I didn’t report it, but if I had had that experience and then heard soon after that a farmer was missing, then I’d have reason to. Also, if the friend was a woman, that’s even more reason to not investigate (as in stop the car, get out) an abandoned semi on the side of a rural road in the dark.

All JMO/E, I’m just saying that it’s totally possible that not reporting the truck immediately was innocent.

 

[LC2]

But did the friend know this was David’s truck? Did the friend notice that it was still full of pigs? It was dark, and due to the wording of “nearly collided” with the truck, I’d guess the truck lights weren’t on. I don’t live in rural Iowa but rural Indiana and have encountered tractors/farm equipment in a similar fashion. I didn’t almost hit it because it wasn’t fully dark yet, but there was a huge tractor pulled maybe 1/4 of the way off the road, blocking my lane completely. Nothing nefarious was happening, it’s just where the tractor ended up at the end of the day I guess. I didn’t report it, but if I had had that experience and then heard soon after that a farmer was missing, then I’d have reason to. Also, if the friend was a woman, that’s even more reason to not investigate (as in stop the car, get out) an abandoned semi on the side of a rural road in the dark.

All JMO/E, I’m just saying that it’s totally possible that not reporting the truck immediately was innocent.

I do think it could be totally innocent. I just find it baffling that his truck was there for several hours and not one person thought it odd enough to report it. I,too, live in rural Iowa. Everyone knows everyone, from what ground you farm, what sports your kids are in, where you work, vehicles you drive…etc. maybe I’m just more nosy than others I guess. Just trying to make sense of it all. It does help to get other’s perspective on things.

 

[Joe Friday]

In rural Iowa, agriculture is everywhere all the time. If you see something like a semi stopped in the middle of a road you just assume there's some agriculture logistics happening. It's annoying, but people run into the back of tractors and trailers pretty often during the fall months. If I saw that, I really don't think I would call anyone.

SFSBM

If the semi truck was parked on the main county road (N14) in the dark, with the lights off, that is certainly not something that would be encounter on a regular basis or would be brushed off as just being related to agriculture.

If a truck driver was intentionally parked there or was forced to stop in the middle of the road due to mechanical issues, the flashers should be on (day or night) and the lights should most definatly be on as well. There would be little chance of someone nearly colliding with the truck if the flasher or lights were on. If a commercial vehicle is disabled reflective triangles which are required to be carried by law in every commercial vehicle must be set up within 10 minutes, day or night, this is also a requirement of federal law.

I know there are a lot of collisions with tractors during the fall harvest season and even spring planting. Farmers are working late and often driving on the roads with tractors in the dark hauling from the fields to the grain bins located on different properties. It would be interesting to know how many of the collisions between farm implements and cars/trucks during these times of year are potentially caused because the farm implement had no rear warning lights. That little slow moving sign required to be on the back of a wagon or tractor when driving on the road can't be seen in time to avoid a collision at night. Farmers are playing Russian Roulette driving on a road at night with no lights. It's sad to say, but due to the size and weight of the tractors and wagons being used now it's normally the unsuspecting motorist that pays the price when they collide with the back of a farm implement being driven at night because they just didn't see it in time.


JMO