(No, thats not a typo. Joseph Schons of Sacramento told police he inadvertently wound up spending the night of February 2425 near where the Montego was found. No one had even bothered to cover the broken window they had smashed in to get inside. This case can be best summarized by then-Yuba County sheriff Jack Beecham who described it as bizarre as hell.. "All they had to do was turn that gas on," says Yuba County Lt. Lance Ayers, "and they'd have had gas to the trailer, and heat.". The keys to the vehicle were gone. The woman was transported to the . Joe Shones was having a heart attack. . How did the men die? After his return from Army service in Germany, he would fail to take his drugs and lapse into a disoriented psychosis that usually landed him in a Veterans Administration hospital. Hours later, Shones felt well enough to walk to get help. This witness told police that he had seen and heard people around the car that night, and twice called for help, only for them to grow silent and turn off their flashlights. Their families said that when they got together, it was usually to play a game or to watch one. To date, there hasnt been any evidence to contradict him. He had driven up there, where he had a cabin, to check the snowpack in advance of a weekend ski trip with his family. What Caused The Patomskiy Crater in Siberia? None of them was known to have any business on that part of the mountain. All five either had slight intellectual disabilities or psychiatric disorders. What puzzled them most was how Weiher was found emaciated, despite the fact that the trailer been stocked with plenty of canned and dried food and a can opener. And they traveled for a very long time. Have you noticed theres been no mention of Matthiass body? If Mathias went for help, where was his body? Based on the length of his beard had grown, the coroner was able to determine that Weiher had lived as long as 13 weeks after he last shaved. Ted Weiher was employed for a while as a janitor and snack bar clerk but quit at the urging of his family, who thought Weiher's slowness was causing problems. This, and the considerable distance from the car to where the bodies were found, has led to suspicions of foul play. The driver had either used astonishing care and precision, the investigators figured, or else he knew the road well enough to anticipate every rut. Gary Dale Mathias was an assistant in his stepfather's gardening business and an army veteran with psychiatric discharge after drug problems that developed in Germany five years before. Investigators could not determine why the car was abandoned, as it was in good working order and could easily have been pushed out of the snowpack it was in. In February 1978, five young men headed from their home in Yuba County, California to catch a Yuba County, California. A dozen C-ration cans from a storage shed outside had been opened and their contents consumed, but a locker in the same shed that held an even greater assortment of dehydrated foods, enough to keep all five men fed for a year if that had been necessary, had not even been opened. There was also the theory that Mathias convinced the group to head toward Forbestown, an area between Chico and the mountain road, so he could visit a friend who lived there. The Russian case is as mysterious as the Mathias Group in Californias Plumas National Forest. They werent the type to stay out very late or make spontaneous plans. At their homes, some of their parents waited up to make sure they returned. Zodiac Killer Facts An undated photo of Zodiac Killer suspect Arthur Leigh Allen. On Tuesday, February 28, authorities found the Mercury on the same mountain road where Shones had last seen it, and where a park ranger had reported its location after hearing the missing persons bulletin. This video answers the question: Can I analyze the case of "Yuba County Five?"Support Dr. Grande on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/drgrandeSubscribe to the. Schons stayed in his car until it ran out of gas, then walked eight miles down to get help, passing Madrugas car on the way. Medium. [5], The woman said she immediately realized that the men were not from the area because of their "big eyes and facial expressions". No one even covered the window they had smashed to get inside of the trailer. The two cars stopped about 20 feet from him. There was never any accounting for their strange decision to turn toward unfamiliar territory. He had left his tennis shoes behind in the trailer with Weihers body and had taken the mans leather shoes. The front window of the trailer had been broken. This week we cover the bizarre case of the Yuba County Five. "Oh, Grandma, I won't need a coat," Ted said. His father had come across some of his sons clothes, and upon picking them up, the backbone of Jackie fell out onto the ground. He had even left a window rolled down, something he would never normally do. The Disturbingly Mysterious Disappearance of the Yuba County Boys. After the UC Davis team won their game, the five men went to pick up snacks & drinks for the drive home. Authorities think one of the boys may have laid down to rest or sleep, which is a side effect of late-stage hypothermia, and it seems the other boy stayed with his friend until he, too, froze to death. [2] For whatever reason, the men had left the Montego; they had, instead of going back down the road (where they had passed the lodge that Schons later returned to), continued along the road in the direction they were originally going. [6] On a table next to the bed were some of Weiher's personal effects, including his wallet (with cash), a nickel ring with "Ted" engraved on it, and a gold necklace he also wore. [6], Two days later, as part of one of the other search parties, Jack Huett's father found his son's backbone[2] under a manzanita bush[6] 2 miles (3.2km) northeast of the trailer. A ranger from the Plumas National Forest had told investigators he saw a Mercury Montego parked along one of the roads in the forest on February 25. But what happened to the fifth? 'America's Most Wanted': Behind the most tragic true-crime story ever. The Yuba County Five had a basketball game on February 25th, 1978, that they were excited to play in. This week on Five men attend a basketball game together, only to never be seen again. [3], While he was stationed in West Germany as part of his United States Army service in the early 1970s, Gary Mathias, a native of Yuba City, California, developed drug problems. Gary Matthias was one of the five who didnt have a mental disability. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. Nobody could figure out why the boys were there. Ted Weiher's sister-in-law has theorized that the men may have seen something take place at the basketball game that prompted someone to chase them. The eldest of the boys, as their parents called them, were Ted Weiher, 32 years old who was described as showing signs of Autism, and Jack Madruga, 30 years old, who was described as a slow learner.. in which some students try to find out what happened to the Russian hikers who died in Dyatlov Pass. When Shones spotted their abandoned Mercury, the car had been driven roughly 70 miles away from the Chico basketball game. Why do that unless something more frightening was right behind them? Shones said he saw a woman as well, and that he also heard a babys cry. Purposeful motion like that is not consistent with the circular patterns traveled by those who genuinely believe themselves lost. Were going to be covering a story Let's discuss the strange disappearance of the Yuba County Five. Bizarre Disappearance of Keith Reinhard in Silver Plume, Colorado, Missing 411: Disappearances in the Wilderness, https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article226777394.html, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/07/06/5-boys-who-never-come-back/f8b30b11-baeb-4351-89f3-26456a76a4fb/, https://medium.com/the-mystery-box/the-disturbingly-mysterious-disappearance-of-the-yuba-county-boys-b8a7dfd07ab0. The boys parents alerted the authorities after confirming none of them made it home. Check out our sponsors! Their clothes had been laid out the evening of the 24th, before they left for Chico with "Gateway Gators" on them, from the Yuba City vocational rehabilitation center for the handicapped where they all played basketball. Our library is built with an all-inclusive goal: providing trustworthy resources for our community of advocates and experts. Search and rescue teams then began combing the area around the trailer. yuba county five crime scene photos; matt dalton abington ma obituary; abril 20, 2023 . The fifth, however, remains missing to this day. How did the group end up around a trailer 19 miles from the car? The trailer had food and propane. Two days later, Huetts own father found his sons backbone under a manzanita bush while with a search party in the mountains. She earned her Bachelors Degree in Russian & Eastern European Studies in 2017 from Florida State University. The next day, a deputy sheriff found a skull downhill from the bush, 300 feet (91m) away, confirmed by dental records later to have been Huett's. [6], Efforts to search the vicinity were hampered by a severe snowstorm that day. The authorities and the boys parents alike wondered what on Earth they had been doing on this dirt mountain road. This week Spencer and Ryan recount the strange Five young men travel to a basketball game and disappear. Either the driver had been extremely careful, or it was someone familiar with the road, a familiarity Madruga was not known to have; his family said that Madruga would not have let someone else drive the car. A few hours later he saw flashlight beams outside his car and called out for help again, but immediately the lights went out. Knowing that Madruga drove a Mercury Montego, the police went to investigate and found Madrugas car. [2], Searchers returned to Plumas, following the road between the trailer and the site of the Montego. The trailer was located about 19 miles up the mountain from where the car was found. Several paperback booksperfect for fireswere also left untouched. On Tuesday, February 28th, a forest ranger found Jack Madrugas car abandoned the car on an unpaved road near Oroville, in the Rogers Cow camp area, past Elke Retreat, at an elevation of 4,500 feet. Jack had low I.Q. Hours later, back inside his car, he saw what he thought were flashlights. We strive to bring awareness back into focus with our coverage, which features Crime stories that are underpinned by reliable information from up-to-date sources, as told by compassionate storytellers. Yet only about 12 cans had been opened, and he had not bothered to turn on the propane tank, which would have provided heat for the entire trailer. This conspiracy theory will surely tug on your heart strings and have you asking, "What One freezing night in 1978, five young men mysteriously disappear. Well, that part is a little less clear. [6], Even knowing that four of the five men had died in the Sierra, investigators still could not completely explain what had led to their deaths. Hours into his ordeal and with his car still stuck and now out of gas, Shones felt well enough to begin walking down the mountain road and toward a lodge roughly eight miles away. Curious, they went inside. [2], Police in Butte and Yuba counties began searching along the route the men took to Chico. Whoever drove the car into the forest drove incredibly cautiously or knew the area well. Why was a common question for investigators and the relatives of the men, but no answers were forthcoming. After the UC Davis team won their game, the five men went to pick up snacks & drinks, Joe Shones, age 55, was having car trouble. Jack Madrugas mother had told reporters, There was some force that made em go up there. Madruga and the four other able-bodied men should have been able to dislodge it without a lot of difficulty. Two days after Madruga and Sterlins remains were found, they found the remains of Jackie Huett. Not until the thaw came. Weihers decaying body was inside the trailer, and the scene around him was very odd. There was nothing left of him but bones. The Yuba County Five were five young men from Yuba City, California, who became friends while members of a local basketball team for people with mental disabilities. Two days later, after searchers in snowcats nearly became lost themselves, further search efforts were called off due to continuing bad weather. In a storage shed outside, there was a years supply of c-rations. They wouldnt have fled off into the woods like a bunch of quail. The Sacramento Bee. February 24, 1978 On the evening of February 24, the boys drove 50 miles (80 km) north to Chico, California, to watch a basketball game between UC Davis and Chico State. They were lost and caught in a snowstorm without adequate clothing. Sterling's father had once taken his son to the area near where the car was found for a fishing weekend, but the younger man had not enjoyed it and remained at home when his father took later trips there. Months later the remains of 4 Join us as we discuss the Yuba County Five and their mysterious disappearance. Search parties were sent to investigate and more bodies were found. Instead, it looked abandoned. Crime Drunk driver who killed neighbor in Yuba County gets 10 years in prison Yuba County officials said then-21-year-old Kaitlyn Vansant was drunk when she got behind the wheel and. The five friends decided to go to a basketball game together to cheer on the UC Davis team. You see, Shones had been stuck in a snowdrift the night of the boys basketball outing. Later, he saw what he believed were flashlights. Two of the men, whom she identified as Huett and Sterling, were in a telephone booth outside the store, while the other two went inside. About five miles from Weiher's remains, the remains of Sterling & Marduga were found. The incident . The county sheriffs department began searching for the men. Out in the Cold: Four mentally disabled men died in woods. Find us on Elle Crime and Mo Tibbs comin' in hot with another unsolved crime. The car had become stuck in some snow drifts, and there was evidence that the men had tried to spin the wheels to get out of it; police noted that the snow was not so deep that five healthy young men would not have been able to push it out. ", "There was some force that made em go up there." This was strange because it seemed none of the trailers life-saving amenities had been used. The last member of the Yuba County Five was 25-year-old Gary Matthais. Weiher seemingly walked nearly 20 miles to the trailer in frigid conditions, despite having left his coat at home. What did they find Mystery True Crime und wahre Verbrechen aus Deutschland
Kalifornien, Februar 1978: Am ! Later, he saw more lights from behind him, this time flashlights, that also went out when he called to them. All five had intellectual disabilities or psychiatric issues to various degrees; all of them lived with family, who kept a close eye on them. Madruga had been partially eaten by animals and dragged about 10 feet to a stream: he lay face up, his right hand curled around his watch. The Other Titanic? They came across a strong stench emanating from some trailers maintained by the Forest Service. Any judgement made by the coroner likely came from the body itself at the 'crime scene' or photos of it, and were based on police experience more so than medical expertise. Mathiass shoes were found in the trailer, and it looked like the food cans that had been eaten were opened with a military P-38 can opener, which only Madruga or Mathias would know how to operate the device from their time in the army. Shones staggered back in his car while he let the heart attack pass and then wondered what on Earth he would do to get himself out of the mess he was in. Weihers family told police he lacked common sense from his disability citing an incident where he had to be dragged from his bed while the ceiling was on fire. There was a whole shed full of canned food but it appeared only a dozen had been opened and eaten. Around 9 a.m. on Monday, a woman suffering from a gunshot wound to the arm walked into the Yuba County Sheriff's Office to report an alleged shooting that had occurred overnight off Begonia Way and Saagennah Trail. [2], Weiher's body was on a bed with eight sheets wrapped around it, including the head. The Mercury would be found last where Shones saw it with enough gas for the five to return home. Uncategorized. There was no reason to believe he wouldnt be home in time for his next dose. Organizing a search party in the midst of winter was no easy task, especially when it meant combing through rough terrain filled with rocky surfaces, wooded paths, and snow-covered slopes. In June, a group of bikers found a Forest Service trailer in a campsite 19.4 (31.2 km) away from where the abandoned Montego was found. The day after Weiher's body was discovered, searchers found the remains of Madruga and Sterling. In the process of trying to free it, he realized he was beginning to experience the early symptoms of a heart attack and went back in, keeping the engine running to provide heat. These were individual canned, pre-cooked, and prepared meals issued to the U.S. military. Some of the Yuba County Fives parents told police that there was no reason their sons would have gone that far into the mountains while it was snowing. Autopsies confirmed their death was caused by hypothermia. W 1978 roku grupa przyjaci pojechaa obejrze mecz koszykwki. The so-called "Zodiac Killer" murdered at least five people between 1968 and 1969, taunted journalists and the police with complicated ciphers, and seemingly disappeared without a trace. He had lost almost half his body weight and his feet were badly frostbitten. Since it was locked, they may have believed it was private property, and may have feared arrest for theft if they used anything else they found there. The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five is a tragic story and a puzzling mystery. As for getting a real answer in the case, we may never know unless someone talks or, maybe, Mathais is found. Madruga drove off, and the Yuba County Five were never seen alive again. Luego de la desaparicin de los chicos el 25 CrimeDoor is a trusted news resource for those seeking the freshest perspective on cases worldwide. Police found no evidence of foul play at the site of the car, but the car was unlocked, one window was down and the keys were nowhere to be seen. If authorities couldnt make any sense of how the group's day had ended on February 24, they at least had some idea of how it began. All five lived at home with their parents and were bound together by a love of sports. She recalled how he and Sterling had helped someone they knew get to the hospital after overdosing on Valium. [2][4], The five men's favorite leisure activity was sports. [5] Huett's brother said Jack hated using telephones to the point that he would answer calls for Jack whenever he received any from the other men in the group. Shones eventually decided hed have to help himself and hike down the snowy road until he got help. He saw a group of men, a woman, and a baby walking together, but they ignored him calling for help. The Yuba County Five Mysterious Death 1978 Mysterious Death , Exposure On the evening of Feb. 24, 1978, Gary Mathias and friends Bill Sterling, Jack Huett, Ted Weiher, and Jack Madruga loaded into Madruga's white 1969 Mercury Montego to drive to Chico, Calif., to watch the University of California, Davis men's. link Videos
Brad Krasowski Fish Hawk,
Quarter Horse Production Sales,
Shepherds Hut With Hot Tub South West,
Articles Y