Story County in Iowa

Story County in Iowa

Chad James Schwab

Open Case with Iowa DCI

Chad James Schwab
30 YOA
Southbound I-35 Rest Area
Story County, IA
Investigating Agency: Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation
August 10, 2004

Case summary by Jody Ewing

On August 10, 2004, a white male’s badly decomposed body was discovered several hundred yards behind the Southbound Interstate 35 rest area north of Ames in a wooded location.

DNA tests later identified the body as that of Chad James Schwab, 30, of Snowmass, Colorado, although the state Medical Examiner’s Office and Capt. Gary Foster of the Story County Sheriff’s Office called the cause of death undetermined.

The Iowa State Patrol towed an abandoned vehicle from the rest area several weeks before the body’s discovery and tracked the vehicle’s registration to Schwab. DNA samples, compared with Schwab’s family members, helped investigators identify the body as that of Schwab.

Family members said Schwab had been traveling the country, not going any place in particular. He’d been traveling near Ames before he disappeared.

Officials confirmed Schwab was traveling alone and was not wanted by authorities for any criminal behavior.

I-35-southbound-rest-area-north-of-ames-chad-schwabCourtesy Google Maps
This map shows the southbound rest area north of Ames where Schwab’s body was found about a quarter mile behind the rest stop and about 100 years off the Skunk River Greenbelt Trail.

Two men scouting for deer hunting sites found the skeletal remains halfway down a wooded ravine about a quarter mile behind the rest area and about 100 yards off the Skunk River Greenbelt Trail System. A polo shirt, pants and a black pair of men’s shoes were found near the body, though the victim had no identification in his pant pockets.

Because the remains were discovered on state property, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) was called in to assist in the investigation. The state crime lab processed the scene and vehicle while the sheriff’s office worked the case with DCI agents.

Though officials found no evidence of foul play and media initially reported the case as closed, Field Services Commander Lt. Jeff Dodds of the Story County Sheriff’s Office confirmed with Iowa Cold Cases on Feb. 19, 2009, that it is still considered an open case with the DCI as lead agency.

Information Needed

Anyone with information about Chad Schwab’s unsolved death is asked to contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010, email dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us, or contact the Story County Sheriff’s Office at 515-382-6566.

Sources:
  • Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation
  • Cold cases never close for Ames police,” by Grayson Schmidt, Part of the GONE COLD: EXPLORING IOWA’S UNSOLVED MURDERS series, The Ames Tribune, August 15, 2015
  • Lt. Jeff Dodds, Field Services Commander, Story County Sheriff’s Office, February 19, 2009
  • Iowa Cold Cases, personal correspondence with family members
  • Body found near Iowa rest stop identified as Snowmass man,” by Chad Abraham, The Aspen Times, December 16, 2004
  • “Body found near I-35 is identified,” The Ames Tribune, December 15, 2004
  • Body found north of Ames now identified,” RadioIowa.com, December 15, 2004
  • “United States Public Records, 1970-2009,” database, FamilySearch, Chad James Schwab, Residence, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
  • “United States Public Records, 1970-2009,” database, FamilySearch, Chad J Schwab, Residence, New Castle, Colorado, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
  • “United States Public Records, 1970-2009,” database, FamilySearch, Chad J Schwab, Residence, New Castle, Colorado, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
  • “United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014,” database with images, FamilySearch, Chad James Schwab, Ames, Iowa, United States, 15 Dec 2004; from “Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 – Today),” database, GenealogyBank.com https://www.genealogybank.com/ : 2014); citing Tribune, The, born-digital text.

 

2 Responses to Chad Schwab

  1. Patrick Kerrigan says:

    Since supposedly the cause of death is considered undetermined, it will be hard case to investigate. He was just traveling around with no particular place to go. But his vehicle gets towed from the rest area, several weeks before.

    Yet, his skeletal remains were found several hundred yards behind the rest stop. So something happened. It could be that he got in some confrontation with someone at the rest stop, and they killed him.

    They found his clothes, but no wallet, money, car keys, or even credit cards on him. So, unless that stuff was left in the vehicle, then he could have been robbed and then killed.

    I wonder if he had any credit cards, and when they were last used. It could be that maybe he was carrying large amount of cash. But since there is no clear time of death, then we can determined when he originally stopped there.

  2. Liz says:

    So sad for this man who died hope they find his killers. Everyone needs justice no matter how they chose to live.

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