Iowa authorities have concluded that a trucker whose body was found in April less than a mile from his abandoned truck died from hypothermia after he used meth.
The Sac County attorney’s office announced Friday that the death of David Schultz, whose body was discovered April 24, was accidental. Schultz, a 53-year-old trucker from Wall Lake, Iowa, was reported missing after his truck was found abandoned on Nov. 21.
His wife, Sarah, suspected foul play after authorities recovered Schultz’s body in a cornfield. The trucker had picked up a load of 120 pigs near Eagle Grove, a small city about 73 miles from Sac City, where he was scheduled to offload the pigs. He never made it.
The man’s disappearance puzzled authorities and loved ones alike. A Facebook group dedicated to solving Schultz’s disappearance drew in 9,500 internet sleuths hoping to learn more about the situation or crack the case.
Since an unidentified farmhand discovered Schultz’s body and phoned authorities, investigators have conducted an “exhaustive” investigation, the attorney’s office said.
Schultz had driven for nearly 30 consecutive hours with little to no rest and suffered from extreme sleep deprivation, authorities said. Investigators believe the exhaustion paired with drug use sparked a medical emergency, leading Schultz to abandon his truck and later die in the field.
Authorities said it was challenging to locate Schultz’s body due to “the vast size of the search area and environmental conditions.” Search operations focused on areas where someone could become trapped or seek refuge. Schultz’s body was discovered in a cornfield and was shielded from view by cornstalks.
Schultz is remembered in his obituary as a trucker who went “above and beyond” for customers, delivering loads with his dog Clint — named after Clint Eastwood — riding shotgun. The father and husband was a fan of old Westerns and was an avid outdoorsman.
Sarah Schultz didn’t immediately respond to FreightWaves’ inquiries.
With Clarissa Hawes