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

[Knox]

Was his body buried or found on the surface of the field?

 

[SteveP]

Granted, it has been a while, and I may be misremembering, but IIRC, DS supposedly had a gun with him that was not found in his truck. I have heard no mention of it being found with or near his remains. Assuming the autopsy cannot reveal a COD at this point, does the investigation crank back up, or does it basically become a closed case?

 

[Knox]

This has been discussed a number of times on this thread and on a number of other threads of missing person. There was no grid search, no shoulder to shoulder walking of the the fields. There are numerous pictures online and posted on this thread showing tall grasses and men riding ATV. Some of the fields were "mowed" and had short vegetation but that does not matter. It is simply not possible to thoroughly search outdoors without forming a line of people. A dog will not smell decomposition from afar unless conditions are perfect at that moment. That training is to alert to decomposition, to show a dead body had been in a car, room, etc. Walking along the ground, a buried dead body could be found if the dog was near it. They are most useful for finding evidence and remains if there is a good idea of a general area that needs searching. They don't simply put nose to the air and smell any dead humans within a mile or even a block. MOO, retired LE

IIRC, the initial search of the immediate area, was done by LE. I’ll go see if I can find the MSM story. They searched with dogs and helicopter, as well as on foot.

 

[investigatefred]

Granted, it has been a while, and I may be misremembering, but IIRC, DS supposedly had a gun with him that was not found in his truck. I have heard no mention of it being found with or near his remains. Assuming the autopsy cannot reveal a COD at this point, does the investigation crank back up, or does it basically become a closed case?

I'd think that would depend on what the remains reveal when the ME examins it

 

[Kittybunny]

This has been discussed a number of times on this thread and on a number of other threads of missing person. There was no grid search, no shoulder to shoulder walking of the the fields. There are numerous pictures online and posted on this thread showing tall grasses and men riding ATV. Some of the fields were "mowed" and had short vegetation but that does not matter. It is simply not possible to thoroughly search outdoors without forming a line of people. A dog will not smell decomposition from afar unless conditions are perfect at that moment. That training is to alert to decomposition, to show a dead body had been in a car, room, etc. Walking along the ground, a buried dead body could be found if the dog was near it. They are most useful for finding evidence and remains if there is a good idea of a general area that needs searching. They don't simply put nose to the air and smell any dead humans within a mile or even a block. MOO, retired LE

So well said.

In addition, as I recall because we discussed it on here, I am pretty sure they did not even use cadaver dogs in those searches, because we really believed that they should. They used tracking dogs.

 

[crhedBngr]

Found this article in the Sioux City Journal; interesting comments by JR of the United Cajun Navy.

Body of missing Wall Lake trucker David Schultz found in Sac County

JMVHO.

 

[Knox]

“The worst was not knowing,” Sarah Schultz told the Storm Lake Times Pilot in a phone conversation Wednesday afternoon, the same day her husband’s body was found in a farm field by a hired man on the east side of Union Avenue, between 190th Street and 200th Street.

The body of David Schultz was found near the intersection where his semi was located in November 2023. According to a news release from the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations, his body was found at 2 p.m.

“I had a feeling. I knew he would be found by planting time — when they were getting the fields ready,” Sarah said.

Sarah was able to confirm that the body was her husband’s because of the boots he was wearing.

“He had these cowboy boots,” Sarah said, a sob in her voice. “He bought two pairs because they were on sale and the store was closing. I gave him the second pair.”

Sarah said law enforcement gave no hints that foul play was responsible for her husband’s death.

“They didn’t say,” she said. “But I have my suspicions. I just don’t understand.”

David Schultz found dead - Storm Lake Times Pilot

“The worst was not knowing,” Sarah Schultz told the Storm Lake Times Pilot in a phone conversation Wednesday afternoon, the same day her husband’s body was found in a farm field by a hired man on the east side of Union Avenue, between 190th Street and 200th Street. The body of David Schultz was...

www.stormlake.com

 

[Knox]

Found this article in the Sioux City Journal; interesting comments by JR of the United Cajun Navy.

Body of missing Wall Lake trucker David Schultz found in Sac County

JMVHO.

Behind a pay wall for me, what do the comments say?

 

[Zoe]

Found this article in the Sioux City Journal; interesting comments by JR of the United Cajun Navy.

Body of missing Wall Lake trucker David Schultz found in Sac County

JMVHO.

Yes, I agree....very interesting comments.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Behind a pay wall for me, what do the comments say?

The version of the story I'm reading doesn't have any comments from Jake Rowley. It looks like the story has been edited.

 

[Penny4YourThoughts]

Behind a pay wall for me, what do the comments say?

RSBM (thanks for link @crhedBngr !)

Rowley also claimed that Schultz's body was in a state of decomposition inconsistent with having been out in the elements for more than five months; the body, he said, was not as decomposed as it should have been under the circumstances, implying that "it got dumped later," he said.

"The decomposition does not line up with 186 days, from what I understand," Rowley said. (Schultz was actually missing 155 days.)

"There's a very good chance that the body wasn't there even when they searched," Rowley added, referring to the search conducted by local law enforcement and emergency responders. "And that the body was placed there after."

 

[budle105]

You and me both! I'll be curious to see what the Cajun Navy has to say ...

It was justed reported on the local news that the area where the body was found was not searched ny the Cajun Navy searches because they were told that area had already been searched. By who? It never said.

 

[SharonNeedles]

This video report and "the field behind me" does not look like the area from the pics I was looking at.

'It's finally over': Widow talks about closure after body of missing Iowa trucker David Schultz found

Sarah Schultz said news of her husband's discovery was a moment she both dreaded and hoped for over the last several months. With every phone call and knock on her door she said she wondered, "Is this the day? Is this it?"

www.kcci.com

 

[Zoe]

Also from the article:

“The place where Schultz's body was discovered, Rowley said, was not within the vast area searched by the United Cajun Navy. This, he said, was because it fell within an area that authorities said at the time had already been searched.
"The fire department, police department and the sheriff's department from that area told us that they had a two-mile radius around where the truck was found," Rowley said.
"We had figured that the police department, or the fire department, or whoever -- that original search party for the first few days -- had searched that area, so we did not search that area," he added.”

Body of missing Wall Lake trucker David Schultz found in Sac County

The body of missing Wall Lake trucker David Schultz was found in a Sac County field Wednesday afternoon. Schultz, a married father of 10-year-old twin boys, vanished before Thanksgiving.

siouxcityjournal.com

 

[Seattle1]

Found this article in the Sioux City Journal; interesting comments by JR of the United Cajun Navy.

Body of missing Wall Lake trucker David Schultz found in Sac County

JMVHO.

From the quoted link:

The Journal reached out to Schultz's wife Sarah Schultz for comment. She declined to comment when contacted by a Journal reporter Wednesday evening. She is expected to hold a press conference Thursday morning near where the body was found, alongside Jake Rowley of the United Cajun Navy.

Rowley told The Journal by phone Wednesday evening Schultz's body was found in the vicinity of the intersection of Union Avenue and 190th Street in rural Sac County, northeast of Sac City. Rowley said he rushed from Marshalltown, Iowa, to Sac City Wednesday when he learned Schultz's body had been discovered.

The place where Schultz's body was discovered, Rowley said, was not within the vast area searched by the United Cajun Navy. This, he said, was because it fell within an area that authorities said at the time had already been searched.

"The fire department, police department and the sheriff's department from that area told us that they had a two-mile radius around where the truck was found," Rowley said.

 

[MorningDove]

DBM

 

[crhedBngr]

Behind a pay wall for me, what do the comments say?

Drat! Apologies.

Thanks, @Seattle1 and @MorningDove, for posting portions of the Sioux City Article!

JMVHO.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

RSBM (thanks for link @crhedBngr !)

Rowley also claimed that Schultz's body was in a state of decomposition inconsistent with having been out in the elements for more than five months; the body, he said, was not as decomposed as it should have been under the circumstances, implying that "it got dumped later," he said.

"The decomposition does not line up with 186 days, from what I understand," Rowley said. (Schultz was actually missing 155 days.)

"There's a very good chance that the body wasn't there even when they searched," Rowley added, referring to the search conducted by local law enforcement and emergency responders. "And that the body was placed there after."

Thank you for posting.

With all respect to Jake Rowley, comments like this are why I don't really like "experts" such as him. It was the same with Peter Faulding in the Nicola Bulley case. Even if JR turns out to be correct, statements such as this aren't helpful at this stage. Let LE do their job. He should at least wait to see what the autopsy shows before second-guessing everything.

 

[Joe Friday]

Behind a pay wall for me, what do the comments say?

Rowley also claimed that Schultz's body was in a state of decomposition inconsistent with having been out in the elements for more than five months; the body, he said, was not as decomposed as it should have been under the circumstances, implying that "it got dumped later," he said.

"The decomposition does not line up with 186 days, from what I understand," Rowley said. (Schultz was actually missing 155 days.)

"There's a very good chance that the body wasn't there even when they searched," Rowley added, referring to the search conducted by local law enforcement and emergency responders. "And that the body was placed there after."

Body of missing Wall Lake trucker David Schultz found in Sac County

The body of missing Wall Lake trucker David Schultz was found in a Sac County field Wednesday afternoon. Schultz, a married father of 10-year-old twin boys, vanished before Thanksgiving.

siouxcityjournal.com

 

[Joe Friday]

I can't believe LE (DCI) let Jake Rowley stroll into their crime scene and view the body to determine the state of decomposition.

JMO