State examiner: Death of truck driver in Iowa not murder

SAC CITY, Iowa (KEYC) – The death of Iowa truck driver David Schultz was not a homicide, according to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s findings.

Sac County Attorney Ben Smith confirmed the findings Wednesday and said more information was expected to be released later in the week.

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, KEYC’s sister station in Sioux City, has reached out to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and was told the agency will not release 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 DCI’s case is officially closed.

Click here to download the KEYC News Now app or our KEYC First Alert weather app.

All rights reserved.