Sac City, Iowa — The Sac County Attorney’s Office says the investigation into the disappearance and subsequent death of David Schultz, who was reported missing under suspicious circumstances in November of 2023 — is complete.
Schultz’s semi-truck and trailer were found abandoned north of the intersection of N14 and D15 in northeast Sac County on November 21, 2023. On April 24, 2024, Schultz’s deceased body was discovered a little over half a mile from his abandoned truck.
The medical examiner determined “hypothermia in the setting of acute drug (methamphetamine) intoxication” as the cause of Schultz’s death and the manner of his death as “accidental.” The county attorney’s office says “It is clear from the evidence gathered at the scene and the body’s state of decomposition that Schultz(‘s) [body] had been in the field for months.”
They tell us that in the months that followed the discovery of Schultz’s body, law enforcement conducted an exhaustive investigation, which yielded no signs of foul play. The investigation uncovered that Schultz had been trucking for nearly 30 consecutive hours with little to no rest, motivated to support his business and young family. The combination of severe sleep deprivation and methamphetamine use is believed to have induced a medical emergency, causing Schultz to abandon his truck and ultimately succumb to the elements in the field where he was later found.
They tell us that in their efforts to find Schultz, many committed volunteers and search and rescue professionals searched many square miles. The county attorney’s office says, “The vast size of the search area and environmental conditions made it challenging to locate Schultz’s deceased body. Search operations focused on areas of fields where shrubbery and vegetation were present, such as fence lines and field borders, under the belief that a person would be more easily seen in open areas. In addition, the search teams focused on areas that appeared more probable for someone to seek refuge or become trapped.”
