School Bus Hijacker Out after 35 Years

By Stu Robinson,

A Hawaii Five-0 recap I posted back in December referenced the real-life 1976 school bus kidnapping in

Chowchilla, Calif., in which the hostages were placed underground in the back of a buried truck.

Well, The Associated Press reported Friday that one of the Chowchilla kidnappers has been released from prison:

Officials remove a truck buried at a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif., July 20, 1976, in which 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver were held captive.

“CHOWCHILLA, Calif. — One of three men who kidnapped a busload of California school children 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.”

###