But they did. 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. In this episode, Zack tells us about a very creepy one that is available on Netflix. . 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. Later, he saw more lights from behind him, this time flashlights, that also went out when he called to them. 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. 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. They were all homebodies for the most part, but one thing they strongly bonded over was sports. None of them were dressed warmly enough to go through the rugged dense forest. This week on Loose Units, Four months after the disappearance of the Yuba County Five, the thaw came. 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. A woman takes advantage of her growing celebrity status when the police and the public think her dead husband is just missing. All the drama surrounding the duo. The photos on the slideshow above were taken on June 28, 2014. More baffling, Weiher was emaciated. The keys to the vehicle were gone. The police said she was "a credible witness" and they took her account seriously. His car had gotten stuck in the snow, and pushing it out by himself brought it on. 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. About Us. Mathias, his feet perhaps also swollen from frostbite, could have decided to put Weiher's shoes on instead if he had ventured outside. New as of February 2022, the "Yuba County Five" podcast is made up of seven episodes, each averaging about 35 minutes long. OR, could one of them have Sean brings us the story of five men from Yuba City, California who went missing under unusual February 24, 1978. He weighed just 120 pounds at the time of his death. 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]. It was later identified as Weiher's. How did the men die? This week on Five men attend a basketball game together, only to never be seen again. Find us on Elle Crime and Mo Tibbs comin' in hot with another unsolved crime. Four of them would, in the warmer months, be found dead. The trailer was 19.4 miles away from where the Mercury Montego was found. No one had even bothered to cover the broken window they had smashed in to get inside. $19.99 + $4.99 . Police found no evidence of foul play at the site of the car, but the car was unlocked, one window was down and the keys were nowhere to be seen. His shoes and jeans nearby helped identify the body. Many, if not most should be considered armed and dangerous. The case of the Yuba County Five is one of mystery, intrigue, bewilderment, and most of all, tragedy and sadness. One of them made a phone call from a nearby phone booth, and the other two stayed in the truck. It had enough gas to continue on, but a snowbank had likely caused its tires to spin out. To date, there hasnt been any evidence to contradict him. They werent missing this game. The five were going to see a UC Davis basketball game and come straight home. To this day, no one knows why these four young men died in snowy mountains that were so far from home. 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. It still remains one of the, From Zero to Hero: Write Your Short in 30 days, Did the Island Boys break up? They lay on opposite sides of the road to the trailer, 11.4 miles from the car. but hadnt been diagnosed as mentally disabled and both he and Gary had served in the U.S. Army and had drivers licenses. The next day, their car was Five men from Yuba City, California, disappeared in 1978 after a trip to a nearby town. However, watching the creepy flick will remind anyone familiar with the case of the Yuba County Five of those poor, lost young men. Movie Info. 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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[2][4], The five men's favorite leisure activity was sports. READ news articles about hundreds of cases. Stars Tim Donahue Michael May Dominick Sherry Why did Ted Weiher apparently starve to death? There was no sign of Mathias, aside from his tennis shoes, which had been left in the trailer. [2], Mathias supplemented his Army disability pay by working in his stepfather's gardening business. Wikipedia, Public Domain "The Boys" Go Missing Doctors later confirmed that he had indeed experienced a mild heart attack. Is Netflix's 'The Imposter' its most terrifying true-crime story yet? 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. On February 24, 1978, five men from the Yuba County, California-area vanished in the wilderness of Northern California. Weiher was missing his shoes, and investigators found Mathias' own shoes in the nearby woods, suggesting Mathias also survived for some time beyond the last night they were seen alive. A 46-mile drive, around one hour. Photo via Pinterest. Ted Weiher was employed for a while as a janitor and snack bar clerk but quit at the urging of his family, who thought Weiher's slowness was causing problems. The next night, Archie and his buddies went out in search of victim number one. 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 evening before, the five decided to make the 50 mile drive to the city of Chico to watch a college basketball game. He called to them for help, but they stopped talking and turned their headlights out. No fire had been set in the trailer's fireplace, despite an ample supply of matches and paperback novels to use as kindling. NEW! 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. Madruga's parents said he did not like the cold weather and had never been up into the mountains. 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. 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. [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. Similarly, another shed nearby held a butane tank with a valve that, had it been opened, would have fed the trailer's heating system. [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. 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. Afterwards, they stopped at a local market for snacks and drinks. One of the strangest things about Shones encounter was that he said a little he saw a group of five men. [2] His death, too, was attributed to hypothermia. There was no news for months as the spring snows melted on the mountains. 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. Twitter reacts. This, and the considerable distance from the car to where the bodies were found, has led to suspicions of foul play. 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. 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? In February 1978, five young men headed from their home in Yuba County, California to catch a college basketball game - and never came 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. In one version, whilst he lay in his car, at about 11:30, he saw two sets of headlights coming up behind him - one was a car, and the other a pickup truck. From Zero to Hero: Write Your Short in 30 days, Did the Island Boys break up? [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. Its called. [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. This wasnt something any of them were going to miss. 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. [5], Additional details came from the store owner, who told investigators that men whom he believed to be Weiher and Huett came in and bought burritos, chocolate milk and soft drinks. Five men went to a basketball game in Chico, California to watch their favorite college basketball team play. Ortega, 55, is charged . The mother of Aaron Carter shared photographs on social media from what she claims is the death scene from the pop singer's home in November. 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. He got out of his car to flag them down. Madruga, who owned the Mercury, drove his four friends to a collegiate basketball game at the California State University, Chico. Their families raised a $2600 reward for information, petitioned psychics, and waited by their phones, but heard nothing. The men consumed 36 of the meals but left the majority of them untouched. But authorities would later realize the biggest story to emerge from that dark, desolate road wasn't his brush with death. He Hello and welcome to your favorite podcast that goes bump in the night. "He was either tricked or threatened.". 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. [2], Police in Butte and Yuba counties began searching along the route the men took to Chico. Madruga and the four other able-bodied men should have been able to dislodge it without a lot of difficulty. The story from here is a little confusing. Thats the question people who learn about the Yuba County Five ask themselves when they hear this bizarre true crime story. Jack had low I.Q. It could not be determined how long those items had been there. 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. 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. Kilka dni pniej ich 10 Robert Ben Rhoades. He had lost almost half his body weight and his feet were badly frostbitten. A year after their disappearance, police were no closer to solving the mystery. Since it was locked, they may have believed it was private property, and may have feared arrest for theft if they used anything else they found there. Jane Carter, who goes by Jane Schneck on Facebook . Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1971 Juan Corona arraigned at Yuba City California 9X8 Vintage Press Photo at the best online prices at eBay! 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. "You need . Public Corruption. 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. They found no sign of Gary Mathias. The search teams nearly lost men themselves two days later, as their Snow-cats struggled through the drifts. Debris recovered from the scene indicated the vehicle was a white Mercedes, and the Yuba County Sheriff's Office was able to identify the car using a license plate reader system, according to. 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. On the night of Feb. 24, 1978, five young men with mild intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions just . This week were going to be covering a very strange story. Up in the mountains above the Feather River, the snow-drifts sometimes rose to 15 feet. in which some students try to find out what happened to the Russian hikers who died in Dyatlov Pass. 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. All were fervent basketball fans, and even had a game of their own scheduled for the following day, playing on a team representing the rehabilitation center they all frequented. His feet were badly frostbitten,[2] almost gangrenous. February 24, 1978. Related Article Donnie Wahlberg unravels The Amityville Murders in this 6-episode true crime series, 'Very Scary People' Using CrimeDoor you can explore evidence, review thousands of case files, look into cold cases, and help unravel True Crimes most notorious unsolved mysteries. The men lived in Yuba City and nearby Marysville. [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. ", "There was some force that made em go up there." A still-unsolved mystery, the Yuba County Five . 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. This was strange because it seemed none of the trailers life-saving amenities had been used. On the ground, officers tried to use horses to get around on the rocky roads. The fifth, however, remains missing to this day. 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. [5], The other notable report was from a woman who worked at a store in the small town of Brownsville, 30 miles (48km) from the point where the car had been abandoned, which they would have reached had they continued down the road from where the car had been found. 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. No trace of the men was found other than the car. There was nothing left of him but bones. 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. Despite finding evidence that Matthias was in the trailer with Weiher at some point, they never found Matthias. 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. The store owner corroborated her account. He made it home safely that night, but when the police found Madrugas Mercury Montego it only left them more confused. 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. 12A 43-year-old man was detained on a warrant this week for allegedly murdering his wife who was found dead inside a residence in the 17000 block of Indiana Ranch Road, Challenge . It would have been a feat to walk all that way in the snow. But all five friends wound up missing or dead. 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 . Shones said he cried for help but got no reply. These are questions that may never be answered. The five men had prepared the night before, some even laying out their uniforms and asking their parents to wake them up on time. Natural spring well houses and outhouse structures still stand, and evidence of bonfires clogs the property. 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. The two cars stopped about 20 feet from him. Weiher lived for, at least, eight weeks after his disappearance given his beard growth on his body. Ronald Charles Trapp, 34, of Marysville, died around 9:35 a.m. Tuesday after being shot while driving a Honda Accord on Dunning Avenue, south of Hammonton-Smartville Road, in Linda, a news release . It was February 24, 1978, and Shones was miles from help. [6] On a table next to the bed were some of Weiher's personal effects, including his wallet (with cash), a nickel ring with "Ted" engraved on it, and a gold necklace he also wore. Have you noticed theres been no mention of Matthiass body? After the UC Davis team won their game, the five men went to pick up snacks & drinks for the drive home. Two days later, after searchers in Snowcats nearly became lost themselves, further search efforts were called off due to continuing bad weather. The next day, a deputy sheriff found a skull downhill from the bush, 300 feet (91m) away, confirmed by dental records later to have been Huett's. In the early morning hours of February 25, Shones made it to the lodge and was able to get medical treatment. The Strange Disappearance Of The Yuba County 5 - America's Dyatlov Pass Incident From the true crime case The Yuba County Five. 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. Shones said he saw a woman as well, and that he also heard a babys cry. Unfortunately, as he did, he started suffering a heart attack. And they traveled for a very long time. But as he drove further into the night, snowdrifts slowed his tires. [2], Police could not figure out why the men had abandoned the car. The real mystery is that Mathias was never found. (No, thats not a typo. If police and the families of the men were expecting closure from the discovery of their bodies, they werent about to get it. a mild heart attack. Itsweird. 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. 2017's British wilderness horror The Ritual, directed by David Bruckner and written by Joe Barton, has not been officially attributed to any particular true story. Huetts skeletonized remains were found shortly after. Why did the men turn east in the first place? Yuba County 5. But then the story takes an even stranger turn. Around nine inches of snow dropped on the upper mountain. 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. After Weiher died, or after the others thought he had died, they may have decided to try to get back to civilization by different ways, such as walking overland.[6]. Madruga had held on to the keys to the car. The five friends decided to go to a basketball game together to cheer on the UC Davis team. [6], Two days later, as part of one of the other search parties, Jack Huett's father found his son's backbone[2] under a manzanita bush[6] 2 miles (3.2km) northeast of the trailer. "They might have seen it and didn't even realize they seen it.". 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. The five would either play sports together or watch them. All five had intellectual disabilities or psychiatric issues to various degrees; all of them lived with family, who kept a close eye on them. "Bizarre," says John Thompson, the special agent from the California Department of Justice who had joined the investigation. [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. 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. Besides, who knows. Candy wrappers, milk cartons and basketball programs were in the car but maps were left in the glove compartment. Why do that unless something more frightening was right behind them?