It was about an hour away from their homes, but it was a pretty straight shot there and back. 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. 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. There was no news for months as the spring snows melted on the mountains. 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. [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. 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. Months passed and no progress was made on the boys case. 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. yuba county 5 crime scene photos Read more Print length 152 pages Language English Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe Publication date The two cars stopped about 20 feet from him. The police said she was "a credible witness" and they took her account seriously. 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. None of them was known to have any business on that part of the mountain. Posted on December 5, 2021. The trailer was over 19 miles from the Mercury. [2][4], None of the men were seen alive again after that point. Schons called for help and the lights turned off and the whistling sounds stopped. [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. They came across a strong stench emanating from some trailers maintained by the Forest Service. The trailers heating system was never turned on. 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 no explanations. The five were going to see a UC Davis basketball game and come straight home. [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. Purposeful motion like that is not consistent with the circular patterns traveled by those who genuinely believe themselves lost. It was suggesting someone create a video on the Yuba County 5 based on some new information. All five had intellectual disabilities or psychiatric issues to various degrees; all of them lived with family, who kept a close eye on them. When the game ended at the California State University at around 10 pm, they stopped three blocks away at Behr's Market, mildly annoying the clerk (who was trying to close up), and bought one Hostess cherry pie, one Langendorf lemon pie, one Snickers bar, one Marathon bar, two Pepsis and a quart and a half of milk. Sullivan Ranch Crime Scene. To date, there hasnt been any evidence to contradict him. When Shones spotted their abandoned Mercury, the car had been driven roughly 70 miles away from the Chico basketball game. Gary Mathias, 25; Bill Sterling, 29; Jack Huett, 24; Ted Weiher, 32; and Jack Madruga, 30 were all friends. Listen Now For our friends in the Deaf and Signing community, you can view an ASL version of this episode HERE. Joseph spent the rest of the night in his car before walking back down the mountain in the morning. Itsweird. He was schizophrenic, a condition controlled by medication he hadnt bothered to bring along. Why did they abandon the trip to Yuba? Twitter reacts. [6] He was wearing a velour shirt and lightweight pants, but his shoes could not be found. Why had they hid from Shones? [2][5], Weiher's mother said ignoring someone's pleas for help was not like her son, if indeed he had been present. The Russian case is as mysterious as the Mathias Group in Californias Plumas National Forest. They left after it finished and then somehow drove up a mountain into the wilderness and were never seen alive again. This is a Mopac Audio podcast and is hosted by writer, producer, and podcaster Shannon McGarvey. Forest rangers searched the area for five days and found no trace of the men, but soon after the search began,a severe blizzard moved into the area, covering any potential tracks. February 24, 1978. 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. The Mercury would be found last where Shones saw it with enough gas for the five to return home. 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. but hadnt been diagnosed as mentally disabled and both he and Gary had served in the U.S. Army and had drivers licenses. At 5:30p.m., about 150 feet (46m) up the road, he, too, had gotten stuck in the snow. In the early morning hours of February 25, Shones made it to the lodge and was able to get medical treatment. tips for grilling chicken. But then the story takes an even stranger turn. The five friends decided to go to a basketball game together to cheer on the UC Davis team. Wikipedia, Public Domain "The Boys" Go Missing But that did not mean that they were unable to function in society, quite the opposite. A witness later came forward, a local man who said he had spent the same night in his own car, a short distance away from where the Montego was found. Their favorite? Have you noticed theres been no mention of Matthiass body? 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. We can't visualize someone getting the upper hand on those five men, but we know it must have been." Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. 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. 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? Why not start a fire for warmth? 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! [2], The mystery deepened after police towed the car back to the station for a more thorough examination. Thats the question people who learn about the Yuba County Five ask themselves when they hear this bizarre true crime story. 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. 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. And a thousand leads. Despite finding evidence that Matthias was in the trailer with Weiher at some point, they never found Matthias. 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. 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. It was later identified as Weiher's. 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. No one even covered the window they had smashed to get inside of the trailer. Were going to be covering a story Let's discuss the strange disappearance of the Yuba County Five.  The trailer was located about 19 miles up the mountain from where the car was found. This was strange because it seemed none of the trailers life-saving amenities had been used. The trailer was 19.4 miles away from where the Mercury Montego was found. Not much remained of Huett. a mild heart attack. The fireplace looked to have never been lit despite the availability of matches and kindling. Public Corruption. 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. Like Mathias, each man lived with his parents, all of whom referred to them collectively as "the boys". As he sat in his car wondering what to do, he noticed two sets of headlights, one belonging to a pickup truck. All the conspiracies about this financier, 'America's Most Wanted': Behind the most tragic true-crime story ever. Will the missing member of the Yuba County 5 ever be found? 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. 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. Some of the rations in and around the trailer were eaten but much of it was untouched. Movie Info. There was never any accounting for their strange decision to turn toward unfamiliar territory. There are many theories about what could have happened to the five people who went missing in 1978. 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. No trace of the men was found other than the car. To the Los Angeles Times, she said it was impossible for her to believe Madruga would ever drive his car, which he prized, into an area where it might be damaged. Afterwards, they stopped at a local market for snacks and drinks. From Zero to Hero: Write Your Short in 30 days, Did the Island Boys break up? Did Prince Andrew fly on Jeffrey Epsteins plane Lolita Express?  Months later the remains of 4 Join us as we discuss the Yuba County Five and their mysterious disappearance. Mathias took Stellazine and Cogentin, both used in the treatment of schizophrenia. All the drama surrounding the duo. The more you learn about this night out-gone-wrong, the more questions youll have. The Mercury Montego was slightly stuck in the snow, but it wasnt anything five healthy young men couldnt have handled pushing out. 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. [2] Weiher's family members said that he lacked common sense as a result of his mental disability. Shones would admit he was very ill at the time of the sighting and could have hallucinated some of the details, but that didnt explain why the men bothered to abandon the car at all, or why they didnt acknowledge Shoness cries for helpunless he had somehow imagined the whole thing. This eventually led to him being diagnosed with schizophrenia and being psychiatrically discharged. There was nothing left of him but bones. When they opened the door, they were overcome by the odor of what turned out to be a decaying body inside. En 1978, un grupo de amigos con diferentes Los 5 de Yuba CIty, El Dyatlov Americano - Parte 2. 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. "We know good and well somebody made them do it," she said. The boys parents alerted the authorities after confirming none of them made it home. Weiher seemingly walked nearly 20 miles to the trailer in frigid conditions, despite having left his coat at home. Shones eventually decided hed have to help himself and hike down the snowy road until he got help. The Theories But there had been no apparent attempt to start a fire despite the freezing temperature on the mountain. The Strange Disappearance Of The Yuba County 5 - America's Dyatlov Pass Incident From the true crime case The Yuba County Five. Shones said he cried for help but got no reply. The county sheriffs department began searching for the men. It was a straight shot on the hiway from Chico to Yuba. Ortega, 55, is charged . Its players were in their 20s or early 30s and suffered from some form of . Police became aware that Madrugas 1969 Mercury Montego was stranded on the side of a mountain road about 50 miles away from home. Many, if not most should be considered armed and dangerous. In 1978, five friends set out for home from a basketball game. No fire had been set in the trailer's fireplace, despite an ample supply of matches and paperback novels to use as kindling. 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. All were either mildly developmentally disabled or had other severe psychiatric conditions. He had left his tennis shoes behind in the trailer with Weihers body and had taken the mans leather shoes. Today, we're covering the true crime story of the Yuba County 5. What had led them there? Four of themBill Sterling,29; Jack Huett,24; Ted Weiher,32; and Jack Madruga,30were later found dead; the fifth, Gary Mathias, 25,[1] has never been found.[2]. This wasnt something any of them were going to miss. Four days later their car was found on a Plumas National Forest access road. 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 . 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. The men wore only light coats against the cool temperatures in the upper Sacramento Valley at night that time of year. Everyone is welcome to attend. Inside the trailer, he found the body of Ted Weiher. Talking to Shones proved even more frustrating. The next day, their car was discovered in a lonely mountain road. This Sutter County California Most Wanted List posts the top 50-100 fugitive criminals on the run. The men lived in Yuba City and nearby Marysville. Did they somehow leave the car and lose the keys. The suspect . 19 miles in heavy snow is quite a hike without proper equipment. In February 1978, five young men drove from Yuba City to Chico to watch a basketball game. 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. Eventually . Johnny Arismendez, 32, and his uncle, Victor Arismendez, 57, both of Yuba City, were booked into the jail on Sunday. A woman takes advantage of her growing celebrity status when the police and the public think her dead husband is just missing. Ted apparently had a slow and agonizing death from starvation having lost over half his body weight. At that time, no trace of the men was found. These five friends were part of a locally sponsored team for the mentally disabled called the Gateway Gators. It would have been a feat to walk all that way in the snow. 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. Jack Madruga's mother Mabel says firmly. How did they walk in normal shoes without outdoor clothing so far in snow several feet thick? All five piled back into the Mercury and took off. Madruga's parents said he did not like the cold weather and had never been up into the mountains. It had enough gas to continue on, but a snowbank had likely caused its tires to spin out. Similarly, another shed nearby held a butane tank with a valve that, had it been opened, would have fed the trailer's heating system. However, in 2017 David Bruckner directed a movie that seems to be largely based on the Yuba County Five. Weiher lived for, at least, eight weeks after his disappearance given his beard growth on his body. Why did the men turn east in the first place? On the ground, officers tried to use horses to get around on the rocky roads. Become a member of StrangeOutdoors for exclusive content, See the latest Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, Read more strange stories from California, Chris Sylvia (The disturbing Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) disappearances), The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders and the two faces of evil, The mysterious disappearance of James J. Arthur at Iron Lakes, The puzzling disappearance of Ruthanne Robert in Yosemite National Park, The mysterious death of Carol Laughlin in Yosemite National Park, The strange disappearance of Peter Jackson in Yosemite National park (Member Only), The Strange disappearance of Aloys Krost in San Bernardino County (Member Only), The shocking unsolved Keddie Cabin murders (Member only), The strange death of Elisa Lam in the LA Cecil Hotel, The disturbing case of the death of Erika Lloyd on her pandemic road trip to Joshua Tree National Park (Member only), The perplexing and controversial disappearance of Sherri Papini, The strange disappearance of Michael Ficery near Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite, The Dead man who saved Brandon Day and Gina Allen on Mount San Jacinto (Member only), https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/07/06/5-boys-who-never-come-back/f8b30b11-baeb-4351-89f3-26456a76a4fb/?utm_term=.51968ec259af, http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mathias_gary.html, https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/6ni625/the_american_dyatlov_pass_five_young_men_abandon/, https://charleyross.wordpress.com/2017/06/22/lets-talk-about-it-gary-mathias-and-his-four-friends/#comments, A good video by John Lordan Brain Scratch published Jan 5th 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjRT1AqntLc, Tagged: The Mathias Group from Yuba City - Strange deaths on U.S. mountains, American Dyatlov pass incident, American Dyatlov Pass Case, Mathias group from yuba city, American Dyatlov Pass, Jack Huett, William sterling, jack madruga, theodore weiher, gary mathias, Joseph Schons yuba city incident, plumas national forest deaths, mysteries plumas national forest, Mathias Group Incident, Yuba city five incident, American Dyatlov pass, Gary Dale Mathias, Jack Madruga death, Jackie Huett death, Ted weiher death, william sterling death, Sign Up now for a one-off fee for access to many exclusive member-only articles, The disturbing death of Evelyn Consuela Rosemann in Yosemite National Park, The strange disappearance of Derrick Engebretson from the Winema National Forest, The haunting case of the Mathias Group (Yuba County Five), Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, The disturbing Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) disappearances, The strange disappearance of Peter Jackson in Yosemite National park, The Strange disappearance of Aloys Krost in San Bernardino County, The shocking unsolved Keddie Cabin murders, The disturbing case of the death of Erika Lloyd on her pandemic road trip to Joshua Tree National Park, The Dead man who saved Brandon Day and Gina Allen on Mount San Jacinto, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjRT1AqntLc, The Mathias Group from Yuba City - Strange deaths on U.S. mountains, The mysterious disappearance and death of Nicola Bulley in Lancashire, The strange disappearance of the YouTube Survivalist Finn Creaney in the Scottish Highlands, The shocking disappearance of Theresa Ann Bier, The strange disappearance of Daniel Robinson from Buckeye in Arizona, The bizarre deaths of the Gerrish family in Devils Gulch, The strange death of Lucas Renoud at the Hrisson waterfalls in the Jura Mountains, The disturbing disappearance of Daylenn Pua from Hawaiis Stairway To Heaven walkway, The puzzling disappearance of ex-paratrooper Gilbert Gilman from Olympic National Park, The strange disappearance and death of Geoff Hague in the Great Smoky Mountains, The weird disappearance of Garrett Bardsley from Cuberant Lake in Utah, The bizarre death of Cullen Finnerty in the Michigan wilderness, The puzzling disappearance of Barbara Bolick from the Bitterroot Mountains, The strange disappearance of Mike Hearon from the Great Smoky Mountains, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) report June 2021, The bizarre disappearance and death of Adrienne Quintal in Michigan, The strange disappearance of Fern Baird from the Prairie Peak Trail in Idaho, The strange deaths of David Horesay and Frederick Hardisty in the Northwest Territories, The disappearance of Steven Kubacki in the Lake Michigan Triangle, The lucky survival story of Chris Staff in the White Mountains - hallucinations, bugs and hunger, Mysterious UFO phenomena begins to be acknowledged officially by the US Military, The mysterious disappearance of Michael Bryson from the Hobo Campground in Oregon.

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