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STOLEN - The 1976 School Bus
69 Plays1 year ago
Today's episode is one that will haunt my dreams as a mother. It is the story of trauma, bravery, and how evil people can be in this world. On a normal summer day, when summer school was ending a bus full of 26 students departed home - never to make it to their destination.
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Transcript
Introduction to Twisted Tales Podcast
00:00:04
Speaker
Well, good afternoon, morning, evening, and thanks for listening to Twisted Tales, this is Faith. This is Lisa. And we're excited to be alive and with you tonight. I'm so excited. I would definitely not rather be in bed right now. Nope, not at all.
Faith's Anticipation for a Story
00:00:22
Speaker
Actually, I love this podcast. I do too. I have, I really, it's like the highlight of my week when we get to record. And I've held this story for like a month, so.
00:00:30
Speaker
Well, I mean it's because you had almost a month to do it because I recorded twice No, I was gonna do this the last time I recorded but we had to do it over the phone No, this is the one that I was gonna do and we had to do it over the phone because your house had the plague and I wanted to see a reaction Trigger warning I will cry more than likely or at least get a large lump of emotions in my throat at some point Okay trigger warning if Lisa laughs
00:00:56
Speaker
It has nothing to do with the story. It's the faces that faith makes. Yeah, that's true, too. Yeah. All right. Well, I'm not completely insensitive all the time. She is still not a lie to you. She's 100 percent insensitive and offensive all the time. OK, I can't. I can't. You cannot. I'm not insensitive, though. I am definitely offensive. You are 100 percent offensive. That's not true. I've been there for you during dark times. That's true.
Lisa's High School Memory
00:01:25
Speaker
I never laughed at you. To my face. Exactly. Not insensitive. Not like my brother Micah. So one time when I was in high school I was really upset because this guy that I was you know in love with who was a douche my goo hurt my feelings and I was crying about it on the way to school which I kindly stopped and got Micah Hardy's breakfast because that's what we did because we skipped first period a lot when I got my license
00:01:51
Speaker
I'm sobbing, telling him all about about Dustin. And I look over and he's got the whole biscuit shoved in his mouth because he's trying not to let me hear him laugh. And he didn't think I would see him like his whole body is shaking. That is so typical. Yeah. Yeah. Lovely, lovely little brothers. Yeah, we've always had great siblings. Well, you ready? No. All right. Well, we're going to go anyway. So buckle up, buttercup.
00:02:22
Speaker
All right. Question for you.
Childhood School Bus Rides
00:02:26
Speaker
When you were a kid, did you ride the bus to and from school? Ever? Yeah. Yeah. Do you remember your bus driver? Vaguely. I remember my bus number. I don't remember my bus number, but I remember my bus driver. His name was Walter. He was like this grizzly old Santa looking man. And he had three, I think it was actually his grandsons that rode the bus with his
00:02:52
Speaker
because they were all like developmentally delayed, but they were really sweet. But I remember my bus driver a hundred percent. I think I remember mine too. I remember him wearing a maroon hat all the time, like every day. But he wasn't like the nicest guy. Yeah, that's the thing. Bus drivers are either good or they suck. Like they're so in between. Well, I mean, truth be told, you had to pick up a bunch of rowdy kids and no absolutely no support whatsoever. Yeah, though.
00:03:21
Speaker
Yeah, you'd probably hate your life a little bit. I don't know if I told the story on the podcast. I know I've told you this story. I might have told on the podcast once, but a friend of mine at work has a friend who lives in Oak Ridge and they have twin daughters that are in kindergarten and they pass their bus stop. And then just left them like a mile down the road and the person picking them up is their crippled grandmother in a wheelchair.
00:03:47
Speaker
And the little girls are just like wandering down the street sobbing, trying to find their house in kindergarten. So not everyone should be bus drivers. Yeah. And I actually, that's happened on the news around here a few times. Yeah. So, well, I trust no one. Oh no. Especially not my child. No.
The Incident Begins
00:04:10
Speaker
Well tonight I'm going to tell you a story about a bus driver.
00:04:15
Speaker
And our story begins July 15th, 1976 in Chowchilla, California. So this day it happened, notice July, middle of summer. This was the day before the last day of summer school at Dairyland Elementary School.
00:04:36
Speaker
And everything I, when I'm researching the story, when I've heard the story, everything about every time I hear Dairyland, all I think about is the Loud House and they all want to go to Dairyland at the amusement park. Oh, yeah, yeah. Anyway, I have a kid, obviously. Anyway, so the bus picks up all these kids second, next day is their last day of summer school. And the kids oddly were not excited for summer school to be over.
00:04:59
Speaker
They even put together like a little petition to keep summer school going for two more weeks, according to the reports. Like they love their summer school. The teachers were amazing. It was fun. They just love summer school. Weird. My kid hated it. Anyway, so the bus is full. There are 26 kids in this bus. And because it's summer school, the kids ages range from five years old to 14 years old.
00:05:28
Speaker
They all loaded the bus to go home and the bus driver's name was Frank Edward Ray and he went by Ed. Ed was a farmer and had turned bus driver in his later years and the kids adored him. He was just one of those people who loved life, loved what he did and had a special bond with all these kids. Every kid he met he had this quote unquote special bond with and was able to just really quickly build a rapport with children.
00:05:59
Speaker
So while driving down a rural road, there was a white van broken down on the side of the road, and it was kind of partially blocking the road that the bus was driving down.
Bus Hijacking
00:06:11
Speaker
Ed maneuvered the bus around the van, but as they went by, he noticed that the hood was up on the van, like the front hood to get to the engine, and it was stopped. So he stopped beside it and like, you know, leaned out his bus window, I don't know,
00:06:28
Speaker
And you know, just yelled out, does anybody need any help? Because again, that's a good guy. As soon as Ed stopped to offer help, the bus was immediately boarded by three men. These three men were holding guns and they had pantyhose over their face. These three men pointed their sawed off shotguns in the face of Ed
00:06:55
Speaker
And the one pointed it in Ed's face and the other two pointed it at the 26 children. The men demanded Ed get up and move to the back of the bus again with a gun to his face. The kids who were moments ago, happy, laughing, joking around are now screaming and terrified, obviously. And the three men screamed for them to shut up, keep quiet and follow orders. So remember that, shut up, keep quiet, follow orders.
00:07:28
Speaker
So the kids obviously are freaking out. They're terrified and Ed walks to the back of the bus and just tries to calm them down, keep them quiet. Let's just get through this. Right. Um, and so the three men, they had pantyhose over their face, but they didn't like cut off the legs. So the legs are just like hanging down behind them. And one of the children on the bus, um, the youngest, her name was Jennifer Hyde.
00:07:58
Speaker
or I'm sorry that wasn't it. One of the kids Jennifer Hyde said Ed kept telling all the children to keep quiet and do what they said and she remembered that Ed was talking to them in a harsh tone like being mean and he'd never spoken like harshly to any of the kids no matter what they did on any of it. It was not the Ed they knew and loved. So the three men
Children's Ordeal in Vans
00:08:24
Speaker
had the pantyhose on their heads, have shotguns pointed at all these children, pantyhose legs dangling from the top. And the youngest kid on the bus was a five-year-old girl named Monica and asked one of them if he was the Easter Bunny. Yeah, this is, yeah. So the men took control of the bus. One of the men continued to point the gun at the children while the other started driving the bus away.
00:08:52
Speaker
The third had gotten off the bus and was driving the quote unquote broken down ban behind them. They started driving the bus through a bamboo field. I can't literally like wrap my head around why you would want a school bus full of children unless you're trying to get a ransom. It'd be the only thing that made sense, right? Yeah, like why why would you do that? I don't know. Let's find out, shall we?
00:09:20
Speaker
So they start driving the bus through this bamboo field like straight through the bamboo field and bamboo is freaking resilient like you cut that crap down it pops right back up you push it over and try to stomp up it pops right back up. So it's very tough it's no joke it doesn't leave a lot of trail behind.
00:09:41
Speaker
So the bus is going through this field of bamboo and it is a rough ride for these kids. They're getting thrown from their seats because buses don't have seat belts and the ride gets rougher and rougher. They're not slowing down. They're not driving careful. They're just plowing through making all these turns and the kids are just getting thrown around trying not to freak out. The bus is finally comes to a stop and they're legit in the middle of this bamboo field.
00:10:11
Speaker
However, the white van is waiting for them. They pulled the bus up to the back of the waiting van, like to where the bus door was right to the back of the van. And they forced half the kids into the van, like from the bus into the van. And then that van pulled up, another van backed up, and they forced the other half of the kids with Ed into the other van that had been following them.
00:10:42
Speaker
The kidnappers, excuse me, forced each occupant to jump from the bus to the waiting van so there would be no footprints left behind of the children. And instead, it would appear as if the kids vanished into thin air. Right, except for the tire marks. It's a bamboo field. You're not going to see the tire marks as if you would like a regular grass field. I'm sure there is some damage, but it's not the same.
00:11:10
Speaker
So these vans were not your typical white, creepy, pedophile vans, like we think of them. They had been specifically outfitted for this day of horror. Wood paneling had lined the back walls inside the van and they blacked out the window. So it is a complete blacked out tomb that they forced these children to split into. Because you don't want them to see you
00:11:38
Speaker
Correct. Through the windows and find anything. Correct. There was, um, one little boy who was six years old, his name was Larry Park. And he, um, when he was in the van kept talking about the darkness of the van was like its own entity and it was trying to get him, the darkness was going to get him in the van, like freaking out. It's going to get me vulnerable. Oh gosh. Yeah.
00:12:05
Speaker
So after forcing the kids into the two different vans with no seats, just in the back, shoved in there, the kidnappers started to drive off. Just so you know, you could have given me a trigger warning because you know how I feel about anything that has to do with it. Trigger warning, there's kids in this story. Yeah, go ahead, swallow that red bull. Sorry. Smirk a little harder, why don't you? All right, so. I'm going to be sitting here for the rest of the story thinking up the best torture method I can possibly think of. OK. It's going to involve us.
00:12:42
Speaker
So anyway, they, the kids are in these two different vans, no seats. The kidnappers start driving off. It is California in smack dab in the middle of July. It's about a hundred degrees outside and these assailants, yeah, continue to drive them around for 11 hours straight. That's 11 hours with no food.
00:13:07
Speaker
No water, no bathrooms, nothing. What is the purpose? We'll get there. So imagine 26 kids, one adult, 13 kids to a van, sobbing, crying, flying around in the back of a pitch black van, absolutely terrified for 11 hours, kids as young as five. There's more than likely a lot of accidents going on because
00:13:35
Speaker
I can't hold my bladder for 11 hours. I'm not five. There's no way. I guarantee because they're so hysterical, some of them have got to be vomiting. It's all just rolling around the back of this van. They're forced to be in there. Plus it's 100 degrees outside. It's horrific. 11 hours of that. So besides that- You said that there were
00:14:05
Speaker
So there's not even airflow. No, there's nothing. 100 degrees, metal box, completely black, just torture. So to make matters worse, they've been separated. So one van doesn't have an adult.
00:14:28
Speaker
right Ed got thrown into one van the other van Ed has been separated from half of his charges and he's trying to keep the kids he's with safe and calm but at the same time he has no idea what's in store for him and he's got to be absolutely terrified right I mean terrified is I don't think there's a word for
00:14:54
Speaker
No, right. Because you're looking at a guy who's driven this bus for however many years. Mm hmm. You know what I mean? And he's happy. He's fun, loving. He loves these. Good. Yeah. And now half of them aren't even with you. And you don't know where they're at. Exactly. And so here's this poor dude. He's with the kids that he can be with. Right. But hysteria is breaking out in his mind because he doesn't even know what's happening to the other. And he can't show that. And as an adult.
00:15:22
Speaker
Yeah, it's worst case scenario. Your mind is not going to go to, they're fine. They're safe. Oh, heck no. Everything's okay. They're being sold on the black market. That's what begins to my mind. Like a hundred. Across the city, back at our original starting point, the parents of Dairyland Elementary and Middle School are starting to freak out. Yeah, where are my kids? Yeah. And they're calling everybody else, alerting that their kid never made it home from school. They're calling around.
00:15:52
Speaker
asking other parents, and it all kind of starts to click that all these kids are missing, the bus is missing, it's gone. So parents start bombarding the police station with calls, questions, showing up there, they're calling, they're freaking out, wanting to know where their kids at, what's going on, what's going to be done.
Search for the Missing Children
00:16:16
Speaker
Um, some stepped up and tried to help assist with finding like screw calling the police. I'm going to go find my kid. Yeah. So they're searching. I mean, they're driving around, they're walking, they're calling, they're everywhere. The FBI was called in same day. As soon as they realized, I mean, it's a bus full of kids to locate the missing kids. It's 23, miss 20, 26 kids. There's no way any of those parents waited 11 hours. No, not okay. No, I was going to say, there's no way.
00:16:46
Speaker
No, it's like, you know, 30, 45 minutes, hour tops when the bus doesn't show up. Where's my kid? So the town is an absolute pandemonium. They were able to finally locate the bus.
00:17:03
Speaker
by use of helicopters that were doing a flyover. It was so well hidden, it just happened to be spotted in the middle of this bamboo field. And when they got to the bus, they find nothing. No children, no clues, no footprint, nothing. You know, I didn't hone in on that part.
00:17:32
Speaker
I don't believe so. The backpacks were probably, and I believe I don't have a clue. Well, this, this isn't a hundred percent, but I believe this is what I remember. Um, they had gone on a field trip that day because it was the second to last day of summer school and they'd been on a field trip. So they didn't have anything because sack lunches that you throw away. You don't have schoolwork. It's the last day of summer school. You don't, you just don't have anything.
00:18:02
Speaker
It's not like normal. So they find the bus. There's absolutely no trace of anything. And it's exactly what the kidnappers wanted to happen. Happen. The children have completely vanished and it's a mystery. Nobody has anything to go on. The only thing left is faint tire tracks leading away from the bus, but no sign of the children ever leaving the bus. There's no sign police.
00:18:31
Speaker
Theorize that a vehicle pulled up to the bus and stole the children away, which is exactly what happened Can you imagine as a parent? And you've got 26 kids parents You you can give them nothing You got nothing You know, honestly like it's probably sit here like theorize like a hundred million different scenarios But the truth is like you probably give me a value
00:19:01
Speaker
because I'd be losing it. I think you'd be so, I feel like you'd be scared out of your mind, but I feel like we would be the type that like, I'm going to go out and do everything. I'm not going to sleep. I'm not going to eat. I'm going to find my fricking kid. If I have exactly. So.
00:19:21
Speaker
The city's in a complete uproar, pandemonium, news stations, news outlets, radio, there's coverage everywhere of this entire bus of children that are missing, the bus driver's missing. FBI are there, people are searching, but they've got nothing. So the city's going crazy. And we'll go back to the kids who are still traveling aimlessly around in the back of these dark vans, terrified out of their mind.
00:19:51
Speaker
The older kids that were there, because remember they range from five to 14, the older kids along with Ed the driver in their respective vans tried not to show their fear and uncertainty and instead just tried to calm the younger children down and keep them from freaking out more. Can you imagine the bus that didn't have Ed and these kids having to grow up like in a split second?
00:20:16
Speaker
As a 13, 14 year old, you have to be terrified because you don't know what's going to happen, but you have to make the decision that these little kids mean more than you. And that's what they did. Yeah. And I was just going to say to you, though, like in that kind of a scenario, it's kind of sink or swim. Right. And I think a lot of these kids are like, I can either be scared or I can do something about it. Yeah.
00:20:38
Speaker
You know what I mean? And kids have logical minds. Yeah. You know, they may not be fully developed minds, but you think for a second that you put a kid in a situation that they don't understand that they're not going to figure something out. They're going to. It's true. They will absolutely figure it out. Well, that's exactly what happened in the bus where Ed was not present. There was a boy there named Michael. He was the oldest kid on the bus. He was actually, he was the only 14 year old.
00:21:04
Speaker
And that day, at least, if you want my opinion, he became a freaking rock star. He wanted to keep the younger kids calm. So he started doing sing-alongs with them, to boogie nights. Love will keep us together. And if you're happy and you know it, clap with your hands. Singing through the fears with smiles on their face, trying to encourage these little kids to sing along and forget about where they are and what they're going through. 14, and he was, oh, yeah.
00:21:32
Speaker
That, I'm telling him, every time I'm gonna talk about this kid, I'm gonna get choked up. So after 12 hours in the back of these vans. So after 12 hours in the back of these vans, they're once again taken back off the road, being jumped and bumped all around the back, and the vans finally come to a stop. So at one of the vans, the door is open,
00:22:00
Speaker
finally giving a little bit of light and air into the back of what has to be just putrid at this point. Yeah, like swill. Yeah. But the assailants just removed Ed, dragging him out of the van, the only source of comfort for the children in his van. Then the door closed again, trapping the kids back inside the van in complete dark without
00:22:30
Speaker
After this, every few minutes, the kidnappers would open the doors, grab the closest child to the door, pull them out, and close the door again. Again and again, over and over. Both fans are just one at a time. A door would open from a van,
00:22:54
Speaker
closest kid at the door gets pulled out, van door gets slammed shut, children are left in the dark with no explanation. They have no idea what's going on on the other side of those doors. None. The kids couldn't hear anything outside of the van more than likely. All that they're sitting in the back of the dark in this smell and the heat. Well, I was like, even if they did hear something, what are they going to do about it? They clearly can't get out.
00:23:24
Speaker
You know what I mean? Even if they could've gotten out, their children. They're terrified. They're the deer in the headlights. Well the bigger thing is they don't know what's happening on the other side of the door and what's gonna happen to them at any moment. They had to have been absolutely terrified. I'm almost, I mean I'm in my mid 30s. I would be terrified.
00:23:52
Speaker
because you have no idea what's about to happen to you. You have no idea what's happening to those other kids. Like super stand firm and like just fight your way out. Yeah. Because even if you die fighting, it's probably going to be better than what just going with it. Yeah. Only because you don't know how twisted or sick somebody actually is. Yeah. All right. So on the other side of the door, what was actually happening, the kids were being passed
00:24:21
Speaker
through the kidnappers in some kind of assembly line situation. The first kidnapper would ask what their name was, write it down on a piece of paper. The next one would ask their age, write it down next to their name, and finally their address, all of which was recorded on a piece of paper. The kidnappers also took a piece of clothing from each child in this process. Proof of life, I guess.
00:24:50
Speaker
Back in the van, the final van, the oldest child there that day, Michael Marshall, the one that I saw was a rock star, was trying to keep his calm as the little kids just clung to him. And this poor 14 year old kid is just trying to keep everything stable and not show how terrified he had to have been at that point in front of these little kids.
00:25:19
Speaker
When all the kids had been removed from the van, only Michael was left, the 14 year old, and the other was Monica, the youngest at five who thought it was Easter Bunny. Monica was clinging to Michael because that's the only safety she had as the door swung open and the kidnappers appeared again. They went to grab little Monica and drag her off for God knows what,
00:25:45
Speaker
And Michael couldn't bear the thought of this little girl walking into the unknown outside this van. Sorry, every time we talk about Michael. It's okay. It's all right. And in that moment, that 14 year old child made the only decision he knew he could live with. And he pushed Monica behind him and stepped in front of her to go face what lied behind the van door. Monica's hand had to be pried from Michael's. Like she was holding on for dear life.
00:26:15
Speaker
One by one, her fingers had to be pried from his hand and then his hand was ripped from hers. He ripped it out of her own hand, telling her it's going to be okay. And he left her alone in the back of the van and walked out to whatever was waiting him on the outside. He had no idea, but he knew he'd face it before he let her. So what was on the other side of this van after this weird assembly line?
Buried Alive in a Bus
00:26:41
Speaker
Months prior to this horrific day, the kidnappers
00:26:46
Speaker
had gone to the California Rock and Gravel Quarry and dug a, there was a ditch in this quarry, it was an act of quarry, like a working quarry. They found a ditch in kind of like a remote area, dug out the ditch, had a school bus placed in it, and inside this school bus, they filled like around the school bus with dirt, so dirt's packed all around the school bus,
00:27:16
Speaker
doors won't open. Yep. Inside they're going to bury them all alive. Yeah. There's mattresses placed all over the school bus. There's some water. There's some peanut butter. There's some bread, some dry cereal inside this makeshift bus van. If you don't want me to cuss, you need to stop telling me stories like this. So all these provisions are along one side of the van and along the other side are boxes that have holes cut in them to make makeshift toilet type situations.
00:27:46
Speaker
So they forced Ed and each child one at a time down into this prison they'd created under the earth, under the freaking ground. Yeah. The provisions mentioned just a minute ago, just a little bit of water, peanut butter, bread, dry cereal. There was only enough for one, each individual that they were forcing down here to have one meal, no more, no less. And remember,
00:28:08
Speaker
These kids have already been held for 12 hours in the back of a hot van in 100 degree weather with no food or drink. And I know they say hell hath no fury like a scorned woman. Oh, well, hell hath no fury like a hungry kid. Yeah. Yeah. And it gets bad when they're young. Yeah. And they've all got to have been like vomiting from being motion sickness and terrified to hide. Yeah. And there's enough for each of them to have one little glass of water and one peanut butter sandwich, which who can eat a peanut butter sandwich
00:28:38
Speaker
without a lot of preferably ice cold milk. So after each person was down literally in the earth in this bus, they took the ladder that was going down into them. There was a ladder from like the beginning of the earth down into this bus and they forced each one to walk down. They forced each kid down this ladder. Once they were all in there,
00:29:07
Speaker
They pulled the ladder up and said, we'll be back for you. Closed the top of the bus, locking them inside by placing a manhole cover over the top of the hole they'd cut. And then they put two big huge truck batteries on top to weigh it down so it couldn't be moved. And then afterwards, they started filling in the hole with dirt. I knew it. The 26 individuals left in the bus
00:29:39
Speaker
under the ground with six to 12 feet of dirt covering the top. And it was said that they could hear dirt and rocks just being thrown on top of this bus, sitting there knowing that they were literally being buried alive. And as they sat there, they realized that this is the coffin that they're being buried in.
00:30:06
Speaker
while still living. I was gonna say the older ones. Yeah, the younger ones are probably just like, I can't even fathom. No, there was a 10 year old little girl this day who survived the events. And during an interview, she stated that during this time period, her direct quote is, there were times we all thought we were dying. I promised God, if I survived this, I would be the best little girl. I would be the best little girl for my entire life.
00:30:37
Speaker
like just bargaining at 10, because they knew they were all done, like they were done. So for the first 12 hours of this day, they were passed around in this van, and then for the second 12 hours, they were stuck in this bus buried underneath the earth. The bathrooms, quote unquote, remember just boxes with holes cut into them leading into the dirt. So all 26 kids and Ed had to use these,
00:31:06
Speaker
air quotes, bathrooms. And the holes are just filling up with feces and urine and vomit. And the smell is getting worse and worse. It's still 100 degrees outside. So they're all already freaking out. They all already stink. They're sweaty. The smell, it's just baking in there. And they're just stuck. So all the kids
00:31:35
Speaker
just started crying for their parents. They said you could hear little voices calling out saying, Mama, help me, Mama, Mama, save me, Mama. It was said the van would be eerily quiet one moment, like you could barely hear anyone breathing. And then one kid would start softly crying. And then other kids would join in until the entire van is just sobbing hysterically again. They ate the food that was left behind for them.
00:32:05
Speaker
And at this point, it's been 24 hours since they were captured. But the food ran out pretty much as soon as they got in there because they're already. Yeah. So the captors put a ventilation system in this van, which were just fans so that basically the kids wouldn't suffocate. Was it a van or a bus? I'm sorry. I don't know why I keep calling it a van. No, I was just trying to figure out how.
00:32:31
Speaker
compacted they were no just you're compacted they I mean they ripped all the seats out but it's just a bunch of mattresses you still have 26 kids and an adult in this bus right and you got the boxes with all their human waste so they only have half the bus really because the boxes take up the other half so um pretty pretty early on they're there I mean they're freaking out just trying to you know manage
00:33:01
Speaker
when the batteries die and the ventilation system fails. So they're running out of air. They're hot. They're upset. Couldn't get much worse. I'm sure it could. Wrong. You're correct.
Escape from Underground Prison
00:33:19
Speaker
A new issue arises. You're so sadistic. As the roof starts to cave in under the weight of the rock and the dirt.
00:33:30
Speaker
and the tarp and the manhole and they are trapped in there now. And just imagine, there's no light. You're trapped in this bus with all these other screaming kids and you can hear the bus starting to creak. And you can see the roof starting to cave in as debris and dirt trickle into their living space.
00:33:57
Speaker
And at this point, even I'm sure the youngest child realizes they're literally being buried alive. Dirt is coming in. The survivor who gave the interview remembered that once all these events started happening, full panic set in. However, the older kids, to the older kids, Ed told them, if we're gonna die today, we're gonna die trying to get out.
00:34:27
Speaker
So Ed, Michael, and some of the larger children took control. They gathered all the mattresses around the thing, stacked them all up so that they could, right underneath that manhole cover, the hole that the manhole cover's on, and they're pushing, and they're pushing, and it's not budging. Two batteries, six to 12 feet of dirt on top of them, they can't do anything.
00:34:56
Speaker
So the kids in the bus literally are just watching, wanting something to happen. They're terrified. Nothing's happening. And Michael is up there, 14 years old, just trying to make anything happen as the kids start just cheering him on. Come on, Michael. You got this. You can do this. Come on, Michael. We know you've got this. Like just rallying behind him.
00:35:26
Speaker
But after a few hours, there's nothing. Not an anxious budge. The stench is overwhelming. The heat is overwhelming. They don't have anything left. They're dehydrated. They're hungry. All the boys that have been trying to move this manhole cover and Ed, Ed's been up there pushing. They're all sweating. Their arms are trembling. And then all of a sudden you hear a little kid shout, it's moving. Oh my God, I can see it moving.
00:35:55
Speaker
because they got it to shift. So all the boys jump up on all the mattresses together, so it wasn't air mattress, sorry, all the mattresses together, because it doesn't matter how tired you were, you're reinvigorating. Someone saw that dang thing shift. It's adrenaline. Yeah. So together with Ed, the boys all push and shove and push, and they're able to uncover the entrance of their hell. However,
00:36:23
Speaker
looking up, all they see is the inside of this box that covers the hole. So Ed tells Michael, you're going to have to squeeze through the hole, go up into the box, and see what we're working with here. See what you can see. So Michael squeezes up through the hole with the help of the kids lifting them, because remember the ladder's gone, and looks through the box, and it's just earth.
00:36:53
Speaker
They're completely buried. They didn't realize they were six to 12 feet under the earth on like there's the top of the bus and then six to 12 feet of dirt. They didn't realize that they're completely encased. All that Michael can see is, is, is dirt and dirt. Well, we've, we've already discussed Michael's a fricking rock star. So he starts to dig. He tells Ed it's, it's earth. It's dirt. It's all we've got. And he starts to dig using his hands.
00:37:21
Speaker
Ed. But then all the dirt starts to collapse. Well, he's digging like around the box. OK, I've got pictures. It makes more sense with pictures. I'll show you pictures. So Ed. Yeah, style. No, no, no, you're not. Yeah. Mm hmm. So Ed squeezes up there with Michael and the two continue to dig for over an hour until finally rays of sunlight start to peek through.
00:37:51
Speaker
and pierce the darkness of the bus. Alation had to have swept through these confined spaces. The occupants realized they're gonna get out. They're gonna live. But then, you know, doubt starts to creep in and Ed's mind at least has to have, because they don't know where they're at. They don't know what's on the other side of this dirt they're digging through.
00:38:17
Speaker
And they don't know if the kidnappers are just sitting there in chairs waiting for them with those sawed off shotguns. They have no idea. However, they've already decided if they're gonna die today, they're gonna die fighting. There's nothing else to be done. So one by one, they hoist each other out of the hole. And as they look around, they're pleasantly surprised to find their kidnappers are nowhere.
00:38:46
Speaker
They're not waiting on them. There's nothing.
Failed Ransom Demand
00:38:49
Speaker
So where were the kidnappers? Well, they were back at their house in the air conditioner taking little napsies because they'd had a rough day. They had tried to call the police department to demand a $5 million ransom for the children to be returned alive and safe. However, if you remember,
00:39:12
Speaker
It's pandemonium there. FBI's there. Parents are calling. Everybody's calling. So they couldn't get through to the police. So they decided they're just going to take a little nap ski. They're going to call back later. So they didn't know that the kids were in the ground with no ventilation system, that they would have suffocated to death, nor did they care. And honest.
00:39:37
Speaker
It's in my mind, it's kind of awesome that these three douche canoes were literally taking a nap while these babies literal babies are deciding not today and thought their way out of being buried alive. Honestly, if you get me to cry in this episode, you've done something special. So back to the baby.
00:40:02
Speaker
Once they're all out of the van, they look around and they see this bus. Sorry, I don't know why I say van. It even says bus in my notes. Who knows? So once they call out, they see this man in the middle of the rock quarry literally just staring at them, just standing there staring. And this guy's defense, he's just at his job. Like he's at the rock quarry because he works there.
00:40:27
Speaker
And I have to imagine it was sheer horror as he watched 26 children and one adult crawl from the bowels of the earth, sweaty, dirty, covered in rock, looking like they just stepped out of hell to rain the apocalypse on the world.
00:40:45
Speaker
like the walking dead. Yeah, right. What? So his shock falls away pretty quick when he realizes what he's seeing. And before anyone can say anything or ask anything or do anything, this man who's staring at them, utters these words, the world is searching for you. Because everybody's looking for everybody knows these kids are missing.
00:41:13
Speaker
And it was a true statement radio stations news stations FBI police Family friends are just going through the area trying to find these kids for 24 hours now The kids were more than a hundred miles away from their starting place the police were called obviously came immediately obviously and Ed was able to lead every single child to safety no, yes, um
00:41:44
Speaker
So the police moved in kids to the only available spot, which unfortunately was the local jail and like put them inside, I guess the interview. I mean, they didn't go to jail cells, put them in an interview room. It's better than a bus, but I would never ride a bus again. Yeah. But however, these are children. Yeah. So when they pull up to the jail house, they're freaking out asking why they're going to jail. What did they do wrong? They're too young to even like understand. They can't process that. No.
00:42:03
Speaker
I know, I did, I tried to...
00:42:14
Speaker
So. Wow, man. Yeah. OK, we're looking at 24 hours. Yeah. Where these like preteen and babies teenage boys and Ed. Yeah. Managed to dig themselves out from 12 feet under the grass, six to 12. It wasn't exactly measured six to 12. And then. They they all just got out.
00:42:45
Speaker
Yeah. And if it ends any differently than this, I hate you. You're smirking and I don't like it. No, I'm a smurker. So either way, though, either way, I've got to give kudos like hard kudos. Yeah. To Ed. Yeah. For starters. OK. Uh huh. Because God only knows when that poor man went through in his mind because I don't think a young
00:43:14
Speaker
10, 13, 10, 12, whatever, 13, 14. You said the oldest was Michael. Oldest Michael was 14. I don't know that their mind goes where an adult's mind would go. I don't know. Especially not in the 70s. Not in the 70s, yeah. But they knew. Oh, I'm sure they knew it was detrimental and I knew, you know. Yeah, Michael in my mind is like that level. Oh, absolutely. And he's the one that recounted the story of being. It would not have been.
00:43:43
Speaker
That way had they stayed in the bus and people started dying women. Yeah, like in a mess of people. Oh, yeah. So you're fine. And Michael was the one that recounted the story of being the back of the bus with little Monica holding his hand. And he had to pry each of his fingers off and rip his hand out of hers because he said he just couldn't let her walk out without going before her. I just wanted to make it seem like, you know, bad things happen.
00:44:10
Speaker
So all the kids are brought into those police stations. They're photographed, they're checked by doctors, they're interviewed about their experience, what happened. All 26 kids and Ed are relatively unharmed physically. There were a few cases of heat stroke, some shock, some dehydration, but that was the worst of it. Yeah, again, physically speaking.
00:44:33
Speaker
They because it's a police station and they don't have like, you know plethora of stuff The only thing they had to give these these poor kids They each got a soda and an apple to try to like hold them over And they were free to go with their family. Yeah, there is no door dash back. No So one survivor Larry Park the little six-year-old Says he remembers his mom picking him up and he remembers like oh
00:45:01
Speaker
His mom rapping her arms around him and he said, hi mom. And he put his head on her shoulder and just passed out. He was so, his little body was just, I mean, they've, these kids have been up for 24 hours in emotional trauma. Oh yeah. Like you're never getting out of your homeschooled. We're, we're being chained together. We are a package deal.
00:45:27
Speaker
Unfortunately, none of the children or Ed could give any details on their captors because they were wearing the pantyhose over their head. But a team of detectives and investigators went back straight back to the quarry to the bus to search for any details or clues that could lead them to the people responsible for this absolutely horrific day. The only information they had to go on was, and this wasn't immediate, like they didn't immediately have this to go on,
00:45:56
Speaker
But Ed, who again, in my mind, hero status, went under hypnosis and was able to give a full license plates to one of the vans. No way. Yeah. Well, under him hypnosis, he was able to remember a full license plate of one of the vans. So eventually they had that, but that was literally it. Um, they eventually realized there was only one person who could have had access to this rock quarry.
00:46:22
Speaker
because think about it, but not just, not just anybody because they had to have a key. They had to dig a trench out to put a school bus six to 12 feet under the ground. You can't do that during business, normal business operations, right? So it ended up being linked that there was only one person that could do this. And it was Fred Woods, who was the son of the owner of the rock quarry.
00:46:51
Speaker
So Fred became the chief suspect, obviously. Detectives were able to quickly pull, because there are three of them, more than likely his little co-conspirators, because two years before this kidnapping, Fred Woods was arrested with his two friends for Grand Theft Auto. So the three men were 24-year-old Frederick Newhall Woods IV,
00:47:22
Speaker
24 year old James Schoenfeld and his younger brother 22 year old Richard Schoenfeld. All three of these Cretans came from wealthy families. If you couldn't tell just by the name Frederick Newhall Woods IV. He had a trust fund of over a hundred million dollars waiting for him. I don't get it. Yep, we'll get there. So
00:47:52
Speaker
Um, investigators, they get obviously a search warrant for Fred Fred's house. Well, not his house, his father's mansion and they go in, they find one of the guns, the sawed off shotguns. Nope. Um, that were used to the kidnapping. They also found a piece of paper in old Freddy's room listed. No, no, no, no, no. It's, it's just labeled plan.
00:48:19
Speaker
which literally listed out step by step the entire kidnapping imprisonment of the children along with the ransom letter that the idiots had typed out and put all together. I have a picture of this, the plan. I'll post it and I'll show you. So these three took an entire year to plan out the horrors of the day and poured over every single detail.
Kidnappers' Arrest and Conviction
00:48:42
Speaker
Then literally and conveniently for the cops wrote out every detail of their plan to follow to the letter.
00:48:51
Speaker
Cops were able to find a few witnesses that saw people digging in the quarries months leading up to the event But they didn't know who it was why I was going on and it's a quarry you did you know what I mean, right? So Richard the youngest of the three and honestly Well, we'll get there, but he just turned himself in there was no fighting him. He was the youngest and
00:49:14
Speaker
He honestly, he seemed to just be kind of going along for the ride, like malleable. And he actually showed remorse for what he did. He acknowledged that their actions were horrific and unbelievable. And out of the three, he was the only you want to get a deal. You're not going to be like, I don't regret it. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. But he.
00:49:34
Speaker
He said he was only one that kind of, even in later years, showed that he understood what his actions did to these kids. He got it. James and Freddie fled California. Fred fled to Vancouver and was apprehended shortly thereafter by the Canadian Mounted Police. And James was also caught just right outside. I hope they drug him behind his horse. I hope so too, in different directions. In different directions.
00:50:05
Speaker
Nope, too quick. So police, I mean, the kids didn't see their face, so you can't only do a lineup. So what they did is they put all three of them in a video lineup and had them read statements that the children remembered them saying, shut up, get to the back of the van, be quiet, we'll be back. Each of the children watched these video lineups and each child correctly identified all three men for their trauma that day.
00:50:34
Speaker
All three pled guilty to 27 counts of kidnapping for ransom and robbery. They were charged with eight counts of bodily harm, but none of the three would plead guilty to those charges because it came with a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment prison without parole. How was, how was he not charged with attempted murder? They buried them alive because they intended to ransom them. They found the ransom note. So if they died, it was, it happened, but they weren't,
00:51:00
Speaker
That wasn't their plan. They wanted the five million. But here's the problem with that. They didn't do a sufficient job. They did not. So it should have been at least a manslaughter charge or attempted manslaughter charge. I don't know how that works. I don't know if it's attempted manslaughter. I feel like we signed a petition and give them back to the community. Agreed. I would sign. I agree a whole wholeheartedly.
00:51:25
Speaker
So during the trial, all the kids testified, Ed testified against them. And on February 17th, 1978, all three were charged, all three were sentenced, sorry, not charged, sentenced with mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole. Unfortunately, their lawyers appealed and appealed the charges. And the biggest appeal said that the charge of bodily harm couldn't be used
00:51:55
Speaker
And the direct quote from the lawyer, who was scum of the earth in my opinion, stated, although traumatic, bodily harm by definition of law did not occur to these children. And their sentences were all vacated and changed to life with the possibility of parole. I'd like to look at the list of what they were actually charged with. No. So.
00:52:21
Speaker
Richard, the youngest and the one who turned himself in was actually granted parole June 2012, 36 years after the crime. Three years later, his brother was paroled. However, Fred does remain in prison to this day.
00:52:38
Speaker
He was clearly the leader of this event. Fred is also a problematic prisoner. He's not, has absolutely no good behavior. He's always smuggling in porn. He had businesses that were putting his name before this that he still runs from prison, breaks all kinds of rules. He's been labeled a true sociopath. So why did they make the decision to kidnap these kids?
00:53:07
Speaker
I would like to know that. Well, apparently James and old Freddie had made some bad decisions. I know you're shocked. Um, and cause them to be in debt. So no one knew why they like, so they need more than likely because that's going to be the one that hits you where, you know, that's the one where they break your leg. I was just going to say, they'll take it out of your skin before they let you, uh,
00:53:33
Speaker
off the hook. Yeah. Yeah. They'll take it in flesh. But remember all this happened in 78. I'm sorry. 76 is when all when. Yeah. They never said through all the trial through everything. They never said why they did this besides the ransom until James went to the parole board in 2015. And this is his direct statement of why they did what they did.
00:54:01
Speaker
We needed multiple victims to get multiple millions and we picked children because children are precious and the state would be willing to pay the ransom for them. Children also do not fight back when they are vulnerable and they'll mind you. Remember, shut up, be quiet, get to the back of the van.
00:54:24
Speaker
That's why they did it. They were in debt. Freddie couldn't get his $10 million trust fund yet. He hadn't aged into it. So they just decided they were gonna steal some kids and ransom them to the state. So the statement was the first time the events of that day were given a reason why they chose to kidnap the kids.
Long-term Trauma and PTSD
00:54:46
Speaker
And honestly, I gotta be honest. If I'm on a parole board,
00:54:51
Speaker
And I hear that that's the reason because children are precious and vulnerable and will mind. I'm not going to say, nah, parole granted. I'd have thrown away the key. Yeah. I would have been like, you know, what else makes people vulnerable? Beating them into submission. Yeah. I'm picking you a special cellmate. Yeah. Enjoy. But he got, he got parole. Um,
00:55:17
Speaker
So Larry Park, the six-year-old from the beginning of the story that just fell asleep on his mom, this kid, he talked about it. He said he was laying in bed one night, looking up at the ceiling and just said, God, help me forgive them because he wanted to move past this trauma in his life. So Larry actually went to prison and met with each of the three men that haunted his dreams.
00:55:48
Speaker
and offered each of them forgiveness. There's actually a photo of Larry and Richard side by side smiling. I'll post it. He getting over it. The children.
00:56:02
Speaker
from the day, along with Ed, we're all gifted trips to Disneyland, trying to, you know, the California School Association and Sacramento presented Ed with the association citation for outstanding community service, particularly with respect to 26 child school children. The award was presented to him by the governor and Ed was given many heroism awards.
00:56:30
Speaker
Five weeks after the kidnapping, the entire town of Chowchilla, I don't know why that worked so hard, sponsored and celebrated Ed Ray and Children's Day with a huge party and parade where Ed and the kids got to ride around on top of floats, down the streets in this parade. And while the end of this story is amazing, I mean, they all lived, they saved themselves, they have a parade. That wasn't the end for these kids.
00:56:59
Speaker
Physically, they're fine. Psychologically, these kids are screwed. They've all spoken at different points, and they all say they're afraid to let their own kids out of their sight. Every day they drop their kids off at school, it is just trauma. I bet none of those kids ride the bus. No, I guarantee they don't.
00:57:19
Speaker
There's actually a psychiatrist in California, Dr. Lenore Tare, who wrote a book called Too Scared to Cry about the effects of this day. And a direct quote from her book is, we didn't know much about childhood trauma then or how to treat it. Despite their backgrounds, every child, chilla child I've interviewed suffered from PTSD symptoms for years after the kidnapping and burial a lot.
00:57:48
Speaker
Many of the kids well into adulthood have stated they've had to sleep with nightlights because the dark is, it's triggering. It's suffocating. It's overwhelming for them.
00:58:00
Speaker
The kids all after this had constant nightmares, phobias. Many ended up with substance abuse, alcoholism, and legal issues for years. Most have been able to turn their life around because they got the help they needed and were able to get treatment. Many state to this day they still have nightmares that they're buried alive or lined up and shot.
00:58:28
Speaker
But the parents from these kids who lived through all this, they also in an interview stated that number one, 24 hours is the worst days of their life. They're completely traumatized. They're terrified to let their kids out of sight. But worse than that was at night when they would hear their kids just screaming with night terrors.
00:58:52
Speaker
are the kids jumping into their beds, sobbing, thinking someone's going to get them because it's too dark in the house. So night after night, these parents relive and are re traumatized and they can't do anything but hold their kids and say, you're okay. You're here. I'm here. Yeah. Like the, the, the psychological trauma that all these people experience, I mean, because of you stupid morons, rich pricks, little rich pricks who couldn't own up to their actions.
Ed Ray: A Hero Honored
00:59:20
Speaker
So, Ed was obviously Harold a hero. But he was very humble, of course. Never acknowledged himself as a hero. Never said he was the hero. His own kids stated he just loved kids his whole life. He was an amazing father. He was an amazing great grandfather and an amazing great grandfather. They said he was just one of those people that kids were his entire world and he had a duty to protect them.
00:59:49
Speaker
The only thing Ed ever said about that day was, all I knew is I had to protect those kids and make them feel like everything was gonna be okay. Even if they were all gonna die that day, I wanted them to die thinking everything would be fine. And my main goal was to see each one of these children back to their parents. And he did, like he got them all back. Ed lived to a ripe old age of 91, passed away in May, 2012. New York Times did an article
01:00:19
Speaker
And when he died, I'm sorry, this part's probably gonna get me. All 26 kids remained in constant contact with Ed for his entire life, became best friends. A lot of the children were there the day he died beside him because they had visited him continually through their whole lives. Like they never lost contact.
01:00:41
Speaker
Um, like I said, family members said Ray would never talk about that day, but if he ever came across an article or newspaper, he clipped it and saved it. He also freaking bought the school bus that he was driving that day for $500 because he said he didn't want it to go to scrap fire and he wanted to the reminder that they survived.
01:01:01
Speaker
So his son stated he parked that that bus in a in the barn and would go out every once in a while start it Until finally he gifted it to me museum in Legrande where you can still visit and see this bus When he died a lot of the the 26 kids went to the museum and wrote notes to Ed On exterior the bus like we'll always love you. Thanks for saving us dated it
01:01:32
Speaker
I've got pictures. That is awesome. In 2015, the Sports and Leisure Park in the town of Chowchilla was renamed Edward Gray Park in every February 26. In that town, it is still celebrated as Edward Gray Day. I know, I'm sorry. It's such a good story.
01:01:56
Speaker
That's my story. I'm close. But they all live. They fought for each other. They made it. But it is it is a happy story. But it's like, oh, gosh, it's it's all it's like the best part of of humanity and the worst part of humanity. It's not like those kids were so much better when good wins.
01:02:19
Speaker
oh yeah and they fought to win children babies yeah they weren't given I just can imagine poor little Michael like his arm shaking trying to push that manhole cover just giving up his arm extremely when one kid finally screams I saw it move like yeah the whole thing
01:02:40
Speaker
That kid saying I saw yeah. Yeah, you know what I mean? Not just like this because at that point, you know their their minds are yeah They're dehydrated. They're tired. They're just emotionally great Yeah, so you don't need that. Very true. It could have been a trick of the eye the light but They all got out. That was a really good story. I know wasn't it? That was a really good story and I actually got choked up for once because That was just like it
01:03:09
Speaker
Because just as much as people that become victims of this stuff, the survivors have so much to battle outside of it. And that's what sucks. I'm super so glad that people survived, but being able to get the help you need to move on from it. Yeah, because it's not like, oh, you made it. You're good now. Yeah.
01:03:37
Speaker
No, it's nightmares. Oh, yeah. Every time you every time you close your eyes in the boogeyman. Oh, yeah. You met the boogeyman and ain't going away. No, your parents can't say to you ever more. There's nothing hiding under your bed. Like you're not ever going to believe that. The dark isn't safe. I mean, these kids are adults now and some of them still can't be in the dark without having a complete meltdown for main trigger. It's PTSD.
01:04:03
Speaker
But they all made it. And they all have lives now. They have kids. But the fact that they remain like, like Ed was like a grandfather. Like he was all there. You know that like all their kids ended up calling him like grandpa Ed or something. You know that they were, they were family. Like a hundred percent, they were family. Yeah.
01:04:26
Speaker
And you know, I don't remember which kid it was. I want to say it was Larry parks, but I'm not sure that gave like a lot of interviews and stuff. But he said for that day, Michael was his hero. Like he was in the car. He was in the band with Michael singing these sing alongs, trying to keep the kids calm and happy. As a six year old, he remembered Michael singing and saving them. And even in the back of that. Oh my gosh.
01:04:55
Speaker
He ain't that man. I'm telling you. He wasn't that. He wasn't that. And he, I can't imagine at 14 being that scared because these little kids, they're not your family. No, they're not. You don't really know them and being able to put your own terror aside for them. I feel like that is the core of humanity. You know what I'm saying? Like that piece of you that's saying it's not just me that might die here today.
01:05:24
Speaker
It's not about me. Yeah. Yeah, it's yeah. So who the story I'm done with you Exactly. I hate your story. That's why I wanted I wanted to see your face cuz I knew if we did it over the phone You'd be able to hide your emotions by like, oh I caught the muted it Yeah, that's such a good straight. I wanted to see I got choked up I wanted to set it up like you thought they didn't all make it and they all frickin made it. Yeah
01:05:48
Speaker
Yeah, that was good. It's such a good story. Oh, I was trying to do it in a way like I wanted to put some of their words in there like the little Larry Parks is the one that said it felt like darkness was like an entity trying to grab him and
01:06:06
Speaker
And the girl that was talking about in the back of the bus, she remembered everybody knowing just like, we're going to die now. They heard like, she said that they're sitting in that bus and they hear the rocks and dirt just being thrown on. And I've got a picture of the bus where like the roof is caved in. Like it's amazing. They did not die buried under the ground. You're going to show me those pictures. Oh yeah. Oh, I'll post tons. I'll probably have to post multiple. I will show you. Like it was. Oh,
Episode Conclusion
01:06:35
Speaker
Well, guys, I hope you enjoyed that story as much as I did. It's nice to actually have a happy ending for once. One little thing. It was a settlement from all Freddy's trust funds and all the kids were given part of his trust fund. Good. I know. I hope. I hope he has.
01:06:53
Speaker
very, very, very horrible roommate in prison, because he's still alive in prison in his 70s. I hope, I hope right now, if I wish, next birthday, is that his butthole itches for the rest of his life. And he has no hummus to lube it. No, no, no, not hummus, not anything else. I hope that his ass crack itches to where he can't keep his fingers away from his butt. And he is traumatized by this. Like when he sits,
01:07:20
Speaker
Well he's just like he is a true sociopath. He's in his 70s, still in prison and just a dick. So that you can never find rest. No. No. Because these kids are still traumatized by him. That's what I'm saying. Staples islets open, he'll never sleep. Yep. Yep. So anyway, that's my story.
01:07:42
Speaker
It is really good. Well, guys, I hope you I'll toot my own horn. I love that story. Hope you guys have a good night. I'm going to sit here happy slash depressed because there are so many more things we could do. And I will happily never put my child on a school bus. Yeah. After the conversation we had two weeks ago here, you were thinking about putting Caleb on a school bus. Sorry. Whoopsie. But they made it. I wish every bus driver was like it.
01:08:12
Speaker
So anyway, all right, guys. Well, I'm gonna post lots of pictures from this episode because I have lots of pictures from this episode. So look at our Instagram, Twisted Tales, underscore pod.
01:08:23
Speaker
book there's there's links to our Facebook and our Instagram and the show notes I'm gonna put a link to the museum that has the school bus that Ed gifted where they all signed I'm telling you it's amazing I would literally walk in and pull my eyes out okay I'm sorry I'm gonna start a whole new conversation okay all right well all right we hope you guys have a great night and I hope you guys are like that and Michael yes join us next time we will be here again next week we will bye