chowchilla kidnapping michael

The sides of the van were bowing in. They didn't have enough love. And I remember Edward saying, Were from Chowchilla, and were lost, Hyde said. All rights reserved. FILE - Officials remove a truck buried at a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif., in which 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver, Ed Ray, were held captive on July 20, 1976. Crystal Bonvillian, Cox Media Group National Content Desk. Richard Schoenfeld turned himself in. Jodi Heffington: He said "the coast is clear." Jodi Heffington: They'd take the next kid out. Ray tried to move the sheet with the help of Michael Marshall, aged 14 at the time. "There was a point where Ed Ray was like, You got to know when to kick the bucket. But who kept going? Nightmare in Chowchilla: The School Bus Kidnapping. Vanished Without a Trace. Michael Marshall: It would be silent and then somebody would bust out crying and the hole would just erupt. The van was used as a prison for the 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver. Jennifer Brown Hyde: Edward kept telling his kids just be quiet, sit down, do what they say. After that you kind of did have a sense of (takes a deep breath) you can breathe. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. They and a third man abducted 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver and buried them alive in the trailer of a moving truck. Edward was speaking in a harsh tone, and that normally was not the Edward that we knew and loved. For all three kidnappers, there have been more than 60 parole hearings to date. Larry, 6, and Andrea, 8, were among 26 children who, along with their school bus driver, were kidnapped in July 1976 from their school bus in Chowchilla, Calif. Jodi Heffington, 10, of Chowchilla, Calif., shares a hymnal with her mother in an undated photo taken after the girl and 25 classmates, who were kidnapped July 15, 1976, with their bus driver, had safely escaped. (AP Photo). And go with them and leave her. The kidnappers had buried them in a rock quarry in Livermore, California, 100 miles away from Chowchilla. Jodi Heffington | Survivor: It's a hard thing to explain, 'cause I never been around guns. Fourteen months after her death, Fred Woods went before the parole board for the 18th time. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. 48 HOURS: The Chowchilla Kidnapping (10 p.m., CBS) Tonight's episode remembers the 1976 kidnapping of 26 children, ages 5 through 14, on a school bus on their way home from summer school in the small town of Chowchilla, California. Nothing was ever the same after that," Jodi Heffington said of the 1976 kidnapping. Michael and the youngest, 5-year-old Monica Ardery, were the last ones left in the van. And to his relief, not long after, Monica came climbing down the ladder. Prosecutor Jill Klinge: Every time one of the kidnappers came up for parole it triggered all their fears and trauma . All rights reserved. There was no sound. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. She later made this recording with her mom: AUDIO: JENNIFER BROWN, AGE 9: And those two guys standing from the bus door to the van door with guns with pantyhose over the head so we wouldn't run out. No one could see in or out. California officials allow photographers to take pictures of the inside of this van in Livermore, Calif., on July 24, 1976. The children and their school bus driver were transferred to vans and were driven for nearly 12 unbearable hours before being buried alive inside a truck trailer underground held hostage in the dark for another 16 hours before they made a harrowing escape. The then-14-year-old found a wooden box constructed on top of the cover. by Gail Moock Miller | Jan 1, 1977. Several of the survivors, including Park and Hyde, attended their abductors parole hearing last week. And they took all my belongings And then they said, "you're going to go down in this hole right here. It was like looking at death., Chowchilla kidnapping: James Schoenfeld, from left, Frederick Newhall Woods and Richard Schoenfeld are pictured in court following their arrests in the 1976 kidnapping of 26 schoolchildren and a bus driver in Chowchilla, Calif. Two years earlier, he had been charged with grand theft auto. He tries not to think about those kidnappers. My name is Jodi Medrano. (Fresno Bee via Getty Images, San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images). Many of the survivors of the Chowchilla kidnapping gathered for a photo at the Ed Ray Day celebration on August 22, 1976. ', Survivors of the largest kidnapping for ransom scheme in U.S. history are speaking out about the ordeal that has haunted them for almost 46 years in the Fox News podcast, "Nightmare in Chowchilla: The School Bus Kidnapping.". Jodi Heffington: It just seems like every three years I go. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. So right now, so far, we're alright. Jodi Heffington: Sometimes it's like life is an act. Italy told to brace for "most intense heat wave" ever as Europe bakes, FDA approves new drug to protect babies from RSV, House Democrats plan to force vote on censuring Santos, Russia suspends grain deal with Ukraine that helped rein in food prices, What to know about Fulton County's Trump investigation, Death Valley, hottest place on Earth, hits near-record high, Remembering our beloved colleague Elise Finch, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announces 2024 Senate campaign. Marshall did gain some media attention for his heroics, and in 1999 he spoke to theLas Vegas Sun about his experiences. Larry Park: And they just kept doing that. (Handout courtesy of Jennifer Brown Hyde). Hyde, who was 9 years old at the time, told 48 Hours that the children in her van spent the time comforting one another. Frederick Woods, 70, was one of three men convicted in the 1976 kidnapping in Chowchilla, Calif. Jodi Heffington: I just remember looking up at that hole. FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's been nearly 46 years since the 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping. Larry Park, center, and his sister, Andrea Park, are shown during Sunday school class in this undated photo. And I told them to be brave because its going to be all right.. Michael Marshall: They put us on a Greyhound escorted us back to Chowchilla. 1 of 15 File - In this 1992 file photo, Frank Edward Ray stands in Chowchilla, Calif., by the bus from which he and 26 students were kidnapped. And all these men with hard hats on came to us and looked at us like, "who are you?". Michael Marshall: It was just me and her. And by the time they woke up, they saw on the news that the kids had been found. Michael Marshall: I went to bed at 18 drunk and hung over and blacked out. It's not that Ed Ray isn't a hero. Ray urged the children to try to sleep. I think it made me not a good daughter, not a good sister, not a good aunt and especially not a good mother. The kidnappers sped off with the children caged in those mobile prisons. Jodi Heffington: Being the last one you don't know what's going to happen because you don't see nobody else. First published on October 12, 2019 / 11:16 PM. And what did they do with them? I was Jodi Heffington. Fred Woods at his 15th parole hearing in 2018. Chowchilla kidnapping: Workers dig a moving truck trailer out of the ground at a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif. A group of 26 Chowchilla schoolchildren and their bus driver were kidnapped July 15, 1976, and taken to the quarry, where they were kept inside the trailer, seen at right, for more than a day before digging themselves out and escaping. Then, the vans started to slow down. Larry Park, who spent his 20's and 30's abusing drugs, now owns a handyman business and volunteers as a pastor at a local church. / CBS News, Produced by Chris Young Ritzen, George Osterkamp, Mead Stone and Gary Winter. (AP Photo/Jim Palmer), Many of survivors of the Chowchilla kidnapping gather at the Ed Ray Day celebration on August 22, 1976. Ray, the school bus driver, is pictured back row center next to Michael Marshall. They had been in the hole for nearly 16 hours. This was one of the largest kidnappings in U.S. history. I believe you have served enough time for the crime you committed, Park said. You try to be good for everybody else so they don't worry, but they worry anyway, so I advise everybody else not to do it that way. They were forced to jump from the bus to the vans so that they would not leave behind any footprints. I still can't believe it," Park said while fighting back tears. So, what drove these young men, seemingly well off, to kidnap young children for money? At right, relatives of the children weep with joy after learning the children and their missing bus driver were found alive. RICHARD THRELKELD | CBS NEWS: And so the search is on nationwide for these three men . ], Michael Marshall[sighs, then pauses]: The air and the light it was beaming coming through . Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. And I said, "I was doing what you said." Officials begin to dig out the truck trailer in the Livermore, Calif. rock quarry, in which 26 Chowchilla schoolchildren and their bus driver, Ed Ray were held captive. According to 48 Hours, a police pilot searching from the air spotted the hidden bus just before sunset. At Chowchilla. "Inside Edition" spoke with the victims of the. Joan Brown: I remember later that day, praying and saying to God that if you bring them back I will promise you that I will and then I stopped because there was nothing I can offer in exchange for my children. The kids could feel it pulling off the road, lurching from side to side on rough terrain, before coming to a stop after nearly 12 unbearable hours. Meanwhile, parents began to worry as they came home to empty houses or their children failed to materialize from their trip. Because that was the way out. The truck had been buried 12 feet underground. Michael has a therapy dog named Blue. Larry Park: Mike Marshall, actually, brave person that he is, crawled out of the hole first. Jodi Heffington: How that day affected me, has affected me every day in some way or another. I said, "I need some help down here.". And then you just hear the material (moves his hands in a digging motion) getting thrown on us we were being buried alive. It was back in July 1976, when three young men from wealthy families kidnapped a school bus full of children in the Central Valley town of Chowchilla. JENNIFER BROWN: I don't know. Moreno theorized that California Gov. Ray, the school bus driver hailed as a hero for . I can't believe what he did. Three masked gunmen seized a bus ca. It was surrounded with jugs of drinking water . March 18, 2023 / 11:24 PM And it was catching the dust. The young victims, who ranged in age from 5 to 14, were missing for more than a day before Ray and some of the older children were able to dig their way out. "48 Hours" contributor David Begnaud joins "CBS Mornings" with an inside look at his "48 Hours" report, "Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping." "I really looked up to Larry being able to forgive them. The third followed in the truck. Jodi Heffington: You're in this little box and they're there looking at you, just glaring at you and staring you down. Frederick Newhall Woods, 70, was approved for release on Friday, which marked his 18th parole hearing since he and two other men were convicted in 1977 of 27 counts of kidnapping. A pastor and Christian counselor, he cited his faith and ability to forgive as a large part of his ongoing survival. The victims were buried alive in the trailer of a moving truck for more than a day before they dug themselves out and escaped. They were loaded onto a Greyhound bus and driven back to Chowchilla, where they were reunited with their parents nearly 36 hours after their ordeal had begun. We don't know who's out here. (AP Photo, Sacramento Bee via Getty Images). Jodi Heffington: An Alameda County jail bus came. And I'm remembering the last time that I saw her [gets emotional] and wishing I could have told her goodbye. Twenty-six children ages 5 through 14 and. And woke up about 48, you know, with a hangover, blurry. You know, "Come on Mike, you can do it. The kidnappers buried them alive in an underground truck trailer in a rock quarry. Survivor Jennifer Brown Hyde pictured at age 9 standing near a granite monument in Chowchilla, Calif. dedicated to the 26 schoolchildren and bus driver Ed Ray. Jodi Heffington: People started standing on each other's shoulders. As Sheriff Bates continued to widen the investigation, the children continued to suffer inside the sweltering, pitch-black vans. And that was it. Joan Adelman is the editor. Like all the other survivors, Michael does his bit to move on from the horrific incident as well, but one must acknowledge the bravery shown by the then 14-year-old, in helping his schoolmates escape. A look back at the 1976 school bus kidnapping Fox News correspondent Claudia Cowan reports on the events that occurred over 40 years ago in the latest FOX podcast, 'Nightmare In Chowchillla.' It. I knew it. Fans somewhere in the darkness provided ventilation. Prosecutor Jill Klinge: They would get a parole hearing every one or two years. Michael Marshall, pictured in 1999, was 14 years old when he and 25 other children were kidnapped, along with their school bus driver, in 1976 in Chowchilla, Calif. But when you've gone through something that's so traumatic, it's hard to go back and be a normal kid again. Jennifer Brown Hyde: How do you describe somebody that has pantyhose over their face? Michael Marshall, 14 and bus driver Ed Ray piled up mattresses that were left in the hole and after 16 hours in darkness managed to dig their way to safety. One had the shotgun, one drove the bus, and one followed behind in the white van they'd used to block the road. Michael Marshall: And I'm giving it everything I got, and all the kids are cheering me on. Even at the age of 9, little Jennifer Brown seemed to know the horror that day should be documented. There was no sunlight. They had flashlights kind of like shining in their faces. They escaped with a fine and probation. Prosecutor Jill Klinge: They sit in the same room, and it's not a large room, with the kidnapper. The miracle is coming through it and being willing to receive the light.. Ray gave him a boost through the hole in the truck, and the teen began pounding on the box and digging. There was no quit in him. There, they were fed and examined by doctors. The two vans then drove around for 11 hours, before finally taking the kids and the driver to a quarry in Livermore. In the truck were mattresses, jugs of water and a table with boxes of cereal, peanut butter and bread, Hyde and Park told 48 Hours. Ray, the school bus driver, is pictured back row center next to Michael Marshall. He would later tell the parole board: "We needed multiple victims to get multiple millions, and we picked children because children are precious. 'S OFFICE), Survivor Jennifer Brown Hyde pictured at age 9 standing near a granite monument in Chowchilla, Calif. dedicated to the 26 schoolchildren and bus driver Ed Ray. Please enter valid email address to continue. Well, you could just look at their faces, and the anxiety and the fear was there. He shared his uphill battles with mental illness, severe anxiety, and drug addiction. What was the pit like?". In August 2022, after 46 years, the last of three men convicted of kidnapping 26 children and their bus driver was paroled from a prison in California. Three young men planned the kidnap of students, ages 5 to 14, along with their bus driver, for a ransom demand of $5 million. An aerial photo shows a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif., where a group of 26 Chowchilla schoolchildren and their bus driver were kept buried after being kidnapped July 15, 1976. Authorities believe the three vans were used to transport 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver Ed Ray, to a rock quarry near Livermore, California. They got underneath the manhole cover and pushed up on it. Ray and the children were taken to the Santa Rita Rehabilitation Center, a nearby jail. And that's all that I need to know. (ALAMEDA COUNTY D.A. The children were then driven 100 miles away to a rock quarry in Livermore, where they were buried alive in a truck trailer 12 feet underground. So, you couldn't tell if it was day or night. Just outside Chowchilla on July 15, 1976, the frightening journey began. Jodi Heffington: Like I told him, Mr. Woods you're not a kidnapper, you're a thief. The hearings took place inside the prison. Workers dig a moving truck trailer out of the ground at a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif. A group of 26 Chowchilla schoolchildren and their bus driver were kidnapped July 15, 1976, and taken to the quarry, where they were kept inside the trailer, seen at right, for more than a day before digging themselves out and escaping. (AP Photo, Sacramento Bee via Getty Images). As investigators intensified their search, Jennifer and Jeff's mom Joan waited by the phone hoping to hear news about her children. Fred Woods, 70, was one of three men in 1976 who kidnapped and buried alive 26 children and their bus driver from Chowchilla, California in order to ransom them back to the state. Once the manhole cover was moved, that box was just big enough for Michael to stand in. Start hitting and pounding, hitting and pounding. And then you just hear the material getting thrown on us we were being buried alive," said survivor Michael Marshall. And just scared out of their you know, we were all just scared out of our wits. I didnt really have that feeling until I went down in that hole, and you think itd be the opposite. A van blocked the road ahead of the bus; one man held a gun to the driver while the other drove the bus. Gary Winter and Mead Stone are producer-editors. Chowchilla kidnapping: Parents await their children who were kidnapped in July 1976, with their bus driver in Chowchilla, Calif. Three men abducted the driver and his 26 passengers and buried them alive in a moving truck trailer, where they remained for more than a day before digging themselves out and escaping. None whatsoever. I think it added a component of fascination to the story because it was so unlikely that three men such as these would commit such an atrocious crime. Michael Marshall: I had to take her hands from mine and rip and tear them apart, say it would be OK. And go with them and leave her. CBS NEW REPORT: For 9- year-old Jennifer Brown, the experience has allowed her to still see the world with compassion. "Do you know I'm sitting with my hero? When police arrived, as evidence, they took photos of every child. Just six years after the kidnappings, the parade of parole hearings began. By Dorian Geiger April 1 . The children tried to stay calm as the minutes and hours ticked by. Three years later, James Schoenfeld was paroled, too. What they found there was a treasure trove of evidence. Larry Park decided to write about his horrors in a book titled, "The Chowchilla Kidnapping: Why Me?" Sheriff Ed Bates: I called the governor. Ray and his young passengers were then left in the moving truck, which measured 8 feet by 16 feet, for another 16 hours before they were able to dig through the dirt covering the truck bed. Meanwhile, Hyde told the commissioners, Woods is still a millionaire., He could have done much more, she said, according to the AP. Jennifer Brown Hyde: I remember going in in the bus and you could see the prison wire. And he is sober. As the men parked the bus in the riverbed, the children were transferred into the white van, as well as a green van the men had waiting at the site. They're wealthy. I had no idea where we were. Read More: Where Are the Chowchilla Kidnappers Now? We could hear fans. Marshall said as the children were being removed, he found himself alone in the van with the youngest of the children, 5-year-old Monica Ardery. Ray, the school bus driver, is pictured back row center next to Michael Marshall. The men, later identified as Frederick Woods, James Schoenfeld, and Richard Schoenfeld, kidnapped 26 school children along with their bus driver and kept them captive in a deplorable condition for several hours. Larry Parks, who was 6 years old at the time, described the abductors appearance for 48 Hours. And so, the roof of the van was starting to cave in. Larry Park: And everyone thought that was great because the good memories of Disneyland would overshadow the bad memories of the kidnapping. Prosecutor Jill Klinge | Alameda County: They looked to see who would have keys to the quarry. After that hearing, Woods was again denied parole. Ray, the school bus driver, along with 26 children between ages 5 and 14, was apprehended by three masked and armed men on July 15, 1976. The 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping is brought back to memory in CBS' '48 Hours.' On July 15, 1976, a school bus driver and 26 children aged between 5 and 14 were kidnapped by three armed men. As they did before, the kidnappers removed the children one by one. I've proven that time and time again. Chowchilla kidnapping: What you need to know (NCD) (NCD) SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. California authorities last week approved parole for a man who kidnapped 26 Chowchilla schoolchildren in. WALTER CRONKITE | CBS EVENING NEWS ANCHOR: A California judge today imposed mandatory life prison sentences without parole on those three young men who kidnapped 26 Chowchilla school children . Twenty-six of them and a bus driver? I wanted to be like right there. That takes strength it does and connection with God.". And we rolled the arms up and we were all sitting there some of 'em didn't roll our arms up and we sitting there flapping our arms. Frederick Newhall Woods, 24, the son of the owner of the quarry, immediately became a person of interest. Jodi Heffington: The first time, I was terrified. Kidnapping of Louisiana mom foiled by gut instinct of off-duty sheriff's deputy, How a Chevy, a strand of hair and a pizza box led police to the Gilgo Beach suspect, A timeline of the Kristin Smart caseand Paul Flores' conviction for her 1996 murder, "48 Hours" uncovers Shannan Gilbert's final minutes, Freckle-faced killer Eric Smith, freed on parole at 42, says he's engaged. Prosecutor Jill Klinge: This crime was planned out for a year-and-a-half in intricate detail. Just five weeks after being buried alive, the gutsy children of Chowchilla and their bus driver Ed Ray were hailed as heroes. And all she could do was hold me. Jennifer Brown Hyde: We thought, and they said the older kids and Edward if we're going to die, were going to die trying to get out of here. Michael Marshall, 14, was still in the other van with some of the youngest children. He seems to have formed a great bond with Blue, and Michael says that he might have rescued Blue before he was a year old, but now, Blue saves him every day. James Schoenfeld, left, and his brother, Richard Schoenfeld, were released in 2015 and 2012, respectively, after serving decades in prison in connection with an infamous 1976 school bus kidnapping in Chowchilla, Calif. (AP), In this July 20, 1976 file photo, officials remove a truck buried at a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif., in which 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver, Ed Ray were held captive. "The miracle is continuing to walk in life when so many times I have tried and contemplated suicide. Ray and Marshall took several of the mattresses in the truck and stacked them on top of one another underneath the manhole cover, according to 48 Hours. JENNIFER BROWN, AGE 9: I don't know. by Fox News Investigative. '48 Hours: Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping' chronicles the horrific incident and portrays how Larry and his friends managed to es. I wanted to stay close. Around that time, Jennifer's mom, Joan Brown, came home from work and the house was empty. Here's what to know. 2023 Cox Media Group. I felt like I was finally safe [emotional]. It had been almost 36 hours since their traumatic ordeal began. The kidnappers then covered the opening with a manhole cover. Then whenever we got into this room, I found my mom and my dad. He's the last one to remain in prison. Group photo of some of the 26 school bus kidnapping victims in Chowchilla, Calif. in 1976. Jennifer Brown Hyde: They took us into what looked like classrooms. It's excruciating and the aftermath is never good. This time, he was granted parole. But when they opened the doors you don't see them. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. And they said, "What's your name?" Nothing was ever the same after that. Nowhere. They also recovered a draft of a ransom note. In the final episode of "Nightmare in Chowchilla," survivors Park and Marshall reunited for the first time after more than 45 long years. The stunned children were herded from their bus into two vans. He credits a large part of his active recovery to his Christianity and to his ability to forgive the three men who kidnapped him. That part was kind of scary too because we're out now. The seams on the roof were also breaking, allowing the roof to cave in under the weight of the dirt in which the truck was buried. Arrest warrants were issued. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. They're behind bars. It was one of the largest kidnappings in U.S. history. You're a thief of lives. Jennifer Brown Hyde: I've had family and church family and co-workers that have piece by piece helped put me back together. Chowchilla bus kidnapping: Rare photos from one of the largest abductions in U.S. history 39 photos. And I realized that everybody was alive. However, it was covered with a steel sheet and weighed down with industrial batteries. Chowchilla kidnapping: Some of the 26 children, left, who were kidnapped in July 1976 from their school bus in Chowchilla, Calif., are shown following their release. The AP reported that Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno opposes Woods release. Sheriff Ed Bates: I told them, I called the FBI. or redistributed. He and the Schoenfeld brothers kidnapped the children in the hopes that state education officials would pay the $5 million they sought for the childrens safe return. Larry Park: I felt like I had been betrayed by the justice system. Jennifer Brown Hyde: Eventually, the bus went off the road, down into a dry riverbed. And I want people to know that that little girl that was kidnapped and buried alive has managed to live a wonderful life. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. The ballad of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping. Prosecutor Jill Klinge: They tried to call the Chowchilla Police Department. With the smaller children cheering him on, Marshall was able to move the manhole cover from under the dirt and truck batteries holding it in place.
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