Was it by chance they came across the trailer, or did someone lead them there? In the second part of this double-feature, we detail the infamous Yuba County Five, and compare All week, Gary Mathias told his mom "We got a big game Saturday, Don't you let me oversleep." It was possible, police believed, that the group had decided to follow the tracks it left, through snowdrifts 46 feet (1.21.8m) high, to wherever they led, in the belief that shelter was not too far away. It could not be determined how long those items had been there. 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. Instead, immediately call the Sutter County Sheriff's Department at 530-822-7300. Their names were Ted Weiher, Gary Mathias, Jack Madruga, Jack Huett, and Bill Sterling. Posted on February 22, 2022 by . February 24, 1978. The internet is divided on whether it was an outside force, Matthias himself, or some sort of accident that led the Yuba County 5 to their deaths & disappearance. 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. None of them were dressed warmly enough to go through the rugged dense forest. Along the way, he passed a 1969 Mercury Montego, which belonged to the Yuba County 5. Johnny Arismendez was arrested on suspicion of murder and Victor Arismendez for . What's so unbelievable about all of this is that Archie actually convinced a group of friends that killing 7 people would bring baby Craig back from the dead! To add to the mystery, a man was stopped nearby, his car was stuck in the snow. Some were able to work side jobs, while others couldnt. Our groundbreaking Augmented Reality technology accurately recreates crime scenes and allows users to experience and investigate them just as detectives at the actual crime scenes did. Ronald Charles Trapp, 34, of Marysville, died around 9:35 a.m. Tuesday after being shot while driving a Honda Accord on Dunning Avenue, south of Hammonton-Smartville Road, in Linda, a news release . Same when it comes to that woman and baby that Shones saw with the Yuba County 5, though Shones admitted he could have hallucinated everything. Had the group been abducted and the perpetrator was preventing access to food or was Ted suffering from gangrene caused by frostbite. Could they have been searching in the snow and been freaked out by his cars for help in this isolated area? 2017's British wilderness horror The Ritual, directed by David Bruckner and written by Joe Barton, has not been officially attributed to any particular true story. The wrappers and empty cartons and cans they had purchased in Chico were present, along with programs from the basketball game they had watched and a neatly folded road map of California. Besides, who knows. 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. 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. 12A 43-year-old man was detained on a warrant this week for allegedly murdering his wife who was found dead inside a residence in the 17000 block of Indiana Ranch Road, Challenge . Search and rescue teams then began combing the area around the trailer. True Crime Out Loud B and Jen Coast2CoastCrime Coast2CoastCrime The Women of Death Row Mariel and Amanda True Crime & Consequences Kari & Brian Current Inside Crime with Angeline Hartmann Angeline Hartmann: Journalist and Crimefighter True Crime and Coke truecrimeandcoke Unnatural: A True Crime Podcast Emily and Andy Itsweird. Schons' reports have been quite strange over the years and somewhat varied. Melba Madruga, Jack's mother, toldTheWashington Post that she believed "some force" had led the group astray. 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. Heres what you need to know. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: Who made the most money from their fight? Instead, it looked abandoned. 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. Heavy forestry clothing, which could have kept the men warm, also remained where it had been stored. More baffling, Weiher was emaciated. in which some students try to find out what happened to the Russian hikers who died in Dyatlov Pass. Could be violent to some. The group aged between 24 and 32 years of age, had developmental disabilities and were all enrolled in a day program for mentally handicapped adults. In 1978, in Yuba County California, five young men vanish. Looking out, he saw a car parked behind him, headlights on, with a group of people around it, one of which seemed to him to be a woman holding a baby. They appeared to have died from exposure perhaps before reaching the trailer. [5], Inside the car was evidence suggesting the men had been inside it between when they were last seen and when it was abandoned. Why was that odd? All were either mildly developmentally disabled or had other severe psychiatric conditions. At 5:30p.m., about 150 feet (46m) up the road, he, too, had gotten stuck in the snow. "Bizarre," says John Thompson, the special agent from the California Department of Justice who had joined the investigation. 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. After the snow melted in June 1978, four of the men's bodies were found in and near a trailer camp used by backpackers as shelter, deep in the forest, 20 miles (32km) from the car. No trace of the men was found other than the car. Jack had low I.Q. [2] His death, too, was attributed to hypothermia. If youre interested in the Dyatlov Pass that the other name for this case refers to, then you might want to check out the horror movie Devils Pass in which some students try to find out what happened to the Russian hikers who died in Dyatlov Pass. "They seen something at that game, at the parking lot," says Ted Weiher's sister-in-law. There was a half moon that night, a winter moon in a cloudless sky. We now know these men must have been the boys because of Madrugas Montego just down the road, but they werent the only people Shones reported to have seen. 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 police said she was "a credible witness" and they took her account seriously. 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? About five miles from Weihers remains, the remains of Sterling & Marduga were found. This week we cover the bizarre case of the Yuba County Five. "Oh, Grandma, I won't need a coat," Ted said. Their favorite? tips for grilling chicken. En 1978, un grupo de amigos con diferentes Los 5 de Yuba CIty, El Dyatlov Americano - Parte 2. Why did Ted Weiher apparently starve to death? Like Mathias, each man lived with his parents, all of whom referred to them collectively as "the boys". They made it to the game, but none of these "boys," as they came to be called, ever returned home. This, and the considerable distance from the car to where the bodies were found, has led to suspicions of foul play. 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. "Not tonight." She owned a store there, where two of the men came in to buy food. [2][5], After that, Schons said at first, he recalled a pickup truck parking 20 feet (6m) behind him briefly, and then continuing on down the road. Not until the thaw came. It was getting cold after he wasnt able to keep the cars AC heat running anymore, but to his relief he saw headlights in the distance. What did they find Mystery True Crime und wahre Verbrechen aus Deutschland
Kalifornien, Februar 1978: Am ! The more you learn about this night out-gone-wrong, the more questions youll have. 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. Why had they hid from Shones? He was schizophrenic, a condition controlled by medication he hadnt bothered to bring along. They were all homebodies for the most part, but one thing they strongly bonded over was sports. [2], Mathias supplemented his Army disability pay by working in his stepfather's gardening business. The Yuba County Sheriff's Office says 44-year-old Christine Adams of Visalia was found with obvious physical trauma in a guest room at a residence in the 17000 block of Indiana Ranch Road around 8 . He Hello and welcome to your favorite podcast that goes bump in the night. The men lived in Yuba City and nearby Marysville. Besides, who knows. In 1978, five friends set out for home from a basketball game. About Us. Search parties were sent to investigate and more bodies were found. They entertained a number of eyewitness sightings of the men, including one where they were driving the pickup Shones had mentioned, but none seemed plausible. The route home wasnt a difficult one, and since the map police also found inside of the Mercury Montego was neatly folded up, they didnt seem to have been lost. How did they walk in normal shoes without outdoor clothing so far in snow several feet thick? 10 Robert Ben Rhoades. These five men were great friends. In February of 1978, a group of five men went to a basketball game and didn't come home. Mathias took Stellazine and Cogentin, both used in the treatment of schizophrenia. I think we've finally sorted out our audio issues! All five either had slight intellectual disabilities or psychiatric disorders. 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. 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. The Strange Disappearance Of The Yuba County 5 - America's Dyatlov Pass Incident From the true crime case The Yuba County Five. The Yuba County 5 remains one of the most baffling puzzles within the true crime community. Purposeful motion like that is not consistent with the circular patterns traveled by those who genuinely believe themselves lost. 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. Many people knew this group of friends around town. Luego de la desaparicin de los chicos el 25 CrimeDoor is the first app of its kind. " Yuba County 5 or the Yuba incident that has been called the American Dyatlov pass. The initial investigation by Yuba County police was frustrated by the snowfall in the region that winter. Joe Shones was having a heart attack. To this day, Gary Mathais remains the only person missing. The two cars stopped about 20 feet from him. All five had intellectual disabilities or psychiatric issues to various degrees; all of them lived with family, who kept a close eye on them. In this week's episode, Emilie and Shannon discuss the unsettling and still unsolved case of the Could the "boys" from Yuba County have been targeted by a stranger? They found a body tucked into a bed, draped in sheets from head to toe. Check out our sponsors! 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. 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. Movie Info. "Went haywire," is how Bob, his stepfather, put it. [6], The day before the men went missing, a Forest Service Snowcat had gone along the road in that direction to clear snow off the trailer roof so it would not collapse. Several months later, in June, the body of Ted Weiher was found in a trailer with missing shoes and badly frostbitten feet. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: Who made the most money from their fight? The last time any of these people were seen was at a college basketball game at California State University. "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.". (They changed her name to "Dale Harum" in Michigan Murders .) Since Mathias had presumably not taken his medication, pictures of him were distributed to mental institutions all over California. It still remains one of the, From Zero to Hero: Write Your Short in 30 days, Did the Island Boys break up? Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1971 Juan Corona arraigned at Yuba City California 9X8 Vintage Press Photo at the best online prices at eBay! This was completely uncharacteristic behavior for the boys. 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. One of the strangest things about Shones encounter was that he said a little he saw a group of five men. The men, panicking, may have believed their car was stuck and that they needed to get help. Wyoming Police this week released photos from the July 2014 case known as the Craiglist murders. Why did the Yuba City men get lost that night and end up on the mountain? Today, we're covering the true crime story of the Yuba County 5. (KTXL) A vigil is planned Thursday for the 10-year-old boy who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Yuba County. 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. Updated: 10:05 AM PDT April 8, 2022 YUBA COUNTY, Calif. A Linda mother is accused of drowning her two young boys in their home, the Yuba County Sheriff's Office said Thursday afternoon.. Gary Matthias was one of the five who didnt have a mental disability. Basketball. And they traveled for a very long time. Episode Info Jackie Huett Photo Source Gary Mathias Photo Source Every day you've got a thousand leads. [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. 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. They found no sign of them, but a few days later, a Plumas National Forest ranger told investigators that he had seen the Montego parked along Oroville-Quincy Road in the forest on February 25. The real mystery is that Mathias was never found. 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. Is Netflix's 'The Imposter' its most terrifying true-crime story yet? On Friday, February 24th, the five men drove about 50 miles north from Yuba to Chico to attend a college basketball game. For roughly three days, police had no break in the case, until finally a park ranger noted that he had seen a car matching the description of Madruga's on the night of the 25 th.On February 28, police located the vehicle. Is Ice Spices new boyfriend Pete Davidson? This week, Georgia and Karen cover the disappearance of the Yuba County Five and the tragic Is there a rational explanation for what happened to the Yuba County Five? The trailer was 19.4 miles away from where the Mercury Montego was found. 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. Huetts bones were found not long after. Schons shared with the police that he had been on the same road as the Yuba County 5 that night - he had been checking out skiing conditions at a lodge he owned. They had reached 4,400 feet (1,300m) in elevation along the road, about where the snow line was at that time of year, just short of where the road was closed for the winter. 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. Why was a common question for investigators and the relatives of the men, but no answers were forthcoming. Shones said he saw a woman as well, and that he also heard a babys cry. 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. To date, there hasnt been any evidence to contradict him. No one had even bothered to cover the broken window they had smashed in to get inside. ", 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. He got out of his car to flag them down. To this day, no one knows why these four young men died in snowy mountains that were so far from home. The car was found several thousand feet up in an area above the snow line in a completely different direction. Madruga's body had been partially consumed by scavenging animals; only bones remained of Sterling, scattered over a small area. The five friends decided to go to a basketball game together to cheer on the UC Davis team. [6], It is assumed that once they found the trailer, the other three broke the window to enter. [2], After the Davis team won the game, the group got back into Madruga's car and drove a short distance from the Chico State campus to Behr's Market in downtown Chico. Shones eventually decided hed have to help himself and hike down the snowy road until he got help. Updated: 1:41 PM MST March 2, 2023. Natural spring well houses and outhouse structures still stand, and evidence of bonfires clogs the property. They played basketball together on a team called the Gateway Gators. Police became aware that Madrugas 1969 Mercury Montego was stranded on the side of a mountain road about 50 miles away from home. But all five friends wound up missing or dead. [4], On June 4, with most of the higher-elevation snow melted, a group of motorcyclists went to a trailer maintained by the Forest Service at a campsite off the road about 19.4 miles (31.2km) from where the Montego had been found. Well, the last sighting of the Yuba County 5 wasdecidedly not. The families of the boys ultimately believed that they were forced or frightened into the wilderness. It was about an hour away from their homes, but it was a pretty straight shot there and back. This case is bizarre as hell, Yuba County undersheriff Jack Beecham told reporters. 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. From Zero to Hero: Write Your Short in 30 days, Did the Island Boys break up? For the families of these young men, the sense of heartbreak and loss is just as strong today as it was over forty years ago. It was possible that Madruga had missed the turn-off and gotten lost, driving deeper into darkness until the snow ground the Mercury to a halt. Debris recovered from the scene indicated the vehicle was a white Mercedes, and the Yuba County Sheriff's Office was able to identify the car using a license plate reader system, according to. Listen Now For our friends in the Deaf and Signing community, you can view an ASL version of this episode HERE. Mathias returned to his parents' home in Yuba City and began treatment at a local mental hospital. "I'm positive he never went up there on his own," she told the paper. Sullivan Ranch Crime Scene. Weiher had asked his mother to wash his new white high-topped sneakers for the tournament saying "We got a big game Saturday. Ortega, 55, is charged . NOTE: This is an update to my original report found here So while getting pictures together for the page on the Yuba County 5, I stumbled across a Reddit post that had been made 18 days ago. They would have to have gone east for a long time from Chico, instead of south towards their homes. They were supposed to play a basketball game of their own on February 25, part of a tournament, with a free week in Los Angeles if they won. Some, including Weihers family say this could have been a result of Weihers mental state and the fact that he sometimes lacked common sense, but others think this is a thin explanation. 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. Your favorite mother-daughter podcast explains the freaky similarities of 1959's Russian Dyatlov Robin and Adam proudly present Episode 141 of Scary(ish)! What had brought them to the middle of nowhere and why had Shones seen them with a woman and a baby? Its called. 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. 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? This week on Loose Units, Four months after the disappearance of the Yuba County Five, the thaw came. Most likely, Madruga and Sterling died of hypothermia about halfway through the long walk to the trailer. ", "There was some force that made em go up there." Almost certainly, he had taken Weihers leather shoes, though police had no real idea why. Madruga, who owned the Mercury, drove his four friends to a collegiate basketball game at the California State University, Chico. The Yuba County Five Case (Mathias Group) Background 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. Mobile:07904191715 Office Number:020 37124640 Email:smax3ddesignstudio@gmail.com. Why? [5], Additional details came from the store owner, who told investigators that men whom he believed to be Weiher and Huett came in and bought burritos, chocolate milk and soft drinks. [2][4], The five men's favorite leisure activity was sports. WASHINGTON The mother of late singer Aaron Carter is publicly calling on police to do more to investigate her son's death, accusing authorities of focusing . On February 24, 1978, five men from the Yuba County, California-area vanished in the wilderness of Northern California.