A chilling tale of greed and fear, the Chowchilla kidnapping will forever remain infamy.
On July 15, 1976, 26 children and their bus driver were kidnapped at gunpoint in the small town of Chowchilla, California.
The ensuing 16-hour standoff made national headlines.
The kidnappers drove the terrified children – the youngest just five, the oldest 14 – and their 55-year-old school bus driver, Ed Ray, more than 100 miles in two locked vans, then buried them alive in a makeshift bunker in a rock quarry.
The kidnappers’ plan, which demanded a $5 million ransom, was foiled when the driver, hailed as a hero at the time of his death in 2012, managed to escape with some of the children and a quarry guard to notify.
But a new documentary from CNN aims to tell the story of those efforts with new interviews from survivors, including then-14-year-old Michael Marshall, whose heroic actions made the escape possible.
“If we die, we die when we get out of here,” recalls the now 61-year-old in an excerpt from the upcoming film, which is scheduled to premiere on December 3rd. “We were buried alive.”
The never-before-heard excerpt tells how he took control of the situation when he ran out of air and the roof collapsed on them. He told his fellow prisoners that he wouldn’t die without a fight – and carried out a bold plan to get them out, which he shared with his bus driver, Ed Ray.
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Now in his 60s, Mike Marshall describes the heartbreaking escape in a new documentary airing on CNN, recalling how, as a 14-year-old, he told his fellow prisoners he wouldn’t die without a fight. The roof of the bunker began to wrap around them to collapse around. He then carried out a daring escape plan
26 children aged five to 14 were kidnapped along with their bus driver Ed Ray, then 55, (center, back) and buried in a crumbling trailer in a quarry. The plan was foiled when Ray and 14-year-old Michael Marshall (to Ray’s right, above) led an escape
The kidnappers forced Ed Ray and the children into a buried trailer equipped with mattresses, a small amount of food and water, and fans. Pictured above: the trailer with a collapsed roof
They fled the makeshift grave with mattresses piled up as the roof began to collapse. The hijackers had shoveled dirt over the roof as soon as the last children were pushed in, then weighted the hatch door with two 100-pound industrial batteries
Other interviews provide further insight into the group’s torturous situation – which was made worse when the roof of the de facto tomb, actually a trailer, began to collapse at one end, crushing one of the vents.
An impatient victim had kicked one of the posts supporting the ceiling of the buried trailer, leaving dirt buried on top.
The screams of children between the ages of five and 14 grew louder, and even Ray almost gave up hope, several survivors recall.
One of those who almost gave up hope because even Ray became desperate was Marshall – until he saw an opportunity as he looked up at the collapsing ceiling.
The pair told Ray of their still-undeveloped plan and set about it – stacking the mattresses their captors had left behind up to the ceiling before finally clawing their way out of their captivity as dirt poured in.
For the young Larry Park, who also appears in the CNN report: “Mike was Hercules.” Mike was Samson. Mike was the man who killed the beast.’
One of the oldest children, Mike Marshall, then 14, told CNN how he announced to the group that he wasn’t going to die without a fight (pictured above) – so he started hatching a plan and told bus driver Ed Ray. The couple teamed up to escape
Through their quick thinking, Marshall and bus driver Ed Ray managed to free themselves and eventually the rest of the group. Marshall saw an opportunity to escape when the ceiling of the buried trailer began to collapse. He and the bus driver – Ed Ray – piled mattresses left behind by their captors up to the ceiling before finally fighting their way out as dirt poured in
Mike Marshall (pictured), now 61, is one of several survivors featured in the upcoming film, set to hit theaters on December 3rd. To young Larry Park, who was six years old at the time of the horrific kidnapping – and who also appears in the CNN report “Mike was Hercules.” Mike was Samson. Mike was the man who killed the beast.’
After that fateful day, Ray received an award for outstanding community service. Before his death in 2012, he was visited by several of the children he saved, and in honor of his birthday, Edward Ray Day has been declared every February 26 since the Chowchilla kidnapping
Under hypnosis, Ray (here after the escape) was also able to remember one of the license plates of the vans that had taken them to the quarry, which was assigned to the quarry owner’s son, Frederick Woods, and his two accomplices
The group stacked the mattresses on top of each other inside the truck and used wooden slats to dislodge a steel plate on the roof of the truck that covered the hatch through which they had entered
Fighting heat exhaustion, Ray, Marshall and the other more able-bodied victims poured water over their heads and continued pushing until they knocked away the batteries that had been weighing down the trailer’s hatch.
After 16 hours underground, Ray and some of the children finally found themselves on the surface and were able to walk to the guard station at a nearby quarry, where the police were called.
The escape occurred before the kidnappers could even submit their ransom demands – because Chowchilla police phone lines were overwhelmed with calls from media and family members looking for the children.
The Dairyland Elementary school bus returning from a nearby swimming pool was abandoned in a wooded area, sending the town of Chowchilla into turmoil.
“It was like someone had just taken her off the planet,” a witness recalls in the upcoming film.
Larry Park, who was six years old at the time, can also be seen in the new CNN report. He recently recalled to his fellow student: “Mike was Hercules.” Mike was Sampson. Mike was the man who killed the beast.
Victim Jennifer Brown Hyde, then nine years old, says in the film: “When I got home I thought we were all going to be OK.” [We] were not okay’
On July 15, 1976, summer school children at Dairyland Elementary School were returning from a trip when their bus was blocked in the street by three gunmen and a white van at 4 p.m. The group was then held for ransom – paving the way for a 16-hour standoff
Shortly after arriving at the quarry, police discovered that the buried truck was registered to the quarry owner’s son, Frederick Woods, along with a cryptic ransom note that appeared to be based on Hugh Pentecost’s story “The Day the Children Disappeared.” related.
The story was recently published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Daring Detectives and is on display at the Chowchilla Public Library.
Footage from the CNN documentary shows a cryptic diary belonging to one of the kidnappers, also discovered at the crime scene – full of ciphers that puzzled law enforcement.
Under hypnosis, Ray was also able to recall one of the license plates of the vans that had taken them to the quarry, which was again assigned to Woods and his two accomplices.
Woods was arrested weeks later after fleeing to Vancouver, British Columbia. His accomplices, the brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld, turned themselves in to the authorities in California after several days in hiding.
Woods was arrested weeks later after fleeing to Vancouver, British Columbia. His accomplices, the brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld, turned themselves in to the authorities in California after several days in hiding (James Schoenfeld can be seen on the left, Richard on the right).
A draft ransom note was found at the crime scene, the wording of which appeared to reference Hugh Pentecost’s story “The Day the Children Disappeared,” published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Daring Detectives and on display at the Chowchilla Public Library
A cryptic diary belonging to one of the kidnappers was found at the crime scene and can be seen here in the CNN film
All three men received life sentences after pleading guilty to kidnapping charges. Only Richard expressed remorse for the crime.
Meanwhile, Woods is said to be hatching another plan, desperately urging one of his friends to make a film of the Chowchilla kidnappings.
In a newly discovered letter from 1976, shortly after his arrest, Woods wrote – ironically alluding to future reporting like CNN’s – “I think it would make a damn good movie of the week, if not a feature film.”
Richard and James were paroled in 2012 and 2015, respectively, and Woods, now 71, was paroled last year.
The children were forever traumatized and particularly unforgiving towards their now free captors.
Victims like Park, who was just six years old at the time, said they fell into a world of addiction as teenagers and are still haunted today by what happened.
Almost half a century later, the new film shows how Park and so many of the other 25 victims are only now putting their lives back together.
“I’ve been sober for nine years. My resentment against [Woods and the Schoenfeld brothers]…killed me,” Park recently admitted to CBS.
In the new CNN film, he adds: “God forgive them, because I won’t do it.”
Victim Jennifer Brown Hyde, who was nine years old at the time of the incident, said similarly: “When I got home I thought we were all going to be OK.” [We] were not okay’.
After a torturous 16 hours of being buried alive, Ray and the children found themselves back on the surface. They went to the quarry guard station near Shadow Cliffs East Bay National Park and were all “in good condition.”
The kidnappers loaded Ray and the children, all between the ages of five and 14, into two vans before leaving the school bus
Large crates of water lined the interior of the tomb. The victims had no idea how long they would be held captive – or whether any of them would ever make it out alive
At Woods’ parole hearing in 2012, the kidnapping victims described the suffering they still felt 39 years later in a heartfelt letter to the board and expressed their desire to ensure that Woods never becomes a free man . He was released anyway
At Woods’ parole hearing in 2012, the kidnapping victims described the suffering they still felt 39 years later in a heartfelt appeal to the board and expressed their desire to ensure Woods never becomes a free man . He was released anyway.
After that fateful day, Ray received a California School Employees Association Outstanding Community Service Award for his heroic actions.
Before his death in May 2012, he was visited by some of the children he had rescued, and to commemorate his birthday, it was declared Edward Ray Day in Chowchilla every February 26 since the kidnapping.
The city now has a population of about 19,000, but has always been affected by the 16-hour crisis.
In addition to airing on CNN, Chowchilla will stream live on CNN.com, CNN OTT and mobile apps on Sunday, December 3rd.
On December 4, the feature will be available to CNN subscribers via CNN.com and the CNN app.
The film is produced by Amy Entelis and Alexandra Hannibal for CNN Films.