I Wish You Were Here with Michelle Cuervo

Episode: “Buried Alive: The Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping”

Date: September 23, 2025

Brief Overview

Michelle Cuervo takes listeners on a harrowing journey through the Chowchilla school bus kidnapping—one of the largest mass abductions in US history. She unpacks the botched, jaw-dropping crime in which 26 children and their bus driver were kidnapped and buried alive, then astoundingly managed to orchestrate their own escape. Throughout, Michelle maintains her engaging, incredulous, and conversational tone, inviting listeners to imagine the ordeal and reflecting on the troubling aftermath for the survivors.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Perpetrators’ Backgrounds

00:35 – 11:46

• Fred Woods: Michelle paints Fred as a quintessentially spoiled, emotionally neglected child from a wealthy family. “He never had to work. He didn't know struggle. He was just raised getting pretty much every single thing in his life handed to him.” (01:26)
• Fred’s emotional isolation, lack of parental love, and eventual marriage/divorce are outlined: “The one thing that money cannot buy is love. And love from his parents was the one thing that Fred really wanted. And the one thing that he could never get.” (03:12)
• He meets or reconnects with brothers James and Richard Schoenfeld, similarly privileged and aimless, leading to the formation of a bitter, self-pitying trio. They begin minor crimes after being cut off financially by their parents.
• The trio’s attitude after being bailed out: “So now these guys are thinking, omg, we can do something wrong. And even if we do get caught, it doesn't matter because all of our parents have all of the money in the whole entire world, and they would set us free. So there are no consequences? No.” (10:03)

2. The Kidnapping Plan

11:46 – 19:07

• Faced with financial cut-off, the trio plans to get rich through child kidnapping and ransom.
• The plan: kidnap a full school bus, demand $5 million from victims’ families.
  “They decide that because they were cut off, they were now going to have to find a way to get rich on their own. And what was the best way for them to do that? Well, to kidnap someone, to abduct someone, to hold them for ransom...” (11:46)
• July 15, 1976: They put their plan into action, targeting Ed Ray (the beloved driver) and 26 schoolchildren on their way home.

3. Execution of the Kidnapping

19:07 – 30:44

• At 4pm, their van blocks the bus. Ed Ray, believing someone needs help, is forced at gunpoint to open the door.
• The kidnappers force Ed to the back, commandeer the bus, and eventually transfer everyone into two windowless vans hidden in a bamboo field.
• The children's parents and school staff become alarmed by Ed’s uncharacteristic lateness—“He was so punctual that when he was a minute late, the parents were freaking out.” (23:58)
• The abandoned bus is found at 7:30pm. FBI is involved. Panic reaches fever pitch.

4. Transport & Burying of the Victims

30:44 – 41:30

• The children and Ed endure 12 hours in sweltering, airless vans. Michelle paints the claustrophobia vividly:
  “It's pitch black, you can't see anything. All the kids are little kids, they're all freaking out, crying. Kids are throwing up... On top of that, they don't have anywhere to go to use the bathroom.” (31:47)
• At 4am, the vans arrive at the Woods family rock quarry. The victims are forced down a ladder into a buried, makeshift metal trailer—an underground prison with meager food and water.
• The captors seal the manhole with a heavy plate, truck batteries, and dirt: “Stacking on layers to make sure that they don't get out. And just like that, Ed and the children had now been buried alive.” (39:14)
• Desperation inside the trailer as oxygen runs low, children panic, and Ed tries to maintain calm:
  “Ed again, trying to keep the peace, trying to stay calm, urging the kids as best as he can to try and get them to stop crying so they could conserve their energy.” (39:50)

5. Failed Ransom and the Captors’ Blunders

41:30 – 46:22

• Kidnappers’ plan crumbles as they fail to get through jammed phone lines:
  “So when the men tried to call to demand the money, they literally couldn't get through because the lines were taken. They could not make the call that they had been planning a year to make.” (43:03)
• Instead of developing a Plan B, they nap:
  “They fall asleep, you guys. They take a nap. They fall asleep completely unaware that the victims... are about to outsmart them.” (45:11)

6. The Daring Escape

46:22 – 53:34

• 14-year-old Mike Marshall leads the escape with Ed Ray. They stack mattresses to reach the manhole, slowly move the heavy plate and batteries, and discover yet another obstacle—a wooden box.
• Mike persists, finally breaking through:
  “For hours, he dug, he clawed... until finally he starts to make some cracks. And eventually Mike sees the outside. He's done it.” (50:17)
• Despite not knowing if the captors waited above, Mike climbs out, finds the coast clear, and helps marshal the group to the surface. Construction workers spot them and call authorities.

7. Aftermath, Arrest, and Sentencing

53:34 – 58:21

• Law enforcement pieces the crime together quickly:
  The rock quarry, previous digging activity, Fred’s criminal record, and damning evidence found at his home rapidly link the trio to the crime.
• All three plead guilty to 27 counts of kidnapping. Each sentenced to life without parole—but,
  • Richard released in 2012 after 36 years.
  • James released in 2015.
  • Fred released in August 2022 at age 70.
• Survivors’ trauma lingers: “Sadly, a lot of them do have a lot of leftover trauma. They have a lot of nightmares, panic attacks and depression that they've carried for years, which is so sad. But, I mean, it makes sense.” (57:07)
• Michelle expresses empathy, relief, and amazement at the survivors’ return and resilience:
  “26 children and one bus driver buried alive, abandoned and left to die. Yet against all odds, they all survived.” (58:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the stupidity of the kidnappers:
  “If you are going to plan out a kidnapping... maybe, possibly, you wouldn't fall asleep in the middle of the plan.” (00:01)

• On privilege gone wrong:
  “You're sitting there with your only two friends... just complaining about everything that you wish that you had that you don't have, but that you also don't want to work for. That sounds horrible.” (09:14)

• On the abducted children’s experience:
  “They've now been buried alive. Hours passed, and the reality of their situation only got more terrifying by the second.” (39:14)

• On the captors’ failed ransom call:
  “They literally couldn't get through because the lines were taken... they could not make the call that they had been planning a year to make.” (43:03)

• Mike Marshall’s heroism:
  “Mike was not willing to give up. And him and Ed started plotting the escape.” (46:36)

• On survivor trauma and hope:
  “I'm just happy that they were able to be returned safely back to their families, and I hope that they got all the love and support that they needed.” (57:44)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:01 — Michelle’s incredulous introduction and setup
• 01:26 — Fred Woods’ privileged and loveless upbringing
• 09:14 — The trio’s bitterness and sense of entitlement
• 11:46 — Genesis of the kidnapping plan
• 19:07 — Execution: Bus hijacking and children’s abduction
• 23:58 — School and parental alarm, missing children realized
• 31:47 — The terrifying van ride
• 39:14 — The underground trailer: “buried alive”
• 43:03 — Failed ransom call due to jammed phone lines
• 46:36 — Mike Marshall and Ed plan and execute the escape
• 50:17 — Mike breaks through to daylight
• 53:34 — Law enforcement investigation and arrests
• 57:07 — Lasting trauma for survivors
• 58:00 — Concluding reflections on survival and resilience

Conclusion

Michelle Cuervo delivers a gripping retelling of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping, highlighting the stunning mixture of criminal ineptitude, survivor bravery, and the haunting reality of trauma that followed. The episode is both an indictment of the perpetrators’ privilege and an ode to the resilience of Ed Ray, Mike Marshall, and every child involved.
Michelle’s emotive storytelling style invites listeners to appreciate the horror, the heartbreak, and, above all, the miraculous nature of this historic escape.