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. Candy wrappers, milk cartons and basketball programs were in the car but maps were left in the glove compartment. Is Netflix's 'The Imposter' its most terrifying true-crime story yet? One of the c-ration cans had been opened with an Army P38 can opener. Following the game, the five men visited a local store and purchased snacks and drinks, shortly before 10pm. Winners receive a trip to Los Angeles for a week. 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. The men, panicking, may have believed their car was stuck and that they needed to get help. While it had been difficult at firsthe was nearly arrested for assault twice and often experienced psychotic episodes that landed him in a local Veterans Administration hospitalby 1978, Mathias was being treated on an outpatient basis with Stelazine and Cogentin and was considered by his physicians to be "one of our sterling success cases". There was no sign of the men and no indication of why they had abandoned their operable car. 5 'Boys' Who Never Come Back. 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. 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. 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. Mathias had been in the Army, too, but was discharged because of psychiatric problems. [9], It also seemed that Weiher had not been alone in the trailer, and that Mathias and possibly Huett had been there with him. You see, Shones had been stuck in a snowdrift the night of the boys basketball outing. 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). 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. Madruga's body had been partially consumed by scavenging animals; only bones remained of Sterling, scattered over a small area. 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. An assistant sheriff from Plumas County found a skull the next day, about 100 yards downhill from the rest of the bones which the family dentist used to identify the remains. They made it to the game, but none of these "boys," as they came to be called, ever returned home. A year after their disappearance, police were no closer to solving the mystery. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. While scientists today believe that it was likely an avalanche that killed the hikers, others are not quite sure. The five men had prepared the night before, some even laying out their uniforms and asking their parents to wake them up on time. At 32, Weiher was the oldest, a former janitor who was closest to the youngest of the group, 24-year-old Huett. The day after Weiher's body was discovered, searchers found the remains of Madruga and Sterling. 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. It was a man named Joe Shones who alerted them about it. This was completely uncharacteristic behavior for the boys. All five piled back into the Mercury and took off. I think we've finally sorted out our audio issues! The Yuba County Sheriff's Department said 10-year-old Frankie Rosiles [] In this week's episode, we revisit two of our favorite Patreon episodes. After his return from Army service in Germany, he would fail to take his drugs and lapse into a disoriented psychosis that usually landed him in a Veterans Administration hospital. It wasnt until June when the snow in the mountainous area had mostly melted away that motorcyclists helped make a break in the case. Several months later, in June, the body of Ted Weiher was found in a trailer with missing shoes and badly frostbitten feet. Gary Matthias was one of the five who didnt have a mental disability. The Yuba County Sheriff's Office says 44-year-old Christine Adams of Visalia was found with obvious physical trauma in a guest room at a residence in the 17000 block of Indiana Ranch Road around 8 . He had left his tennis shoes behind in the trailer with Weihers body and had taken the mans leather shoes. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: Who made the most money from their fight? 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. Basketball. The case has been called the Mathias Group Incident, the Yuba City Five Case and the American Dyatlov Pass incident. In the early morning hours of February 25, Shones made it to the lodge and was able to get medical treatment. They werent the type to stay out very late or make spontaneous plans. True Crime Out Loud B and Jen Coast2CoastCrime Coast2CoastCrime The Women of Death Row Mariel and Amanda True Crime & Consequences Kari & Brian Current Inside Crime with Angeline Hartmann Angeline Hartmann: Journalist and Crimefighter True Crime and Coke truecrimeandcoke Unnatural: A True Crime Podcast Emily and Andy There was no obvious damage to the car, despite the bumpy unmade road, it had around a quarter tank of gas and it was not stuck in the snow. 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. 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. When he got out to push his car, the exertion brought on a searing pain in his chest. Hours later, back inside his car, he saw what he thought were flashlights. Serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades stalked the highways of Texas in his mobile torture and death chamber. 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. Janney plays Sue Buttons . In 1975, with a short stint at Yuba College proving unsuccessful, Mathias abruptly left school and moved to Oregon to stay with his grandmother. These were individual canned, pre-cooked, and prepared meals issued to the U.S. military. Weiher was concluded to have died from a mixture of starvation and exposure, but both a heating system and food were readily available. The real mystery is that Mathias was never found. . Natural spring well houses and outhouse structures still stand, and evidence of bonfires clogs the property. How did they walk in normal shoes without outdoor clothing so far in snow several feet thick? From his beard growth, they knew Weiher had been living there anywhere between eight and 13 weeks. 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. 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. There are many theories about what could have happened to the five people who went missing in 1978. The autopsy showed that he had died of a combination of starvation and hypothermia. This case is bizarre as hell, Yuba County undersheriff Jack Beecham told reporters. There was no sign of Mathias, aside from his tennis shoes, which had been left in the trailer. Ortega, 55, is charged . 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. There was nothing left of him but bones. Related Article Donnie Wahlberg unravels The Amityville Murders in this 6-episode true crime series, 'Very Scary People' Their names were Ted Weiher, Gary Mathias, Jack Madruga, Jack Huett, and Bill Sterling. Months passed and no progress was made on the boys case. The trailer was 19 miles away from the car. When Shones tried to get their attention one more they continued to ignore him. Could they have been searching in the snow and been freaked out by his cars for help in this isolated area? Kilka dni pniej ich 3 While the ground search was called off, a California Highway Patrol helicopter continued to scour the area from the sky. All either had some sort of intellectual disability or a mental health issue. It was Weiher who had died under the most mysterious circumstances. All five lived at home with their parents and were bound together by a love of sports. The game ended around 10 p.m. They were often lovingly referred to as boys, despite being from 24 to 32 years of age. 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. There was a half moon that night, a winter moon in a cloudless sky. When morning came and they had not, the police were notified. 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. It was later identified as Weiher's. Miles away from help, Shones thought he could flag down help. Its players were in their 20s or early 30s and suffered from some form of . [3] The eventual discovery of four of the five men's bodies seemed to suggest otherwise, but raised even more questions about what had happened that night, and whether at least one of them might have been rescued. He was pretty sick. 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. Check out our sponsors! [2] Autopsies showed that they both died of hypothermia. On Tuesday, February 28th, a forest ranger found Jack Madrugas car abandoned the car on an unpaved road near Oroville, in the Rogers Cow camp area, past Elke Retreat, at an elevation of 4,500 feet. More baffling, Weiher was emaciated. Instead, it looked abandoned. Thats the question people who learn about the Yuba County Five ask themselves when they hear this bizarre true crime story. The men consumed 36 of the meals but left the majority of them untouched. samochd Los 5 de Yuba City, El Dyatlov Americano - Parte 1. 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. How did the group end up around a trailer 19 miles from the car? Police say Brady Oestrike, 31, killed 25-year-old Charles . He was schizophrenic, a condition controlled by medication he hadnt bothered to bring along. 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. "Bizarre as hell" was Beechams summary. When he went back outside to yell into the darkness, no one responded to the sound of his voice. Why? "We know good and well somebody made them do it," she said. Had the group been abducted and the perpetrator was preventing access to food or was Ted suffering from gangrene caused by frostbite. Were going to be covering a story Let's discuss the strange disappearance of the Yuba County Five. The men wore only light coats against the cool temperatures in the upper Sacramento Valley at night that time of year. [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. It was a straight shot on the hiway from Chico to Yuba. 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. And they traveled for a very long time. Why did Ted Weiher apparently starve to death? Miles away from help, Shones thought he could flag down help. The next day, their car was Five men from Yuba City, California, disappeared in 1978 after a trip to a nearby town. 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. 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. The suspect . [5], The woman said she immediately realized that the men were not from the area because of their "big eyes and facial expressions". Many people knew this group of friends around town. 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]. Around nine inches of snow dropped on the upper mountain. 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. True crime memes: Your strange obsession in a nutshell, 'The Kalief Browder Story': Most insane true-crime show ever. 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. Huett's remains were located northeast of the trailer, like Sterling's and Madruga's. Schons stayed in his car until it ran out of gas, then walked eight miles down to get help, passing Madrugas car on the way. Mar. 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. but hadnt been diagnosed as mentally disabled and both he and Gary had served in the U.S. Army and had drivers licenses. The photos show his wife, Molly Martens. 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? Joseph Schons of Sacramento told police he inadvertently wound up spending the night of February 2425 near where the Montego was found. [2], One question was its location, 70 miles (110km) from Chico, far off any direct route to Yuba City or Marysville. As for getting a real answer in the case, we may never know unless someone talks or, maybe, Mathais is found. [7] On March 3, the woman, who saw fliers that had been distributed with the men's pictures and information about the $1,215 ($5,000 in 2021 dollars),[8] reward the families had put up, told deputies that four of them had stopped at the store in a red pickup truck, two days after the disappearance. A few hours later he saw flashlight beams outside his car and called out for help again, but immediately the lights went out. 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. Two days later, just off the same road but much closer to the trailer, Jackie Huett's father found his son's backbone along with a pair of Levis and ripple-soled "Get Theres" shoes. They came across a strong stench emanating from some trailers maintained by the Forest Service. Talking to Shones proved even more frustrating. February 24, 1978. Investigation. 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. This week were going to be covering a very strange story. In February 1978, five young men drove from Yuba City to Chico to watch a basketball game. Maybe something supernatural did happen to the boys of Americas Dyatlov Pass. 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. They played basketball together on a team called the Gateway Gators. Weiher seemingly walked nearly 20 miles to the trailer in frigid conditions, despite having left his coat at home. Was it by chance they came across the trailer, or did someone lead them there? 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. [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. Two days later, Huetts own father found his sons backbone under a manzanita bush while with a search party in the mountains. They entertained a number of eyewitness sightings of the men, including one where they were driving the pickup Shones had mentioned, but none seemed plausible. Shones said he cried for help but got no reply. We also service a large portion of incorporated Yuba City under contract. Bianca Myrtil is a writer and freelance editor. Updated: 1:41 PM MST March 2, 2023. 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. However, watching the creepy flick will remind anyone familiar with the case of the Yuba County Five of those poor, lost young men. ", 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. Not much remained of Huett. Ted apparently had a slow and agonizing death from starvation having lost over half his body weight. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: Who made the most money from their fight? Maybe something supernatural did happen to the boys of Americas Dyatlov Pass. Search and rescue teams then began combing the area around the trailer. Yuba County Five Case Analysis | Unexplained Disappearance and Deaths - YouTube This video answers the question: Can I analyze the case of "Yuba County Five?"Support Dr. Grande on. He passed a 1969 Mercury Montego, but the vehicle had no occupants. Jack Madruga's mother Mabel says firmly. What had brought them to the middle of nowhere and why had Shones seen them with a woman and a baby? And a thousand leads. In June of that year, a small group of weekend motorcyclists came across an abandoned forest service trailer on a campground site. When authorities lifted the veil, they found Weiher, his shoes missing and his feet badly frostbitten. [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. The Mercury Montego was slightly stuck in the snow, but it wasnt anything five healthy young men couldnt have handled pushing 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. The trailer had food and propane. Most of the reports were easily dismissed, but two of the sightings stood out. As he sat in his car wondering what to do, he noticed two sets of headlights, one belonging to a pickup truck. 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. But then the story takes an even stranger turn. What had led them there? [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. 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.
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