Kidnapper inspired by Dirty Harry villain is granted parole after 39 years in jail for keeping 26 schoolkids buried alive in a trailer dug into Californian hillside

  • California Gov Jerry Brown had until midnight Thursday to decide if James Shoenfeld, 63, should have parole denied - and he took no action
  • Schoenfeld - who was 24 at the time - his brother Richard and friend Fred Woods were convicted for the kidnapping inspired by the movie 
  • The men abducted 26 children and their school bus driver in Chowchilla
  • They kept them in a trailer that had been buried into a hillside while they negotiated a ransom
  • Richard Schoenfeld was paroled in 2012, while Woods was denied parole but he could have another hearing this fall

By Kelly Mclaughlin For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 12:18 EST, 30 July 2015 | Updated: 09:05 EST, 31 July 2015

California Gov Jerry Brown has until midnight on Thursday to decided whether to allow parole for James Schoenfeld (pictured)

California Gov Jerry Brown has until midnight on Thursday to decided whether to allow parole for James Schoenfeld (pictured)

A convicted kidnapper who kept 26 children and a school bus driver in a buried trailer has been granted his freedom - after the governor of California didn't object to parole. 

James Schoenfeld, 63, kidnapped the bus carrying the group then buried them alive in a chilling heist inspired by the film Dirty Harry.

Schoenfeld confessed to carrying out the 1976 crime with his brother Richard and his friend Fred Woods.

He was originally given a life sentence, which was commuted to allow the possibility of parole. This will now be granted to him after almost 40 years in prison.

Governor Jeremy Brown could have denied the recommendation of Schoenfeld's parole board, but took no action.

The passage of the deadline at midnight on Thursday means that the parole process will continue.

The victims of the kidnapping had described the suffering they felt 39 years later in a heartfelt letter to the parole board. They expressed the desire for their captors to remain in jail. 

In 1976, the Schoenfeld brothers and Woods took the children, who were aged from five to 14, and bus driver Ed Ray from Chowchilla in the Central Valley to a quarry near Livermore.

There they were held captive inside a buried, ventilated trailer stocked with mattresses, food and water. The victims eventually managed to dig their way out and escaped unhurt.

Richard Schoenfeld was paroled in 2012. Woods was denied parole the same year but may have another parole hearing this fall.

The kidnappers were influenced by the 1971 Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry, in which the antagonist kidnaps a school bus of children in exchange for a ransom. 

James Schoenfeld was one of three men who kidnapped 26 children on a school bus along with the driver in the hopes of asking for $5million ransom in 1976

James Schoenfeld was one of three men who kidnapped 26 children on a school bus along with the driver in the hopes of asking for $5million ransom in 1976

James Schoenfeld (left), Fred Woods (center) and Richard Schoenfeld (right) were convicted of kidnapping the children who ranged in age from five to 14

James Schoenfeld (left), Fred Woods (center) and Richard Schoenfeld (right) were convicted of kidnapping the children who ranged in age from five to 14

The kidnappers were inspired by the 1971 film Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry in which the antagonist kidnaps a school bus for ransom

The kidnappers were inspired by the 1971 film Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry in which the antagonist kidnaps a school bus for ransom

The Schoenfeld brothers and Woods lured the bus driver by pretending their white van had broken down on the side of a road. 

The bus driver stopped to see if the occupants of the van needed help. 

But three masked men, later identified as brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld and Frederick Woods, stormed onto the vehicle, brandishing guns and forced Ray to the back of the bus.

The children and Ray were loaded onto two vans and driven around for 11 hours, during which time the hungry, petrified youngsters soiled themselves and held each other in fear.

The vans were driven to a quarry near Livermore, where the captives were forced into a buried trailer stocked with mattresses, food and water - and equipped with fans and ventilation.

The kidnappers, all from wealthy Bay Area families, planned to ask for a $5million ransom for their hostages.

Their plot, which they had worked on for 18 months, unraveled when they took a nap. 

The driver and older boys were able to stack mattresses to a hole in the top of the van. They pushed open a weighted-down metal lid and freed the children who had spent 16 hours underground.

'He was a courageous man,' victim Jodi Heffington-Medrano said of Ed Ray, the driver. 'He kept 26 scared children in line and made us feel safe.'

Young victims of the Chowchilla kidnaping huddle together under happier circumstances for celebration honoring them and bus driver Ed Ray on Sunday, August 22, 1976, a month after they were able to escape

Young victims of the Chowchilla kidnaping huddle together under happier circumstances for celebration honoring them and bus driver Ed Ray on Sunday, August 22, 1976, a month after they were able to escape

Some of the Chowchilla victims kidnapped in 1976 still face horrors 39 years later as a result of their childhood trauma

Some of the Chowchilla victims kidnapped in 1976 still face horrors 39 years later as a result of their childhood trauma

Victims of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping, pictured a few years ago, have recounted their lifelong struggle after the traumatic kidnapping

Victims of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping, pictured a few years ago, have recounted their lifelong struggle after the traumatic kidnapping

Ed Ray Jr, the school bus driver was hailed as a hero for helping 26 students escape after three men kidnapped the group, died in 2012

Ed Ray Jr (pictured left and right), the school bus driver was hailed as a hero for helping 26 students escape after three men kidnapped the group, died in 2012

But even when the hostages started to escape, they feared the men were waiting outside for them, she said.

All three men received life sentences after pleaded guilty to kidnapping charges.

 

Men work to lift the trailer where the children escape from their armed captors - thanks to the bravery of the bus driver

Men work to lift the trailer where the children escape from their armed captors - thanks to the bravery of the bus driver

This is how it looked on Friday, July 23, 1976 inside the van in which 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver were held captive after being abducted

This is how it looked on Friday, July 23, 1976 inside the van in which 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver were held captive after being abducted

Jennifer Brown Hyde, 48, who was nine years old when she was kidnapped along with her ten-year-old brother described the chilling memory and life long trauma she has endured. 

She asked the parole board not to grant James Schoenfeld his freedom. 'I was honestly brutal,' she said. 'I wrote that they buried me alive, they stole my childhood and caused me immense emotional pain over the years. It affected my life, my parents’ lives and my children’s lives.

'For me, it’s having to deal with hatred and anger toward other human beings, and that’s a struggle that almost 40 years later I still have to deal with.

'Until recently I slept with a night light. I have anxiety attacks when I’m in a confined space, and it’s a problem living in the South when we have tornado warnings and we have to take cover in storm shelters... They took away my ability to be free.'

The Fresno Bee reports that the kidnapping affected Hyde's ability to be a mother to two children since she did not have what she considers a normal childhood.

'You don’t go from being buried alive and thinking you’re going to die to having a normal childhood,' she said.

'I’m fortunate I’m not incarcerated or hooked on drugs, which is how some of the kids dealt with it. I’m as OK as a broken person can be.'

Schoenfeld, pictured center at an unknown date, will now be granted parole 

Schoenfeld, pictured center at an unknown date, will now be granted parole 

 

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