Richard Allen Schoenfeld, convicted in 1976 Calif. bus kidnapping, released from prison

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Richard Schoenfeld

/ California Department of Corrections/CBS SF

(CBS/AP) CHOWCHILLA, Calif. - One of three men who kidnapped a busload of California school children and buried them alive in a quarry has been released from prison after more than 35 years behind bars.

State prison officials said Thursday that Richard Allen Schoenfeld was released on parole to an undisclosed location late Wednesday. He will be monitored 24 hours a day with a GPS device.

An appeals court ordered his release earlier this year, ruling that the Board of Parole Hearings unfairly set his parole date for 2021 even though it concluded he wasn't a threat to society.

CBS San Francisco reports that Schoenfeld, his brother James, and Frederick Woods were convicted in the 1976 kidnapping of schoolchildren who attended Dairyland Union School in Chowchilla, about 35 miles northwest of Fresno, on July 15, 1976. The men left the bus behind and drove the children and bus driver, Ed Ray, to the California Rock and Gravel Quarry in Livermore. They sealed their victims in a large van that had been buried in a cave at the quarry and fitted to keep the children and driver hostage.

The kidnappers demanded a $5 million ransom for the return of the group, CBS San Francisco reports. Their captives managed to escape when the kidnappers decided to take a nap before calling in their ransom demand.

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by petesis June 24, 2012 2:33 PM EDT

This guy had no real prior record, and he is probably unlikely to do something as crazy as what he pulled in 76, however, I would not have given him parole. I have read about this case and I am not convinced they ever intended to release those children. They buried them underground in a quarry owned by the father of one of the perpetrators. The truck they were buried in was registered to one of the perps. I don't think they intended to release them. Indeed, the hostages escaped on their own from what would have been a death trap. I would have let them rot in prison for that.

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by ahendryx819 June 25, 2012 4:14 PM EDT: agreed! A part of prison sentences is a sentence that is appropriate for the crime committed. Kidnapping is a serious crime, and the fact that the victims were able to escape shouldn't detract from that. I don't care how much of a threat the guy is today; he should have to finish out the remainder of his sentence for what he did.

by audemus June 23, 2012 12:01 PM EDT

I saw a story on TV last night about a man who, when he was 15, murdered someone in cold blood...he served a little over twenty years and was released after it was determined he no longer posed a threat to society. Turns out he was actually a serial killer, and for the next 30 years this 'non-threat to society' plied his trade in several states, molesting and murdering another 4 boys ( that they know about ). Take it for what it's worth.

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by SBCisok June 23, 2012 6:08 PM EDT: You said this 15-year-old murdered someone and served 20 years. Rick Schoenfeld didn't murder ANYONE in the Chowchilla kidnapping and yet he served 35 years! It's time for him to be released. Let's forgive.


by audemus June 24, 2012 1:30 PM EDT: My point SB, is that someone capable of one day saying to themselves, "Gee, wouldn't it be a great idea to kidnap a bunch of kids on a school bus, bury them in the desert, and collect a multi-million dollar ransom...." just might be someone that could still pose a threat to society. If Schoenfeld was capable of formulating that plan, and implementing it, I'd have to have more assurances than the amount of time he's spent in jail, to believe he is ready to be released back into society.

By the way, the serial killer I wrote about in my earlier comments was 15 years old at the time of his first murder, which explains a lot about why he was eventually released.


by ahendryx819 June 25, 2012 4:16 PM EDT: Wow, SB, would you be saying "let's forgive" if YOU had been one of the victims?! Or it had been one of your kids?? Come on...

by angelofurnightmare June 23, 2012 10:54 AM EDT

How in the hell can a man who kidnapped a bus full of children and buried them alive be no threat to society?

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by matt6052 June 23, 2012 11:51 AM EDT: Well he very much regrets getting caught.


by SBCisok June 23, 2012 6:11 PM EDT: True, he helped kidnap a busload of schoolchildren, which was horrendous. But he never harmed nor killed ANYONE. Thirty-five years and a perfect prison record should be enough. He is no threat to society.


by ahendryx819 June 25, 2012 4:17 PM EDT: Oh really SB? Apparently you don't think anyone can be harmed unless it's physical. What about the emotional harm that he and his buddies caused?


by buzzwindrip June 25, 2012 4:21 PM EDT: SBCisok, can we thefore expect you to provide a home for this non-threat? Thanks.


by askagain June 23, 2012 2:35 AM EDT: So much for a life sentence.; Reply to this comment

by notredamegirl77 June 23, 2012 12:05 AM EDT

This idiot kidnapped 35 people and he is out of jail!!! Oh give me a dang on break!!!I bet they lose this guy!!!

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by SBCisok June 23, 2012 6:14 PM EDT: He didn't kidnap 35 people, he kidpnapped 26 children and one adult. They were held for about 26 hours, and no one was injured or killed. Isn't 35 years of this guy's life enough? And no, they won't lose him - he is strapped with a GPS tracking device.


by Farver4girls June 24, 2012 7:04 PM EDT: SCBisok:

I think you are mistaken when you say that he never harmed anyone. He inflicted a great deal of emotional distress upon the children and the bus driver he kidnapped and buried alive in that quarry. His victims must have been absolutely terrified. Inflicting emotional distress on children is harming them.