The Chowchilla kidnapping is considered one of the largest kidnappings in the history of the United States. In the summer of 1976 three masked men highjacked a Dairyland Elementary school bus full of children. The bus comprised 26 young children and the bus driver. The men took them to a quarry nearly 100 miles away in Livermore, California, and buried them alive in an underground box truck.
People Magazine reported that the children as well as the driver made a miraculous escape. Authorities identified and arrested all three suspects – brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld and Frederick Woods – within days of the kidnapping. Following their capture, each received 27 sentences of seven years to life in prison without parole.
The convicts had their original sentences overturned in 1980, suggesting that they caused no serious bodily injury. They got the chance for parole. Richard Schoenfeld got parole in 2012. Then came his brother James Schoenfeld’s 2015 release. Very recently in August 2022, Frederick Wood, the alleged mastermind of the kidnapping, also walked out of prison. The Chowchilla kidnapping survivors unsuccessfully contested his parole.
Where are the Chowchilla kidnapping convicts now?
According to Sportskeeda, three young men, brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld and Frederick Woods, orchestrated the infamous Chowchilla kidnapping. The kidnappers came from wealthy San Francisco families and were arrested nearly two weeks after the incident. Their initial prison sentences without parole were overturned following a 1980 appeal. All three of them have now made parole.
The outlet confirmed from multiple sources that Richard Schoenfeld was granted parole in 2012. The 57-year-old walked out of prison in June of that year. His brother James Schoenfeld’s parole came three years later in 2015. The latest development was Frederick Woods’ parole last year. Police suspected him to be the mastermind of the plan. In a highly controversial and contested decision, the parole board granted 70-year-old Woods parole in August 2022.
CBS 48 Hours previously recounted the case in an episode. The Chowchilla kidnapping occurred on July 16, 1976. On that summer day, three masked men hijacked a school bus carrying 26 children aged between five and 14, along with their bus driver Ed Ray. The kidnappers put the hostages in two locked and dark vans as they drove for 11 hours in the heat. They drove for more than 100 miles, took them to a quarry, and buried the hostages alive in an underground box truck.
The 27 hostages remained underground for nearly 16 hours before making a daring escape by digging their way out. Led by the bus driver and some of the older students, they used mattresses, stacking them high enough to reach a metal plate on the roof. The hostages dug through the dirt and finally escaped 16 hours later.
According to the New York Times, the kidnapping prompted a massive manhunt. Within two weeks, police tracked down and arrested all three kidnappers. Authorities linked them to the ordeal using incriminating such as a ransom note demanding $5 million, a document with the “plan” of the kidnapping, and a list of all the names of the victims. The suspects’ fingerprints also played a crucial role in their convictions.
CBS News stated that Frederick Woods was the rock quarry owner’s son and James Schoenfeld was his partner from a used car business. Besides the duo, James’ younger brother Richard also played a part in the crime. Their current whereabouts remain uncertain.
An upcoming CNN documentary titled Chowchilla will revisit the decades-old kidnapping incident. It airs on December 3, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET on the network.
