Well, that part is a little less clear. On Friday, February 24th, the five men drove about 50 miles north from Yuba to Chico to attend a college basketball game. 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. 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. Wyoming Police this week released photos from the July 2014 case known as the Craiglist murders. There are so many strange things about this true crime case which is sometimes called Americas Dyatlov Pass, that its hard to compact into one article. Months passed and no progress was made on the boys case. Like Mathias, each man lived with his parents, all of whom referred to them collectively as "the boys". Were going to be covering a story Let's discuss the strange disappearance of the Yuba County Five. Melba Madruga, Jack's mother, toldTheWashington Post that she believed "some force" had led the group astray. In addition, there was a huge supply of freeze-dried meals. Shones said he saw a woman as well, and that he also heard a babys cry. 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. He had left his tennis shoes behind in the trailer with Weihers body and had taken the mans leather shoes. "Bizarre as hell" was Beechams summary. Is Hailey Bieber obsessed with Justin Biebers ex Selena Gomez? The Russian case is as mysterious as the Mathias Group in Californias Plumas National Forest. Wikipedia, Public Domain "The Boys" Go Missing 1971 Press Photo Yuba City, CA Reporters at J.L. These were individual canned, pre-cooked, and prepared meals issued to the U.S. military. a mild heart attack. All five lived at home with their parents and were bound together by a love of sports. Huetts skeletonized remains were found shortly after. They found a body tucked into a bed, draped in sheets from head to toe. Police became aware that Madrugas 1969 Mercury Montego was stranded on the side of a mountain road about 50 miles away from home. Two days later, after searchers in Snowcats nearly became lost themselves, further search efforts were called off due to continuing bad weather. This week on Loose Units, Four months after the disappearance of the Yuba County Five, the thaw came. When you hear of the Yuba County 5, they tend to be collectively referred to as the boys by those that knew them. Why had they hid from Shones? Have you noticed theres been no mention of Matthiass body? "I'm positive he never went up there on his own," she told the paper. Of the group, Gary Mathias had the most severe mental health He was suffering from schizophrenia and was on medication to control his symptoms. 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. He was driving up the gravel road to his cabin when his car became stuck in the snow and unfortunately, whilst trying to push his car out, he suffered a heart attack. The authorities and the boys parents alike wondered what on Earth they had been doing on this dirt mountain road. 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 [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. He passed a 1969 Mercury Montego, but the vehicle had no occupants. He had driven up there, where he had a cabin, to check the snowpack in advance of a weekend ski trip with his family. 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. "Bizarre," says John Thompson, the special agent from the California Department of Justice who had joined the investigation. Sterling and Madruga, an Army veteran, wereanother set of best friends. 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 was completely uncharacteristic behavior for the boys. Doctors later confirmed that he had indeed experienced a mild heart attack. 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. 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. As for getting a real answer in the case, we may never know unless someone talks or, maybe, Mathais is found. Did they somehow leave the car and lose the keys. It was a straight shot on the hiway from Chico to Yuba. Madruga's body had been partially consumed by scavenging animals; only bones remained of Sterling, scattered over a small area. For most of them, their fate was to die in snow-capped 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. This team was supported by a local program for people with mental disabilities. The group's car was left open, with gas in the tank and in working order. Afterwards, they stopped at a local market for snacks and drinks. "We know good and well somebody made them do it," she said. Serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades stalked the highways of Texas in his mobile torture and death chamber. This week we cover the bizarre case of the Yuba County Five. "Oh, Grandma, I won't need a coat," Ted said. All the conspiracies about this financier, 'America's Most Wanted': Behind the most tragic true-crime story ever. Police records showed he had become violent on occasion and was charged with assault twice. Is Ice Spices new boyfriend Pete Davidson? Mathias had been in the Army, too, but was discharged because of psychiatric problems. The five were on a team for the mentally handicapped called the Gateway Gators, who were set to participate in a week-long tournament sponsored by the Special Olympics. And they traveled for a very long time. This dark comedy will be available on digital and in select theaters Feb. 12. The last time any of these people were seen was at a college basketball game at California State University. Posted on December 5, 2021. Its players were in their 20s or early 30s and suffered from some form of . In the first part of this double-feature, we discuss the Dyatlov Pass incident of 1959. The five young men who made up the Yuba County Five, Gary Mathias, Bill Sterling, Jack Huett, Ted Weiher, and Jack Madruga, ranged in age from mid twenties to early thirties. They were always referred to by their families as the boys even though they were all full-grown men from ages 24-32. The junk food had been consumed, save for one half of a candy bar. Did Prince Andrew fly on Jeffrey Epsteins plane Lolita Express? [5], Six hours later, lying in the car and experiencing severe pain, he saw headlights coming up behind him. ", 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. We know he was in the trailer where he left his shoes, and it's assumed he took Weiher's, which would have fit his frostbitten feet a bit better, but his remains have not been found after 47 years. They lay on opposite sides of the road to the trailer, 11.4 miles from the car. Shones said he cried for help but got no reply. One of the c-ration cans had been opened with an Army P38 can opener. 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. Their families raised a $2600 reward for information, petitioned psychics, and waited by their phones, but heard nothing. Its called. To date, there hasnt been any evidence to contradict him. They werent the type to stay out very late or make spontaneous plans. This case is bizarre as hell, Yuba County undersheriff Jack Beecham told reporters. There are many questions about this weird case. Unfortunately, as he did, he started suffering a heart attack. About five miles from Weiher's remains, the remains of Sterling & Marduga were found. If police and the families of the men were expecting closure from the discovery of their bodies, they werent about to get it. To this day, no one knows why these four young men died in snowy mountains that were so far from home. It was a man named Joe Shones who alerted them about it. 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. This is a Mopac Audio podcast and is hosted by writer, producer, and podcaster Shannon McGarvey. 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. 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 . But instead of driving south toward their homes roughly 50 miles away, they inexplicably drove east. Investigation. 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. 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. 5 'Boys' Who Never Come Back. Shones staggered back in his car while he let the heart attack pass and then wondered what on Earth he would do to get himself out of the mess he was in. A year after their disappearance, police were no closer to solving the mystery. samochd Los 5 de Yuba City, El Dyatlov Americano - Parte 1. VIEW and share photos of real crime scenes. The five friends decided to go to a basketball game together to cheer on the UC Davis team. Not much remained of Huett. But they did. For example, he often asked why he should stop at a stop sign, and one night he had to be dragged out of bed while the ceiling of his bedroom was burning in a house fire because he was afraid he would miss his job if he got up. Posted on February 22, 2022 by . [2] Autopsies showed that they both died of hypothermia. He had lost almost half his body weight and his feet were badly frostbitten. In 1978, five friends set out for home from a basketball game. Deputies think that one of them may have given in to the need to sleep that comes with the last stages of hypothermia, while the other stayed by his side and died the same way. The initial investigation by Yuba County police was frustrated by the snowfall in the region that winter. 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. 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. This could explain the strange story told by Joseph Schons where he said he saw flashlights around a car. 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. As he sat in his car wondering what to do, he noticed two sets of headlights, one belonging to a pickup truck. (No, thats not a typo. This week Spencer and Ryan recount the strange Five young men travel to a basketball game and disappear. $19.99 + $4.99 . One of the crime scenes from the John Collins murder series. They left after it finished and then somehow drove up a mountain into the wilderness and were never seen alive again. It was later identified as Weiher's. His car had gotten stuck in the snow, and pushing it out by himself brought it on. A night out creeps into true crime territory The boys had used Madruga's 1969 Mercury Montego to drive to the UC Davis game in Chico, California on February 24, 1978. The case of the Yuba County Five is one of mystery, intrigue, bewilderment, and most of all, tragedy and sadness. "You need . The passengers then left together in one car. It appeared that Ted had lived 8-13 weeks after his disappearance based on the length of his beard and around 100-pound weight loss. Search parties were sent to investigate and more bodies were found. They played basketball together on a team called the Gateway Gators. 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. Police and the families never ruled out foul play. They appeared to have died from exposure perhaps before reaching the trailer. However, watching the creepy flick will remind anyone familiar with the case of the Yuba County Five of those poor, lost young men. The Yuba County Sheriff's Department said 10-year-old Frankie Rosiles [] Four of the Yuba County Five tragically died in the forest. The next day when they failed to return from Chico, their families became concerned and called the police. Around nine inches of snow dropped on the upper mountain.