FAN FAVORITE: Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping | Buried Alive | 2

0:00Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of Against the Odds ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. This series originally aired aired in 2022. Audible. A note to our listeners. This episode is a note to our listeners. This episode is a note to our listeners. This episode is a note to our listeners. This episode contains adult language.

0:22I want my mom. Mama. Ed Ray shines a flashlight on the ceiling of his prison. He's trapped inside the trailer of a moving truck that's buried underground. And he's desperate to find a way out. As he scans the surface above, he can hear soft whimpers emanating from the darkness around him. There are 26 children imprisoned with him, and all of them are terrified. Ed's a school bus driver by trade. Yesterday afternoon, he drove a busload of kids home from summer school in the small farming town of Chowchilla, California. The dusty roads that run between the massive farms were empty and quiet, just like any other day.

1:08But then, out of nowhere, three armed men hijacked the bus. They packed Ed and the students into two vans and drove them around for hours. When the kidnappers finally pulled Ed out of the van, it was the middle of the night. He could see that he was in a desolate industrial area, surrounded by piles of dirt and gravel. One by one, the hostages were forced to climb down a ladder through a hole in the ceiling of the underground truck. Then the kidnappers removed the ladder and sealed the exit. Shut. Ed reaches above his head. He can barely touch the steel plate that's been laid over the hole in the ceiling.

1:50Ed strains to push against the plate with his fingertips. Something very heavy has been placed on top of it. It won't budge. Not without more leverage. He swings his flashlight around to check on the kids. They look completely spent. Lying on filthy mattresses or slumping against the walls of the moving van. Catatonic. Besides the mattresses, the kidnappers left several large jugs of water and a pitiful amount of food. Cheerios, peanut butter, Wonder Bread, crackers. Most of it is gone already. Two holes cut into the wheel wells were evidently meant as toilets. Some of the kids have been using them already, and the stench is overpowering.

2:35The only air blows in softly from two small holes in the ceiling. Ed figures there must be fans connected to them somehow, but it doesn't matter much. It feels like they're slowly suffocating. And with every hour, the heat inside this steel compartment is rising. Ed slowly crouches down and takes a seat on the floor of the truck. Some of the kids slide closer to him and cling to his arms. He hugs them. Why did they do this to us? Shh. It'll be all right, okay? Ed feels anger welling up in his chest. Some of these kids are five years old. What kind of monster would torture them like this? The flashlight next to him flickers.

3:23The batteries are running low. Kids, I'm going to have to turn off the light for a while, okay? Don't be afraid. Just try and get some sleep. He clicks the flashlight off, and once again, the darkness swallows them up. nobody knows where they are which means nobody is coming to save them if he doesn't figure out an escape plan they're done for

3:54we all have routines I'm Jabron and with diabetes mine was finger sticks sometimes I skip them because it hurt the Freestyle Libre 3CGM changed that, it gives me glucose insights without finger sticks, learn more at freestyllibre.us. Fingersticks are required if your glucose alarms and readings do not match symptoms or when you see check blood glucose symbol for the first 12 hours. The views expressed should not be used for medical diagnosis or treatment as a substitute for professional medical advice. Individual circumstances may vary for prescription only. Safety info found at freestyllibre.us.

4:24I heard a rumor that the CIA poisoned my granddad. Gordon Banks, the world's number one goalkeeper. It happened in Mexico, supposedly, at the World Cup in 1970. Sounds crazy? I'm an investigative journalist on the hunt for evidence. We needed to do some extraordinary things to counter the Soviets. This is Foul Play, an unbelievable tale of sports, spies and family secrets. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or early and ad-free on Audible.

4:58From Wondery, I'm Mike Corey and this is Against the Odds.

5:10In July of 1976, on the outskirts of the farming community of Chowchilla, California, three men hijacked a school bus carrying 26 children and their driver, Ed Ray. The hostages were transported 100 miles away to a desolate rock quarry and imprisoned in a moving truck buried underground. The local police launched a desperate search, but there were barely any clues to go on. The kidnappers were three wealthy young men from the Bay Area, hoping to extort a$5 million ransom from the California government. Meanwhile, Ed Ray and his students were hoping to stay alive, and they were running out of time.

5:52This is Episode 2, Buried Alive.

6:0414-year-old Mike Marshall lies on his back on a dirty mattress, staring into the darkness. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and pulls himself to his feet. Two nights ago, his mom caught him sneaking beers. As punishment, she made him ride the bus home from summer school instead of picking him up. He got his punishment all right. Whatever hell is, it's gotta feel something like this. He stretches his sore muscles, then rubs his temple to soothe his aching head. He's so hungry, so thirsty. Most of the food was gone in under an hour, and there are only a few jugs of water for all of them.

6:48Mike feels a hand on his shoulder and turns on his flashlight to see Ed Ray. He looks like he's been crying. Son, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I got us into this hole. It's okay, Mr. Ray. It's not your fault. I was supposed to take care of you all. As the oldest student, Mike appreciates Ed taking him into his confidence. But he refuses to believe they're not going to make it. He looks Ed in the eye. I'm not gonna die down here. The bus driver smiles weakly and pats him on the back. Mike can tell that Ed doesn't believe him. Mike looks up at the ceiling again and decides to take matters into his own hands.

7:31He stares at the hole they were forced to climb in two hours ago. There's a metal plate covering it. When Ed tried to move it a little while ago, it wouldn't budge, but maybe that's because Ed could barely reach it. An idea hits him. He grabs an edge of his mattress and drags it across the floor of the trailer. He grabs a second mattress and stacks it on top of the first. Mike looks up again to make sure the pile is centered beneath the opening. Then he casts his flashlight around the room, counting the mattresses. There are more than enough to build a stack that could reach the ceiling. He feels determined.

8:08He's not going to die down here. He's going to keep stacking up the mattresses, and then he's going to climb up and push on that steel plate with all of his might. The hole in the ceiling will be their escape hatch.

8:28Fred Woods carefully steers his van into an empty warehouse. He kills the ignition and turns to his friend Rick Schoenfeld, who's sitting quietly in the passenger seat. We're here. The two men men hop out and watch as Rick's brother James drives another van into the warehouse and parks it. Through the entrance, Fred sees the sky on the horizon is turning a pale grey, another misty Bay Area dawn. Fred stretches, savoring the moment. They've done it. The plan worked. Fred, James, and Rick successfully kidnapped 26 children and their bus driver and buried them underground about 30 miles away at the California Rock and Gravel Quarry in Livermore.

9:12Now they're reconvening here at this warehouse, the one Fred rented a few months ago. It's a squat building on a dead-end street in San Jose, right by the freeway. No foot traffic and hardly any cars passing by. Perfect for stashing the two vans without detection. All that's left to do is deliver their$5 million ransom demand to the California state government, and then wait for their money. There are probably some escape details to iron out, but once they have the money, it'll be easy. Fred opens the back door of the van he just parked. All right, let's unload these vans and lock up. Can't let anyone see them since Rick registered them with his real name.

9:53Fred glares at Rick, who shrugs and goes back to unpacking. What a dunce, Fred thinks. But hopefully, it won't matter. Fred bundles up the clothes and other items taken from the children and Ed Ray. One identifying item per person. It's a way to prove they really have the kids. He rolls it all into a tarp for safekeeping, then shoves it into a corner of the warehouse. He turns to the brothers. I'll call about the ransom once I get home. Those kids aren't going anywhere. James furrows his brow. Fred can tell he's worried about something, as usual. Fred, I'm thinking about that battery again. Fred knows which battery James is talking about.

10:36It's the one powering the fan that's the only source of ventilation for the hostages. He's worried that if it fails, the hostages will run out of air and die. Fred puts a hand on James' shoulder. Okay, how's this? I'll go back later tonight, or maybe tomorrow, to check on the fan and swap out the battery. Do it before tomorrow. I'm not going down for murder. If we just keep cool and finish the job, we'll be counting our money before the weekend's out. Fred claps the dust off his hands and checks the vans, the tarp, the tools, all safely stowed. Once he rolls down the garage door, no one will have any idea what's in this building.

11:16Fred walks out to the street, with James and Rick close behind. I'm going to go take a shower and get some sleep. You should do the same. The brothers nod nervously. Fred pulls down the garage door and padlocks it. Behind him, the brothers climb into James' 1963 Chrysler and peel out. Fred watches them go, thinking about all the cars he'll buy with the ransom money. It won't be long now.

11:50Ed Ray heaves the edge of the dirty mattress up to 14-year-old Mike Marshall. Mike and Ed are putting the finishing touches on an unsteady tower of mattresses. It's mid-morning on Friday, July 16th, the day after the kidnapping. They've been down here about seven hours now. Ed nearly succumbed to despair in those early hours, but now he's fighting like hell to escape. Ed pants as he pushes the last mattress up to Mike. The inside of the buried truck is damp and hot, and the exertion is only making it hotter. But Ed keeps working. Mike looks down to him from above. It's tall enough. I'm going to try to open this thing.

12:34Mike crouches down on top of the mattress and puts his palms on the plate. He pushes up hard with his legs. The teenager is strong for his age, but the plate doesn't move. Ed shakes his head. You're going to hurt yourself, son. The bus driver pushes gently against the side of the mattress pile to test its stability. It wobbles a little, but it holds. Hold on, I'm coming up. Ed grabs the corner of the topmost mattress and pulls himself to the top of the pile. He crouches down next to Mike and presses his shoulders and back against the underside of the metal plate. He takes a deep breath and pushes with everything he's got.

13:13The plate doesn't budge. Mike inches closer and pushes alongside him. Ed's shoulders are on fire. His back feels like a might give. Sweat pours down Ed's face as he hears the children calling out from below. Ed glances down at the kids as he continues to push. They need him to be strong, as strong as he's ever been. He forces himself to push harder. Suddenly, Ed feels the plate shift. It's just a few inches, but it gives him hope. He sees Mike pump his fists in excitement. Look, a crack! I can almost get my hand out! Ed plants his feet deep into the mattress pile and steadies himself for one more push.

13:53The bus driver strains upward, sweating and groaning, and lifts the plate high enough for Mike to get an arm out. The 14-year-old gropes around on top of the plate and describes what he feels. I'm feeling a metal box. No, wait. There's two of them. I can't hold it much longer. Mike draws his arm back in and Ed lets the plate down into cracks. Ed falls back onto the mattress and thinks. Two metal boxes are weighing down the plate. What are they? And how can they be removed? From what he remembers when he climbed down, the shaft above them is narrow. Even if Mike could reach them, there's probably no space into which the heavy boxes could be pushed.

14:40But then Ed gets an idea. If he pushes up on one end of the plate and shimmies it towards him, he might create a gap in the opposite side of the hatch. A big enough gap that the boxes could be pulled down inside the moving truck. Ed turns back to Mike. When I lift that plate again, you slide the boxes down. Mike nods. Ed repositions his feet on the mattress pile and his shoulders on the steel plate and takes a deep breath. He thrusts his shoulders upward on the edge of the plate. Slowly and surely, the plate begins to lift and slope at an angle. A gap begins to appear in the opening, at the bottom of the slope.

15:21It's about a foot wide, but Ed won't be able to hold it open for long. Hurry up, Mike! Mike hesitates a moment, then thrusts an arm through the opening. Ed keeps pushing up. If he drops the plate now, he could break Mike's shoulder. Mike struggles as he pulls. I think I can slide it off. Almost there. Ed makes a final push upward. The gap widens a little more. Mike pulls, and the first object slides down onto the mattress. It's a heavy industrial battery. Mike grabs hold of it so it doesn't fall down to the floor. Ed braces his legs to keep his balance and keeps pushing. Quick, get the other one down!

16:05The second battery drops. Mike grabs hold of it. Ed flips the metal plate up inside the shaft and then collapses onto the mattress. The hatch is now open, a gaping hole in the roof of the truck. As he struggles to catch his breath, Ed notices that some of the kids are staring up at the opening that's been created. Why is it still dark? Ed aims his flashlight through the hole. Above the roof of the truck is a shaft about three or four feet deep. And on top of that shaft is a plywood barrier. He knows it must be daytime, but there's no light coming through. He pushes on the plywood. No use. It feels as solid as the steel plate.

16:54After all of that effort, Ed realizes that they're far from done. They still have another trapdoor to get through.

17:30The End three feet deep, leading to the surface, but the plywood is blocking the exit. Squeezed onto the mattress beside him is 10-year-old Bob Gonzalez. No matter how hard they push up on it, the plywood won't budge, so Mike and Bob are scratching dirt, sand, and gravel from the gaps that are visible in the upper corners of the shaft. Maybe if they can create enough space around the plywood, they'll be able to move it and climb out. Mike's been digging for seven hours. His hands are cramped and his fingertips are numb. His shoulders are aching from holding his arms up, and he thinks some of the wetness on his hands might be blood.

18:14His progress is maddeningly slow, a tablespoon at a time. He's never sweated so much, and the dirt is everywhere in his eyes, his nose, his mouth. Mike scrapes out another bit of dirt with his bloody finger and turns to Bob. I think I'm starting to see some light. He and Bob scrape harder. Slivers of light begin to appear around the edges of the plywood. Mike looks down to see Ed Ray climbing up the mattress tower again. Mike extends a hand to him. Look, Mr. Ray, we can almost lift it up. Move over, boys. Mike and Bob slide to the edge of the mattress as Ed starts pushing on the plywood. But it doesn't move.

19:02All of a sudden, Ed explodes. Attacking the trapdoor with brute force, he slams his body against them. He pummels it with his fists. Finally, Ed gets his fingers around an edge and yanks it fiercely. Mike can hardly believe his eyes. The bus driver has ripped off a chunk of plywood with his bare hands. As Ed kneels on the mattress and catches his breath, Mike sees that Ed's hands are bleeding. Mike looks up. Now there's a large hole in the plywood, causing more light to pour in. Bob starts pulling himself up towards it. I think I can fit through it! Mike holds his breath. This is a gamble. If the kidnappers are nearby and see him, Bob's as good as dead.

19:54Within seconds, Bob's head and shoulders are through the hole. Mike pulls on Bob's shirt. Wait, wait, Bob! Careful! Look around to see if anyone's up there first. Mike can feel his heart pounding as the ten-year-old quietly surveys the scene above ground. I don't see anyone. Mike pulls Bob back down through the hole and tells him to stand back. With the final shove, Mike flips the plywood off the opening of the shaft. Dirt pours down on him. He climbs out of the hole, pulls himself to his feet, and breathes in the fresh air. He can't believe it. He made it out. Mike scans his surroundings. It's almost sunset.

20:37They're in a dirt clearing near a small cluster of trees, but this isn't the wilderness. All around, he can see industrial equipment, big buildings. They're in a quarry, and it looks like it's deserted. He calls down into the shaft. The coast is clear. We can come out now. As the minutes tick past, Mike, Bob, and Ed work quickly to help all of the kids up the stack of mattresses and out of their underground prison. Mike knows that there's no telling when the kidnappers will come back. It could be any moment. And if they find them here, they'll be furious. They'll all get put back underground. Or worse.

21:28Ed Ray wipes the sweat off his brow as he tries to shepherd the kids away from the hatch. Everyone, stay with me. We're going home. Ed doesn't have a clue where they are. The kidnappers drove them around for countless hours last night. They could be in Nevada, for all he knows. But he has to get these kids as far away from the quarry as possible before the kidnappers come back. In the past 24 hours, no one has slept or eaten enough. The youngest children, little kindergartners, are in a daze, barely able to walk. Ed kneels down next to them. You're all about to see your families and get a warm supper, okay?

22:07and your parents won't be mad at all. I promise. Just a little longer to go. In the distance, Ed spots a tower. Could be a grain elevator, but he isn't sure. He points the kids toward it. Everyone's dead on their feet, but they keep walking. Slowly but surely, they stumble down the dirt road. As the tower gets closer, Ed hopes to God that someone's there.

22:41Walter ends, hears an unusual sound in the distance. Sounds like kids, but he ignores it for now. Quarries are full of weird noises. Besides, he's just about done his shift, finishing a welding job on a tower at the outskirts of the California rock and gravel quarry. He pauses to dab the sweat on his face with his bandana. Walter looks out at the purplish-blue twilight sky and wishes his shift was up and he could just go home. Then he hears that sound again. He peers around. Nothing. But he knows what he heard. He sounds the millhorn to alert his partner. Then he looks down and sees them, trudging down the gravel road, a group of about two dozen kids, led by a middle-aged man.

23:31All of them look filthy. The man starts waving his arms over his head. Help! Hey, hey, help, help! Walter struggles to make sense of what he's seeing. Who are you? The man arrives at the bottom steps and looks up. My name's Ed Ray. We're the ones from Chowchilla. Walter shuts the alarm off. The news of the missing kids was everywhere. Could it be? But how could they have ended up here? Ed asks to use their phone. Walter nods and watches as Ed picks up the phone and starts dialing. Hello, Odessa? We're alive. Walter wonders what in God's name these kids have just been through. He hopes they come out of it all right.

24:28Fred Wood sighs in frustration as he hangs up the phone. He's been hunkered down in his apartment on his family's 79-acre estate. All day long, he's been trying to get through to the Chowchilla police station to make his ransom demand. With nothing but busy signals. In the meantime, he's napped, showered, and even had dinner with his parents on the other side of the property. Now, it's almost time to go back to the quarry and to check on the kids. He hears a car pulling up outside. It's Rick. Fred opens the front door and lets him in. I've been trying to call all day, but they're jammed. Well, how the hell are they going to hear about the ransom then?

25:07Who knows? I guess they'll have to wait. Rick looks like he's about to throw up. Fred claps him on the shoulder. Look, we still hold all the cards. By the time we get them on the phone, they'll be desperate to pay us. It's almost time for the news. Fred's been thinking the same thing. He joins Rick on the couch in front of the TV. All four networks are carrying the same story. The Chow Chilla bus driver and 26 children have been found. The driver, Ed Ray, helped dig the children out of their underground prison and led them to safety. Authorities are now in the hunt for three unknown kidnappers.

25:45Fred turns to Rick, who's pale as a ghost. Fred feels the blood drain from his own face. Oh, fuck. The phone rings and Fred jumps. It's his father, calling from the other side of the estate. Son, are you watching the news? Fred frantically gestures for Rick to turn down the TV volume. Uh, no, why? You know those kids that got kidnapped? They escaped. They're saying the bus driver helped get them all out. Wow, uh, that's crazy. It gets crazier. I just got a call. They were buried in a box or something. In our quarry. Out in Livermore. Can you believe that? Wow, the quarry, huh? Um, that's a trip, Dad.