Today marks the 46th anniversary of the largest ever kidnapping for ransom in the US, which spawned the largest manhunt in California history. The unprecedented abduction saw 26 children aged 5-14 and their 55-year-old bus driver intercepted on their regular route and redirected to an underground prison dug out by their captors. The group's incredible escape brought about the end of a terrifying 80-hour ordeal. Still, many survivors continue to suffer the lasting effects of PTSD.
Writing and research by Angelina Villeseche.
Original music and audio production by Louis Levesque.
For inquiries: louis14levesque@gmail.com
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LINKS + SOURCES:
PODCAST SERIES
Nightmare in Chowchilla: The School Bus Kidnapping
TV
Vanished Without a Trace (1993)
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/22570738/chowchilla-school-bus-kidnapping
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Chowchilla_kidnapping
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/589819/california-school-bus-kidnappings-1976
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/chowchilla-bus-kidnapping-frederick-woods-rare-photos-from-one-of-the-largest-kidnappings-in-u-s-history/29/
https://www.cityofchowchilla.org/213/About-Chowchilla
https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/07/chowchilla-kidnapping-children-buried-alive-escape/
https://wizzley.com/movie-review-vanished-without-a-trace/
https://www.nytimes.com/1977/07/26/archives/3-plead-guilty-in-76-chowchilla-kidnapping-of-26-children-and.html
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/chowchilla-school-bus-kidnapper-reccomended-for-parole-by-cdcr-panel/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10666081/Man-imprisoned-kidnapping-bus-children-burying-alive-approved-parole.html
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/04/02/us/chowchilla-bus-kidnapping-victim-trauma/index.html