The Great Escape: Harrowing Tale of 26 Children Buried Alive in California Unveiled in CNN Documentary

CNN Films presents the chilling crime documentary "Chowchilla," delving into one of the most bizarre mass kidnappings in history. Don't miss the premiere on Sunday, December 3, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

In 1976, armed men hijacked a school bus in Chowchilla, California, with 26 children - aged 5 to 14 - and the bus driver on board. In a ransom scheme, the perpetrators transported their captives to a rock quarry and forced them into a moving van, threatening to bury them alive under 6 feet of dirt.

Nearly 50 years later, the students are now unknowing trailblazers in understanding the long-term effects of childhood trauma. The new CNN Film, "Chowchilla," explores how the largest mass kidnapping in US history sparked significant change.

One of the heroes, a 14-year-old, devised a clever escape plan to free the hostages. However, he did not receive the recognition he deserved and fell into a downward spiral of substance abuse.

The 10-year-old girl offered comfort to other frightened children and later bravely confronted the kidnappers at parole hearings for decades until the emotional toll became unbearable.

Meanwhile, the 6-year-old boy battled persistent nightmares and overwhelming anger before finally discovering unforeseen peace.

Like an animal being taken to slaughter

The Dairyland School summer school students were on their way home on July 15, 1976, when their driver was blocked by a van parked in the middle of a narrow road. Three gunmen, with pantyhose over their heads, emerged and hijacked the bus.

The gunmen drove it through a thicket of tall bamboo until they reached a ditch hiding two vans.

The Dairyland Union School District bus carrying 26 children and their bus driver was found empty and abandoned in July 1976.

UPI/Bettmann/Getty Images

They ordered the children to get in. Then, for 11 hours, they drove.

"It was just stifling," said Larry Park, who was 6 at the time.

The children had no access to a bathroom or water. Some of them whimpered and cried. Jennifer Brown Hyde, who was 9 at the time, remembered how 10-year-old Jodi Heffington, one of the older girls, tried to comfort the younger children.

She expressed feeling like a helpless animal being led to its demise. Their winding, unnecessarily long journey finally came to an end after dark at a rock and gravel quarry near Livermore, approximately 100 miles northwest of Chowchilla. The abductors instructed the children and their bus driver to enter a concealed moving van underground.

Workers unearth the buried kidnap van where 27 people were held hostage. The weight of dirt crushed the top.

Fresno Bee/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

"It was like a coffin," Lynda Carrejo Labendeira, who was 10 at the time, told CNN in 2015. "It was like a giant coffin for all of us."

The dark chamber - outfitted with some mattresses and meager snacks - quickly filled with the stench of vomit and filth, intensified by the searing California heat.

A daring plan takes shape

Bus driver Edward Ray, the only adult trapped underground, hesitated to try and escape, fearing that someone was waiting for him up above, Brown Hyde remembered. However, 14-year-old Michael Marshall was ready to take the risk.

"I remember thinking, 'If we're going to die, we're going to die trying to get out of here,'" he stated in the book "Chowchilla." The only escape route appeared to be a sealed manhole at the van's ceiling. Marshall climbed onto the mattresses that the hostages had arranged and exerted all his strength to push against it.

It barely budged.

The inside of this van was used as the children's prison. Hostages had to use a box with a hole as a toilet.

Jim Palmer/AP

Ray joined Marshall as they worked together to push the cover open, only to see two huge truck or bus batteries fall into the underground cell. Then they encountered another obstacle: a sturdy plywood box surrounding the manhole, topped with more dirt.

Not discouraged, Marshall vigorously pounded the dirt sealing the bottom edges of the box. He continued digging until a cascade of dirt fell into the box, through the manhole, and into the coffin, revealing "the most glorious ray of sunlight that I had ever seen," Park recalled.

After 16 hours in the subterranean hell, the 27 hostages climbed their way to freedom.

But the effects of the kidnapping would soon plague the children in myriad ways.

A young hero robbed

The children, now liberated, proceeded to inform the police about their harrowing experience. Meanwhile, nearby, various news crews had assembled. As Marshall made his way home, a wide grin spread across his face, masking his fatigue. He was eager for the opportunity to share with the world the details of their daring escape.

Mike Marshall, 14 at the time of the hostage situation, expressed his eagerness to share his story with the media following the escape, but was ultimately prevented from doing so by his school principal.

CNN

"Without warning, Principal (LeRoy) Tatum suddenly intervened, suggesting, "Why don't we just give them a break, boys? Let them go home and get some sleep," Marshall recounted. "So we got in the car and left."

The diversion would haunt Marshall for decades.

Ray was quickly embraced as the hero by people all over the country, and he received abundant praise for his humble actions as a bus driver. One journalist even went so far as to proclaim that the children had been rescued "thanks to the courageous efforts of their bus driver, Ed Ray." In honor of his bravery, Chowchilla held a parade to celebrate "Ed Ray Day" on August 22, 1976, and the city even named a park after him.

Bus driver Edward Ray speaks to reporters in 1976.

Skip Shuman/Sacramento Bee/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Marshall looked forlorn in the photos taken during the "Ed Ray Day" festivities, leading his mother to notice that he was really depressed. Marshall admitted to feeling guilty for his emotions, questioning himself and trying to shift his focus to the positive aspect of the situation. He tried to reassure himself, "Who cares? We all got out. Were all out, thats what matters."

California mass kidnapping: After being buried alive as children, victims relive nightmare

It took a toll on his mental well-being. According to Dr. Lenore C. Terr, a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry and author of "Children of Chowchilla: A Study of Psychic Trauma," the town's response had stripped away some of his pride of being the hero for the kids, as he was never recognized.

Marshalls strength and positivity dwindled into despair.

I wanted to torture those men

The terror also had a deep impact on Park. His older sister and "best friend" Andrea, 8, had also been abducted - and supported him during the ordeal. However, following their rescue, "I dreaded going to bed because every night, I would have nightmares," he shared in CNN Films "Chowchilla."

Unfortunately, it was ineffective. Before long, Park's closest friend grew distant and unrecognizable.

Stunning revelations about the kidnappers

The authorities revealed that the three abductors had attempted to demand a $5 million ransom as part of their failed kidnapping plot. When the identities of the kidnappers were exposed, the residents of Chowchilla were shocked.

At the time, Frederick Newhall Woods IV, 24, came from a family that gained prominence during the California Gold Rush. The other two convicted kidnappers, James Schoenfeld, then 24, and his brother Richard Schoenfeld, then 22, were the sons of a well-known doctor.

From left, brothers James and Richard Schoenfeld and Fred Woods are taken to prison in 1978.

In the early 1980s, the kidnappers successfully appealed their life sentences without the possibility of parole by arguing that the kidnapping victims did not suffer serious physical harm, as depicted in the film. This was a relief to many of the children who had been taken.

They had won: Parole was now a possibility for all three of them.

Park struggled with intense self-hatred and an insatiable desire for payback against his abductors. "I felt like I was trapped in my own personal hell," he admitted.

Ive been my own victim

The possibility of the kidnappers being released in the future terrified many of the survivors. For the next 30 years, Jodi Heffington Medrano, who was like a big sister to the other captives, attended almost every parole hearing in an effort to keep the kidnappers in prison. However, each hearing reopened old wounds for Heffington Medrano, as her son, Matthew Medrano, remembered in "Chowchilla."

Larry Park

CNN

He also participated in whats known as the restorative justice process, which helps crime victims speak with their perpetrators to try to gain closure.

Following this, Park started advocating for parole, a position that many other survivors strongly opposed.

Its all my fault theyre getting out

The kidnappers had been refused parole multiple times until the 2010s, when advocates for their release, such as retired judge William Newsom, the father of California's current governor, publicly pushed for their parole.

The elder Newsom emphasized at a news conference that the lack of physical injuries was a significant factor in the case, according to the documentary.

In a surprising turn, a former detective who assisted in the prosecution of the kidnappers later advocated for their release. "He was one of the individuals who assured us they would never be released," Carrejo Labendeira stated.

But they did.

In 2012, Richard Schoenfeld, the youngest kidnapper, was released on parole.

Three years later, James Schoenfeld was also released on parole.

Fred Woods, Richard Schoenfeld and James Schoenfeld

California Department of Corrections/AP

Jodi fell into a deep depression, Carrejo Labendeira remembered. She would lament, "Lynda, it's all my fault. It's all my fault they're getting out."

Heffington Medrano died in 2021 at age 55. Her cause of death was not publicly released. But "it was their f*cking fault," her son asserted.

A year later, the last kidnapper, Fred Woods, was released on parole. His attorney, Dominique Banos, informed CNN that Woods now feels deep regret for the emotional and physical damage caused by the kidnapping.

You dont give up. You keep digging

According to the attorney who represented the Schoenfeld brothers, "There's no justifying this crime, obviously." However, he also stated that after decades in prison, the kidnappers no longer posed a danger to society.

Years later, Marshall is finally receiving the recognition he deserves for his bravery, a change that he stated has greatly uplifted him. They recently reunited for the first time since 1977, and were overcome with emotion as they embraced, with Park referring to Marshall as his "hero."

Mike Marshall

CNN

The kidnapping victims, as a collective, have played a vital role in educating the public about the lasting effects of childhood trauma, beyond physical harm, as stated by Terr. She also referred to the Chowchilla children as heroes, highlighting their ongoing impact in teaching society about the enduring effects of childhood trauma, even decades later.

At the end, Park acknowledged that Marshall's bravery and resilience during those difficult times were instrumental in helping him overcome years of trauma, depression, and self-loathing.