Death of David Schultz not murder, state auditor judges

SAC CITY, Iowa (KTIV) – Sac County District Attorney Ben Smith tells KTIV that the death of David Schultz was not a homicide, according to the Iowa State Medical Examiner, and that more information will be released later this week.

Smith confirmed the medical examiner’s findings Wednesday. A news release is expected to be issued this week, Smith said. Schultz’s body was found in a field months after his truck was found on a rural road in Sac County.

Schultz’s disappearance sparked a manhunt by police and volunteer groups and has gripped the trucking community online. It’s unclear why Schultz’s body wasn’t found sooner.

Schultz disappeared in November 2023, but his body was found in April 2024 in the 1900 block of Union Avenue, very close to where his truck was found about five months earlier at the intersection of Union Avenue and 190th Street.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation had previously stated that preliminary autopsy results showed no signs of trauma or serious injuries. A DCI spokesman had previously stated that no foul play was suspected in Schultz’s death.

Schultz’s family and a spokesman for the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer search organization, are skeptical of the medical examiner’s findings. The district attorney has not yet released Schultz’s cause and manner of death, only that it was not a homicide.

KTIV contacted the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and they told us they will not be releasing the cause of death. DCI Agent Darrell Simmons said this is because Schultz’s death was not ruled a homicide and there was no danger to the public. He also said her case is officially closed.

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