'I'm glad we know where he is,' says wife of missing trucker David Schultz after body found
The family of Northwest Iowa trucker David Schultz gathered on Thursday morning for a news conference and said that his body was found in a field on Wednesday.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said Wednesday a person found a body in a field at about 2 p.m. The DCI acknowledged the location is near where Schultz’s empty truck was found on Nov. 21. Authorities confirmed Thursday afternoon that the body was positively identified as Schultz using dental records.
Schultz body did not show signs of trauma or serious injury, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said in an update Thursday. Investigators do not suspect foul play, the release said, but additional tests are pending.
Schultz’s semitractor-trailer was found abandoned on a rural highway near Sac City in northwest Iowa, its trailer still filled with the piglets he was transporting. Police found Schultz’s wallet and phone inside his truck and his jacket on the side of the road.
Hundreds of volunteers subsequently searched for Schultz after his disappearance and rewards were offered for information on his whereabouts.
Family says discovery of missing trucker's body still leaves 'a lot of questions'
His wife, Sarah, said the body is Schultz's and police identified him by his boots. Schultz was a 53-year-old father of two from Wall Lake. She has not seen the body since the recovery and has been told by officials she would not recognize him.
“I’m glad we know where he is now,” she said in tears. “There’s still a lot of questions. Things don’t make sense. But we have him now.”
Sarah Schultz has since told her children about her father’s death, she said.
“I did have to break it to the kids yesterday,” she said. “They still held out hope.”
Sarah Schultz asserted in the news conference before investigators released preliminary autopsy details that she believes that David Schultz’s death was caused by foul play.
More: What we know about missing trucker David Schultz and a body found in Sac County Wednesday
“Nothing makes sense as to why he would be in a field,” she said. “His coat was found on one side and he was found in the opposite side.”
Schultz’s body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, she said.
“My biggest thing was to find him, just to not wonder where is he every day,” she said. “That’s a big step. I hope we can find out what happened and why. The biggest relief is he’s here. It matters what happened to him. But I’m enjoying the fact where he is now. I can sleep a little bit easier.”
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Missing trucker David Schultz's wife: 'I'm glad we know where he is'
