| 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping | |
|---|---|
 Interior of the trailer where the victims were held | |
| Location | Chowchilla, California, U.S. |
| Date | July 15, 1976 – July 16, 1976 |
Attack type | Mass kidnapping, mass child abduction, attempted robbery, psychological torture |
| Weapon | Rifle[1] |
| Injured | Several children suffering cuts, bruises, and burns |
| Victims | 26 children and 1 adult |
| Perpetrators |
|
| Defender |
|
| Motive | Ransom |
| Verdict |
|
| Convictions | Kidnapping for ransom and robbery |
| Charges | Kidnapping for ransom and robbery, infliction of bodily harm |
| Sentence | Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole (previously without parole)
|
| Litigation | Lawsuits against kidnappers settled for undisclosed amounts |
On July 15, 1976, in Chowchilla, California, three armed men hijacked a school bus. They abducted the driver and 26 children, ages 5 to 14, and imprisoned them in a truck trailer buried in a quarry in Livermore, California. The bus driver and children managed to escape before the kidnappers could issue their ransom demands. All of the victims survived but many suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The kidnappers intended to use ransom money from the kidnapping to restore the Victorian Rengstorff House in Mountain View, California.[2]
The kidnappers were caught, convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. An appellate court overturned the finding of bodily harm. Subsequently, the kidnappers were resentenced to life with the possibility of parole. The incident led to major changes in California laws regarding bodily injury and psychological trauma.
By 2022, all three kidnappers had been paroled.
- ^ "The ballad of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping". July 16, 2021.
- ^ Taaffe, Linda (December 14, 2023). "How Mountain View's oldest house became a motive for the 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping". Palo Alto Online. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023.