Remains believed to be those of missing ex-air traffic controller
Human remains found in the desert near Indian Springs Sunday are believed to those of a Las Vegas retiree missing for more than seven months, his wife said Friday.
Barbara Schultz said authorities called her this week to let her know they believe they’ve found her missing husband, John Schultz. The 60-year-old retired air traffic controller went missing from Las Vegas in March while working a part-time job as a ride-share driver, prompting a monthslong search for him by family, police and volunteers.
“It is believed to be him,” Barbara Schultz said. “They are pretty much 99 percent sure. … We thank everybody for their prayers and their outreach and everything they’ve done and said.”
Wildlife surveyor Colden McClurg, 36, said he was working in a remote area roughly six miles southwest of Indian Springs, near the base of the Spring Mountains, on Sunday when he discovered remains and clothing off an unnamed two-track road. He described the site as just north of Willow Creek Road.
McClurg promptly called authorities. A Bureau of Land Management officer, then Las Vegas police, responded to the scene. McClurg, too, was told by police that they believed the remains were those of John Schultz.
“They were pretty sure they thought this is who it was because some of the clothing matched the description of the missing person,” McClurg said.
Schultz’s Toyota Prius was found abandoned by police in the Spring Mountains near Wheeler Pass four days after he vanished.
Metro spokesman Aden OcampoGomez in an email confirmed the discovery of remains near “Wheeler Peak and Willow Creek roads” outside of Indian Springs. He declined to say whether police believe the remains are Schultz. The Clark County coroner’s office is investigating.
“The identification of the decedent, as well as the cause and manner of death, will be released by the coroner’s office,” OcampoGomez said.
The Schultz family said previously that police theorized that John Schultz had a medical episode, prompting him to drive into the rural Nevada landscape. His loved ones, however, questioned the explanation and said they know of no reason Shultz would have gone out to the rural area to begin with.
They described Schultz as a loving husband, father and grandfather.
“Everybody has sent me messages saying that he was such an honest friend, father and grandfather,” Barbara Schultz said Friday. “He will be so missed by everyone.”
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
