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

[Interested_But_Confused]

Yes, I think LE probably knows the route the truck took, and when and where the phone was, at least up until it was last on. We don't know who or how he was "heard" from in the early morning hours, but LE probably does.

The coat in the ditch conjures an image of DS getting out of the truck with his coat in hand, planning to put it on. I'd like to know if the truck driver's door was open or shut...we only know it was unlocked. I could easily think he had gotten out to help someone, but again, it goes back to why he was going the wrong way to begin with. I'd like confirmation about the actual delivery destination.

BBM

I believe it's only David's wife, in one of the earliest interviews, who said the truck was traveling in the wrong direction. Businesses located north of Hwy 71 have Sac City addresses even though they're not technically in the city.

 

[Joe Friday]

Given that the pigs were young, do you think his truck would have been well under the weight limit?

SBM

I don't think enough baby pigs would fit in the trailer to cause David's truck and trailer to be over the weight limit of that bridge. Full grown pigs would likely be a different story.

 

[OldCop]

The video appears to be very similar to one that was posted previously. I, along with @Knox, first identified the location of the LE staging area on 190th St using that video:

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

My fear is that someone did something to him between the truck stop and where the truck was found . I just question if someone either entered his truck surreptitiously while he was inside the truck stop, or had a gun on him and forced their way in, or if maybe he picked someone up, hitchhiking/...

www.websleuths.com

I guess the truck could have been on 190th St, but the fact that it was incorrectly described as being on Hwy 71 makes me think it was more likely to have been driving north on the continuation of 71. Some muddling of road names is understandable, but it would be a pretty big muddle if the truck was on a totally different road.

RBBM Yes!

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

May I add another map to the thread - this one shows a larger area that may help folks visualize the locations. I'm not 100% certain of the destination/dropoff. Read somewhere it was a hair southeast of Sac City proper so my area points to that general location.

Red circle - pickup location in Eagle Grove
Possibly traveling down 17 south to 20 west
Possibly stopping at Sparky's, a gas station/truck stop
Should have turned south on 71 to deliver in Sac City, but instead made a direct right north on what is Union Ave/N14
Truck in purple rectangle facing north up near 190th St (the next east-west road north)
Green (obvious) indicates where they live

 

[OldCop]

I didn't think I was confused, but it turns out I am! Is there one map that shows only the loading site and the truck location, with no other info? Please. I'm lost.

Here ya go.

 

[Joe Friday]

One thing I noted from this article is that a search dog was used, which led to the coat in the ditch, but the dog couldn't go any farther due to the wind. It's possible the dog simply smelled the coat from the truck, but it's also possible that the dog trailed his scent from the truck to the coat, and this is an indication that DS was the driver and was the one who got out, maybe as far as the ditch. Did the dog lose his scent then because of the wind, or could it be because DS was in another vehicle after that point? Just random speculating...

Sure would be nice to know if David's coat was found in the ditch next to the truck. In a ditch 100 feet from the truck. Or perhaps in a ditch a half a mile from the truck on a completely different road from where the truck was found parked.

Apparently the search dog led LE to the coat, so I'm assuming the coat was found relatively close to the truck, because it was also reported the dog could go no further due to the wind. If the wind was a factor and the coat was a long distance from the truck, I don't see how the dog could have tracked to the coat in the first place.

Sort of eliminates the possibility of the coat being thrown from David's truck while being driven or from another vehicle while driving away from the scene. If that makes sense.

Maybe the coat fell out of the truck when someone extied and was blown into the ditch by the wind. Or David exited the truck with coat in hand, intending to put his coat on, but someone interrupted that. Coat then fell to the ground and was blown into the ditch by the wind.

JMO

 

[OldCop]

May I add another map to the thread - this one shows a larger area that may help folks visualize the locations. I'm not 100% certain of the destination/dropoff. Read somewhere it was a hair southeast of Sac City proper so my area points to that general location.

Red circle - pickup location in Eagle Grove
Possibly traveling down 17 south to 20 west
Possibly stopping at Sparky's, a gas station/truck stop
Should have turned south on 71 to deliver in Sac City, but instead made a direct right north on what is Union Ave/N14
Truck in purple rectangle facing north up near 190th St (the next east-west road north)
Green (obvious) indicates where they live

View attachment 464604

Nice. Neat. Clear. Hope this one helps the directionally challenged.

 

[charminglane]

If the truck was left running, the lights would be on.
We have not heard if truck was out of gas from running the whole time.
Also, if the road was blocked or someone else was in the road, stopped, the safest place to pull over would be where the truck was located.

 

[Inthedetails]

Thank you to people on and off thread helping me regain my bearings. I wasn't lost after all (unless I was and still don't realize it, lol!). I really like the visuals on maps and feel unsteady when I don't know where on a map I "am." You'd think rural Iowa would be one of the easiest places to keep track of locations with all the straight roads, but I managed to get turned around. Thanks again!

Now, the question remains....why was David's truck THERE?

jmo

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

Thank you to people on and off thread helping me regain my bearings. I wasn't lost after all (unless I was and still don't realize it, lol!). I really like the visuals on maps and feel unsteady when I don't know where on a map I "am." You'd think rural Iowa would be one of the easiest places to keep track of locations with all the straight roads, but I managed to get turned around. Thanks again!

Now, the question remains....why was David's truck THERE?

jmo

I'm with you. I'm a very visual person, and I also find that Google Street View helps me "see" an area by driving down the roads virtually, online.

 

[Inthedetails]

I'm with you. I'm a very visual person, and I also find that Google Street View helps me "see" an area by driving down the roads virtually, online.

The google map man is one of my best friends. We travel quite a bit together.

jmo

 

[Joe Friday]

If the truck was left running, the lights would be on.
We have not heard if truck was out of gas from running the whole time.
Also, if the road was blocked or someone else was in the road, stopped, the safest place to pull over would be where the truck was located.

Why would the lights be on if the truck was left running?

 

[Occam's Zebra]

The truck was not necessarily facing the "wrong direction." A dot on a map doesn't encompass the entire town, particularly for rural areas.

If you google the address for Scharn Trucking, it's in Sac City - even though on the map, it is far north of the dot on the map that represents Sac City.

 

[Tippy Lynn]

In 2019 Prestage Food built a new $320 million pork processing plant about 6 miles south of Eagle Grove. I'm sure the population has increased since that time.

Many rural towns are dying, but a new pork processing plant in northwest Iowa offers hope

Prestage's pork plant will spin off work for other businesses. "That's money that was never here before and will circulate through the region."

www.desmoinesregister.com

 

[Emerald1328]

It would be really nice if the Sheriff Department or DCI would release some "official" information, but whether the truck was facing north or south, east or west is not importance information to release to the public. Apperantly nothing else is important either, other than debunking the car chase inciedent that happened earleier to someone else which they say has nothing to do with David, since LE has said diddly about anything else related to this case.

SBM..

Now that the Iowa DCI is involved, I expect to hear next to nothing, including any requests for information from the public, even if they have something that the public could be useful (such as, a specific car in the area - see Lyric/Elizabeth and Mollie Tibbetts).

 

[Joe Friday]

I sure hope LE treated David's truck like a crime scene when found and not just let someone jump in and drive it away to deliver the little piggy's.

Hopefully they swabbed areas such as the steering wheel, gear shifter, brake knobs, switches (headlight, turn lights), door handles inside and out so DNA testing could be done.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I sure hope LE treated David's truck like a crime scene when found and not just let someone jump in and drive it away to deliver the little piggy's.

Hopefully they swabbed areas such as the steering wheel, gear shifter, brake knobs, switches (headlight, turn lights), door handles inside and out so DNA testing could be done.

Me as well.

 

[Joe Friday]

SBM..

Now that the Iowa DCI is involved, I expect to hear next to nothing, including any requests for information from the public, even if they have something that the public could be useful (such as, a specific car in the area - see Lyric/Elizabeth and Mollie Tibbetts).

Ya, haven't read about or heard of any cries from LE asking locals to check their cameras so see if any suspicious vehicles were in the area.

 

[Inthedetails]

Ya, haven't read about or heard of any cries from LE asking locals to check their cameras so see if any suspicious vehicles were in the area.

There was a request for locals to check their property and out buildings, iirc.

jmo

 

[Joe Friday]

There was a request for locals to check their property and out buildings, iirc.

jmo

I think early on, LE didn't suspect foul play. Likely thought this was just a case of a guy who parked his truck and may have walked into a barn or shed close by and did self harm. Hence, check your outbuildings.

The recent addition of the DCI to the case shows LE thinks there is more to this case than just a guy that walked away for what ever reason.

JMO