directly to their organization. be sure to tune in tomorrow night for cnn heroes, an all- star tribute. we'll be joined by some of the brightest stars to celebrate this year's top ten cnn heroes. thanks so much for watching! good night. [musicic playing]] speaker: a at the presesent ti, we know w that therere are 27 pe missing g since abouout 4:15 yesterday y afternoon.n. > at the presentnt time we there are e 27 people e missini since about 4:15 yesterday afternrnoon. speaker:r: presidentnt ford dird the e attorney g general to usel availablble governmement resour. speaeaker: the c california a nl guard jojoined statete and lol police andnd the fbi in a giaiant searchh for r the childrdren and thehe . speakeker: it was s like sosomebody comome down froroms and d just took k them upup off the p planet. wawas it an ououtright kidnappingng, a psychohopath, or sex maniac c on the loooos? speaker: w whoever didid it pt a great dedeal of plananning and effortrt and we might eveven say mononey. there e may never r have been as anguiuishing a mymystery. speaeaker: it's s the worst td of s story you c could tell. speaker:r: being bururied alive is our w worst fear.r. there may never have been an anguishing of mystery. >> it's the worst kind of story you can tell. >> being buried alive is o our worsrst fefear. >> i it showeded thehe wororld chilildhood trauma r really doe a person. . >> my childhood d ended julyly , , 1976. > i will l nenever get back kid that i wasas. that k kid stayed d undergrounu thatat happened d for each and every onone of us. chchowchilla i is in central l californiaia. it was verery small totown us. chowchililla is a plplace whee time c can seem toto stand sti, > coachehella isis in centr californiaia, very smamall town ususa. >> chohowchilla is a placece w titime can seem to s stand stil but there'e's always s somethin that seeeems to neneed to bebe planted or harvesteded as s the cycle ofof life contntinues. >> by the e time i was there in 1970, it was mainly y cattttle farmrming. ththey had a f fair and d a ror eaeach year they had a cattle e drive right througugh the cente of town. >> my dad d was a a world d chc steer wrestlerer that was raise right, really to belieieve in g and cowboy. at an earlrly age e i i knew i to b be a rodeo o cowboyoy liki dad and hihis friends.s. >> c chowchilla a wawas a wowon place to grow up. wewe'd catch f frogs. wewe'd go roroller skating d do hills,s, go play in the mumud, the e irrigationon ditches. . the townwn had no crcrime, no c at a all. > it's one of the few t town america that had fewerer bars s than it had churches. as a child god was very real to me. wewe had angels, demons. i coululd imimagine satatan's a my dad said we all had a guardian angel that keeps s tho demons at t babay. you u imprint that on n a 3-yea- old's brain anand there e isis nono doubt. >> at the time we werere in summmmer school.l. we didid arts and d crafts, ceceramics. we got to go swimming. i have a large family. i'm third youngest in a family of 11. that day i had three sibiblings on the bus and two cousins. we were little innocent children. ed ray: ok, load up. child: load up! ed ray: yeah. child: where are we going-- where are we going? eded ray: we'r're going hoho. take youou home. was ththe driver t tha >> okakay. loadad up. > cant day.y. w we load u up wherere we goioing? >> t take you home. >> e ed ray was s the driver th day. he was a lococal farmer.r. >> youou could telell thisis m bubucking his s own hay, yetet so kinind. >> h he knew allll t the kids b first naname, knknew most t of parerents. ththere's not t a one of them m didn't wanant to hug h his baca whenen they got t on the busus. almostst burnt thehe house. >> the day before the kidnapping i got into my mom's beer a and tried to make some popcororn, almost t burnt the house. she walklked in and d saidid ok mike, wellll, yoyour punisishme you'll havave toto ride e the b home tomororrow. ♪enensated--bendining over mile finally y ruinined my daddddy's ♪ as he overcrcompensateded for educucation lack ♪. >> whehen he openened up, i wew the very b back so that i cocou be r rowdy and talk with my friends.s. i was s a vevery outgoining, outstspoken chilild and d i i w coconstantly g getting in n tro on the busus for talkiking. , a, my brother jeff was also on the bus. he was one year ahead of me in schohool, an h honor roll ststu basically y an allll amerirican >> dououg was right t in froron me. . he was a sweweetheart. he was m my 10-y-year-old boyfriend.d. >> a as a chilild, i was hyperactctive. i i was such a a problblem on t you cocouldn't keep meme in a s me being me, i i fororgot to ta my meds s that day. . i was momoving seatsts, bubuggi thisis person and hitttting tht personon and p pulling this person's hair. my sister andrea w was sitting me on n the bus.s. she would d get meme to relax.x basicacally she wawas my best t friend. . >> i rememember a lot of the girls s had the crush onon the - year-old c cowboy, mikike marsh he was definititely a hahandsom- year-oldld boyoy. >> n never h heard o of him, ne really seen him before. here's thihis kid d whwho cocom of completete obobscurity fofor solele purpose t that god d knk wawas about toto happen. ff al. >> we werere driving homome. as u usual, we were e droppipin off f along the e way.y. we're e in the middldle of the orchards and fields. we turn ththis cornener anand t the spot. . >> i'd l like for yoyou to tell in your r owown words fifirst w you're rididing ththe bus,s, j tell me whwhat y you rememember >> there w was this s white van the e road andnd then two guys jumped o out with gunsns. and d onone of t them toldld us ththe door. so we openened the doooor. to the b back of thehe bus. then thehe g guy g got in. he had pananty hose e ovover hi head. he told ededward to gogo to tht baback of the bus. > i was scarered. so i ducucked under r my seat. mymy sister, a and >> ed d ray got rerea. to t the back. i went b back over to my sisist andrdrea. i heheld her hanand. >> the guyuy with the shshotgun scscared m me with his gun. >> they told eveverybody in n t first threree seats to go o to backck of the bubus. i was in t the fourtrth seatat. everybybody was scscared. > they kept theheir gun poio inin the direcection of all l o chchildren. so it was s the whwhole time pointed d at the children. lalarry park: : they were e t, smashing t their nose e down. >> even n more scaryry was the pantnty hose thahat theyey had over t their face. >> t they were tigight, smasash theieir nose d down. ththeir eyes w were hollow. it remindeded me of dedemons. i'm m trying to o figure out what's's going on.n. if i c can figure e out ththe why, thehen maybe > all of a sudden we're driving.g. i'm trtrying to figugure out wh going onon, ifif i c can figuru the e why to maybe i i can figu out a a way toto interruptpt w gogoing to comome next. we drive a little further r and the e guy ruruns t the bus intn slew. wewe were joststled alall over thehe place. >> it was a deep inclinene. we w were jojostled all overer plplace. whwhen we finally y stopop, we anotother van. now therere was a a whwhite van the e greeeen van. > the v van droveve right ba the door of ththe bubus and the ththey hadad all the kids s on riright-hand s side go into the whwhite van. >> in that first groupup o of childrdren was m my brotheher. he t turned anand lolooked at t the aiaisle. hehe gave meme t that lolook of just n need to be e quiet. >> goingng through t the door, there wawas another guguy stand therere like a statutue pointin his gun straight through. they had to go by him. they had plywood all inside the van so you couldn't see out or anything. we got in n th >> andndat van. then theyey b b secocond van up to the bus. ththe other kids, , we g got in van. i was scscared becauause theher absosolutely no o communicatati fromom them on w where we'e're or whahat they'r're goining tot wiwith us. >> andnd then ththey shut ththe doors.s. carol marshall: i had fixed michael bacon-and-tomato sandwiches for dinner. and at a about 4:30,0, i stararted lookining for the e. i had fixed michael l bacon and tomatoto sandwichehes for didinner. atat about 4:30 i started d lol fofor the bus. it didn't t come. > at 191976 the s sheriff's had one patrol officerer in chowowchilla. there was s only onene little b offifice and o one phone w when call camame inin thahat the bus missing.g. i saidid what do youou mean, missing? how doeses a school bus all painted yeyellow in a smalall county s show up m missing? i put out an all poioints bulllletin. > i w went all l the e way t school, lolooked d down everery streetet. i knew somethihing w was w wron ththe parents s were c congrega at thehe police station. >> w we are trying t to locatet lostst childreren along withth driver. >> never did i think something major like this cocould happene chowowchilla. jennnnifer brownwn hyde: seeed lilike we werere driven arard for, l like, hoursrs upon hou. l like we were driven a around for likeke hour upon h hours. > it was hot t in thahat van it w was just t stififling. > kids got t sick from m the motion of f ththe vehihicle and food, nono water. i just felt like a an animalal beining taken toto s slaughter. if you as a a child d can n be into the bacack of a vanan with any y comfororts, they didn't c abouout us. > i told a a few of my littt frieiends, i t told ththem be b bebecause evererything's g goin be all rigight. 'em.. >> we ththought thatat they mig be back ththere killining the g in the b bus becausese we didid know what t they werere doing t themem. >> i w was separatated from my three sisisters. were they y alive? did they get left t behind? >> andrerea and i were togetheh i totook herer hanand. therere was some security y the >> we e prayed. we sang "if you'rere hapappy a you knowow it clap your hahands nonobody clapppped their h hand ththey wouldn'n't lelet usus us rerestroom. i held mysyself all daday. i wawas in tears because i i wa phphysical pain. edward wasas very quieiet. i ththink he comprprehended tha this wasas a serious s situatio >> thehe k kids were askining m questitions when thehey were go to s see their mamamas a and d and i think k thatat t they beb that i wouldld t tell themem t trututh. i totold them yes, you will and didn't lie. i i dididn't tell them whahat lifetitime it mighght be. dad, r > we were l lookingoberert g everywhehere. >> m my dad, robert gottscschal wawas well knonown as s a local avaviator and d he a approach d search. >> i remember r going ouout fly in the airplanane out over theh ash slslew looking for thehe bu > dad took k frfriends to th down herere to thehe s south an is the o one thahat spspotted i itit w was d difficult to see e the groundnd because t the slel had d quite a a bibit of treese >> they knew somomething was teterribly wrongng at thatat po when thehey found the e emempty >> i c couldn't undersrstand it i actualally lookeked up in the sky,y, ufos, whahat? wherere are the e kids? whwhere's michchael? > this was a major case. . i calllled goverernor jerry y b office. i i said, "i want t every state agency that t has s cars and ra in m my office."." he s said, "you u gogot it." inin the meantimime they setet roadadblocks. and hours s and hours.s. >> we wewere driving around for seememed like hohours and houru hours s until theyey finally stopped.d. >> and s started heaearing sawi and hahammering. mimike marshalall: and thehen, f a sudddden, the dodoor flies o. >> a and then n all of a sudded door flilies opepen. >> t they totook ed ray out fif > andnd t they grababbed ono kids. dodoor flies s shut agagain. > few minuteses wouould g go they'd'd reaeach in, grarab ano kid. > i felt hehelpless. that to me was onene of the scariest because now we're goining to f find out whwhat's on. >> w when you openened t the do what d did you seeee? >> i s saw it was s kind of lik tetent, but itit had thrhree si and it had a roof on it. >> they y had built thisis struructure and d covered itit someme kind of a tarp p and tht had backed t the van underernea the ststructure anand so it waw enclososed. >> t they askeked meme my name. i i couldn't't pronounce m my r i was larry y polk and that't's theyey wrorote i it downwn. >> thehey asked me my name and agage and d ththey took my shih so a at thatat pointnt it was j in my y pipink fuzzy swimsmsuit > they tookok m my white e l pupurse which h hahad my little address s book and i thought ar you giving these guys who o are popointing g guns at you your r address s anand phone number wh they canan g get t the rest t o fafamily? > finally c came dodown t to this little e monica and she wa 4 yearars old. hardest papart thahat ststicks my head d was i had to eitheher hand h her over to t them or le her ththere and i cocouldn't ha her over. . >> they y escorted m me to w wh ththere was a hole in n the gro withth a a ladadder comiming ou i lookeded down ththe ladder a could see e ed ray. ththe kidnappepers gave e him m flasashlight. i did not t want to gogo d down therere. i knknew if i wewent down that hole, , i was nenever comingng ouout. timeme froze. then ed raray grabs mymy ankle says, "comome outside.e. it wilill be okay.y." and i climbed down i into there jennifer brown hyde: inside this hole that we were in, we w were in thehe dark agai. yoyou couldn't't really cocompd at that t point wherere you we. insiside this hohole thahat wewere in, we were in the darkr again.n. you cocouldn't reaeally comprer atat that t point wherere you w i found d my brother. . so i knew that he was alive.e. my sisters were therere. >> w when they let monicica com dodown, i was s relieved. . >> some e of thehe youounger ch were whihimpering and d crcryin i i remember j jody huffingtgto one of t the o older g girls wh tried to k keep ththe younger r calm somomewhat anand composede some people just h had t that persrsonality ofof an older sis figure that was there e toto he >> i i look k around. there are e sosome mattresesses some blanknkets. fofor to us use the rerestroom, they h had cut outut holes. >> w we were okakay at leaeast nonow. we'r're okay. we're all l alalive. wewe're all back togetheher. >> s suddenly they drop like a manhole cocover over the hole.e >> that's when we started hearing ththat dirt t and we we being g covered upup, buried a yoyou know. geororge osterkakamp: i was a younung news dirirector at k , the publicic televisioion stat. me to o me on a wiwire >> i m machine. was a youngng n at kqed, the public televivisio ststation. so i news s ofof t the kidnappi cacame to me on a wiwire machin i rerealized that this was a bi story, w was probablbly the sto of thehe decade, possibly y the storory of the c century. for parerents. it wasas a great story f for repoporters, a terriblble evene parents. >> good d evening. there mamay never have beeeen a ananguishing a a mystery. . >> it was s covered eveverywher >> the b bus has b been found. there arare no signs of f vivio and therere are only hororrifie guesses asas to o whatat may ha hahappened. >> but leded thehe n newscasts. >> stillll no break k inin that chowchilla school bus kidndnapping. >> it was s internatioionally cocovered, butut i in the early hours, of f course, nonobody kn anythingng. >> thehere are lots ofof theheo asas to why. >> can y you tell me what ththe theoriries are? we have no theorieies atat alll >> whahat would you say about t possibible motiveses, thenen? >> hadad you evever seseen any follllowing the e bubus before? >> no. >> do yoyou haveve anyny idea w might have done e ththat? >> n no. >> d did youou s see anything g the e bus let t you off? >> n no. >> t there were e peopople call withth c conspiracy y ththeorie i rememberer talkiking to one person going on and on about the son n of sam. >> m must have r received atat 1,000 calllls thinking it was t zodiac killer or moon up in n oregon. >> in ththe last few yeaears we become usesed to tererrorist activity i in this couountry ununfortunatelely. >> i is it a pololitical act, d yoyou think? >> that't's speculatation, s si yourur guess is s as good d as at this popoint. jenniferer brown hydyde: you cd hear t these, likeke, exhaust t. anand if you w went to the sid, you u could feelel air cominin. >> you c could hear these like exexhaust fansns and i if you w the sides, y you could feel l a comiming in, not air condiditio air, but warm m air circrculati >> to me therere wasas just ver littlele air, very hard d to breathe. >> afterer so many hours it t j becomes s desperate.e. >> ed d ray anand mike marshsha totook the f flashlight t anand starteted lookoking around, , e crack anand every crcrevice. they're lolooking at the walls. they're lolooking atat t the cr in the ceieiling. > the only y way to getet ou to g go ththrough the top. alall the e lilittle kids stara sayiying t try a and move it. theyey d didn't wawant b becaus thoughght we'd get h hurt if th caughtht us tryiying t to get o >> we beggeded edward d please you've g got to trtry. we'r're going g to die in n heh you'u've got to get t us out. >> ed ray put hihis handnds up. ed ray i is a a stout man, but, man, it t was nonot moving. >> then the e batterieies on whatatever fanans they hadad go they just t stopped. herselelf, prayingng. >> i remember r andreaea was sisitting by h herself prarayin >> e ed raray got us a all to c dodown. he h had allll 26 of us tatake s >> i donon't know if it was tht heat, , but i kept goioing back camping g trips thatat i i had with m my family. . i could d see the wawater. i cocould see usus gathering aroundnd the campfpfire. waititing for ththat m monster i i could see us gatathering ar the e campfire. . i could d smell the e smoke. lelenore c. teterr: in thehe , hallucinatations were e attribd toto viruses, , head injurur. bebefore chowcwchilla > in wewere attributeted to virusese hehead injurieies, but w what h been knownwn beforore chowchili that pure fright, getting scareded to deatath, could make hallucinatate. >> o one little e child saw w r ththrough the e ceiling of theh hole, , right throrough all the rocks anand the dirt t that hah been p piled on anand saw w the of kidnapperers sleepingng abob ththem. thatat was a complete mirage an that c came from beieing trauaumatized. >> when n i wokeke up, someteth wawas wrong. a a little "krkr-krrck," l like. dirt was coming in, dust. >> i it made like lilittle soun like thahat. whatat's going o on? >> t the o only thing holding t roof in placace were f four by fofours, one on ththe ceilining thenen a post holding g it up. you coululd hear t the screechc of thehe metal and thehe roof j gave. . a carrejejo: i thougug weteterrifying. . there wawas dust andnd dirt tha was flflying everyrywhere. thought t we werere going g tot right there. that's when we thought we would smother to death. lynda carrejo: and then, it finally stopped. but anyone that touched that beam-- the sand would trickle in. then it finally stopped, but anyonene that touched that beam, ththe sasand would trickl in. so w we couldn't't move. we had to o stay p put wherevev were at.t. we knenew we wouldn'n't lalast longer in n there. >> good d evening. the cacalifornia national l gua today y joined state andnd loco polilice and the fbi in a a gia search foror 26 californrnia chilildren. ththere are no r real clues.s. only a an eeeerie silence in a frigightening anand bibizarre c > throughouout much of f thi parentnts and other familyly of mimissing chchildren came to t commmmand postst set up p in chowowchilla. >> there was 100 peoplple waiti for woword and i it was scary. >> my husband bob was in canada at the calgary stampede. he w was practicically in teara tryingng to get hohome. i was s abable t to sleep p for whwhile, but a as soon as s i o my e eyes, it was like a tonon bricks h hit me. >> all we e can do is joinin wi the fafamilies a and loved o on ththose involved and pray,y, pr hard for t their safe e recover . saying t >> we begggged edward d hat it you've gotot to try.y. we're e goining to d die in heh you'u've got to get us outut. >> i remembeber edward s saying that it lolooked likike we were gogoing to havave to stay down therere and kick thehe buckeket >> edward d was s fearfuful tht actions cocould caususe haharm ononly to him, but to us, bubut mimike didn't t have that sensn hopelelessness. >> you knonow, a litittle fear of hitit you, but at the same time it gegenerates momore powe i was trtrying to o prprocess i anand i thought t toto m myself we'r're going toto die, we're g to d die gettingng the hell out hehere. we'r're going to die tryining. >> t they started d stacking u mattreresses to get toto the to eveven a l lot o of ththe young took turnsns doingng w whatever thatat t their young litittle b cocould do. we're not t going to dieie. this is not how we're e going t end.d. jody's's job was t to shine tht flashlhlight whihile michahael up and with all hihis might gag his s cowboy pusush. see it movove, but allll the ki- > all the kidids are sayingn on, mimike. yoyou can do i it, mike and i d feelel it move or see itit move but all ththe kidsds, i i jujus them say i it moved.d. it movoved. >> f for the first time e i i f hohope, kind o of wondereded if was my angngel, my guauardian a thatat dad talalked about. >> at ththat p point we saidid, "edwarard, you have to help him we've got t to get out of herer we're e going to d die. we'r're goining to s suffocate hehere." > edward wawas fefearful tht somemebody was up ththere just waiting. >> but h he finanally went over helped. >> ed ray y starteted pushshing evererything he e had. ththey knew something g was on bubut we didn'n't knknow whahat and so he pushed up and he goto that mananhole covover up mamay abouout yea high and m mike marshahall stuck h his arm thrh ththere and ststarted feeling g around t to see whatat was on t of the mananhole coverer. mike g got his hanand in theher jujust starteded doing this s a togethther thehey moved ththat mamanhole covever back jusust f enough t that a cocorner of a battery could be seen. that's not the battetery in yoy cacar. thesese bus babatteries weigh a 125, 150 pouounds. hahad ed r ray slilipped, hahad lost his grip, mikike marsrshal wowould have lost his arm. >> i remember r them s saying w out and boboom, these two huhug batttteries werere d dropped d the stack of matattresses. >> and then eded ray had a a go lolook. g like thahat. he van around thihis hole t they maded square box three feet t high, somemething likeke that, andnd was s so that as they y werere coveriring the v van with dirt, that they y woululdn't cover up hohole. >> edwdward sqsqueezes me throu this halalf foot hole.e. i get on top of f it. i i start poununding on thisis > all t the s seams were pre wellll connecteded. mike said,d, "wewe n need somet to pry it t withth," and he e t apapart a box x spspring mattrt was usining the woodod. >> robobert got up t there with fofor a while and wewe startrte hitttting and poundiding, hihit anand pounding. . >> mike e wowould slslam that c over and over and d over. itit just seememed impossisible and d i realizeded after i do that t for a whilile, > i start d digging undernen the e plywood anand i realalize i do that for a while e the e materirial rock and stufuff is falllling down oututside o of t plywood intoto the hole e i'm m diggining. i ththought maybybe i cocould g weight offff the top. . then i could p pull it out a an cacan scoop it d down insidede hohole. it wasas hours. >> he was kickining teterritory throwingng dirt. >> i don't't know w how w long up t there. itit w was hours. . >> he kekept digging. >> my equiuilibrium wawas off. i could hear that t in my eaear ringnging over and over,r, prer pleaease don't hururt him and i startiting t to believe thatat were up ththere. i i tried to see if f i i could any y weweight off the t top. it moved like e justst a a crac i lookoked throughgh i it and p as day i was goioing up and d t door opepening and beyond that was just p pure darkneness. you u could tellll there was somebody in n that darknkness. intoto no place,e, that theyeye still in h horrible trtroubl. i reremember it t vividldly. >> wasas in a hallllucination n hehe had dug into o no place, , ththey w were still in hororrib trtrouble. >> took a little b break there, but then i i saiaid toto myself you'u're a cowboy. you're going to geget on thahat crazy horsrse. you'u're going t to do whatetev isis y you got t to do. i i didn't care if thehey wewer therere. i twtwenty goioing to o gigive fromom that poinint on it didn' matter. . and. >> starteded hitting stuff, hitting anand poundingng, hihit anand pounding a and i pulled d chip o out. then therere was a big crarack. got it t open. so i cracked the c ceiling. and then i i almost t got it op pulled somome morere and crackc agagain. larry y park: it w was the mot beauautiful ray y of sunlight thatat i had evever seen. >> it was s the e most beaeauti raray of s sunlight thatat i ha seen. . much air a and cool aiair. > i j just remember the ligh and d the air, s so muchch air coolol air. > not knonowing i if they're there, i kept t thinking we'e'r getttting creamemed or we'rere getttting out anand i thinink t why y i didn't hesititate to s mymy head out t as soooon as i broke off. going upup above thehe hole, id no r real sense e where it w . i see trees. and i felt like we were in the mountains. there was nobody there. larry parkrk: i remembmber getg out and d looking araround. off f in the disistance wass a big,g, big buildlding. and i i was worrieied abouout that buiuilding, because mamaybe the kidnappepers were ovover ther. jejennifer brorown hyde: e edwat all the e kids togetether and s, we need d to be quieiet. and so likike a bunchh of littltle ducks, wewe're just w walking through ththe sand. mike mararshall: there werere 27 of us.s. and d if they arare around h , wewe're a pretetty easy tatat to see. larry parkrk: but thenen, we w someone e coming towoward us. and i did not know who it was or what they wanted. jennnnifer brownwn hyde: andne guguy's face w was just lili, oh my y god! i i saw you onon the news.. where inin the helll did yoyou come frorom? mikeke marshall:l: we turned out toto be in a r rock quarr. and in no time, the klaxon started sounding. ththey had setet off theirir a. robebert gebhardrdt: the children h have been f found. theyey are in gogood shape.. the bus drdriver has b been fo. he is inin good shapape. there'e's no indicication of any hararm. bruce tetellardin: d detectie bernie [ [? serbie ? ?] and i werere the firstst two,s i recallll, to arrivive and me cocontact withth the bus driver a and the kidids. kids were e actually, , for ththe most parart, calm. they w were a littttle bit dirty-lookoking, obvioiously, because e they were burieded in the grground. larry y park: we w were inin this big g warehouse.. i remembmber they had a wawater coolerer. i would tatake my littttle cupd i woululd pour it t on my hea, and thenen i'd fill l it up and i'd popour it on m my hea, trying to o get the didirt off. carorol marshallll: that eveve, we had thehe televisioion on, anand i thoughght i heard d m sasay, kids frfrom chowchihia had been f found. i ran n in there, , jumped oveve cocoffee tablele, turned t the . and sure e enough. and i wawas just so o thankfu. my son, , michael, i is 14, anand he's alilive and wele, and he's c coming homeme. and i i can't waitit to see h. reporterer: what's t the last 2 24 hours bebeen like? carorol marshallll: not veryry. i woululdn't want t to have o go thrhrough 'em a again, eve. bruce tetellardin: w we had to decide e how we're e going to proceceed with ththe inteterviews andnd things, and we dececided it wawas besto get ththem to a sesecure locat. jenniferer brown hydyde: so e wrote justst a very shshort dise to a a prison. theyey sat us dodown at alall these lilittle desksk, and theyey had appleles and d cartons ofof milk. larry parkrk: we were e given the inmatete jumpsuitsts, their whwhite jumpsusuits, to w. jennnnifer brownwn (on tape)e)l us little e kids got i into ', and d we had to o roll the pants up a about 10 fefeet. wewe're sittining there, flappingng our arms.s. we said,d, hey, we c can fly. and d we'd pretetend like we were e going to f fly. jenniferer brown hydyde: and t, the e police camame in and t td to us. reporter: : what's thehe situatation with t the kids n? man: i w would genererally desce ththem in veryry high spirir. repoporter: haveve they talked witith their paparent? man:n: we ask, w who wants to be tatalked to nenext? and theyey all put u up their hand, anand they're e very jov. lynda carrrrejo: afterer that, y got usus loaded upup in a greyed bus s to go homeme to chowchch. [applalause, cheerering] when w we got throrough chowchc, there werere lights eveverywhe, pepeople everyrywhere, just a seaea of peoplele. larrrry park: itit was just t . a a very nice e gentlemann carried d me off thehe bus-- paparent: is t that larry?? larry papark: --and d put meme in my momom's arms. (cryrying) and i i put my head on n her shouldlder. parent: itit's wonderfrful. you u can't say y enough wors to d describe hohow it feels, you u know. i'm jujust so happppy i could . [applaususe, cheerining] man: c come here, , mike. mike m marshall: r reporters a l over, askiking me whatat happe. and d i started d to talk toto, and then j just out ofof nowhe, prinincipal tatutum stepped d d said, why y don't we j just ge him a brbreak, boys?s? you know, , let him gogo home andnd get some e sleep. and so w we got in the car r and left.. there was s my chance e to telle worlrld what hapappened to g gg out t and everytything, and i didndn't do it.. i i let the grgrownups do o . ed ray: 7 7 o'clock, we got dugug out. i handeded the kids s up to te other r boys, and d we got ou, and wewe all got h home safe. [a[applause] rereporter: asas miraculououy as t they had didisappeared, ththe childrenen of chowchcha rereturned to o their parere, due toto the heroioic efforts of theheir bus dririver, ed r. larry papark: we werere home, but the e kidnappersrs were stl out t there. [jet whirring, sirens blaring] ed batates: we hadad 100 agentnt there, folollowing leaeads on o mimight have d done this.. had d all the ststate. i hahad all the e fbi, and my own n people, ofof course, t . lynda cacarrejo: i was actutually stillll scarared of thosose kidnappep, whwhere they'r're at, whatt ththey're doining. are ththey followiwing us? they knonow where wewe live. they knonow our addrdresses. theyey know our r phone numbm. it was r really overwhelmiming for me.e. maman: a lot o of them aree scareded to let ththeir kids t of t the house.. i know my y wife's gotot a girlrlfriend acrcross town t t saysys she won't't let her kids outut of the hohouse. lalarry park: : we were inin a . wewe did not l like sleeeeping in ththe windows, and every sound sent us running. bruce tellllardin: thehe firt rereal breaks s in the casae came when n the formerer employeeee from the e quarry cacalled up anand said thahae hahad made nototes in a leler thatat they mainintained during theheir patrolsls-- thatat he had seseen men worog wiwith a cat b bulldozer.. and he alslso noted ththat the were two moving vavans parkedd on the sitite. one timeme, he said d he foud a young g man workining in oe of t the scrapyayard areas.. anand when he e confrontedd that indndividual, he f found his identifification, sasaid thatat he was frfrederick wowood he was t the son of f the own. geororge osterkakamp: one of the thihings we leaearned was that t the woods f family- ththey weren't't from the centraral valley.. ththey were frfrom the bayay , from the v very nicestst subus ofof the bay a area. inin fact, woooods has ann illuststrious doububle name-- frfrederick nenewhall woodo. jijill klinge: when the gold ruh was happening in california, henry nenewhall endeded up amamassing a g great fortutu- 148,00000 acres upup and down the statate of calififornia. raililroad townsns were nanamed after r him. ed b bates: theyey owned mamagic mountatain. george oststerkamp: whwhy woud these pepeople be ininvolved? was itit a thrill l crime? duduane gull: : next day, , ands asked toto serve a s search wart on t the woods' ' estate. bruce tetellardin: t the plae was litterered, literarally, withth old vehicicles. duane gullll: it had a antiqe rolls-roycyces and benentley, all kindnds of milititary war-r-surplus-tytype jeeps.. it was reaeally someththing to . therere was a seseparate buiuig opposite t the mansionon. it w was a serieies of garaga. we had b been told t that frd slept abovove the gararages, and d we went upupstairs. bruce tetellardin: t the place e was full o of junk. you coululd barely walk acrcross the roroom. olold movie cacameras-- there wawas a bunch h of them all ovover the plalace. duduane gull: : and ththere was a desk. and that's where he had a kind of an envelope, like a m manila-typepe envelo. it h had the plalan, the actual plalan of how the sesequence of f the kidnapg was s supposed t to go down. bruce tellardin: and inside that, there was a jack-in-the-box bag that, on thehe back sidede of , had bebeen writtenen the nanames and ththe ages of f l of thehe children.n. but probabably the most telliling evidencnce wawas the ransnsom note thtt was s found in t that envelol. and at thahat point, i it starteted to gel a as to who was s responsiblble for this. ed batates: fred w woods, the suspecect's fatherer, was vevery cooperarative, totold me he t tried to gegt his son interested in the family business. his son got interested in these old cars. duduane gull: : he developod a business of f refurbishihig old d cars and s selling the. hehe had gone e into partntnep wiwith a frienend from higigh s, named james schoenfeld. his brother, rick schoenfeld, was involved, but he was more of a hanger-on to the other two. ed bates: the brothers-- their father was a foot specialist. they were e upper-middddle-cla. arlene s storm: theyey were als veryry polite anand outgoing. and if w we saw themem outsid, they a always chatatted with . veryry friendly y boys. jenniferer brown hydyde: we we reallyly shocked t that these e three yoyoung men ththat came from verery affluentnt famili. i was s dumbstruckck. reporterer: why do y you suppe that t they would d do somethg like that?t? jejennifer brorown: i don'n't . they dididn't have e enough lo. carorol marshallll: fred wooood- whatat was he afafter money y? he hadad more moneney thanan the town n had. ed b bates: now,w, we know who thesese people a are. so w we just folollowed our r . reporterer: acting o on evidee discoverered at the e house, law enfoforcement authoritities have j just issueded an all-popoints bulle. reportrter: suspecects are coconsidered a armed and d dang. arrestst on probabable cause. brucuce tellardidin: the investigatators workeded 24 hos a daday and founund out thatatd and james s schoenfeldld took . freded went to v vancouver.. he usesed a fake i id to get in, chececked into a a hotel. while wowoods is upp in canadada, he's writing g letters from a p post officece, askingng friends f for money. reportrter: good e evening. the e fbi is looooking all o ove country y tonight fofor frederk wowoods and jajames schoenenf, two of thehe three menen suspecected of kidnappingng 26 childrdren in calalifornia lalast week. ththe third maman, schoenfnfes yoyounger brotother, turned h himself in.n. reportrter: in oakakland, californiaia last nighght, richarard allen schoenfeldld, surrendedered. hehe walked ininto the alalaa cocounty distrtrict attornrns ofoffice, alonong with hiss fatherer and a lawawyer. ththe attorneyeys said richard susurrenderedd fofor his own n protectiono. reporterer: james scschoenfed was captptured at dadawn toda. his lawywyer said hehe'd gottenen tired of f running, hahad called a and said hehd turnrned himselflf in at 8:00 this mororning. popolice closesed in an hour befefore that.. reporterer: the thirird suspspect, fred d woods, was ararrested at t the main vancouvever post offffice after royayal canadianan mound police h had been titipped by t the fbi. theyey say the 2 24-year-oldld t was unararmed and didid not pup a fighght. he appeaeared nervouous, a lite cocky,y, but mostltly disintered in talkingng to reportrters. fred woodsds: no commement. reportrter: what d do you thik abouout the chararges againsns? fred w woods: no c comment. rereporter: anany concernsns t going to c california a at al? frfred woods: : would you?? [chuckleles] patricicia crews: : the kidnaps had d hit this t town rightt inin its heartrt by tataking thosese children.. dan gudgelel: the commmmunity took it ququite persononally. sasaying we'rere upset is very, v very mild.. it was voioiced aroundnd town that, quotote, "all wewe need is a a good old-d-fashionedd streetet hanging,"," end quot. larry papark: these e were ththree men whwho were so o h. ststationed onon top of the polilice stationon-- a a sniper. onon top of cicity hall--- a a sniper-- a all in thee means s of protectcting them. reporterer: inside, , both wowoods and jajames schoenend spoke e with a firirm voice,e, showing n no fear. theyey were ordedered held on $1 millllion bond e each. repoporter: the e biggest questionon in this b bizarre ce is stillll unanswerered. werere there pololitical motot? psycychological l motives? momotives of revenge? no onene seems to o know. duane gull: when i interviewed fred, he said that he and his dad weren't very close. he wasn'n't doing whwhat his dadad expecteded him to dod. they were always bickering about him dropping out of college, and hehe wanted hihis own money so h he didn't have to rerely on his s fathe. officer: t turn to youour lef. duane gugull: james s told me t they w were going g to make a ae to make e money, andnd that's how the e whole thining start. brbruce tellarardin: they y td ouout a movie e script calalledn reaction,"," and it wawas an amm of t the patty h hearst kidndng case, , the frenchch connecection, and d dirty har. harry: y you've got t to ask yourself o one questioion. do i i feel luckcky? wewell, do youou, punk? bruce tetellardin: a and it d didn't happppen. jijill klinge:e: during thts time, , they also o learned that thehe state hadad a surprplus of fununds. so they trtried to think of, , how can wewe get raransom from m the stat? so thehen, that leled them to kidnappiping a schooool bus, bebecause the e state runss the scschool systetem. brbruce tellarardin: againin,y were obvioiously influluenced by thehe originall dirty y harry movivie. haharry: row, , row, row y your! whatat's the matatter with y ! can'n't you singng! brucuce tellardidin: in thee final l scenes of f the movi, you hahad an indivividual who hijacks s a bus fullll of child, and they e end up in a rock k quarry. jillll klinge: f for 18 months, ththey were researching different targets. they had m maps, wherere they circled alall the schohools ty wewere considedering. they w were able t to get t identificacation and d different t names to p pue the thingsgs they neededed. they w went out toto the quary in thehe cover of f darkness toto bury an e entire trananspo. they obtbtained weapapons, mamany, many w weapons. to collect the ransom money, they wanted the government to flyly the ransosom money and dropop it at a l locatio. bruce e tellardin:n: they had intendnded to haveve an air dp over the s santa cruz z mounta. all the way through, they thought they had thought of everything. jill klingnge: but thehe night ofof the kidnanapping, they w weren't ablble to call in theirir ransom dedemand, becaususe the phonone linenes were so o jammed. they d decided to o go home. fred woodsds had a latate-nigt dinner witith his parerents, lilike any othther night.. ththen, the nenews came ouout te childrdren had frereed themsel. reporter: : the childrdren are . jill klilinge: rick and james s schoenfeldld came over to the property and planned their escape from therere. bruce tellllardin: whehen the e children e escaped, that k kind of desestroyed thr whole e plan rightht there. [marchining band music]] reporter: : with all t three sususpects behehind bars,, the gratateful townsnspeople ty hononored their r hometown h . jennififer brown h hyde: the ll popoliticians s decided ththae needed t to celebratate the e heroes thahat came fromom this horrrrendous evev. and so thehe town had d what theyey called eded ray day. jennifer b brown: me a and 25 s have s something t to give to . eded ray: thanank you. jennnnifer brownwn hyde: edwdd wawas a very h humble man.. he didn'n't ask forr the pupublicity, a and he didn't asksk for all t the attetention thatat came his s. the press s assumed that edwdward saved d us, and he, from thahat point t on, was ththe hero. and that is true. edward kept us all together, anand edward helped us get out. but edwardrd was nonot the onlyly hero. lalarry park: : i was tellllg peopople mike mamarshall dugug . itit was mike e that dug u us. but t nobody wasas listening. carol l marshall: : that day,i coululd see thatat michael ws really depepressed. mike marshshall: i rememember thinking t to myself, , why ai feeling lilike this? whatat's wrong w with me? hey, youou know whatat? who cacares? we a all got outut. we'r're all out.t. that's whahat matters.s. i fefelt guilty y for feelinin. jenniferer brown hydyde: mike s not t going to b boast aboututt he didid. ththat just wawasn't mike.. lalarry park: : that day y was suppososed to be ththe day of h honoring . ththey put a p plaque in t te wiwith all of f our names.. but t a lot of u us were still in t that hole.. jejennifer brown hyde: when we e got home,, i ththought lifefe would be o. evenen though ththe kidnappes were a actually arrested, it didn't stop my mind from going over what hahappened, wht could have happened. i can remember having nightmares immediately. my mom tells me that i starteted sleepwalalking. anand i would d come intoo their r room, justst in shoc, anand tell thehem, theyey're killining me. joanan brown: wewe're drdriving downwn the road,, and therere happens s to be a van, whehether it's s a telephe cocompany or p ptne or jususa vehihicle besidede the road. gogo on past, , mama, don'n't . don't slowow down. larry park: i hated sleeping. i hated going to sleep, because every night, i was haviving nightmamares. i could hear andrea screaming. she could hear me screaming. mom! mom! mom! those demons were going to keep us forever. carol marshall: i knew michael was having trouble. he was also screaming and hollering in his sleep. mike marshall: i put myself back in there, thinking about how i was going to die. carol marshall: our family was just turned inside-out. didn't know how to fix it. didn't know who to talk to about it. we lefeft, went on the road. tried to f forget it, , get pas. and the school did not offer any help to those kids, likeke counselining, whateve. leroy tatatum: i canan't visisibly see anany problems. now, w whether or r not theres someme psychologogical scars, i cecertainly wowouldn't kno. bubut it's jusust kind of,, on thehe surface, , it-- i can't t pull anyththing ou. carol marsrshall: not t once. the e kids were e totally fofor. lenorere c. terr: : in 1976, te was s a word, "c"childhood t tr" ouout there. but t nobody knenew exactly what i it was. whenen one is trtraumatized,de sesense of basasic trust g g. whwhile i was s in traininig as a c child psychchiatrist, i wanted t to find outut what happens toto children n who gt frfrightened t to death and don'n't die. and thatat started t the chowchilla study. carol marshall: no one other than dr. terr was even trying to be helpful. she e told us riright up fror, she e was writing a paper for ththe americanan medical l journal. she e was intervrviewing thehe. she also listened to them. lenore c. . terr: by t the timeme i got outut there, 100% o of those kidsds were h having proboblems. larry park: mom and dad were told not to come in when we have nightmares. they said that if they are going in when we have nightmares, ththat they are e rewardingg our bebehavior of f having the ninightmares, , and if thy stopop rewardingng the behavav, we'll stopop having ninightmar. anandrea becamame very intntrov. where she e had been outgoing b before, she prefererred to hide in heher room. lelenore c. teterr: some o ofm became afrfraid to reaeally gt intimate with anybody. larry park: she would not hug me. i would tell her that i loved her, and she e would justst ignore it like e it was never said.. lenore c. terr: the chowchilla children had the worst idea about their futures. in the unconscious, we are undestructible. wewe are goingng to live f for. after trauauma, that's's not t. yoyou buy it t that yoyou're goingng to die. i'm free to explore. i'm free to learn. i'm free to forge my own path. contra costa college is free for full-time students, which makes you free to explore all the incredible opportunities unleashed by higher learning. start your future and apply today at contracosta.edu/free reporterer: in cacalifornia y yesterday,, ththree young g men pleaded guy toto the kidnanapping a yeyeao of 2 26 schoolchchildren and their r bus driverer. repoporter: the e men pled nt guililty to difffferent charas that carryry a life sentence w without pararole. prprosecutor d david minieier io tryingng to show t that there s far more b bodily harmrm inflid on thehe kidnappeded victims. david d minier: wewe have conditionsns of total l darkne, of not e enough foodod or wat, extrememely hot, c conditions of pananic among t the childr. ththat should d be enough ho constititute bodilily harm, evenen if you dodon't hahave broken n bones. edward m merrill: asas you gentn whwho have seeeen the trananst knknow, there'e's very litite physysical damagage at all.. anand practicacally, itit's nonexisistent. repoporter: whatat about the emotioional damagege that they y talked abobout? is thahat possiblele? edward mererrill: therere is no o case in cacalifornia that i i know of t that holds that emomotional damamage is bodidily injury.y. lenore c c. terr: ii couldndn't believeve it. the e mind and t the brain?? ththat's not b bodily harmr? what youou do to a p person's m, whwhat you do o to a youngng cs develoloping mind?d? rereporter: bubus driver e edy was among g the early y arrivs atat the alamemeda coununty courthohouse, closely y followed b by some f the chilildren who w were kidnad with him i in july of f last y. jill k klinge: so o the childn had d to be brouought in and hahad to testitify about e injujuries that t they sustata. theyey had to faface the kidnappersrs in that c courtro. jennifer b brown hyde:e: i can n remember m my mom sasaying that t the kidnapaps wowould be in n the room.. i i was so scacared. reporterer: ed ray e explaind how he andnd the childldren wewere placed d in two airirs vavans and howow the childldret and d he feared d suffocatio. jodi heffifington fellll to tetears on thehe witness s sd as she attttempted to o tell heher story ofof the kidnanapg and beining entombeded undergro. jennnnifer brownwn hyde: whehey took me ininto the couourtroo, i can n remember s sitting inin the jury y box, anand i felt l like i coululd y see, bececause i wasas so litt. i reremember notot looking at the k kidnappers,s, lilike i'm goioing to do what i i got to do,o, and i'm gogoing to geget out of h here. i told thehem the harmrm that they causesed to us wawas becae of thehe conditionons thatat they put t us in. and as i i finished d and i wad out,t, i just ststarted bawlw. jill k klinge: it t was extrtremely bravave of themm to take e the stand.d. reportrter: do youou think thy shouldld ever be r released? ed rayay: no, i dodon't ththink they s should. reportrter: why? eded ray: did d you know t thee going toto come backck and rele us if wewe didn't geget out? wewe were buriried under the groundnd, man. reporter: : after 16 d days ofof grueling g testimony,, judge deegegan found all threree men guililty. deeganan-- "this w was an ordl of t terror, andnd that, to o, causeses sufferingng. suffffering is, , in itselflf, physicalal harm." jenniferer brown hydyde: findg out thatat my kidnapappers got e withouout the possibilitity of parolole was s exactly whwhat we h had hoped f for. jijill klinge:e: but just t n susurvivors fefelt that ththeyd find somome sort of f peace wit, ththe kidnappepers filed a app, and in 1 1980, the a appellae court agagreed and r reversed ththe sentencece. lenonore c. terrrr: the kidndns had plentyty of money y and ply of timime and a vevery good atay and said m mental harmrm isnt bodily hararm. larry y park: theyey could be out aftfter 25 yearars. we thohought we wewere safe, , you know.. jejennifer brorown hyde: that wasas and stillll is like e a slap in n the fac. reporter: : what was t the worsrst part of f it for you? jennnnifer brownwn: i reallyly t think we w were going g to get . my brotherer did, but t i didt think we w were going g to get . because i i didn't knonow wht was going g to happen n to us or i if they'd e ever let usus r if we'd d run out ofof food ore or whahat. i just f figured thahat was i. jennnnifer brownwn hyde: after the e trial was s done, i cocouldn't prorogress past the k kidnapping.g. my self-esteem took a large blow. i didn't want anybody knowing everything that i had been throuough. but t everybody y in chowchiha knknew about t the kidnapppp, so i h had a lot o of eyes watag me at thatat point in n time. and thenen, unfortununately for us, fifive years afafter the kikidnapping, , my r was inin an induststrial accidt with m my dad, andnd my brbrother was s killed. reporter: : about 300 peoplele attendedd jeff's's funeral, , many standg ououtside becacause the chchl wawas full. jennififer brown h hyde: i felo bebetrayed by y god that h he e ththrough the e kidnappingng, an took a away my beleloved broth. the spotlight was on us again. we had repeporters att our housuse all the e time. mymy small famamily at that pointnt crumbled.d. mymy parents d divorced. ththat small t town becamee so sufuffocating f for me thatat i couldn'n't go to school w without statares. i coululdn't go toto school wiwt people talalking behinind my b. i coululdn't go toto school wiwt sosomebody sayaying, i am m so . and mymy mom and i i made the decisision to leavave chowchil. i left dururing my jununior yeyear of highgh school. i was s a class ofofficer. i was a cheerleader. i was involved in everything. i gave it all up, so that we could move away and i cocould be a n nobody. i i just wanteted to be nonob. lelenore c. teterr: when they getet to be adudults, childhood d trauma doesn't jujust go awayay. inin fact, somome of it gegets . theyey d did e emotional damage. our lilives were n never t the afafter thatat. evever. > during the kidnappiping, j was one of t the olderer girls was lilike an n older sisterer to a lot o of the kids. >> she w was the one kid who he a flashlight the whole time and stood steady as anythihing. >> she became one ofof o our strongest t advocates.s. to be therere in p person numem titimes. > what theyey did, they shoh stay t there. >> it t was on thehe victims t fifight for them to o be in jaj. if t they had not been going to the paparole hearings,s, they w have beeeen out in 1 1980 somet. >> at one hearing, they actually shut me down because i was so angry. one of the guards led meme away >> it was one thing that they hurt me. they completely shattered my family. >> andrea had disassociated from the family and left chowchilla. my m mom lost faith in my dad aa protector.r. i was susurviving daday to day.. i hahated my lifife. i hateted d myself andnd everyo around m me. >> he spent some time in prison. he's doingng better now, he sas. but still struruggling. >> if f they w want me to o bel they're e ready, t they'll have let meme s see thehem cry. they'll hahave to let t me see cry for me and f for my sistered my family.y. >> whehen they wouould go to th parole hearings, it would be the responsibility of the victims to say what their story is. my mom talked about how she didn't feel safe around men.n. her depressision, her struruggl with addiction issues. but they d don't tell yoyou is you'u're not goioing to get to k your peaeace one t time. they nevever got rest. >> thehe kididnappers weren't paroled fofor mamany years. itit wasn't ununtil 2010 that t was s public supupport for them. >> a rallyly was held today in n frfrancisco by supporters dedemanding paparole f for the kidnapappers. > several high prprofile polititicians and d families b involveded in advocacating f fo paparole. ththis includeded gavin n nenew father who was a judge. >> nobody y was physicically ininjured. a a huge factotor. >> and parart of thehe i investe team f for maderera a county wh kikidnapping c case occurrrred. >> what't's right is right. > h he was s one e of the pe assurered us that none of ththe kidnapappers wouldld never get . > he starteted woworking for woods' team. he knew many o of the e survivo and atat times, , he approroachm and offerered them money t to support parole andnd to change their r positition. >> he e had offerered me person at o one point to make some e m. he wanteted d me t to write e ln support t of parole for r the e kidndnappers. and i i let him knowow i w was e kind of girl whoho could b be e boughtht. the nextxt pararole hehearing, ththe kidndnap victimsms showed with dale as her s support pers with l letters in n support of release. >> even n with the complplete betrayalal to eveveryone. > over r the years there e w angeger inin m me thatat infest asaspect of f my life. i was s replaying the kidnapapp coconstantly.. i wanteded to tortrture those m. i woululd fantasasize abouout t differerent ways t that we coult themem. i i was in arin n of my own makingng. and i decideded to pray. god d forgive ththem b because cacan't. and d i rerealize, godod foror m bebecause i won'n't. and god d said i canan w work we truth. wewe can move e forward frfrom . >> larry parark decided toto go ththrough the restorative e jus process. that is a a process that assist susurvivors ththat choose to, t talk to o their offendnder.. to c come to c closure if itit ththem.. >> so o i got toto go o in and , i i was your v victim for 3636 . but for the last 38 years i'i'v been my own victctim. i told them that i forgaveve th. bubut forgiviving them wasasn't enough. i had spspent my l lifetime hat them. so i asked for their forgiveneness. reporter: a man convicted of kidnapping a bus full of children in chowchilla morere than 35 yeaears ago isis now free.e. >> a man coconvicted ofof kidnapapping a bus full ofof children i in chowchililla moren 35 y years agogo is now free. ththe californrnia departmtment corrections releleased richahar schoenenfeld last t night fromon luluis obispo o prison.. in 197976 he kidnapppped 26 childrdren. a crcrime that h held the natio wiwith great concern. . >> when n the youngegest k kidn got out,t, thahat's s when the attacks started d hahappening. all the worrieies ththat we e f long.. >> i wasas kinind of nauseseous then verery y teararful. i ththink fifirst of o other ch. >> i preparered mymyself bececa knew his b brother wouould be e too sosoon after that. >> a after n nearly 40 years be bars, , james schohoenfeld willn be outut of prprison and o on n. news o of the latest releaease nonot go u unnoticed by ththe e. >> jusust let t them all go.o. >> j jody went into a hugege depresession. shshe was sayiying, , it's a al fault. all my fault. and i said, we have as much responsibility as you do to keep themem in.n. >> she couldn'n't geget out of no more. she was so weak.k. because shshe was jujust d drino much. she woululdn't eat bececause shs so depepressed a and she basici cocouldn't prorocess life ththe she was supposed to.o. anand my mom didid her b best f long a as she could. and itit was theheir [ bleepep faulult. >> whihile in n prison they see to act according to the rules, it was different. >> it was found that he conducted business includiding christmas s tree f farm, a golo mimine, and d he continunued to collect carsrs whihile he was incacarcerated.. >> he wawas able to o collect contrabandnd cell phoneses and them to condnduct businesseses. >> the extent ththat h he was i everery small dedetail wasas staggeringng. >> thihis is a prerepaid call from -- an inmate atat the coun correctitional facacility. >> w what's the deal?? californrnia license p plate -- >> onene of the more aststonish things t that fred woooods has possessionon of the two kidnapp vans that the children and the bus driver were tranansported i because e he thinks the e valuel increaease becausese o of their notorietety. it's not any senentimental valu. it is just the continuing obsession i would think with money.y. it's amazing becauause he didn' even need the money. the woods family set up a trust. they wanted to pass on what they could to their son. anand it was estimimated i in o filing to be $100 million. money that woods even as an inmate had access to. >> the hearing came up preretty quick. it was r really difficulult bec we h had just rerecently lost j. the commununity came t together saidid, okayay, wewe've got to just do itit for oururselves. do it for jody and j jeff and eh other. > this is the 17th subsequen life parole hearing consideration for frederick woods. >> only the inmate and hisis attorney w were in the prison. everybody else was on remote. >> here we are wondering if rehabilitation has occurred. is rehabilitation running businesses out of the jail cells, sneakilily taking contrababand withoutut regegard ruleles, regulation oror author. >> he should n not be e release. his mindnd is still evil a and s out to get what hehe wants witho reregard for t the safety y of . mr. . wood has n not changed in 45 sear he's's been incarcerata. >> my mothther would never gran that.. from 1976 6 to whehen shshe die yearars ago. >> t the biggest q question the commisissioners hahad, was from lead it's's totally w wrong with h ty of thinkining. >> i felt lilike he stilill was wholly truthful l and he stilll showowed some of the characteriristics he d did at t time he plananned this.. > i w wonder if h he ununder ththe physicalal and emotitiona trauma is life altering. george osterkamp: the thing about this case that made it uniqueue was the c continuing gt of the cririme on the e childr. in 1976,6, we thoughght they would just get over it. but all wewere deeply y affect. drdr. terr oncnce called t e chilildren "littttle pioneers of mededicine," bebecause theyo hehelped in ththe understatang of childldhood traumuma. lenonore c. terrrr: they pavave way for usus to undersrstand me contntemporary t things. whatat happens w when you force chchildren awaway from t their parenents at a bob? whatat happens t to childrenet sosome of thesese horriblee school s shootings?? larry parkrk: because e of the e chowchillala kidnappin, therere were couounselors at columbmbine after r the shooti. therere are coununselors att nightctclubs afterer shooting. lenonore c. terrrr: chowchila chilildren are h heroes, and theyey continue e to teachs whatat childhoodod trauma isis, 47, 4848, 50 yearsrs after theh. jenniferer brown hydyde: i'm thankful t to my parenents for encocouraging meme to tryo grow a and give baback to shw thatat this one e event has not dedefined me.. lynda a carrejo: i i focused on puttiting my enerergy towards positive t things in my lifefe, so i chohose educatit, and i wentnt back to c chowchia and taugught in chowowchilla at [ [inaudible]e] dairyland. and i takeke the respoponsibil. my eyes s are alwaysys watchihing the chihildren, makingng sure theyey are safe every y second in n the classr. i chose mamaking a differencece that way.y. lalarry park: : for 34 yeaeari was nothining but a susurvivo. totoday, i am m a reverendn, a chchristian cocounselor, anand i am a f friend. i wawake up in t the mornrning, i sayay my rosary, anand i step o out in faiti. i i never gaveve up, not c comp. because i i was taughtht at sx years old d by a 14-yeyear-old , you don'n't give up.p. you keep d digging. hohow are you?u? mimike marshalall: good. lalarry park: : 1977 is ththet time that t i saw mikeke marsh. (crying)g) do you knknow? i'm stananding with h my her. i can'n't believe e what he d. i ststill can't t believe it. mike mararshall: i appreciatete that. i do. larrrry park: ththank yoyou so much,h, mike. mike mararshall: i d didn't reae hohow much it t would helplpe toto understanand and to actuallyly hear one e of the ks tellll me that i i saved theheis and thatat they werere gratef. not veryry many peopople tha, you knowow, can relalate. whwhen i was a a kid, i wawanto be a rododeo cowboy y like my . i wowould see mymyself far i ie future, rorodeo for a a livin, bubut woke up p at about 4 48 s old withth a blurry y hangove. bubut then, gegetting sober is a amazing. it's to hahave a life e and o be gratefuful for everery da. it's's taken a w while to come baback and rododeo. but oncece you're a a cowboy, you're alwlways a cowbwboy, 'cause it't's in your r hea. soso i'm gonnana cowboy upup tow anand go to ththis ropin'' herere in chowchchilla and d stick someme steers. [chuckles]s] [truck w whirring loloudly] [annououncer speakaking inindistinctlyly] god has s a way of m making ts come f full circlele in his tit. [annououncer] mimike, you'rere up. ["chowchililla dust" p plays] ♪ tomorrow o on cnn. get ready to be inspired and honor some of humanity's best. this is amazing. a night where the stars meet with heroes. please join me in honoring cnn hero... cnn hero of the year... a night full of hope. we have a whole world to build. join anderson cooper and laura coates live. ♪ ...the hero is in you... ♪ cnn heroes. an all-star tribute. tomorrow at eight on cnn. two broadcast titans are now on cnn. what's going on, america? to get real... what do you all think? we're tired of the b.s. ...on the stories that matter most to you. this will be a place that you can have conversation. and they're not holding anything back. anybody who wants everybody to agree with them is an idiot anyway. gayle king, charles barkley... this is our unfiltered take on the biggest stories of the day. king charles. wednesdays at ten on cnn. tonighght television takes a look at itself. what's on the idiot box? it's only an idiot box if an idiot is watching it.