There are some cases that are never forgotten and always remain alive in history and remind us how much people have suffered. Here we are ready to talk about one of the largest mass kidnappings in US history at Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping, where 26 students and the driver were kidnapped. The Chowchilla bus hijacking was reportedly the kidnapping that occurred in Chowchilla, California. This incident occurred on July 15, 1976. That school bus carrying 26 children along with the bus driver was hijacked by 3 armed men and driven to the quarry.
1976 Chowchilla bus hijacking
The victims were then forced up a ladder into the already pre-packaged buried moving truck, where the victims were held captive for around 16 hours. The kidnappers asked for a ransom of 5 million dollars to be able to free the victims. The FBI investigated the vast search and the kidnappers were later caught. The kidnappers wore pantyhose over their faces and were armed with shotguns and pistols. The hostages drove for 11 hours before being taken to the Livermore target, where they were forced down the stairs of a moving truck that had been pre-packed with some mattresses, food and water.
The reports further added that after 16 hours, Ray and the older student, Michael Marshall, were able to open the lid of the truck with the help of the piece of wood and change the batteries, weighing it down. After more than 24 hours, all the patients were apparently revived and the suspects were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 3 of the hijacker have been out on bail. In 2012, Richard Schoenfeld was released, in 2015, James Schoenfeld was paroled, and Woods was rejected 19 times until the panel recommended him for parole last year.
A program broadcast the interview of one of the victims of the Chowchilla bus hijacking named Jodi Heffington. During the episode of the show, she states that she “only sees the bad guys and villains in the movies with their tights on, so she knew it was no good.” When she was abducted, she was only 10 years old and she recalled the moment and said: “This man came up and he had his stocking on his head and he had a gun in his hand and he said: ‘Hurry up, open the door’..” Apart from her, 2 other victims were interviewed recalling the time of the year 1976.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn