Found Deceased IA - David Schultz, 53, Wall Lake, 21 November 2023 #3

[Interested_But_Confused]

I agree, but remember there was no snow on the ground for weeks after he disappeared. It’s not like he disappeared and snow fell a few days later. I question the accuracy of grid searches myself and the radius searched. He could have run 5 miles from the truck location… did they search out that far? The searches seem to have focused in the area of the truck and south. How far north did they search? Maybe Jake Rowley of the Cajun Navy should join here so he could help give us insight on his team’s coverage.

There was some snow fall within a few days after David first disappeared. It's visible in some of Jake Rowley's images of the UCN search posted on 27th November on his FB page. How well it would have hidden/obscured a body is open for debate, but snow was definitely on the ground:

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

There was some snow fall within a few days after David first disappeared. It's visible in some of Jake Rowley's images of the UCN search posted on 27th November on his FB page. How well it would have hidden/obscured a body is open for debate, but snow was definitely on the ground:

You're right!

 

[OldAce]

I saw that too but left me with more questions. Davids truck could be seen pulling in and parking. Were any lights not working? David would have gotten out and checked. Nope, all working? Then roll on. Some not working, then seen doing activity for finding a fix (changing a fuse in cab or repair outside of wiring I would think) My guy would tend to do these kind of issues at load time. Long waits in line before trucks moving, waiting for others loading which takes awhile and good time for this, and also got others to assist (working now. yes or no?) .

A lot of lighting problems on semis are the ground from tractor to trailer. It was not uncommon all to have good lights traveling to a site, but in backing in at site they may flicker or go completely out. You pull up straight, they are back on.
Some problem with the pigtail cable from truck to trailer is loose, so the ground is thru the 5th wheel and nor reliable, depending which way the unit is bent. It could easily take 16 minutes to walk around the trailer, shaking the wire to each light to see if one was shorting the system out. No result. they out, check or replace the fuse. Or, take a piece of baling wire, connect to a screw on the trailer and to a bolt head on the tractor frame, viola.. Lights to drive by.
And these will not manifest themselves sitting out in the yards, truck straight, waiting to load.

 

[Trobeld1]

A lot of lighting problems on semis are the ground from tractor to trailer. It was not uncommon all to have good lights traveling to a site, but in backing in at site they may flicker or go completely out. You pull up straight, they are back on.
Some problem with the pigtail cable from truck to trailer is loose, so the ground is thru the 5th wheel and nor reliable, depending which way the unit is bent. It could easily take 16 minutes to walk around the trailer, shaking the wire to each light to see if one was shorting the system out. No result. they out, check or replace the fuse. Or, take a piece of baling wire, connect to a screw on the trailer and to a bolt head on the tractor frame, viola.. Lights to drive by.
And these will not manifest themselves sitting out in the yards, truck straight, waiting to load.

True! Might have parked at an angle at truck stop, not straight, for that reason. I do not know. But his Dad does. He watched the video and would also be aware of all activity in that 16 minutes that indicates fixing lights. So would LE for that matter.

Unfortunately, scrolling through his phone and rummaging in the truck is all I know about this stop. And now parked under lights. It was dark out. My guy would have his flashlight for this to locate wiring to grab and wiggle or change a fuse. Overhead lights just would not be enough for outside wiring check and same for fuse box inside or finding things for repair IMO

 

[cenazoic]

What if she is an older, lonely, wealthy woman who wanted a boy toy?

Pretty sure they want what older lonely rich men want - a young, malleable, good-looking thang, not a middling, pushing-middle-age person with a rap sheet.

JMO, of course.

 

[FromGermany1]

True! Might have parked at an angle at truck stop, not straight, for that reason. I do not know. But his Dad does. He watched the video and would also be aware of all activity in that 16 minutes that indicates fixing lights. So would LE for that matter.

Unfortunately, scrolling through his phone and rummaging in the truck is all I know about this stop. And now parked under lights. It was dark out. My guy would have his flashlight for this to locate wiring to grab and wiggle or change a fuse. Overhead lights just would not be enough for outside wiring check and same for fuse box inside or finding things for repair IMO

Sabotage on his truck there, where DS got his last load? (Until that location he didn't have problems with his truck (lights), otherwise he would have told his wife as a reason for being too late, IMO.
But WHY sabotage? And WHY did he disappear? Not being able to drive because of non-working lights and disappearing are two quite different things, which don't have to be connected (but seem connected).

 

[SharonNeedles]

There was some snow fall within a few days after David first disappeared. It's visible in some of Jake Rowley's images of the UCN search posted on 27th November on his FB page. How well it would have hidden/obscured a body is open for debate, but snow was definitely on the ground:

View attachment 477295

Two days later it was 50 degrees and all the snow was gone.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Two days later it was 50 degrees and all the snow was gone.

Jake Rowley said in his FB post that this photo was taken on November 26 during a search of the area around where the truck was found and south towards Sac City.

Even if the snow was gone within a couple of days, it means that on at least one occasion when the area near the truck was searched, there was a potential hindrance to finding anything. IMO a small amount of snow probably wouldn't bury anything the size of a body, but it could obscure something enough that it wouldn't be noticed by someone riding an ATV. Drones would also have a tougher time spotting anything.

 

[SharonNeedles]

Jake Rowley said in his FB post that this photo was taken on November 26 during a search of the area around where the truck was found and south towards Sac City.

Even if the snow was gone within a couple of days, it means that on at least one occasion when the area near the truck was searched, there was a potential hindrance to finding anything. IMO a small amount of snow probably wouldn't bury anything the size of a body, but it could obscure something enough that it wouldn't be noticed by someone riding an ATV. Drones would also have a tougher time spotting anything.

To clarify, 2 days after this pic was taken the snow was gone. No, I don't think it was enough to conceal much of anything. But even so, it was very temporary.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

To clarify, 2 days after this pic was taken the snow was gone. No, I don't think it was enough to conceal much of anything. But even so, it was very temporary.

The snow could have melted 5 minutes after they searched the area, but if it was there when they searched, IMO that should be all that matters. If you cross the road five seconds later you might not get hit by the bus, but if the bus is there when you do cross the road... timing is everything.

The snow either hid something or it didn't, but it was there at the precise moment when they were looking.

 

[Joe Friday]

A few days ago I posted a snap shot from the DOT camera that covers the intersection and entrance to the MM126 truck stop and believe the truck seen circled in red is David's truck pulling up to the truck stop. The time stamp is dead on for when LE said David arrived there and the trailer is a livestock trailer like David was using. As you can see his lights are on, including his headlights and trailer lights. That doesn't mean that perhaps there was a loose wire that caused lights to turn on and off while driving.

So I got thinking. If David was having problems with his lights, and stopped at the MM126 truck stop to try and fix the problem, whats to say David didn't stop again at the exit to again examine the lighting problem. While stopped with perhaps the hood open, someone stopped and approached David.

Given the amount of time it took David to travel from the MM126 truck stop to the exit, suggest the average speed limit was just under 65 MPH. I think if the headlights were the problem David would have slowed down and the time it took him to drive that distance would have significantly increased. But maybe he fixed the headlights and they were working fine until just before he came up the exit and he then stopped to try and fix them again.

If the problem was with the trailer lights, it would not have affected his travel time, and at that time of night he would have likely just continued to Wiechmans and attempted to fix them there instead of stopping at the exit. If it was just one light on the trailer, which as you can see from the picture there are many, I think David would have had his mechanic fix the problems when he parked at the mechanics shop. One marker or tail light not working is not that big of deal and I don't think would be a reason for David to stop and try and fix out on the road.

JMO

 

[OldCop]

Pretty sure they want what older lonely rich men want - a young, malleable, good-looking thang, not a middling, pushing-middle-age person with a rap sheet.

JMO, of course.

Love is blind.

 

[TwoDaysL8r]

Stranger things have happened………….
What if she is an older, lonely, wealthy woman who wanted a boy toy?
To your point, his good friend owns/lives at the shop where David kept the truck. I don’t think he would risk being seen dropping the truck and riding off into the night with a sugar mama. Plus, whether David did it or someone did it to David, you would want to be in some out of the way place with few witnesses and fewer cameras.
FWIW I don’t believe this is what happened to David.

Maybe cougar types are different in Iowa - here all they have to do is show up at a local restaurant and sit at the bar every afternoon... They don't have to waylay a hog poop covered trucker in the dark of night.

I think a stranger meetup - Grindr, whatever, is definitely a possibility, and the person had ill intent, perhaps, OR some sort of illicit transaction that went badly for him. Those seem much more likely than a tryst with a woman/man known to him - as his schedule had him away from home for long periods of times - an affair would be pretty easy under those circumstances.

Last on my list would be him heading for Aruba suddenly or that there's a sex trafficking ring targeting middle aged truckers.

Either of the middle two would make a burner more likely as someone mentioned, and so his family might not have those records.

 

[D33go]

A few days ago I posted a snap shot from the DOT camera that covers the intersection and entrance to the MM126 truck stop and believe the truck seen circled in red is David's truck pulling up to the truck stop. The time stamp is dead on for when LE said David arrived there and the trailer is a livestock trailer like David was using. As you can see his lights are on, including his headlights and trailer lights. That doesn't mean that perhaps there was a loose wire that caused lights to turn on and off while driving.

So I got thinking. If David was having problems with his lights, and stopped at the MM126 truck stop to try and fix the problem, whats to say David didn't stop again at the exit to again examine the lighting problem. While stopped with perhaps the hood open, someone stopped and approached David.

Given the amount of time it took David to travel from the MM126 truck stop to the exit, suggest the average speed limit was just under 65 MPH. I think if the headlights were the problem David would have slowed down and the time it took him to drive that distance would have significantly increased. But maybe he fixed the headlights and they were working fine until just before he came up the exit and he then stopped to try and fix them again.

If the problem was with the trailer lights, it would not have affected his travel time, and at that time of night he would have likely just continued to Wiechmans and attempted to fix them there instead of stopping at the exit. If it was just one light on the trailer, which as you can see from the picture there are many, I think David would have had his mechanic fix the problems when he parked at the mechanics shop. One marker or tail light not working is not that big of deal and I don't think would be a reason for David to stop and try and fix out on the road.

JMO


View attachment 477678

Hello! I'm just wondering if his lights malfunctioning could be why he chose to take that other route to his drop off explaining why he was on that less traveled stretch of road.... Less traffic maybe? As not to be as much of a hazard to other drivers possibly?

 

[charminglane]

Hello! I'm just wondering if his lights malfunctioning could be why he chose to take the route to his drop off.... Less traffic maybe? As not to be as much of a hazard to other drivers possibly?

Welcome!

 

[Joe Friday]

Hello! I'm just wondering if his lights malfunctioning could be why he chose to take the route to his drop off.... Less traffic maybe? As not to be as much of a hazard to other drivers possibly?

Welcome @D33go. Long time lurker, first time poster?

The route the truck went wasn't the route towards the drop off destination.

Truck went four miles to the north from the exit. If David had gone south from the exit he would have arrived at the destination in half the distance he traveled north. That is assuming David was driving.

JMO

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Welcome, @D33go!

In David's trucking history (Link) he has had a number of lighting violations. Sarah has described him as being quite paranoid, so checking his lights to avoid another violation possibly became a habit.

I'm also guessing the last thing he'd want if he was running late (or planning to do something) would be getting pulled over by the cops because his lights weren't working. And if he did plan to drive north on Union Avenue, it's an unlit road where he'd need his lights.

 

[D33go]

Welcome @D33go. Long time lurker, first time poster?

The route the truck went wasn't the route towards the drop off destination.

Truck went four miles to the north from the exit. If David had gone south from the exit he would have arrived at the destination in half the distance he traveled north. That is assuming David was driving.

JMO

Thank you. Yes, and yes!

 

[tarabull]

If David was having a problem with his lighting at MM126, just wondering, would he have made contact with his mechanic???

ETA: Just recalling, Sarah mentioned somewhere David wouldn't drive his truck to the house, he would park at his mechanics garage/shop.

Sarah also mentioned somewhere there was a chance David may have stopped to talk to his mechanic after he left home with deeper pocketed wranglers, but before he headed out to his delivery.

 

[Joe Friday]

If David was having a problem with his lighting at MM126, just wondering, would he have made contact with his mechanic???

ETA: Just recalling, Sarah mentioned somewhere David wouldn't drive his truck to the house, he would park at his mechanics garage/shop.

Sarah also mentioned somewhere there was a chance David may have stopped to talk to his mechanic after he left home with deeper pocketed wranglers, but before he headed out to his delivery.

The mechanics shop is just down the street not far from where David lived. IIRC it was less than .25 miles.