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Riddle me this. If you are going to plan out a kidnapping, right, of 26 children, you and your little buddies are planning how you're going to bury these kids alive, you would think that a little bit more thought would go into it and that maybe, possibly, you wouldn't fall asleep in the middle of the plan. You would think that, would you not? One of the largest mass kidnapping cases in US History is the Chowchilla kidnapping. The driver of a school bus and the 26 children on it that were aged from five all the way up to 14 years old were kidnapped by three of the most idiotic men to ever walk this world. And then they were buried alive. And this story, from start to finish, jaw on the floor. Your jaw will be on the floor. So let's just get straight into it. Welcome to this episode of I wish you were here. Today's story takes us to Chowchilla, California, a small farming town. But before we get into exactly what took place in the events of the day, we first unfortunately, have to talk about the three perpetrators in this case. James Schoenfeld, age 24, his brother, Richard Schoenfeld, age 22, and Frederick Newhall, age 24. Frederick, who we're going to be referring to as Fred for the entirety of this video. Born and raised in California, and his family came from money, and I'm talking old money. Everything that Fred wanted, he had, and it was served to him on a silver platter. There was no lack of anything for Fred while he was growing up because his family was the type of family that could afford anything they wanted. 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. And the older that he got, the more that this reflected on the kind of person that he grew up to be, because, I mean, just imagine the kind of person that literally never in his entire life had to work for anything. He never got a job. He didn't really have any hobbies. He didn't have drive or dreams or goals. He just grew up to be, honestly, quite boring. Like, there's really nothing about him that I can say that stands out. He was boring. He was lazy, unmotivated. And on top of that, he was quite selfish. And when I say that he grew up getting every single thing that he wanted, I do very much mean that in a materialistic way. Because 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. His parents, quite frankly, just didn't really pay any attention to him. You honestly would probably think that they didn't even have a son because he was never with them. He wasn't in any of the family pictures. He was just at home by himself. His parents would go out and travel the world together. They would spend all of their money on luxury vacations. And Fred was just hanging out at home by himself. If you walked through the their house, there were a lot of pictures on the walls. But in one frame it would be a picture of his parents photographed together. And then in the next picture it would be Fred alone by himself. So I guess you could probably guess if you walked through the house that they did have a son. But you would not think that it was a loving, happy family, because it really wasn't. And Fred grew up to feel really isolated and really lonely. And the worst part about it all is that when his parents did pay attention to him, specifically when his father did, it was always in a negative way. It was never an I love you, I'm so proud of you. No, instead it was always, I'm so disappointed in you. You're not good enough. You will never be good enough. You suck. And it sucks for me that you're my son. That is the way that he spoke to his son. And of course, Fred as a little boy hearing this while his mind is quite literally still developing, is it did have a massive impact on Fred. He was never shown love, he never knew love. And in turn, when it came to his own relationships, whether it be friendships or romantic relationships, he never knew how to show other people love. But that's not to say that Fred never dated anyone because he did. In fact, after high school, he proposed to and married his high school sweetheart. And what we've gathered about Fred so far is that he was very privileged, but extremely lazy, so selfish and very conceited, as well as quite reserved and a little bit weird. And those are the exact characteristics that Fred showed in his marriage. And his wife, I mean, I don't know how she did it, but she put up with it for a year. However, after one year of marriage, the wife filed for divorce and that was the end of that. So far in his life, Fred has been living off of his parents money. And he was now in his late 20s, still continuing to live off of their money. However, he does end up getting a job. He, he gets a job working for his dad at the California Rock and Gravel Query. Which is exactly what it sounds like. It's a Query. It was also during this period of his time in 1974 that he met or I guess reconnected with James and Richard Schoenfeld. Like I mentioned before, the two of them were brothers. And their path initially crossed with Fred's in high school because they had very similar upbringings and they attended the same high school. However, they didn't really become friends until their early twenties. And what you need to know about the brothers is that they also grew up very privileged, very wealthy, and they also, like Fred, never had to work for anything in their lives. So. Oh, by the way, also this friendship trio, Fred has been described to be the mastermind of the group. Fred and James were the same age, 22 years old at this point, and James's little brother Richard was two years younger. So he was 20 at this point. Point. But anyway, the three of them really hadn't had any communication after high school. But now, at this point of their lives, they reconnect, they start this friendship trio, and they start spending a lot of time together because the three of them didn't really have many friends. I mean, I could say that the brothers were also boring and like a little bit quiet and weird like Fred. So it was kind of just them. And it felt like all of their free time, which was a lot because they literally didn't do anything, was spent just hanging out with each other. So the biggest thing that these three have in common is that they were all, I mean, call it what it is, spoiled. And just because they were growing up, the thought didn't cross their minds that they would eventually get to an age in which their parents would cut them off. They didn't think that that was, like, a possibility. They never even considered them. For them, it was always take, take, take from their parents. Even when they would all hang out together, they would talk about how their parents didn't give them enough money and how they should be given more. They expected money from their parents, and when they felt like they weren't getting enough, they grew up to be super weirdly bitter and they would all feed off of each other's complaints. Honestly, does that not sound like the most unpleasant hangout sesh in the world? You're sitting there with your only two friends that you've ever had in your whole entire life, 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. And then their parents cut them off and they freak out, they lose it, because what do you Mean, my parents are not going to pay for me and my life that I want to live anymore. They literally did not know what to do. They didn't know how to function. So what did they do? Well, of course, they just started stealing. They started breaking into cars, stealing cars, stealing things that did not belong to them. And in doing so, they think, whoa, this is kind of cool. I like the little thrill and adrenaline that I'm getting and doing something wrong and not being caught. That was up until the day that they did eventually get caught. Shocking. Not at all. But they got arrested, they got charged, and then, of course, their parents came to the rescue, bailed them out. They didn't get sentenced to anything, didn't get in trouble for anything. Actually, they got put on probation. But, like, what is that, a slap on the hand? 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. This is amazing. Let's keep doing bad stuff. And I. Okay, let me slow down because I'm getting a little bit heated. I guess I can't speak for them because I don't know what was going on through their brains, although I don't think much is going on up there for them. But now they have gotten arrested for a crime, but they have walked away free, essentially. And now they know that they like the thrill that they get from committing crimes. And really important to note that even though their parents were there to save the day, that didn't mean that they were no longer cut off financially. Right. So the three of them, Fred, James, and Richard, they start thinking about what their next move is, start putting their little heads together to decide what they should do. And 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, get a big sum of money, and then let them go and then do it all over again. Again, until they were rich. That was their big plan. Like, you think I'm exaggerating. I'm not. So they're playing this out in their heads. They're thinking it through, and they're thinking, what kind of victim would be our preferred victim? Who would be the perfect victim? And they think children. Because parents would pay the most amount of money for vulnerable Children. And the more children we kidnap, the more money that we can get. They talked about it, they sat on it, they thought it through and they thought, yes, they were doing this. So James, Richard and Fred spend the entire next year of their lives planning out the perfect crime, which was to kidnap a school bus filled with children. They talked about it, they sat on it, they thought it through and they decide, yes, we're doing this. So Fred, Richard and James spend the entire next year of their lives planning out the perfect crime, which is to kidnap an entire school bus of children to hold them hostage and demand the families of the victims pay them $5 million in return for their safe return home. July 15th of 1976 was a Thursday. That day, 55 year old school bus driver named Frank Edward Ray, who we're going to be referring to as Ed, was on shift. He was driving the school bus transporting 26 Dairyland Elementary School students home from summer school. And Ed was just about the loveliest guy in the entire world. He was so kind, he was so caring, and he loved job. He also adored children. And everyone who knew Ed loved him. Teachers, school staff, the kids, their parents. And Ed was the kind of person who really took pride in his job. His job mattered to him a lot. And because of that, he followed his schedule to a tee. He picked up the kids and dropped them off at the exact same time every single day, no matter what. And the parents knew that. That day the kids had spent their Thursday on a summer class trip to the Chowchilla Fairground swimming pool. Afterwards, Ed picked them up and they began their drive home. Around 4pm as he was driving home, a van came out of nowhere and drove straight onto the path. Ed was driving down, completely blocking the road so the bus could not keep moving. Ray stopped, his first thought being, oh, I need to help them. They're probably having car issues. Let me see what I can do. Because that's just the kind of person that Ed was. He was nice, he had a big heart. He would put his life on pause and go out of his way to help you, even if you were a stranger, to make sure that you were okay. But within what felt like two seconds, three men were jumping out of the white van with nylon stockings covering their faces and shotguns in hand. They pointed the guns at Ed and told him to open up the door to the school bus. And in that moment, I can imagine how conflicted Ed was. I mean, think about it. How conflicted and scared. And he has 26 children on his bus. His options are either open the door, comply with everything that these three men are telling you to do, or not open the door and risk the three men killing you and then just opening the door themselves. So Ed is thinking, the only chance that I have right now is to comply, because he wasn't going to risk leaving those kids alone. He wasn't going to risk being killed and then leaving these 26 children alone with these men and then having no idea what would happen. So he does as he's told. The three men, who are Fred, James, and Richard, they get on the bus and immediately start threatening the children. They order Ed to walk to the very back of the bus and sit still. James gets into the driver's seat of the bus. He starts driving while Fred is right behind him, basically hovering over the kids with his shotgun pointed at all of them. Richard gets off the bus, and he gets back into the white van that they were driving. Both vehicles take off. Meanwhile, back in Chowchilla, the parents of these children are getting more and more concerned by the second because the time had passed of when Ed would usually drop off the kids, and he was so punctual that when it was when he was a minute late, the parents were freaking out. But still, they were considering the idea of maybe the bus broke down, maybe they're having car trouble. Nothing sinister was coming to mind yet. The parents all started calling the school. The school doesn't know anything. Nobody can find Ed. Nobody can find the school bus. And panic is rising by the second. Now back to the kids. The first step in this big master plan that they had was for Fred, James, and Richard to ditch the school bus because they knew that they could not risk it being recognized. So hours before, they had scoured out a field that had the kind of bamboo that stands really, really tall. They had left a second van in that field, a van that they had completely modified with all the windows covered with wood, actually all covered with wood so no light could come through. They had that van prepped. They had left it there so then they could drive there with a school bus, move all of the children into both vans, the one that they were already driving and the one that they had prepped there, and leave the bus there, hoping that no one would find it. So that's what they did. They got there. They parked the bus behind the bamboo sticks to try and conceal it. They drove the two vans right up to the school bus doors, ordering each kid to get on the van one by one, escorting them with the shotguns. Once all 27 people were in the vans, 13 in one, 14 in the other, they drove off around three hours later. Three hours after the parents and the school staff realized that 27 people were missing. At 7:30pm the school bus was found in that field, clearly hidden, attempting to be concealed with a bamboo sticks, without the kids and without Ed. And I can imagine that when that bus was found, how it was, that is when the panic really hit its peak. Because what did that mean? I mean, it obviously means that they were taken. But can you imagine finding that and then realizing that these 27 people have been missing for hours and trying to think and put your brains together on how to go about this and what the next step or first step of the investigation would be? I can't even imagine. However, there was one thing that gave law enforcement somewhat of a peace of mind, because right by the bus, they could see tire marks of what looked like two additional vehicles, tire marks from the two vans. So they see that and they think, okay, they've been kidnapped. Now we need to do everything in our power as fast as possible to try and find them. Local authorities then get in contact with the FBI. And sooner than later, the FBI arrives in Chowchilla and this story is all over the news. Back to the vans again. The kids are now separated in two separate vans and two separate groups. It's pitch black inside of both vans because the windows had been completely covered by wood. Ed is trying to do his best as remaining calm for the kids, trying to reassure them, thinking that, okay, if I don't freak out, if I try and keep my calm, and maybe they will keep their calm too. But then they continue driving inside of these vans for the next 12 hours. Just picture, like close your eyes and picture this. You're in a van, packed in full. 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 because they're not getting enough air circulation. It's so hot in there. And on top of that, they don't have anywhere to go to use the bathroom. And they're all stuck in there for 12 hours, guys. 12 hours, that is so long. And why 12 hours, you may be wondering. Well, because they needed to waste time. They needed to drive around until it was dark outside so that when they went to their final destination, they wouldn't be seen. Because the next part of their plan was to take the vans to the rock quarry, the rock quarry that Fred worked at, that his father owned. And they wanted to make sure that it Was pitch black out, so nobody could see them. It is four in the morning by the time they arrive at the quarry. When they get there, they park the vans, they open the door. They first order Ed to get out and close the door. When Ed gets out, the first thing that he sees is a massive hole on the ground. And there's a ladder leading into the hole, Pointing the gun straight at him, One of the men orders Ed to crawl inside of that hole. And he does again because he only sees his two options as either compliant, flying, or leaving these kids alone. So he complies, he climbs into that hole, and when he does, he realizes that he's in what looks to be like an underground trailer, A metal trailer that the three men had previously dug into the ground. It's not visible from the top, so you could imagine Ed's shock when he climbed down the ladder, not knowing what to expect, and then ended up in a full trailer. But that was the next step in their master plan was to bury them all underground and in the dark, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, Fred, James and Richard had prepared a buried metal truck trailer transformed into what I can only describe as an underground prison. One by one, the children were taken out of the van, forced to climb down that ladder through a manhole and into the darkness below. Inside of the metal trailer, there were a few mattresses thrown on the floor. There were makeshift toilets, a very, very, very small supply of food and water. Nothing close, by the way, to what 27 people would need to survive. And again, you cannot forget how young these kids were. I mean, have you ever been around a toddler that is crying? Because imagine 26 of them. I mean, obviously some of them are older, but just imagine kids freaking out, not knowing what to expect, and literally crawling into this dark hole. Once everyone was inside, the men sealed the manhole with a heavy metal plate, weighed that down with truck batteries, and then covered it with dirt. So they're 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. Hours passed, and the reality of their situation only got more terrifying by the second. The ventilation, air circulation inside of that trailer was pretty much non existent. They didn't know how long they were going to be down there, and they hardly had any food or water. The air in there felt thick, it felt heavy. It's hot. The children were already exhausted and terrified. And slowly, one by one, they began to break down. Because what else do you do in A situation like that, many of them were crying uncontrollably. Others were sitting there in silence, paralyzed in fear. 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. He's trying to get them to breathe slowly because he knew that crying in the way that they were would only take up the little oxygen that they had down there. Meanwhile, above ground, the kidnappers are now trying to put the ransom part of their plan into motion. Their scheme, I guess you could say, was simple in theory. Demand $5 million from the state in exchange for the children's safe return. And I forgot to mention this, but as the kids were walking in the hole, one by one, the men were writing down the first and last name of each kid as well as what they were wearing. Because their plan was to call the parents of the children, tell them that they had their kid, and then obviously, like, say their name and describe what they were wearing so that they believe them, and then demand the money. But their plan didn't really quite work out the exact way that they were hoping it would, because guess what? When they tried to make that call to demand the money, this case was all over the news. Everyone was talking about it all. The parents were calling in, family members were calling in. Everyone was calling into the police. 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. The phone lines were quite literally overwhelmed with worried parents and the townspeople calling in that they literally could not get through. And then what do they decide to do? Do they try and think maybe of a plan B? Do they try and think of something else that they should do? No, because now it's. I don't even know. The early hours of the next morning. They're frustrated, they're exhausted, and they are arrogant enough to think that they have plenty of time, because in their mind, they buried these kids in ed underground. They have nothing to worry about. They're just hanging out now, and they're like, okay, we'll just wait and see what happens. They fall asleep, you guys. They take a nap. They fall asleep completely unaware that the victims that they just buried underground are about to outsmart them. Back inside the trailer, the hours are dragging on. The heat is becoming unbearable. The walls of the trailer are caving in because of the amount of things that are piled on top of it. The Children are starving, thirsty, suffocating. But in the middle of the chaos, Mike Marshall was not willing to give up. Mike was the oldest kid down there. He was 14 years old, and he stepped up in a way that honestly, nobody, no one could have expected. And it's hard for me to believe that a 14 year old did this. But Mike was not willing to give up. And him and Ed started plotting the escape. They first took the mattresses, stacked them on top of each other so that they could try and reach the manhole. And once they were able to reach the metal plate that was on the hole, they tried to move it, but it was so heavy and they tried to move it. It didn't even move slightly. And they're thinking, oh my gosh, we're never going to get out of here. Because remember, on top of that, it's not only a heavy metal plate, there are also truck batteries weighing down on it, making it a million times heavier. But slowly and surely, they keep pushing inch by inch until Mike is able to squeeze a hand through the narrow opening. He pulls himself up and he's thinking, oh, my gosh, we did it. We're going to get out of here. We're safe. But he climbs out of the hole only to realize that they are buried inside another box that had been placed on top of that. The box was yet another barrier the three men had put in there to make sure that they didn't get out. But Mike did not lose hope. It was now or never. For hours, he dug, he clawed, he pushed on the box, banging against the wood of it with every ounce of energy that he had. Until finally he starts to make some cracks. And eventually Mike sees the outside. He's done it. They're out. Okay, they're not out yet, but they see a way out. Mike, 14 years old, again, is standing there. He's thinking, I don't even know what could be on the outside. I don't even know if these are three perpetrators are out there just sitting on chairs waiting for us to get out. But it's his only option. So he crawls out of the hole and he sees that there's no one there. And he's thinking, we have to get going. This is it's now or never. He calls down to Ed to let him know that it's safe. The coach is clear. And one by one, Ed helped the kids climb up and out of the trailer. And after more than 16 hours of underground and over 24 hours since the entire ordeal had been began, the group emerged to the light of day, nearby, construction workers had spotted them, and they immediately called authorities. Within hours, the children and Ed were receiving the medical care that they very much needed. And then they were bused back to Chowchilla, which, yes, they were put back in a bus, which I can imagine was very difficult and traumatizing for them all. But they were eventually reunited with their parents, and it was so emotional. They were so happy. I mean, you never know what to expect. Your child is missing, you don't even know if they're still alive. And then for them to get returned back to you, it doesn't happen very often, sadly, but when it does, oh, my God, it gives me goosebumps. When James, Richard and Fred woke up, they turned the TV on, and they see that their entire plan has now been ruined. The victims that they thought were so secure underground had escaped. They were now back with their family members by the time they woke up, and their entire elaborate plan had unraveled, all while they were taking a nap. Police officers, of course, go to the underground trailer just to see what kind of clues there could be in the trailer. They also speak to the security guard at the rock quarry, and the security said that three men, just a few months ago, three men were seen digging a very large hole. And one of those men was Fred woods, who just so happened to be the son of the owner of the rock quarry. So then they look into Fred woods, and of course, we know that he has prior convictions for grand theft audio, so he has a criminal record. And then they go to Fred's house, and what do they find? Detailed kidnapping plans written out on paper, drafts of ransom notes, and links to his accomplices, brothers James and Richard Schoenfeld. All three men were arrested, and at trial, every single one of them pled guilty to 27 counts of kidnapping. It did not take long, of course, for the jury to find them guilty. And they were all three sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, Richard was released in 2012 after 36 years behind bars. James followed. He was released in 2015. Fred woods, the ringleader, he remained locked up longer, but even he was granted parole in August of 2022 at the age of 70. I've tried to look up where all the kids are now and what they're doing, and 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. I mean, what a horrific event. To go through. You can't even imagine that in your worst nightmares. But 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 to try and recover. The Chowchilla kidnapping will always be probably one of the largest and most shocking abductions in American history. It really does sound like I'm telling you the plot of a movie when I'm saying it. 26 children and one bus driver buried alive, abandoned and left to die. Yet against all odds, they all survived. Yeah, insane. Let me know if you guys have heard of this story because it's one that I have never forgotten since the moment that I read about it and I guarantee I will be thinking of for a very, very long time. Anyway, that is all I have for you guys. I hope you're having the best day. If not, go do something to make it the best day. Make somebody happy. And I will see you in my next video. Masochist on the forehead to every single one of you. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of I wish you were here. As a reminder, you can listen to this Patreon podcast anywhere you get. Your podcast video version is also available on YouTube. Love you.