DeepSummary
The episode discusses the 1976 kidnapping of 26 children and their bus driver from Dairyland Elementary School in Chowchilla, California, by Frederick Newhall Woods IV, James Schoenfeld, and Richard Schoenfeld. The kidnappers buried the victims alive in a buried truck trailer in a quarry owned by Woods' family. After 16 hours, the bus driver and some of the older children managed to dig their way out and escape.
The kidnappers' plan was to demand a $5 million ransom from the state of California, which they believed would be willing to pay to secure the release of school children. They had complex and bizarre plans for receiving the ransom money through an airplane drop and using an X-ray machine to check for tracking devices. However, their plans were poorly thought out and executed.
Though the kidnappers claimed they did not intend to harm the victims, the victims suffered severe trauma from the experience. The kidnappers eventually confessed and were convicted, though they received relatively light sentences. The victims sued for compensation from Woods' family trust fund, but the amount they received is undisclosed. The kidnapping had a lasting impact on the small town of Chowchilla.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The kidnappers - Frederick Newhall Woods IV, James Schoenfeld, and Richard Schoenfeld - planned and executed one of the biggest kidnappings in U.S. history by burying 26 children and their bus driver alive in an attempt to obtain a $5 million ransom.
- Though portrayed as having no violent histories, the kidnappers demonstrated a shocking lack of empathy and concern for human life in their actions.
- The kidnappers' plan was poorly conceived and executed, reflecting immaturity and ineptitude rather than criminal masterminding.
- The victims suffered severe, long-lasting trauma from their 16-hour ordeal of being buried alive, with effects rippling through the entire town of Chowchilla.
- Despite the horrific nature of their crime, the kidnappers received relatively light sentences, with one (Woods) only recently being paroled in 2022 at age 71.
- The case reflects how wealth, privilege, and a sense of entitlement enabled the perpetrators' irrational criminal actions with little forethought to consequences.
- The victims were eventually able to obtain some financial restitution from Woods' family trust fund, though the amount received is undisclosed.
- The kidnapping left a profound impact on the town of Chowchilla that persisted for decades after the events.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “The amount of unity and pulling together was beautiful. Churches who had differences came together. But things changed after. After that. You didn't see kids on the street, and if you did, parents were grasping at them for dear life. It's like a storm that the town had to weather. It's been years and years, and none of them would ever be the same.“ by Townsperson
- “Even immediately after the kidnapping, they were traumatized. They had to be interviewed. Given their account of events. The kids said they were so traumatized, like, everywhere they go, they feel like they're running out of oxygen.“ by Stephanie Hsu
- “Ed Ray, the bus driver, died in 2012 at the age of 91. And in the weeks before his death, almost everybody who was buried in the van with him came to his bedside to say goodbye.“ by Stephanie Hsu
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Episode Information
Rotten Mango
Stephanie Soo & Ramble
1/15/23