Man dead after domestic dispute, police pursuit
Sebastian Wright
Published Mar 14, 2026
A Muscatine man is dead after leading police in Louisa County on a high speed chase last night.
It all started just after 6:30 p.m. when the Louisa County Sheriff’s Department was called to a domestic dispute in rural Columbus Junction.
The caller told police Cody France, 39, had fired several bullets at her with a semi-automatic handgun.
Police located France’s SUV, but France refused to pull over led deputies on a chase that reached up to 80 MPH.
Muscatine deputies and Iowa State Patrol were called to assist and deployed stop sticks, but even with a punctured tire, France continued to elude police.
His SUV came to rest in a farm field north of Fredonia.
A tactical team surrounded the vehicle, but found France dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A check of court records show that France had been arrested and had his first court appearance on a second degree burglary charge last Thursday.
