Bus driver freed 26 children from buried trailer in 1976 kidnapping
After kidnappers buried 26 children and their driver in a trailer, Ed Ray found the hatch in the dark and moved mattresses by hand to free everyone.
On July 15, 1976, kidnappers hijacked a school bus in Chowchilla and drove it to a quarry in Livermore. They locked 26 children and their bus driver inside a buried trailer, blocking the exit with mattresses.
Trapped underground
The children and their driver, Ed Ray, found themselves in complete darkness inside the buried trailer. The kidnappers had stacked mattresses in front of the only way out.
The escape
Ed Ray located the hatch beneath the unstable stack of mattresses. Working in the dark, he moved each mattress by hand until he could reach the door. Once he opened it, every child climbed out to safety.
The Chowchilla kidnapping remains one of the largest mass abductions in American history. Ed Ray's calm determination in the darkness saved all 26 children that day.
