On February 24, 1978, five young men from Yuba City, California, drove to Chico to watch a college basketball game. They never came home. Their car was found days later on a remote mountain road in Plumas National Forest - not on the way home, but 70 miles in the wrong direction, up a snowy forest road where they had no reason to be. The car was functional, with gas in the tank and food in the back. Four of the men were eventually found dead miles away, scattered through the wilderness. The fifth was never found. One body was discovered in a Forest Service trailer stocked with food and heating supplies; he had apparently lived there for nearly three months before starving to death without using the supplies. The Yuba County Five - sometimes called 'America's Dyatlov Pass incident' - has never been explained.
The five were not typical adventurers. All had some form of mild intellectual disability or mental health condition; all lived with their parents; all were part of a tight-knit group that played basketball together in a 'Special Olympics'-style league. Gary Mathias, 25, was a Vietnam veteran with schizophrenia who was doing well on medication. Jack Madruga, 30, owned the car and was considered the most capable. Jackie Huett, 24, Bill Sterling, 29, and Ted Weiher, 32, completed the group. They were responsible, predictable, and devoted to their basketball team. They had an important game the next day. None of them had any reason to drive into the mountains.
The game ended at 10 PM. The men bought snacks at a convenience store in Chico; the clerk confirmed they seemed normal and mentioned heading home. Their route should have taken them straight to Yuba City, an hour south. Instead, at some point, they turned off the highway and drove northeast into the Sierra Nevada foothills. Their car was found on Oroville-Quincy Road, a remote mountain route that climbed to over 4,000 feet and was impassable due to snow beyond a certain point. The car was stuck in the snow but otherwise fine. No one saw what happened. No one knows why they went there.
When the men didn't return, families reported them missing. The car was found on February 28, four days later, abandoned on the snowy road. A map on the hood suggested they knew they were lost. But why hadn't they simply driven back down? The search expanded for months. In June, the snow melted and revealed bodies. Ted Weiher was found inside a Forest Service trailer, dead from apparent starvation, though the trailer was stocked with dehydrated food and there were matches by the fireplace. He had died nearly three months after disappearing, wrapped in sheets, his shoes removed. The other three bodies were found scattered between the car and the trailer. Gary Mathias was never found.
Nothing makes sense. One witness reported a woman's scream and a pickup truck near their car that night, but no one matching the description was identified. Did someone chase them up the mountain? Were they fleeing something? Why didn't they use the car to leave? Why did Weiher starve surrounded by food? His shoes were found neatly placed by his bed. One theory suggests Gary Mathias, the veteran with mental illness, had an episode that somehow directed the group into the mountains - but this doesn't explain the rest. The case has never been solved. It remains one of America's most baffling disappearances.
The Yuba County Five disappearance occurred in Plumas National Forest, along Oroville-Quincy Road northeast of Oroville, California. The exact location is remote and best avoided in winter, when the road is often impassable. The Forest Service trailer where Ted Weiher's body was found no longer exists. Yuba City, where the men lived, is in California's Central Valley. The basketball game they attended was at Chico State University, 50 miles north of Yuba City. The route they should have taken home is Highway 99 south - the mountain road where they ended up is in the opposite direction. Sacramento International Airport is 40 miles south of Yuba City.
Located at approximately 39.65°N, 121.28°W in the Sierra Nevada foothills, northeast of Oroville, California. From altitude, the Oroville-Quincy Road climbs from the valley floor into forested mountain terrain. Lake Oroville is visible to the west. The road winds through Plumas National Forest, becoming remote and steep. The area where the car was found is accessible only on seasonal roads. Sacramento International Airport is 60 miles southwest. The terrain transitions from foothill oak woodlands to mixed conifer forest as elevation increases.