Why was a common question for investigators and the relatives of the men, but no answers were forthcoming. They still had found no explanation for why the men were there, although they learned that Mathias had friends in the small town of Forbestown, and police believed it was possible that, in an attempt to visit them on the way back home, the men may have taken a wrong turn near Oroville that put them on the mountain road. They continues walking, ignoring him. 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. There was no sign of Mathias, aside from his tennis shoes, which had been left in the trailer. 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. This week Spencer and Ryan recount the strange Five young men travel to a basketball game and disappear. The county sheriffs department began searching for the men. Huetts skeletonized remains were found shortly after. A few hours later he saw flashlight beams outside his car and called out for help again, but immediately the lights went out. [2], Police in Butte and Yuba counties began searching along the route the men took to Chico. All five lived at home with their parents and were bound together by a love of sports. 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? 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. Were going to be covering a story Let's discuss the strange disappearance of the Yuba County Five.  The fifth, however, remains missing to this day. When Weiher and Sterling didnt come home, their mothers began calling the parents of the others, and soon the police were involved. But all five friends wound up missing or dead. He didnt think much about what hed seen until he heard about the disappearances. . It was about an hour away from their homes, but it was a pretty straight shot there and back. They werent the type to stay out very late or make spontaneous plans. The family identified the 10-year-old as Frankie Rosiles. The trailer was located about 19 miles up the mountain from where the car was found. 3 While the ground search was called off, a California Highway Patrol helicopter continued to scour the area from the sky. None of them were dressed warmly enough to go through the rugged dense forest. Related Article Donnie Wahlberg unravels The Amityville Murders in this 6-episode true crime series, 'Very Scary People' It was a man named Joe Shones who alerted them about it. Sterling was in a wooded area, scattered over about 50 feet. The trailer was over 19 miles from the Mercury. Inside the trailer, he found the body of Ted Weiher. [2][5], Weiher's mother said ignoring someone's pleas for help was not like her son, if indeed he had been present. The authorities and the boys parents alike wondered what on Earth they had been doing on this dirt mountain road. None of the men thought to walk downhill, from where they came, and instead faced the treacherous and unfamiliar path ahead. Did Prince Andrew fly on Jeffrey Epsteins plane Lolita Express? Shones said he cried for help but got no reply. . The front window of the trailer had been broken. 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 . Breaking News in Yuba County is a 2021 American black comedy film directed and co-produced by Tate Taylor, from a screenplay written by Amanda Idoko.The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Awkwafina, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, Juliette Lewis, Samira Wiley, Jimmi Simpson, Clifton Collins Jr., Bridget Everett, Dominic Burgess, Keong Sim, Chris Lowell, Matthew . The Mercury would be found last where Shones saw it with enough gas for the five to return home. Ted's feet were also badly frostbitten. Winners receive a trip to Los Angeles for a week. 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 autopsy showed that he had died of a combination of starvation and hypothermia. The five men had prepared the night before, some even laying out their uniforms and asking their parents to wake them up on time. "Not tonight." They decided to drive to Chico that night to cheer on the UC Davis basketball team in an away game against Chico State. 19 miles in heavy snow is quite a hike without proper equipment. 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. Four of the Yuba County Five tragically died in the forest. 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], 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. ", "There was some force that made em go up there." There was never any accounting for their strange decision to turn toward unfamiliar territory. Madruga had held on to the keys to the car. Where is Matthias? NEW! Why did Ted Weiher apparently starve to death? [2], In response to local media coverage of the case, police received several reports of some or all of the men being sighted after they had left Chico, including some reports of them being seen elsewhere in California or the country. This wasnt something any of them were going to miss. On the night of Feb. 24, 1978, five young men with mild intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions just . The Theories This case is bizarre as hell, Yuba County undersheriff Jack Beecham told reporters. When he went back outside to yell into the darkness, no one responded to the sound of his voice. He got out of his car to flag them down. In February 1978, five young men drove from Yuba City to Chico to watch a basketball game. 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. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after being honorably discharged from the army following a drug related incident. The men consumed 36 of the meals but left the majority of them untouched. 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. Basketball. [5], Six hours later, lying in the car and experiencing severe pain, he saw headlights coming up behind him. 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.. The Gateway Gators was a collegiate basketball team at the rehabilitation center of Yuba City, California. 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. , and although in this horror movie things turn supernatural, the parallels between it and the Yuba County Five story are strong. No trace of the men was found other than the car. Some of the rations in and around the trailer were eaten but much of it was untouched. What had led them there? His feet were badly frostbitten,[2] almost gangrenous. There was a whole shed full of canned food but it appeared only a dozen had been opened and eaten. Find us on Elle Crime and Mo Tibbs comin' in hot with another unsolved crime. [2][4], On February 25, the Gators were due to play their first game in a weeklong tournament sponsored by the Special Olympics for which the winners would get a free week in Los Angeles. Later, he saw what he believed were flashlights. These five men were great friends. 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. All the conspiracies surrounding Nicola Bulleys disappearance and death, Who killed Jeffrey Epstein? Shones later came forward with his story when the news broke about the disappearances, making him the last person to see the five alive. In February of 1978, an unsolved incident occurred to five young men from Yuba County that is On the night of February 24, 1978, a group of five young men from Yuba City, California, all Today we take a look at a Civil War sniper who took the law into his own hands! Later, he saw what he believed were flashlights. Since Mathias had presumably not taken his medication, pictures of him were distributed to mental institutions all over California. Had the group been abducted and the perpetrator was preventing access to food or was Ted suffering from gangrene caused by frostbite. 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. In the early morning hours of February 25, Shones made it to the lodge and was able to get medical treatment. 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. Listen Now For our friends in the Deaf and Signing community, you can view an ASL version of this episode HERE. 12 min ago Aaron Tobias Quinn, an Oroville man who was involved in a police chase and shooting with a California Highway Patrol officer, was sentenced Friday morning in a Yuba County. 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. [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. Joseph spent the rest of the night in his car before walking back down the mountain in the morning. As of late, his condition had greatly improved though, and he was able to work in his stepfathers gardening business. The Yuba County Five: Terror on the Mountain - The CrimeWire The Yuba County Five: Terror on the Mountain Kimberly Parr Feb 5, 2023 10:21 PM EST The Plumas National Forest wilderness where five young men vanished in February of 1978. It was a straight shot on the hiway from Chico to Yuba. Itsweird. As a result of their varying conditions, they each lived at home with their parents. They made it to the game, but none of these "boys," as they came to be called, ever returned home. 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." 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. Maybe something supernatural did happen to the boys of Americas Dyatlov Pass. Weihers decaying body was found lying on a bed wrapped in eight sheets. vanished while driving home from a basketball game. Their names were Ted Weiher, Gary Mathias, Jack Madruga, Jack Huett, and Bill Sterling. [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. The case of the Yuba County Five is one of mystery, intrigue, bewilderment, and most of all, tragedy and sadness. 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. 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. The search teams nearly lost men themselves two days later, as their Snow-cats struggled through the drifts. 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. How did they walk in normal shoes without outdoor clothing so far in snow several feet thick? This time the victim was a 14-year-old girl named Dawn Basom. Why did the Yuba City men get lost that night and end up on the mountain? The day after Weiher's body was discovered, searchers found the remains of Madruga and Sterling. Then Colusa County District Attorney John Poyner authorized needed search warrants for the investigation and said he would prosecute the crime if it occurred in his county. 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). [6], Efforts to search the vicinity were hampered by a severe snowstorm that day. 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. 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 real mystery is that Mathias was never found. It sounds pretty normal right? It still remains one of the most baffling cases within the US. 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. Besides, who knows. Several months later, in June, the body of Ted Weiher was found in a trailer with missing shoes and badly frostbitten feet. The two cars stopped about 20 feet from him. [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. Why was that odd? They were all homebodies for the most part, but one thing they strongly bonded over was sports. Many people knew this group of friends around town. 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. The Yuba County Five Mysterious Death 1978 Mysterious Death , Exposure On the evening of Feb. 24, 1978, Gary Mathias and friends Bill Sterling, Jack Huett, Ted Weiher, and Jack Madruga loaded into Madruga's white 1969 Mercury Montego to drive to Chico, Calif., to watch the University of California, Davis men's. link True Crime Videos At the time, he had not considered it significant, since many residents often drove up that road into the Sierra Nevada on winter weekends to go cross-country skiing on the extensive trail system, but after he read the missing persons bulletin, he recognized the car and led the deputies to it on February 28. [2][4], The five men's favorite leisure activity was sports. 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. The photos show his wife, Molly Martens. More baffling, Weiher was emaciated. Madruga and the four other able-bodied men should have been able to dislodge it without a lot of difficulty. Sterling and Madruga, an Army veteran, wereanother set of best friends. This, and the considerable distance from the car to where the bodies were found, has led to suspicions of foul play. It was later identified as Weiher's. Hours later, Shones felt well enough to walk to get help. Twitter reacts. 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. There was nothing left of him but bones. The more you learn about this night out-gone-wrong, the more questions youll have. 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. Several months later, in June, the body of Ted Weiher was found in a trailer with missing shoes and badly frostbitten feet. It was impossible to tell just how long it had been there. (KTXL) A vigil is planned Thursday for the 10-year-old boy who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Yuba County. But they did. All five either had slight intellectual disabilities or psychiatric disorders. When Shones spotted their abandoned Mercury, the car had been driven roughly 70 miles away from the Chico basketball game. On the ground, officers tried to use horses to get around on the rocky roads. Heavy forestry clothing, which could have kept the men warm, also remained where it had been stored. As for getting a real answer in the case, we may never know unless someone talks or, maybe, Mathais is found. It was about an hour away from their homes, but it was a pretty straight shot there and back. The Yuba County 5 remains one of the most baffling puzzles within the true crime community. The five were going to see a UC Davis basketball game and come straight home. As he sat in his car wondering what to do, he noticed two sets of headlights, one belonging to a pickup truck. The Mercury Montego was slightly stuck in the snow, but it wasnt anything five healthy young men couldnt have handled pushing out. Although the mens bodies were heavily decomposed, autopsy results determined that they had likely died from exposure. 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. 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. 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. This proved to be the last time any of them were seen . The five friends decided to go to a basketball game together to cheer on the UC Davis team. [9], It also seemed that Weiher had not been alone in the trailer, and that Mathias and possibly Huett had been there with him. The turquoise and white 1969 Mercury Montego was located around a 2.5-hour drive from Chico, in the opposite direction from the route they would have been expected to drive home and way up in the mountains in the Plumas National Forest. But instead of driving south toward their homes roughly 50 miles away, they inexplicably drove east. They werent missing this game. No one even covered the window they had smashed to get inside of the trailer. This Sutter County California Most Wanted List posts the top 50-100 fugitive criminals on the run. Tickets from the UC Davis game were also there so it was clear they had at least made it to the game to cheer on the team. 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? The next day, their car was Five men from Yuba City, California, disappeared in 1978 after a trip to a nearby town. As for getting a real answer in the case, we may never know unless someone talks or, maybe, Mathais is found. They found no sign of Gary Mathias. Curious, they went inside. It was Weiher who had died under the most mysterious circumstances. February 24, 1978. 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. [2], Police could not figure out why the men had abandoned the car. 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. Schons called for help and the lights turned off and the whistling sounds stopped. From Zero to Hero: Write Your Short in 30 days, Did the Island Boys break up? Mathias had been in the Army, too, but was discharged because of psychiatric problems. yuba county 5 crime scene photos. About Us. 15 ratings1 review. Janney plays Sue Buttons . [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. These are questions that may never be answered. He called to them for help, but they stopped talking and turned their headlights out. Authorities would later discover that a Snowcat vehicle had pushed snow aside to cut a path toward the trailer on February 23, which may have given the men some hope they were in an area where Forest Service employees might soon return. Afterwards, they stopped at a local market for snacks and drinks. Yuba County, California. 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. Today, we're covering the true crime story of the Yuba County 5. "Went haywire," is how Bob, his stepfather, put it. The story from here is a little confusing. In 1978, five young men disappeared after seeing a basketball game, never to be seen alive February 24, 1978. The men, panicking, may have believed their car was stuck and that they needed to get help. Today, Yuba City Police Department still has the investigation while the prosecution was left with the state Attorney General's office. The clerk remembers this as it was right before closing, so she was annoyed by having to get a large group checked out before closing and heading home herself. The trailer was 19 miles away from the car. Months passed and no progress was made on the boys case. Search and rescue teams then began combing the area around the trailer. How these five men came to be on an inhospitable mountain road more than 50 miles from their homes in and around Marysville and Yuba City, California, was just one of the mysteries surrounding their disappearance. 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 car had become stuck in some snow drifts, and there was evidence that the men had tried to spin the wheels to get out of it; police noted that the snow was not so deep that five healthy young men would not have been able to push it out. Police say Brady Oestrike, 31, killed 25-year-old Charles . The police said she was "a credible witness" and they took her account seriously. In the first part of this double-feature, we discuss the Dyatlov Pass incident of 1959. Around nine inches of snow dropped on the upper mountain. A day after search parties were sent out, Madruga and Sterlings bodies were found about 11 miles from the Mercury Montego. 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. While scientists today believe that it was likely an avalanche that killed the hikers, others are not quite sure. 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: 1:41 PM MST March 2, 2023. William Lee Sterling, who was Madruga's special friend and deeply religious, would spend hours at the library reading literature to help bring Jesus to patients in mental hospitals. Jack had low I.Q. In February 1978, five young men headed from their home in Yuba County, California to catch a college basketball game - and never came home. "They seen something at that game, at the parking lot," says Ted Weiher's sister-in-law. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: Who made the most money from their fight? 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. 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. Every day you've got a thousand leads. Madruga's body had been partially consumed by scavenging animals; only bones remained of Sterling, scattered over a small area.

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