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He called to them for help, but they stopped talking and turned their headlights out. It still remains one of the most baffling cases within the US. Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. They made it to the game, but none of these "boys," as they came to be called, ever returned home. A table by the bed held his nickel ring with "Ted" engraved on it, his gold necklace, his wallet (with cash inside), and a gold Waltham watch, its crystal missing, which the families say had not belonged to any of the five men. The Theories In a storage shed outside, there was a years supply of c-rations. The next day when they failed to return from Chico, their families became concerned and called the police. We know good and well that somebody made them do it. Joe Shones, age 55, was having car trouble and a mild heart attack. 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. Miles away from help, Shones thought he could flag down help. While scientists today believe that it was likely an avalanche that killed the hikers, others are not quite sure. His mother and stepfather, Ida and Robert Klopf, finally reached him on the phone weeks later and pleaded with him to come back to Yuba County. It was a man named Joe Shones who alerted them about it. There was never any accounting for their strange decision to turn toward unfamiliar territory. A man called Joseph Schons contacted the police after he heard about the disappearance to say he had seen the men between 11-12 pm on the Friday that the group disappeared. [2] The sheets all over Weiher's body also suggested that one of the others had been there with him, as his gangrenous feet would have been in too much pain for him to pull them over his body himself. Jackie Charles Huett, who had a slight droop to the head, was sometimes slow to respond and a loving shadow to Weiher, who looked after Huett in a protective sort of way and would dial the phone for him when Hyett had to make a call. 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. Hours later, Shones felt well enough to walk to get help. Directed by Tate Taylor and written by Amanda Idoko with Jake Gyllenhaal and Franklin Leonard among its producers, there was obviously something about Breaking News in Yuba County that snared all these great thesps - some gem on the page that became distorted in the journey to screen. Yuba County, California. The boys had used Madrugas 1969 Mercury Montego to drive to the UC Davis game in Chico, California on February 24, 1978. Those kinds of mysteries still pervade the Yuba County Five case, as the men were known to follow patterns rather than deviate from them so drastically and right before a life-changing opportunity. [2] The car was unlocked and had a window rolled down when it was found; his family indicated it was unlike him to leave the car so unsecured. A forest service Snowcat ran up the road to the trailer on February 23rd, leaving a packed path in the snow that the men might have followed. As for getting a real answer in the case, we may never know unless someone talks or, maybe, Mathais is found. Police became aware that Madrugas 1969 Mercury Montego was stranded on the side of a mountain road about 50 miles away from home. It sounds pretty normal right? All either had some sort of intellectual disability or a mental health issue. 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. In 1978 five friends with intellectual disabilities ended up driving into the wilderness for no apparent reason and four of their remains were later found there. Schons' reports have been quite strange over the years and somewhat varied. Police began to speculate that if Matthias had gone off his medication he might have gone on a psychotic break that led him to bring his somewhat docile friends there. The reason that we bring it up is because there is an incident largely called the American Dyatlov Pass, which is the case of the Yuba County 5. Is Ice Spices new boyfriend Pete Davidson? On February 24, 1978, a group of friends from Yuba City in California;Gary Dale Mathias, Jack Madruga, Jackie Huett, Theodore (Ted) Weiher, and William Sterling; set out on a trip to watch a basketball game. NEW! In this week's episode, we revisit two of our favorite Patreon episodes. The store owner corroborated her account. Could be violent to some. Besides, who knows. Public Corruption. This was strange because it seemed none of the trailers life-saving amenities had been used. Huetts skeletonized remains were found shortly after. "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 Yuba County Five were young men from Yuba City, California, all with mild intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions, who attended a college basketball game at California State University, Chico on the night of February 24, 1978. "And no explanations. What had led them there? Have you noticed theres been no mention of Matthiass body? [2][4], The five men's favorite leisure activity was sports. Neil Blake | nblake1@mlive.com. OR, could one of them have Sean brings us the story of five men from Yuba City, California who went missing under unusual February 24, 1978. February 24, 1978. a mild heart attack. These were individual canned, pre-cooked, and prepared meals issued to the U.S. military. They found no sign of Gary Mathias. This case is bizarre as hell, Yuba County undersheriff Jack Beecham told reporters. Madruga's parents said he did not like the cold weather and had never been up into the mountains. Perhaps, Shones thought, it belonged to the group he had seen earlier. Why did the Yuba City men get lost that night and end up on the mountain? The plan was for them to watch the game and then come back home to get a good nights rest before their own basketball game the next day. Rhoades, a long-haul trucker, converted the sleeper cab of his 18-wheel semi truck into a small, makeshift sex chamber where he would torture his victims and rape them for weeks on end. For example, he often asked why he should stop at a stop sign, and one night he had to be dragged out of bed while the ceiling of his bedroom was burning in a house fire because he was afraid he would miss his job if he got up. The Yuba County Five were a group of young men from Yuba City, California, with mild intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions, who attended a college basketball game at California State University, Chico, on the night of February24, 1978. The two cars stopped about 20 feet from him. Their names were Ted Weiher, Gary Mathias, Jack Madruga, Jack Huett, and Bill Sterling. Gary Mathias, 25; Bill Sterling, 29; Jack Huett, 24; Ted Weiher, 32; and Jack Madruga, 30 were all friends. Search parties were sent to investigate and more bodies were found. He could have survived there, but only a couple cans had been opened. They appeared to have died from exposure perhaps before reaching the trailer. [5], The woman said she immediately realized that the men were not from the area because of their "big eyes and facial expressions". The Yuba County Five were a group of young men from Yuba City, California, with mild intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions, who attended a college basketball game at California State University, Chico, on the night of February 24, 1978.Four of themBill Sterling, 29; Jack Huett, 24; Ted Weiher, 32; and Jack Madruga, 30were later found dead; the fifth, Gary Mathias, 25, has . Like Mathias, each man lived with his parents, all of whom referred to them collectively as "the boys". [6], With the evidence not pointing to any clear conclusion about what happened the night the five men disappeared, police and the families were not ruling out the possibility that they had met with foul play. [5], Inside the car was evidence suggesting the men had been inside it between when they were last seen and when it was abandoned. One of them made a phone call from a nearby phone booth, and the other two stayed in the truck. The atmosphere was jubilant. In 1975, with a short stint at Yuba College proving unsuccessful, Mathias abruptly left school and moved to Oregon to stay with his grandmother. It would have been a feat to walk all that way in the snow. Several paperback booksperfect for fireswere also left untouched. Valerie Lane and Doris Derryberry [Photo Credit: Yuba County Sheriff's Department] Valerie Lane and Doris Derryberry were two young girls who were murdered by Larry Don Patterson and William Lloyd, and their bodies were found in a wooded area in Yuba County, California, more than 45 years ago. . There was a whole shed full of canned food but it appeared only a dozen had been opened and eaten. The trailer was over 19 miles from the Mercury. The trailer was 19 miles away from the car. but hadnt been diagnosed as mentally disabled and both he and Gary had served in the U.S. Army and had drivers licenses. [2], Police in Butte and Yuba counties began searching along the route the men took to Chico. The five friends decided to go to a basketball game together to cheer on the UC Davis team. Despite finding evidence that Matthias was in the trailer with Weiher at some point, they never found Matthias. All the conspiracies about this financier, 'America's Most Wanted': Behind the most tragic true-crime story ever. True crime: This is the terrifying story of the Yuba County Five, Oakland County Child Killer: This unsolved case will give you chills, Los Angeles County is going back to work: Everything you need to know. About five miles from Weiher's remains, the remains of Sterling & Marduga were found. [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. His tennis sneakers were in the trailer and the cans seemed to have been opened by the kind of military issue P-38 can opener Matthias might have been familiar with, but there was no Matthias. A California Highway Patrol officer fatally shot a man in Yuba County after being dragged by a vehicle that crashed through a fence, reports state. Bianca Myrtil is a writer and freelance editor. When Shones spotted their abandoned Mercury, the car had been driven roughly 70 miles away from the Chico basketball game. This, and the considerable distance from the car to where the bodies were found, has led to suspicions of foul play. Melba Madruga, Jack's mother, toldTheWashington Post that she believed "some force" had led the group astray. As he sat in his car wondering what to do, he noticed two sets of headlights, one belonging to a pickup truck. 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. [6] He was wearing a velour shirt and lightweight pants, but his shoes could not be found. The Russian case is as mysterious as the Mathias Group in Californias Plumas National Forest. The fifth, however, remains missing to this day. 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. The family identified the 10-year-old as Frankie Rosiles. His leather shoes were off and missing. "Not tonight." The next day, they found remains that were later identified as those of Madruga and Sterling on opposite sides of the road 11.4 miles (18.3km) from where the car had been. Everyone is welcome to attend. A year after their disappearance, police were no closer to solving the mystery. Although the mens bodies were heavily decomposed, autopsy results determined that they had likely died from exposure. Also known as America's Dyatlov Pass, this missing persons case is incredibly bizarre and cr. Their families said that when they got together, it was usually to play a game or to watch one. But authorities would later realize the biggest story to emerge from that dark, desolate road wasn't his brush with death. Four of themBill Sterling, 29 . 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. The next day, their car was Five men from Yuba City, California, disappeared in 1978 after a trip to a nearby town. The police said she was "a credible witness" and they took her account seriously. The five young men who made up the Yuba County Five, Gary Mathias, Bill Sterling, Jack Huett, Ted Weiher, and Jack Madruga, ranged in age from mid twenties to early thirties. When not talking and writing about pop culture (especially superheroes or any show with a paranormal bent), freelance writer Bec Heim is usually tackling her mountain of books, writing scripts or stories, or listening to podcasts. Will the missing member of the Yuba County 5 ever be found? Heres what you need to know. Weihers decaying body was found lying on a bed wrapped in eight sheets. Jane Carter, who goes by Jane Schneck on Facebook . Some were able to work side jobs, while others couldnt. Its players were in their 20s or early 30s and suffered from some form of . The driver had either used astonishing care and precision, the investigators figured, or else he knew the road well enough to anticipate every rut. According to the Daily Mail, the District Attorney publicized the gruesome photos a week after they were presented to a jury. Hosted by Shannon McGarvey. Were they forced to go up the Bucks Lane on the way to Palmetto City, did they decide themselves to take a detour or did they take a wrong turn? An anthology of True Crime headlined by the strange disappearance of the Yuba County Five.When Joe Shones left his house on February 24, 1978, he seemed to be in good health. [2][5], Weiher's mother said ignoring someone's pleas for help was not like her son, if indeed he had been present. May 21, . ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yuba_County_Five&oldid=1142230284, February 1978 events in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Disappearance in unusual incident where four of his traveling companions died, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 06:22. There are many theories about what could have happened to the five people who went missing in 1978. 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. 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. Jack had low I.Q. She owned a store there, where two of the men came in to buy food. To add to the mystery, a man was stopped nearby, his car was stuck in the snow. Weiher's brother told the Los Angeles Times that while driving to Brownsville in a different car in apparent ignorance of the basketball game seemed completely out of character for them, the owner's description of the two men's behavior seemed consistent with them, as Weiher would "eat anything he could get his hands on" and was often accompanied by Huett more than any of the other four. It was February 24, 1978, and Shones was miles from help. There was no reason to mention having seen the Mercury until newspapers began to blare out notices about the five men who had gone missing that Friday. Eventually . At 32, Weiher was the oldest, a former janitor who was closest to the youngest of the group, 24-year-old Huett. The photos on the slideshow above were taken on June 28, 2014. Off the job, outside of his family, he was close friends with four slightly older men who either had slight intellectual disabilities (Sterling and Huett) or were informally considered "slow learners" (Weiher and Madruga, also an Army veteran). This week Spencer and Ryan recount the strange Five young men travel to a basketball game and disappear. A day after search parties were sent out, Madruga and Sterlings bodies were found about 11 miles from the Mercury Montego. They would have to have gone east for a long time from Chico, instead of south towards their homes. They never returned home. They had set out on what should've been a quick road trip to watch their favorite basketball team in a neighboring town. Madruga and the four other able-bodied men should have been able to dislodge it without a lot of difficulty. "I'm positive he never went up there on his own," she told the paper. Afterwards, they stopped at a local market for snacks and drinks. Mathias's tennis sneakers were in the trailer, and the C-rations had been opened with a P-38 can opener, with which only Mathias or Madruga would have been familiar from their military service. Months passed and no progress was made on the boys case. At 5:30p.m., about 150 feet (46m) up the road, he, too, had gotten stuck in the snow. The Yuba County sheriff's office said they wouldn't resume the ground search unless new evidence came forward that indicated that the five men were still in the dense forest. The five were going to see a UC Davis basketball game and come straight home. The game ended around 10 p.m. He had left his tennis shoes behind in the trailer with Weihers body and had taken the mans leather shoes. Many people knew this group of friends around town. On February 24th, 1978, five men from Yuba County, California, vanished into the night on their way home from a college Let's start from the beginning The five men, often referred to as the boys by their loved ones were all very good friends. Police and the families never ruled out foul play. [3] The eventual discovery of four of the five men's bodies seemed to suggest otherwise, but raised even more questions about what had happened that night, and whether at least one of them might have been rescued. This week, Emma teaches Brian about the Yuba County Five and their mysterious deaths. If Mathias went for help, where was his body? The men consumed 36 of the meals but left the majority of them untouched. The group's car was left open, with gas in the tank and in working order. 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. Wikipedia, Public Domain "The Boys" Go Missing Why did the men turn east in the first place? , and although in this horror movie things turn supernatural, the parallels between it and the Yuba County Five story are strong. Police say Brady Oestrike, 31, killed 25-year-old Charles . We can't visualize someone getting the upper hand on those five men, but we know it must have been." The front window of the trailer had been broken. Helicopters surveyed the area from above. When authorities lifted the veil, they found Weiher, his shoes missing and his feet badly frostbitten. He was pretty sick. Selects: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five. They decided to drive to Chico that night to cheer on the UC Davis basketball team in an away game against Chico State. At the time, Shones was preoccupied with his own emergency. The boys parents alerted the authorities after confirming none of them made it home. It was reasonable enough that he had seen the men strike out from a car they believed to be stuck, but who was the woman and the child? The Yuba County 5 remains one of the most baffling puzzles within the true crime community. Mathias had been in the Army, too, but was discharged because of psychiatric problems. It was the fact that Shones had likely wound up being the last person to see Ted Weiher, Gary Mathias, Jack Madruga, Jack Huett, and Bill Sterling alive. One of the strangest things about Shones encounter was that he said a little he saw a group of five men. His car had gotten stuck in the snow, and pushing it out by himself brought it on. Search and rescue teams then began combing the area around the trailer. Why? As a result of their varying conditions, they each lived at home with their parents. The five men had prepared the night before, some even laying out their uniforms and asking their parents to wake them up on time. They were competing to qualify for the paralympics and this next regional tournament would not only get them closer to that goal but closer to winning a week-long trip to Los Angeles. To this day, no one knows why these four young men died in snowy mountains that were so far from home. (They changed her name to "Dale Harum" in Michigan Murders .) The initial investigation by Yuba County police was frustrated by the snowfall in the region that winter. Crime Junkie. 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. The trailer had food and propane. Later, he saw what he believed were flashlights. February 24, 1978.  Months later the remains of 4 Join us as we discuss the Yuba County Five and their mysterious disappearance. The boys stopped at a convenience store for junk food: Hostess pies, soda, candy bars. In 1978, five young men disappeared after seeing a basketball game, never to be seen alive February 24, 1978. He Hello and welcome to your favorite podcast that goes bump in the night. Huett's remains were located northeast of the trailer, like Sterling's and Madruga's. About five miles from Weihers remains, the remains of Sterling & Marduga were found. (KTXL) A vigil is planned Thursday for the 10-year-old boy who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Yuba County. When he went back outside to yell into the darkness, no one responded to the sound of his voice. Episode Info Jackie Huett Photo Source Gary Mathias Photo Source Related Article Donnie Wahlberg unravels The Amityville Murders in this 6-episode true crime series, 'Very Scary People' Of the group, Gary Mathias had the most severe mental health He was suffering from schizophrenia and was on medication to control his symptoms. Chico to Yuba City is a straight down Highway 70 through the Central Valley in low-lying land with no snow at this time of the year. Johnny Arismendez, 32, and his uncle, Victor Arismendez, 57, both of Yuba City, were booked into the jail on Sunday. Luego de la desaparicin de los chicos el 25 CrimeDoor is the first app of its kind. To this day, Gary Mathais remains the only person missing. Inside the trailer, authorities found heavy clothing, matches, playing cards, books, wooden furniture, and other materials which could have easily been used to start a fire. His tennis shoes were inside the forest service trailer, which suggested to investigators that he might have taken them off to put on Weiher's leather shoes - particularly since Weiher had bigger feet, and Mathias' feet might have swollen with frostbite. The Montego's undercarriage had no dents, gouges, or even mud scrapes, not even on its low-hanging muffler, despite having been driven a long distance up a mountain road with many bumps and ruts. Unfortunately, as he did, he started suffering a heart attack. They left after it finished and then somehow drove up a mountain into the wilderness and were never seen alive again. When he got out to push his car, the exertion brought on a searing pain in his chest. tips for grilling chicken. There they bought snacks along with sodas and cartons of milk to drink. As mentioned before, they were homebodies. They even seemed to be trying to conceal their presence since they momentarily shut off the flashlights they had been shining. [2], One question was its location, 70 miles (110km) from Chico, far off any direct route to Yuba City or Marysville. More baffling, Weiher was emaciated. This week on Loose Units, Four months after the disappearance of the Yuba County Five, the thaw came. Police records showed he had become violent on occasion and was charged with assault twice. The Davidson County Sheriff's Office has released photos of the Corbett home taken the night Jason Corbett was bludgeoned to death in his bedroom. Soon, police found two other corpsesthose of Sterling and Madruga4.5 miles away from Weiher's remains. Had the group been abducted and the perpetrator was preventing access to food or was Ted suffering from gangrene caused by frostbite. Its called The Ritual, and although in this horror movie things turn supernatural, the parallels between it and the Yuba County Five story are strong. "They wouldn't have fled off in the wood like a bunch of quail. She recalled how he and Sterling had helped someone they knew get to the hospital after overdosing on Valium. Yuba County 5. 5 'Boys' Who Never Come Back. The Sutter County Sheriff's Office is responsible for crime prevention, law enforcement, and criminal investigation in the unincorporated areas of the County and in the City of Live Oak. 1978 deaths and disappearances in California, Image of Mathias around the time of his disappearance, distributed to help find him, "Mystery of 5 Men Lost in Sierra Deepens", "Missing 5: Foul Play suspected: 5 May Have Met Foul Play", "Cold case: Why did 5 Northern California men disappear in 1978? 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. Police were never able to establish evidence for pursuit, but no one could shake the idea that the men seemed to be determined to move forward. After Schons' car ran out of gas in the early morning hours, his pain subsided enough for him to walk 8 miles (13km) down the road to a lodge, where the manager drove him back home, passing the abandoned Montego at the point where he had recalled hearing the voices originate from. All five piled back into the Mercury and took off. Following the game, the five men visited a local store and purchased snacks and drinks, shortly before 10pm. They were all homebodies for the most part, but one thing they strongly bonded over was sports. Were the group together and then decided to separate after Ted's death to try and find help? [6], It is assumed that once they found the trailer, the other three broke the window to enter. He saw a group of men, a woman, and a baby walking together, but they ignored him calling for help. "You need . In February of 1978, a group of five men went to a basketball game and didn't come home. The junk food had been consumed, save for one half of a candy bar. Published: 13:22 BST, 5 February 2019 Updated: 15:52 BST, 6 February 2019 Remains aptly named Corpsewood Manor have been abandoned since the owners were A still-unsolved mystery, the Yuba County Five . Well, the last sighting of the Yuba County 5 wasdecidedly not. In a second more mysterious version, whilst inside the car he heard whistling noises and saw what he thought were a group of men and a woman with a baby, walking in the light of another vehicles headlights.