1976 Chowchillla Bus Kidnapper James Schoenfeld Granted Parole

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A second man involved in the 1976 kidnapping of a school bus full of children has been granted parole.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed James Schoenfeld was granted parole at a hearing on Tuesday.

Schoenfeld was one of three men involved in the kidnapping of 26 children and an adult bus driver in July of 1976 in Chowchilla. The men hid the bus in a drainage slough, while forcing the bus driver and the children into a hole in a quarry.

The original plan was to collect a ransom, but jammed phone lines kept the suspects from reaching police with their demands.

In June of 2012, Richard Allen Shoenfeld, James' brother, was granted parole. A third man, Frederick Woods, has been denied parole 13 times, but will be eligible again this year.