The largest ever kidnapping case in the United States went down in the small town of Chowchilla, CA. Learn all about it today.
AI Summary
# Stuff You Should Know: The Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping
Josh and Chuck dive into one of the most shocking true crime stories in American history—the 1976 Chowchilla school bus kidnapping, which still stands as the largest mass kidnapping for ransom in U.S. history. On a summer day in California's San Joaquin Valley, a school bus carrying 26 children and their driver Ed Ray is hijacked by three men and the kids are buried alive in an underground moving van trailer while authorities scramble to find them. What unfolds is a harrowing account of how the kids and driver managed to escape in just 36 hours, the bizarre motivations of three wealthy but troubled kidnappers, and the lasting trauma that rippled through the small town for decades to come.
Dirty Harry
1971
1h 42m
★ 7.4
"Fred had designs on being a film producer and part of the concept for this kidnapping was the school bus kidnapping in the movie Dirty Harry. — Fred Woods was inspired by a school bus kidnapping scene from Dirty Harry when planning the real-life kidnapping."
— Josh
Hollywood Squares
1966
★ 7.8
"Ed Ray appeared on Hollywood Squares, which is that's peak, that's peak exposure in the mid-76s. — Ed Ray, the bus driver hero, made an appearance on the game show Hollywood Squares as part of his celebrity status after the rescue."
— Josh
"Josh and I are in jeopardy tonight. We get our very own category, Stuff You Should Know. — Chuck and Josh mention appearing on Jeopardy! in a collegiate tournament special episode airing on ABC."
— Chuck
Vanished Without a Trace
1993
1h 29m
★ 8.1
"You can go watch that movie from Lifetime in 1993 called They've Taken Our Children, if you want to see Carl Maldon in his underwear, apparently. — A Lifetime TV movie dramatization of the Chow Chilla school bus kidnapping starring Carl Malden."
— Josh
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