In the early morning hours of February 25, Shones made it to the lodge and was able to get medical treatment. Up in the mountains above the Feather River, the snow-drifts sometimes rose to 15 feet. How did they walk in normal shoes without outdoor clothing so far in snow several feet thick? The Mercury would be found last where Shones saw it with enough gas for the five to return home. At their homes, some of their parents waited up to make sure they returned. The boys had used Madrugas 1969 Mercury Montego to drive to the UC Davis game in Chico, California on February 24, 1978. These are questions that may never be answered. All five lived at home with their parents and were bound together by a love of sports. 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. Weiher was concluded to have died from a mixture of starvation and exposure, but both a heating system and food were readily available. Crime Junkie. 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. His leather shoes were off and missing. Then, in June 1978, a man riding his motorcycle through the area noticed a broken window on a forest service trailer. But that did not mean that they were unable to function in society, quite the opposite. It was about an hour away from their homes, but it was a pretty straight shot there and back. The search teams nearly lost men themselves two days later, as their Snow-cats struggled through the drifts. 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. Jack Antone Madruga, a high school graduate, and Army veteran was laid off in November 1977 from his job as a busboy for Sunsweet Growers. Johnny Arismendez, 32, and his uncle, Victor Arismendez, 57, both of Yuba City, were booked into the jail on Sunday. They found a body tucked into a bed, draped in sheets from head to toe. It was Weiher who had died under the most mysterious circumstances. 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. In the first part of this double-feature, we discuss the Dyatlov Pass incident of 1959. 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. Natural spring well houses and outhouse structures still stand, and evidence of bonfires clogs the property. 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. Ted Weiher was found in a trailer 19 miles from the car and Madruga, Sterling and Huett were found in the locality but several miles away. In this episode, Zack tells us about a very creepy one that is available on Netflix. They left after it finished and then somehow drove up a mountain into the wilderness and were never seen alive again. yuba county five crime scene photos yuba county five crime scene photos on February 22, 2022 on February 22, 2022 fundamentals of accounting pdf grade 12; yuba county 5 crime scene photos Press question mark to learn the Several days after their initial disappearance, the group's car, a Mercury Montego, was found abandoned in a remote area of Plumas National Forest, California, on a high mountain dirt road that was far out of their way back to Yuba City. How did the men die? (No, thats not a typo. After Weiher died, or after the others thought he had died, they may have decided to try to get back to civilization by different ways, such as walking overland.[6]. Listen Now For our friends in the Deaf and Signing community, you can view an ASL version of this episode HERE. READ news articles about hundreds of cases. His shoes and jeans nearby helped identify the body. "They might have seen it and didn't even realize they seen it.". None of the men thought to walk downhill, from where they came, and instead faced the treacherous and unfamiliar path ahead. Two days later, Huetts own father found his sons backbone under a manzanita bush while with a search party in the mountains. I think we've finally sorted out our audio issues! 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. [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. 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. Weiher had lost nearly half his 200 pounds (91kg); the growth of his beard suggested he had lived as long as thirteen weeks from when he had last shaved. There was a whole shed full of canned food but it appeared only a dozen had been opened and eaten. Talking to Shones proved even more frustrating. Also on the table was a gold watch, without its crystal, which Weiher's family said was not his,[2] and a partially melted candle. Schons' reports have been quite strange over the years and somewhat varied. Had the group been abducted and the perpetrator was preventing access to food or was Ted suffering from gangrene caused by frostbite. Today, we're covering the true crime story of the Yuba County 5. Janney plays Sue Buttons . The five were going to see a UC Davis basketball game and come straight home. About Us. The Theories Why did they abandon the trip to Yuba? 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. He had a mild heart attack and was sleeping, when he woke up and saw the boys (possibly accompanied by a woman and baby), but they avoided him. Four of themBill Sterling, 29 . Similarly, another shed nearby held a butane tank with a valve that, had it been opened, would have fed the trailer's heating system. Like Mathias, each man lived with his parents, all of whom referred to them collectively as "the boys". He passed a 1969 Mercury Montego, but the vehicle had no occupants. But there had been no apparent attempt to start a fire despite the freezing temperature on the mountain. It was suggesting someone create a video on the Yuba County 5 based on some new information. There was no sign of the men and no indication of why they had abandoned their operable car. He made it home safely that night, but when the police found Madrugas Mercury Montego it only left them more confused. With so much food close by why wasn't he eating. The authorities and the boys parents alike wondered what on Earth they had been doing on this dirt mountain road. The story from here is a little confusing. The trailer was 19 miles away from the car. Not only were they stoked to spend a night out, they were also super excited to play in a basketball match themselves the very next day. There was no sign of Mathias, aside from his tennis shoes, which had been left in the trailer. 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. 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. When 5 men disappear into the snowy wilderness leaving their perfectly functioning car behind, What happened to the 5 men who mysteriously vanished one winters night? These were individual canned, pre-cooked, and prepared meals issued to the U.S. military. They put out alerts for Matthias and searched nearby psychiatric hospitals to see if maybe he had wandered away from the cabin and ended up hospitalized, but they found nothing. [9], It also seemed that Weiher had not been alone in the trailer, and that Mathias and possibly Huett had been there with him. There are many theories about what could have happened to the five people who went missing in 1978. Have you noticed theres been no mention of Matthiass body? NEW! 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 The boys stopped at a convenience store for junk food: Hostess pies, soda, candy bars. One of the first famous crime scene photos was taken on May 5, 1903, in the home of a Parisian woman named Madame Debeinche who had been murdered. Northwest of the trailer, about a quarter-mile away, searchers found three wool forest service blankets and a two-cell flashlight lying by the side of the road. All the conspiracies about this financier, 'America's Most Wanted': Behind the most tragic true-crime story ever. The 55-year-old Californian had felt fine just a few minutes previously, navigating his Volkswagen on a desolate mountain road near Rogers Cow Camp in the Plumas National Forest to see if weather conditions were good enough to bring his family along for a weekend excursion the following day. As of late, his condition had greatly improved though, and he was able to work in his stepfathers gardening business. The store owner corroborated her account. Heres what you need to know. 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. Photo via Pinterest. On Friday, February 24th, the five men drove about 50 miles north from Yuba to Chico to attend a college basketball game. 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. The trailer was over 19 miles from the Mercury. When you hear of the Yuba County 5, they tend to be collectively referred to as the boys by those that knew them. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: Who made the most money from their fight? Besides, who knows. [6], In an area to the northwest of the trailer, roughly a quarter-mile (400m) from it, searchers found three Forest Service blankets and a rusted flashlight by the road. These five men were great friends. In June of that year, a small group of weekend motorcyclists came across an abandoned forest service trailer on a campground site. 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. Ted apparently had a slow and agonizing death from starvation having lost over half his body weight. We also service a large portion of incorporated Yuba City under contract. Police became aware that Madrugas 1969 Mercury Montego was stranded on the side of a mountain road about 50 miles away from home. 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 . Find us on Elle Crime and Mo Tibbs comin' in hot with another unsolved crime. [2] The keys were not present, suggesting at first that the car had been abandoned because it might not have been functioning properly, with the intention of returning later with help; when police hot-wired the car, the engine started immediately, and the fuel gauge indicated the gasoline tank was one quarter full. 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. 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. He weighed just 120 pounds at the time of his death. Its players were in their 20s or early 30s and suffered from some form of . LINDA, California A Linda mother accused of drowning her two children in a bathtub is facing murder charges, according to Yuba Superior Court. 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. 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. 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. [5], Six hours later, lying in the car and experiencing severe pain, he saw headlights coming up behind him. Thats because they never found it. All five travelled in Madruga's car, a 1969 Mercury Montego. From his beard growth, they knew Weiher had been living there anywhere between eight and 13 weeks. As he sat in his car wondering what to do, he noticed two sets of headlights, one belonging to a pickup truck. Soon, police found two other corpsesthose of Sterling and Madruga4.5 miles away from Weiher's remains. "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.". Serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades stalked the highways of Texas in his mobile torture and death chamber. The day after Weiher's body was discovered, searchers found the remains of Madruga and Sterling. Afterwards, they stopped at a local market for snacks and drinks. Her mother had been recently widowed and it's a fair question to ask how much one person can stand. "They seen something at that game, at the parking lot," says Ted Weiher's sister-in-law. [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. Hosted by Shannon McGarvey. In one version, whilst he lay in his car, at about 11:30, he saw two sets of headlights coming up behind him - one was a car, and the other a pickup truck. [2], Most puzzling to the investigators was how Weiher had come to his fate. When Shones spotted their abandoned Mercury, the car had been driven roughly 70 miles away from the Chico basketball game. Police records showed he had become violent on occasion and was charged with assault twice. The vigil is planned for 6 p.m. at Olivehurst Linda Little League field. 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. On Thursday, the New York District Attorney released crime scene photos showing blood spatter and the knife allegedly used by nanny Yoselyn Ortega to kill two young children in her care. The whole case is weird. 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. Madruga, who owned the Mercury, drove his four friends to a collegiate basketball game at the California State University, Chico. 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. Why? The next day when they failed to return from Chico, their families became concerned and called the police. Updated: 1:41 PM MST March 2, 2023. Why didnt they attempt to move the car once it got stuck, instead of walking to nowhere in the middle of the night? It was later identified as Weiher's. The real mystery is that Mathias was never found. [2], Police in Butte and Yuba counties began searching along the route the men took to Chico. 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. Sullivan Ranch Crime Scene. 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. Posted on December 5, 2021. Where is Matthias? A woman takes advantage of her growing celebrity status when the police and the public think her dead husband is just missing. He felt fine, especially for 55, and he'd decided that day to venture up a lonely road through the Plumas National Forest, close to Rogers Cow Camp . However, the discovery of the car raised more questions than it answered. Weiher lived for, at least, eight weeks after his disappearance given his beard growth on his body. This was completely uncharacteristic behavior for the boys. 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. Joe Shones was having a heart attack. Why did the Yuba City men get lost that night and end up on the mountain? The photos show his wife, Molly Martens. It was a straight shot on the hiway from Chico to Yuba. 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. [2], Police could not figure out why the men had abandoned the car. But then the story takes an even stranger turn. He would later say he saw a group of men, one woman, and a baby. They found no sign of Gary Mathias. It was about an hour away from their homes, but it was a pretty straight shot there and back. All five had intellectual disabilities or psychiatric issues to various degrees; all of them lived with family, who kept a close eye on them. Thats why when the late hours of the night turned into the wee hours of the morning, and none of the boys returned home, their parents started to get worried. Why had they hid from Shones? Several bed sheets in a shroud were tightly tucked over his body, indicating that someone else had been with him in the trailer as he could not have bundled himself up in this manner. Detectives arrested two men Tuesday in connection with the cold case homicides of two young girls who were killed 43 years ago in Yuba County.Larry Don Patterson, 65, and William Lloyd Harbour, 65 . 3 While the ground search was called off, a California Highway Patrol helicopter continued to scour the area from the sky. Is Ice Spices new boyfriend Pete Davidson? Several months later, in June, the body of Ted Weiher was found in a trailer with missing shoes and badly frostbitten feet. Maybe something supernatural did happen to the boys of Americas Dyatlov Pass. Some were able to work side jobs, while others couldnt. February 24, 1978. 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. 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. And a thousand leads. They were all homebodies for the most part, but one thing they strongly bonded over was sports. The trailer had food and propane. 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. Five men went to a basketball game in Chico, California to watch their favorite college basketball team play. The suspect . An impromptu road trip was definitely out of character. She recalled how he and Sterling had helped someone they knew get to the hospital after overdosing on Valium. Later, he saw what he believed were flashlights. 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. Gary had been on medication ever since to manage his condition, which his father said would make him go haywire if he was off of the medication. 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. Their families raised a $2600 reward for information, petitioned psychics, and waited by their phones, but heard nothing. He could have survived there, but only a couple cans had been opened. Search and rescue teams then began combing the area around the trailer. The flashlight was slightly rusted and had been turned off. The Mercury Montego was slightly stuck in the snow, but it wasnt anything five healthy young men couldnt have handled pushing out. One of the c-ration cans had been opened with an Army P38 can opener. . Kilka dni pniej ich As investigators descended upon the apartment, one of them picked up a camera and photographed the scene. 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. None of the men's families could speculate as to why they might have driven up a long and winding dirt road[a] on a winter night deep into a high-elevation remote forest, without any extra clothing and on the night before a basketball game they had been discussing excitedly for several weeks. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Police have no idea. 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 . 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. 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. Doctors later confirmed that he had indeed experienced a mild heart attack. "They wouldn't have fled off in the wood like a bunch of quail. Around them, police saw nothing but rugged, dense forest, hardly an appealing option for the lightly dressed young men. She relishes raving about her favorite shows and turning peoples drafted darlings into polished finished products. Well, that part is a little less clear. [2], Mathias supplemented his Army disability pay by working in his stepfather's gardening business. This could explain the strange story told by Joseph Schons where he said he saw flashlights around a car. 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. No fire had been set in the trailer's fireplace, despite an ample supply of matches and paperback novels to use as kindling. Instead, it looked abandoned. Most of the reports were easily dismissed, but two of the sightings stood out. Shones said he cried for help but got no reply. Later, he clarified to police that he could not be sure of that, since at the time he was almost delirious from the pain he was in.