Chowchilla kidnapping defendants — Credit: Joe Kennedy, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0
On July 15, 1976, 55-year-old school bus driver Frank Edward "Ed" Ray was driving 26 children home from a summer trip to the Chowchilla Fairgrounds swimming pool when a van blocked the bus's path. Three men wearing nylon stockings over their faces boarded the bus, one holding Ray at gunpoint, and hijacked the vehicle. The kidnappers drove the bus to Berenda Slough, where they transferred the driver and children into two modified vans with blacked-out windows and soundproofed interiors, then drove roughly 110 miles to the California Rock & Gravel quarry in Livermore. There, in the early hours of July 16, the victims were forced into an underground bunker made from a buried truck trailer, equipped with a ventilation system, a pit toilet, mattresses, and limited food and water. The kidnappers recorded each child's name and age on a hamburger wrapper before sealing the hatch with sheet metal and heavy batteries and covering it with dirt.
After several hours of confinement, Ray and the older children stacked mattresses to reach the hatch. Fourteen-year-old Michael Marshall wedged wood into the opening and helped clear the debris, and the group escaped roughly sixteen hours after being buried, walking to a nearby quarry guard shack. All 26 children and the driver survived, though many later experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, and other lasting psychological effects documented in subsequent studies.
The kidnappers—Frederick Newhall Woods IV and brothers James and Richard Schoenfeld—had planned to demand a $5 million ransom, intending to use the funds to restore the Victorian Rengstorff House in Mountain View. Jammed phone lines prevented them from delivering the ransom demand before news broke that the victims had escaped. Investigators linked Woods, son of the quarry's owner, to the crime through his access to the site, and a search of the Woods family estate turned up planning documents, weapons, and the hamburger wrapper listing the children's names. All three men were arrested within weeks and pleaded guilty to kidnapping for ransom and robbery. They contested a bodily-harm charge that would have carried a mandatory sentence of life without parole, but were convicted on that count as well and initially sentenced accordingly. An appellate court later overturned the bodily-harm finding, ruling the children's injuries did not meet the legal standard, and the three were resentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
Richard Schoenfeld was paroled in 2012, James Schoenfeld in 2015, and Frederick Woods in 2022 after numerous prior denials. In 2016, the surviving victims settled a lawsuit against the kidnappers, with payment drawn from Woods' trust fund. Ed Ray, the bus driver, was later honored by Chowchilla, which renamed a local park in his name; he died in 2012. The case is credited with influencing changes to California law regarding bodily injury and psychological trauma standards, and has informed broader understanding of childhood trauma responses.
Berenda Slough / Chowchilla, California (abduction site); victims later held at a quarry in Livermore, California
Case status
solved
Case timeline
1976-07-15
Three armed men hijack a school bus carrying driver Frank Edward "Ed" Ray and 26 children in Chowchilla, California, and transfer victims into modified vans.
1976-07-16
Victims are forced into a buried truck-trailer bunker at a Livermore quarry; hours later, Ray and the children escape and reach a guard shack.
1976-07-24
Richard Schoenfeld voluntarily surrenders to authorities.
1976-08
James Schoenfeld is arrested in Menlo Park; Frederick Newhall Woods IV is arrested by the RCMP in Vancouver, Canada, the same day.
2012-05-17
Bus driver Ed Ray dies.
2012
Richard Schoenfeld is released on parole.
2015-08-07
James Schoenfeld is paroled.
2016
Surviving victims settle a lawsuit against the kidnappers, paid from Frederick Woods' trust fund.
2019-10
Frederick Woods is denied parole for the 19th time.
2022-03
A parole panel recommends Woods for release.
2022-08-17
Frederick Woods' parole is confirmed and his release is reported.
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The 26 Children that Were Buried Alive in Their School Bus
People
Richard Schoenfeld
CONVICTED
Pleaded guilty to kidnapping for ransom and robbery; convicted on a bodily-harm charge later overturned on appeal; resentenced to life with possibility of parole; paroled in 2012.
Michael Marshall
VICTIM
14-year-old kidnapped victim who helped dig through debris and open the sealed hatch, enabling the group's escape.
Frank Edward "Ed" Ray
VICTIM
School bus driver who was abducted along with 26 children; helped lead the escape from the buried bunker; died in 2012.
James Schoenfeld
CONVICTED
Pleaded guilty to kidnapping for ransom and robbery; convicted on a bodily-harm charge later overturned on appeal; resentenced to life with possibility of parole; paroled in 2015.
Frederick Newhall Woods IV
CONVICTED
Pleaded guilty to kidnapping for ransom and robbery; convicted on a bodily-harm charge later overturned on appeal; resentenced to life with possibility of parole; paroled in 2022.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
archival location
Chowchilla kidnapping defendants
Credit: Joe Kennedy, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0 · Source
mugshot
Fred Woods, James Schoenfeld and Richard Schoenfeld
Credit: ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE · Public domain · Source
archival location
Chowchilla kidnapping trailer
Credit: Rick Meyer, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0 · Source
unclassified
Chowchilla kidnapping victims in parade
Credit: Art Rogers, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0 · Source
unclassified
Chowchilla kidnapping victims rescued
Credit: Rick Meyer, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0 · Source
On July 15, 1976, three armed men hijacked a school bus in Chowchilla, California, abducting the driver and 26 children and burying them in a trailer at a Livermore quarry; all victims escaped and survived, and the three kidnappers were later convicted and, by 2022, all paroled.
Where did the kidnapping happen?
Berenda Slough / Chowchilla, California (abduction site); victims later held at a quarry in Livermore, California.
Who was convicted?
Richard Schoenfeld (Pleaded guilty to kidnapping for ransom and robbery; convicted on a bodily-harm charge later overturned on appeal; resentenced to life with possibility of parole; paroled in 2012.), James Schoenfeld (Pleaded guilty to kidnapping for ransom and robbery; convicted on a bodily-harm charge later overturned on appeal; resentenced to life with possibility of parole; paroled in 2015.), and Frederick Newhall Woods IV (Pleaded guilty to kidnapping for ransom and robbery; convicted on a bodily-harm charge later overturned on appeal; resentenced to life with possibility of parole; paroled in 2022.).
