Four of themBill Sterling, 29 . The next day, their car was Five men from Yuba City, California, disappeared in 1978 after a trip to a nearby town. How these five men came to be on an inhospitable mountain road more than 50 miles from their homes in and around Marysville and Yuba City, California, was just one of the mysteries surrounding their disappearance. 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. [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. In 1978, five friends set out for home from a basketball game. [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. Weiher seemingly walked nearly 20 miles to the trailer in frigid conditions, despite having left his coat at home. It was shortly before the store's 10 p.m. closing time; the clerk later remembered the men because she was annoyed that such a large group had come in and delayed her from beginning the process of closing the store for the night. This week, Emma teaches Brian about the Yuba County Five and their mysterious deaths. None of the men's families could speculate as to why they might have driven up a long and winding dirt road[a] on a winter night deep into a high-elevation remote forest, without any extra clothing and on the night before a basketball game they had been discussing excitedly for several weeks. Not much remained of Huett. They appeared to have died from exposure perhaps before reaching the trailer. But there had been no apparent attempt to start a fire despite the freezing temperature on the mountain. Ted's feet were also badly frostbitten. 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. According to the Daily Mail, the District Attorney publicized the gruesome photos a week after they were presented to a jury. Thats the question people who learn about the Yuba County Five ask themselves when they hear this bizarre true crime story. The five men had prepared the night before, some even laying out their uniforms and asking their parents to wake them up on time. There was no sign of the men and no indication of why they had abandoned their operable car. They werent the type to stay out very late or make spontaneous plans. The story from here is a little confusing. Bianca Myrtil is a writer and freelance editor. Read more Print length 152 pages Language English Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe Publication date The passengers then left together in one car. Ted Weiher's sister-in-law has theorized that the men may have seen something take place at the basketball game that prompted someone to chase them. Some of them even laid out their uniforms for the team and asked their parents to make sure they woke up on time for the game. Check out our sponsors! Hours into his ordeal and with his car still stuck and now out of gas, Shones felt well enough to begin walking down the mountain road and toward a lodge roughly eight miles away. This is a Mopac Audio podcast and is hosted by writer, producer, and podcaster Shannon McGarvey. There was no sign of Mathias, aside from his tennis shoes, which had been left in the trailer. [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. The next day, their car was discovered in a lonely mountain road. Shones said he saw a woman as well, and that he also heard a babys cry. As of late, his condition had greatly improved though, and he was able to work in his stepfathers gardening business. He weighed just 120 pounds at the time of his death. (KTXL) A vigil is planned Thursday for the 10-year-old boy who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Yuba County. As mentioned before, they were homebodies. 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. Although the mens bodies were heavily decomposed, autopsy results determined that they had likely died from exposure. It sounds pretty normal right? Crime Junkie. All were either mildly developmentally disabled or had other severe psychiatric conditions. Published: 13:22 BST, 5 February 2019 Updated: 15:52 BST, 6 February 2019 Remains aptly named Corpsewood Manor have been abandoned since the owners were Since Mathias had presumably not taken his medication, pictures of him were distributed to mental institutions all over California. Were going to be covering a story Let's discuss the strange disappearance of the Yuba County Five. [2] The sheets all over Weiher's body also suggested that one of the others had been there with him, as his gangrenous feet would have been in too much pain for him to pull them over his body himself. Jane Carter, who goes by Jane Schneck on Facebook . [2][4], The five men's favorite leisure activity was sports. (They changed her name to "Dale Harum" in Michigan Murders .) It was later identified as Weiher's. 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. The Sutter County Sheriff's Office is responsible for crime prevention, law enforcement, and criminal investigation in the unincorporated areas of the County and in the City of Live Oak. Is Hailey Bieber obsessed with Justin Biebers ex Selena Gomez? Why was that odd? A still-unsolved mystery, the Yuba County Five . CAUTION, CRIME SCENE PHOTOS! 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 . His car had gotten stuck in the snow, and pushing it out by himself brought it on. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: Who made the most money from their fight? Mathias had been in the Army, too, but was discharged because of psychiatric problems. This eventually led to him being diagnosed with schizophrenia and being psychiatrically discharged. Mathias, his feet perhaps also swollen from frostbite, could have decided to put Weiher's shoes on instead if he had ventured outside. These five friends were part of a locally sponsored team for the mentally disabled called the Gateway Gators. 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. All five either had slight intellectual disabilities or psychiatric disorders. In 1975, with a short stint at Yuba College proving unsuccessful, Mathias abruptly left school and moved to Oregon to stay with his grandmother. 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. He would later say he saw a group of men, one woman, and a baby. [2] For whatever reason, the men had left the Montego; they had, instead of going back down the road (where they had passed the lodge that Schons later returned to), continued along the road in the direction they were originally going. The Yuba County Sheriff's Department said 10-year-old Frankie Rosiles [] The family identified the 10-year-old as Frankie Rosiles. [2], Most puzzling to the investigators was how Weiher had come to his fate. Melba Madruga, Jack's mother, toldTheWashington Post that she believed "some force" had led the group astray. 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. All the conspiracies about this financier, 'America's Most Wanted': Behind the most tragic true-crime story ever. Later, he clarified to police that he could not be sure of that, since at the time he was almost delirious from the pain he was in. The Yuba County 5 remains one of the most baffling puzzles within the true crime community. Natural spring well houses and outhouse structures still stand, and evidence of bonfires clogs the property. Their families said that when they got together, it was usually to play a game or to watch one. 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). He Hello and welcome to your favorite podcast that goes bump in the night. No one even covered the window they had smashed to get inside of the trailer. . $19.99 + $4.99 . Why was a common question for investigators and the relatives of the men, but no answers were forthcoming. It was a straight shot on the hiway from Chico to Yuba. This team was supported by a local program for people with mental disabilities. Yuba County, California. For the families of these young men, the sense of heartbreak and loss is just as strong today as it was over forty years ago. En 1978, un grupo de amigos con diferentes Los 5 de Yuba CIty, El Dyatlov Americano - Parte 2. But instead of driving south toward their homes roughly 50 miles away, they inexplicably drove east. One of the crime scenes from the John Collins murder series. There was no reason to believe he wouldnt be home in time for his next dose. His feet were badly frostbitten,[2] almost gangrenous. They decided to drive to Chico that night to cheer on the UC Davis basketball team in an away game against Chico State. No one had even bothered to cover the broken window they had smashed in to get inside. When Shones tried to get their attention one more they continued to ignore him. None of them were dressed warmly enough to go through the rugged dense forest. Weiher was concluded to have died from a mixture of starvation and exposure, but both a heating system and food were readily available. Shones said he cried for help but got no reply. Don't you let me oversleep". The two cars stopped about 20 feet from him. Along the way, he passed a 1969 Mercury Montego, which belonged to the Yuba County 5. These were individual canned, pre-cooked, and prepared meals issued to the U.S. military. When 5 men disappear into the snowy wilderness leaving their perfectly functioning car behind, What happened to the 5 men who mysteriously vanished one winters night? 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. Many people knew this group of friends around town. "We know good and well somebody made them do it," she said. 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. He had driven up there, where he had a cabin, to check the snowpack in advance of a weekend ski trip with his family.