Nightmare in Chowchilla: The School Bus Kidnapping
It was one the largest abductions in U.S. history.
On July 15, 1976, a school bus carrying 26 schoolchildren ages 5 to 14 and their driver vanished without a trace in the tiny farming community of Chowchilla, California. As a frantic search for them began, the young, terrified hostages and their 55-year-old bus driver found themselves trapped in a scene that seemed like something straight out of a horror movie.
Their unlikely captors, three directionless young men from affluent families, planned the kidnapping for more than 18 months in the hopes of getting “easy money.”
In “Nightmare in Chowchilla,” we untangle a controversy that has dogged this case for decades: Who was the real hero in the Chowchilla kidnapping? The bus driver who received all the acclaim in the days following their escape, or a 14-year-old boy who hatched a plan that ultimately saved the lives of 27 people.
Senior correspondent Claudia Cowan travels throughout California to get firsthand accounts from the people who lived through this horrendous crime, including several of the survivors and their parents, the sheriff who feverishly looked for the abductors, a TV news producer who covered the story and a prosecutor who has worked on the case. And in our podcast exclusives, we reunite two survivors who haven’t seen each other since that fateful day as well as reveal a message from one of the captors.
Our Editor's Take
A school bus kidnapping sounds like something out of a horror movie. But the Nightmare in Chowchilla: The School Bus Kidnapping story is real. In 1976, kidnappers looking for what they saw as easy money took over a Chowchilla, California school bus. They put the kids in vans, then brought them to a quarry, where they buried them alive in an underground truck. Yet the kids and their bus driver escaped, and everyone survived. This was "the largest kidnapping for money in U.S. history, the podcast says. This limited-episode series explains what happened.
Fox News reporter Claudia Cowan hosts Nightmare in Chowchilla: The School Bus Kidnapping. The podcast retraces this abduction and the events that followed. Along the way, it explores the details of the crime, including what happened in the aftermath.
Nightmare in Chowchilla: The School Bus Kidnapping is a shocking story. Cowan travels to the California woods to find the truth. She speaks to survivors and their parents. She also gathers other accounts and goes over the case like never before. What happened to the bus driver? What happened to the schoolchildren? Who committed these crimes? This show gives answers.
Contrary to what one might have expected, the kidnappers were all from wealthy families. Yet they sought even more money. The show analyzes their motives for this crime. It's true that everyone on the bus survived. But the victims still suffer from post-traumatic stress. Nightmare in Chowchilla offers a comprehensive exploration of this horrific kidnapping. Fans of true crime may appreciate this story. From specifics of parole hearings to controversial outcomes, every episode is fascinating.
This series aired in February of 2022. With six parts, each around 30 minutes in length, it is a comprehensive report on the kidnapping. When available, the podcast posts updates, including on the kidnappers themselves. This is a story that borders on incomprehensible. Once a listener starts the show, they may want to listen to the end.
Episodes