Chowchilla bus kidnapping: Rare photos from one of the largest abductions in U.S. history

A look inside the truck trailer where 26 abducted school children and their bus driver were buried alive -- and managed to escape. 

On July 15, 1976, 26 school children and their bus driver from Chowchilla, California, were kidnapped and buried alive in this tractor trailer. 

The kidnapped children

The frightening ordeal began when the children, ages 5-14, were on a school bus on their way home from summer school. 

Bus driver Ed Ray

At around 4 p.m., on July 16, 1976, three masked men with guns hijacked the Dairyland Elementary School bus driven by Ed Ray. 

The abandoned school bus

The kidnappers then drove the bus into a dry riverbed and hid it in tree brush.

One of the kidnapper's vans

The stunned children were herded from the bus into two vans. They were forced to jump from the bus to the vans so that they would not leave behind any footprints.

Scared students

Jennifer Brown Hyde, who was 9 at the time of the kidnapping, remembers what it felt like inside the van. "And I felt like I was an animal going to the slaughterhouse." 

Inside one of the vans

Inside the vans, the kidnappers had constructed makeshift jail cells by installing wood paneling and painting the windows. No one could see in or out. There was no air ventilation, food, water or toilets.

Jodi's turn

Jodi Heffington, who was 10 at the time, remembered the moments before she got into the second van.

"He held a shot gun to my stomach. … And I had to stand there with this gun in my gut until that one van drove away and they backed the second van up. It felt like forever. I thought he was going to shoot me ... I actually did," Jodi told "48 Hours."

The rock quarry

The kidnappers drove around for nearly 12 hours as the children suffered inside the sweltering, pitch-black vans. Finally, the vans stopped. The kidnappers had taken them to a rock quarry, 100 miles away from Chowchilla in Livermore, California. 

The underground hole

Bus driver Ed Ray and the children were taken out of the van, one by one, and sent down into a hole. They soon learned they were inside an old truck trailer and they had been buried 12 feet underground.  

The underground hole

The kidnappers had made toilets in the wheel wells of the tractor trailer. 

The underground hole

Inside the hole, the children found containers filled with water for them to drink. They also found boxes of cereal, peanut butter and loaves of bread. 

Ventilation pipes

 Two ventilation pipes provided air to the children who were trapped 12 feet underground. 

The trailer's caving roof

The children tried to stay calm as the minutes and hours ticked by. After being in the hole for almost 12 hours, conditions started to deteriorate. The roof started to cave in, and they were running out of food.

Shoes left behind

Survivor Jennifer Brown Hyde said, "It was just a desperate situation … We thought … if we're going to die, were going to die trying to get out of here."  Ed Ray and the kids decided they had to try and to escape before it was too late. 

A hero

Bus driver Ed Ray and Michael Marshall, 14, took turns pushing up on the heavy manhole cover that was blocking the opening to the hole. Once they were able to move that, Michael started the arduous task of digging to the top.  

The survivors

After many grueling hours, Michael Marshall dug himself to the top. It had been 28 hours of terror. Ed Ray and the children walked toward the rock quarry and were greeted by stunned workers. Soon police arrived  and photos, like these, were taken of each child as evidence.

The long wait

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 jail. Pictured at center is Jennifer Brown.

The long wait

At the Santa Rita Rehabilitation Center, the children were given apples and soda, and examined by doctors. 

Ed Ray

Ed Ray and the children were interviewed by police.

The long wait

The children waited patiently, but they all just wanted to get home to their families. 

Survivors headed home

Finally, approximately four hours after escaping, the children boarded yet another bus … 

Survivors headed home

... this time the bus was heading back home to Chowchilla. 

Survivors headed home

The children could not wait to be reunited with their families.

Anxious parents wait

Parents and families of the returning school children waited anxiously for the arrival of their children inside the Chowchilla police station on July 17, 1976.

Reunited

When 6-year-old survivor Larry Park arrived home to his parents he said, "I finally felt safe again." Park is pictured in the arms of his father. 

Digging for clues

Immediately, police started to dig for clues at the scene of the crime. 

Unearthing the trailer

Investigators unearthed the truck trailer that had been the children's underground tomb hoping they would find clues that would lead them to the kidnappers. 

The media arrives

Media from all over the world covered the story. 

Kidnappers arrested

It would take almost two weeks to track the kidnappers, but investigators finally arrested 24-year-old Frederick Newhall Woods, the son of the owner of the rock quarry where the kids were held. They also arrested his partner in a used car business, 24-year-old James Schoenfeld, center, and James' younger brother Richard. All came from wealthy families who lived in San Francisco's nicest suburbs. Security guards had seen the three men digging in the quarry months before the kidnapping.

The "plan"

When investigators executed a warrant to search the estate of Fred Woods' father, they found a treasure trove of evidence. One important piece was this document that says, "plan." It sets out how the kidnappers were going to commit the crime and what they would do if something went wrong. 

Draft of ransom note

Another important piece of evidence was this draft of a ransom note. The draft of the note says the kidnappers wanted $2.5 million, but their final plan was to ask for $5 million. They were never able to deliver their demand because when they tried to call, the phone lines were jammed. 

List of student's names

Another piece of important evidence was this list of the kidnapped children's names written on the back of a Jack in the Box wrapper. The kidnappers wrote them down as they pulled each child from the van. When later tested by investigators, they found fingerprints from two of the three kidnappers. 

Parole hearings

The kidnappers were all eventually sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

There were more than 60 parole hearings total for the three kidnappers. Thirty-six years after the kidnapping, Richard Schoenfeld was granted parole in June 2012. Three years later, his brother James was paroled.

Jodi Heffington, who went to almost all of the parole hearings, 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 just recently, she could not sleep without a night-light.

Survivor Michael Marshall

Michael Marshall is a father and long-distance trucker. He has a therapy dog, Blue. He says, "I rescued him before he was a year old. And now he rescues me every day."

Survivor Larry Park

Larry Park owns a handyman business and volunteers as a pastor at a local church. He says he has forgiven the kidnappers. 

Survivor Jodi Heffington

Jodi Heffington stayed in Chowchilla where she opened a hair salon and raised a son. She said the kidnapping affected her throughout her life.

"I think it made me not a good daughter, not a good sister, not a good aunt and especially not a good mother.  And probably not a good friend. … I try to be those things, but it seems like it, it just took something from me that I can't ever get back, she told "48 Hours." Heffington passed away in January 2021.