CA Man Behind 1976 Kidnapping Of 26 Children Is Granted Parole

CALIFORNIA — A man convicted of kidnapping a school bus of 26 children and their driver in California in 1976 in an effort to obtain a $5 million ransom, will be released, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Authorities deemed 70-year-old Frederick Woods suitable for parole on March 25 after he was previously denied 17 times. Woods will be released at an undisclosed location, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom's request to reconsider paroling Woods on Tuesday.

Woods is the last of three men convicted for the ransom scheme, in which the trio hijacked the school bus filled with children and buried them and their driver alive in Livermore decades ago.

Parole commissioners found that Woods was no longer a danger to the public.

Woods and brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld hailed from wealthy San Francisco Bay Area families when they kidnapped the children and their bus driver near Chowchilla, about 125 miles southeast of San Francisco.

Children ages 5 to 14 and their bus driver were buried in a ventilated bunker east of San Francisco. The victims dug themselves out more than a day later.

Newsom's late father, state Judge William Newsom, was on an appeals panel in 1980 that reduced the men's life sentences to give them a chance at parole. After retiring, he advocated for their release in 2011, noting that no one was seriously physically hurt during the kidnapping.

Woods apologized at his parole hearing in March, saying he was 24 when he helped hijack the bus, and now fully understands the "terror and trauma" he caused.

"I fully take responsibility for this heinous act," Woods said. He said he now has empathy for the victims that he didn't have then.

"I've had a character change since then," Woods said.

Under new California laws, parole commissioners must give more weight to freeing inmates who were young when the crimes were committed, as well as to those who are now elderly and served lengthy prison sentences.

After the decision, Sally Moreno, the Madera County district attorney, said Woods shouldn't have been freed.

"This is an individual who's demonstrated how dangerous he is. He's ruined the lives of dozens of these kids — they still struggle, a lot of them, with the aftereffects of this," Moreno said.

Newsom's office said the governor carefully reviews parole decisions to determine whether a parole grant is consistent with public safety.

Woods and the Schoenfelds planned the abduction for more than a year. The victims were taken to Livermore, placed into a moving truck and buried alive in a quarry, which was owned by Woods' father.

The trio sought $5 million in ransom money from the state Board of Education as the victims were underground. The victims remained underground for 16 hours. The bus driver and older kids dug themselves out of the vehicle as their oxygen began to run out.

It became the largest kidnapping in U.S. history.

While James Schoenfeld previously told parole officials he envied friends with "his-and-hers Ferraris," Woods said during an earlier parole hearing he didn't need the money. He just "got greedy."

Schoenfeld said he owed $23,000 and wanted to fit in with rich neighbors after moving from Palo Alto. He came from a rich family but felt like a failure, having never lived up to his father's expectations.

"In Atherton, I was no longer something special. I was just — in fact, I was not special at all, so I wanted to be — have that feeling again. I wanted to fit in with these new people that we moved next to,” he said.

Schoenfeld said the trio needed multiple victims to get "multiple millions." They chose kids because "children are precious."

"The state would be willing to pay ransom for them. And they don’t fight back. They’re vulnerable. … They’ll do what we tell them to do,” he said.

Several victims told CNN in 2015 they still suffer from anxiety and nightmares.

Darla Neal, who was 10 when she was abducted, said she can't live normally due to “extreme anxiety."

“I’m overwhelmed to the point that I had to leave work,” she said. “I tell myself I should be able to shake this off and deal with it. Yet here I am, a mess.”

The Associated Press and Patch editor Daniel Hampton contributed to this report.