Natalia Chi
A look inside the truck trailer where 26 kidnapped school children and their bus driver were buried alive.
On July 15, 1976, 26 school children and a bus driver from Chowchilla, California were kidnapped and buried alive in this tractor trailer.
kidnapped children
A dreadful ordeal began when children ages 5 to 14 were riding the school bus home from summer school.
bus driver ed ray
On July 16, 1976, at about 4:00 pm, three masked men with guns hijacked the Dalyland Elementary School bus driven by Ed Ray.
abandoned school bus
The kidnappers then drove the bus into a dry river bed and hid it in a thicket of trees.
One of the kidnapper’s vans
The stunned children were carried from the bus into two vans. They were forced to jump from the bus to the van so as not to leave footprints.
scared student
Jennifer Brown-Hyde, who was 9 when she was abducted, remembers what it was like inside the van. “And I felt like an animal going to the slaughterhouse.”
inside the van
Inside the van, the kidnappers built a makeshift cell by installing wooden paneling and painting the windows. No one could see inside or out. There was no ventilation, food, water or toilets.
Jody’s turn
Ten-year-old Jodi Heffington remembers just before getting into her second van.
“He had a shotgun in my belly…and I stood there with this gun stuck in my gut until that one van drove off and the second van backed up. I had to. It felt like an eternity. I thought he was going to shoot me.” … I actually did.
quarry
The kidnappers drove for nearly 12 hours as the children languished in the sweltering, pitch-black van. The van finally stopped. The kidnappers took them from Chowchilla in Livermore, California to a quarry he was 100 miles away.
underground hole
One by one, bus driver Ed Ray and the children were removed from the van and thrown into a pit. They soon found themselves in an old truck, his trailer, buried 12 feet underground.
underground hole
The kidnappers had built a toilet in the wheel well of a tractor trailer.
underground hole
Inside the hole was a container with water for the children to drink. We also found boxes of cereal, peanut butter, and bread.
ventilation pipe
Two ventilation pipes supplied air to the children trapped 12 feet underground.
trailer cave roof
The children were trying to keep their composure as the minutes and hours ticked by. After nearly 12 hours in the pit, the situation began to deteriorate. The roof began to collapse and food ran out.
misplaced shoes
Survivor Jennifer Brown Hyde said, “It was just a desperate situation…we thought…if we were going to die, we were going to die trying to get out of here.”Ed Rey and the children decided to escape before it was too late.
Hero
Bus driver Ed Ray and 14-year-old Michael Marshall took turns pushing up the heavy manhole cover that blocked the opening of the hole. Once they got it working, Michael began the arduous task of digging to the top.
Survivor
After hours of grueling hours, Michael Marshall has dug himself to the top. It was a terrifying 28 hours. Ed Ray and his children walk towards the quarry and are greeted by stunned workers. The police soon arrived and took these pictures of each child as evidence.
long waiting time
Police took school bus driver Ed Ray and the children to the closest place that could hold them all: the Santa Rita Rehabilitation Center, a local prison. Jennifer Brown is pictured in the center.
long waiting time
At the Santa Rita Rehabilitation Center, the children were given apples and sodas and examined by a doctor.
Ed Ray
Ed Rey and the children were questioned by the police.
long waiting time
The children waited patiently, but they wanted to go home to their families.
survivors coming home
Finally, about four hours after escaping, the kids boarded yet another bus…
survivors coming home
…this time the bus was on its way back to Chowchilla.
survivors coming home
The children couldn’t wait to reunite with their families.
anxious parents are waiting
On July 17, 1976, parents and families of children returning to school anxiously awaited their arrival at the Chowchilla Police Station.
met again
When survivor Larry Park, 6, returned to his parents, he said he “finally felt safe again.” Park is pictured in his father’s arms.
look for clues
Soon, police began searching for clues at the crime scene.
excavating the trailer
Investigators unearthed a truck trailer that had been the children’s catacombs in hopes of finding clues leading to the kidnappers.
media arrives
Media outlets around the world covered the news.
kidnapper arrested
It took almost two weeks to track down the kidnappers, but investigators eventually arrested 24-year-old Frederick Newhall Woods, the son of the owner of the rock quarry where the children were held. They also arrested 24-year-old James Schoenfeld (center), his partner in the used car business, and James’ brother Richard. All come from wealthy families in one of San Francisco’s finest suburbs. Guards had seen three of his men digging a hole in the quarry months before the kidnapping.
plan”
When investigators executed a warrant to search Fred Woods’ father’s property, they found a treasure trove of evidence. It shows how kidnappers commit crimes and what to do if something goes wrong.
Draft ransom note
Another key piece of evidence was this draft ransom note. A draft of the memo says the kidnappers demanded $2.5 million from him, but their ultimate plan was for him to demand $5 million. When they tried to call, they were unable to fulfill their request because the phone lines were jammed.
student list
Another key piece of evidence is the list of kidnapped children’s names on the back of the Jack in the Box wrapper. The kidnappers wrote them down while dragging the children out of the van. Investigators later found the fingerprints of two of the three kidnappers.
parole hearing
All of the kidnappers were eventually sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.
In total, more than 60 parole hearings were held against the three kidnappers. Thirty-six years after his kidnapping, Richard Schoenfeld was released on parole in June 2012. Three years later, his older brother James was released on parole.
Jody Heffington, who attended nearly every parole hearing, is pictured at Fred Woods’ 15th parole hearing in 2018.
Kidnapper Fred Woods
Fred Woods, the last kidnapper in prison, was granted parole on August 17, 2022 after 17 previous denials.
survivor jennifer brown hyde
Jennifer Brown Hyde is a wife, mother and executive assistant. Until recently, she couldn’t sleep without a nightlight.
Survivor Michael Marshall
Michael Marshall is a father and a long haul truck driver. He has a therapy dog, Blue. He said, “I helped him before he was a year old, and now he helps me every day.”
Survivor Rally Park
Larry Park runs a handyman business and volunteers as a pastor at a local church. He says he has forgiven his kidnappers.
Survivor Jody Heffington
Jodie Heffington stayed in Chowchilla, opened a hair salon and raised her son. She said her kidnapping affected her entire life.
“It makes me not a good daughter, a good sister, a good aunt, and not a particularly good mother. And probably not a good friend..It took something from me that I can never get back,” she said in ’48 Hours’. Heffington passed away in January 2021.
