The Horrifying Reason This School Bus Vanished

Summary by Krater

This video recounts the July 15, 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping, in which 26 school children and their driver Ed Ray were abducted and buried alive in a quarry trailer before escaping.

From the video

Answers: What is the story of the Chowchilla kidnapping?

• Chowchilla kidnapping
• Ed Ray
• Fred Woods
• James Schoenfeld
• Richard Schoenfeld
• school bus hijacking
• buried alive kidnapping
• hostage survival

What it concludes

• The Chowchilla kidnapping was meticulously planned by Fred Woods, James Schoenfeld, and Richard Schoenfeld, inspired by the movie Dirty Harry.
• The kidnappers buried a moving van filled with mattresses, food, water, and ventilation hoses in a quarry near Livermore to hold the 26 children and driver Ed Ray for ransom.
• All 26 children and the driver Ed Ray successfully escaped the buried trailer after approximately 16 hours underground by digging out the entrance hatch.
• The kidnappers—Fred Woods, James Schoenfeld, and Richard Schoenfeld—were eventually captured, convicted of kidnapping for ransom, and sentenced to life imprisonment with eligibility for parole.