A 46-mile drive, around one hour. The trailers heating system was never turned on. Ashley talks about a case that is still unsolved to this day-- the Yuba County Five, also February 24, 1978 Five friends drove 50 miles from their homes in Yuba City California to cheer ** Viewer discretion is advised. In February of 1978, a group of five men went to a basketball game and didn't come home. 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. [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. Police say Brady Oestrike, 31, killed 25-year-old Charles . 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. In 1978, a group of five friends disappeared after attending a college basketball game. Madruga had held on to the keys to the car. The Russian case is as mysterious as the Mathias Group in Californias Plumas National Forest. The flashlight was slightly rusted and had been turned off. He had left his tennis shoes behind in the trailer with Weihers body and had taken the mans leather shoes. 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. If you come across them, do not attempt to apprehend them yourself. February 24, 1978. 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? The men, panicking, may have believed their car was stuck and that they needed to get help. Jack Madruga's mother Mabel says firmly. Maybe something supernatural did happen to the boys of Americas Dyatlov Pass. They played basketball together on a team called the Gateway Gators. All the drama surrounding the duo. [3], While he was stationed in West Germany as part of his United States Army service in the early 1970s, Gary Mathias, a native of Yuba City, California, developed drug problems. 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. 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 . The photos show his wife, Molly Martens. This about the unsolved case of the Yuba County Five, and how five men disappeared and died, leaving no trace: read to find out more. [2], One question was its location, 70 miles (110km) from Chico, far off any direct route to Yuba City or Marysville. [6], It is assumed that once they found the trailer, the other three broke the window to enter. If Mathias went for help, where was his body? The case of the Yuba County Five is one of mystery, intrigue, bewilderment, and most of all, tragedy and sadness. 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. Four decades later, the fifth man from the car has never been found. Janney plays Sue Buttons . Jane Carter, who goes by Jane Schneck on Facebook . Its called. In her free time, Bianca enjoys stabilizing dangling modifiers and walking her cat. " Yuba County 5 or the Yuba incident that has been called the American Dyatlov pass. 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. About Us. Purposeful motion like that is not consistent with the circular patterns traveled by those who genuinely believe themselves lost. Allison Janney leads an all-star cast in the new film, "Breaking News in Yuba County.". 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 . The search teams nearly lost men themselves two days later, as their Snow-cats struggled through the drifts. Thats the question people who learn about the Yuba County Five ask themselves when they hear this bizarre true crime story. How did they walk in normal shoes without outdoor clothing so far in snow several feet thick? Also known as America's Dyatlov Pass, this missing persons case is incredibly bizarre and cr. Photo via Pinterest. 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. Posted on December 5, 2021. A year after their disappearance, police were no closer to solving the mystery. She relishes raving about her favorite shows and turning peoples drafted darlings into polished finished products. [2][4], The five men's favorite leisure activity was sports. Mathias's tennis sneakers were in the trailer, and the C-rations had been opened with a P-38 can opener, with which only Mathias or Madruga would have been familiar from their military service. It was a straight shot on the hiway from Chico to Yuba. On the ground, officers tried to use horses to get around on the rocky roads. [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. Neil Blake | nblake1@mlive.com. He saw a group of men, a woman, and a baby walking together, but they ignored him calling for help. These five men were great friends. They came across a strong stench emanating from some trailers maintained by the Forest Service. Police have no idea. Four days later their car was found on a Plumas National Forest access road. 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. A woman reported seeing the five men in a red pickup truck on Saturday and Sunday, about an hours drive from the site of their abandoned car. 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. 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 passed a 1969 Mercury Montego, but the vehicle had no occupants. 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. 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. 5 'Boys' Who Never Come Back. 1971 Press Photo Yuba City, CA Reporters at J.L. The Yuba County Five Episode aired Jan 8, 2022 YOUR RATING Rate Documentary In 1978, a Mercury Montego was found abandoned in the Plumas National Forest, and the remains of four men found 20 miles away. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after being honorably discharged from the army following a drug related incident. 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. When he got out to push his car, the exertion brought on a searing pain in his chest. The Yuba County 5 remains one of the most baffling puzzles within the true crime community. This eventually led to him being diagnosed with schizophrenia and being psychiatrically discharged. Were they forced to go up the Bucks Lane on the way to Palmetto City, did they decide themselves to take a detour or did they take a wrong turn? Ted apparently had a slow and agonizing death from starvation having lost over half his body weight. Melba Madruga, Jack's mother, toldTheWashington Post that she believed "some force" had led the group astray. 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. Why did they abandon the trip to Yuba? May 21, . A few hours later he saw flashlight beams outside his car and called out for help again, but immediately the lights went out. At 5:30p.m., about 150 feet (46m) up the road, he, too, had gotten stuck in the snow. 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. Had the group been abducted and the perpetrator was preventing access to food or was Ted suffering from gangrene caused by frostbite. 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. 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The trailer was 19.4 miles away from where the Mercury Montego was found. The men wore only light coats against the cool temperatures in the upper Sacramento Valley at night that time of year. Movie Info. [5], Inside the car was evidence suggesting the men had been inside it between when they were last seen and when it was abandoned. "We know good and well somebody made them do it," she said. The next day when they failed to return from Chico, their families became concerned and called the police. 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.