The Yuba County 5

Who were the Yuba County 5?

Theodore “Ted” Weiher (pronounced weer) was 32 years old at the time of his disappearance. His family described him as having a “mind like a child”. They even referred to him as ‘Teddy Bear’ because he was so sweet and innocent. He lived at home with his parents and was known as a happy-go-lucky young man and could talk to anyone. He hated the thought that someone might be mad at him, even if it was a stranger. Ted was one of those guys who just wanted to make friends and have people like him. He was friendly and just loved being loved. 

One of Ted’s brothers described him as “lacking common sense”. In a book written about the mens’ disappearances, several examples were given after the author interviewed Ted’s family that spoke to Ted’s difficulty thinking things through completely. He said that one time the family’s house caught on fire and Ted refused to leave his bed. Ted argued that he needed to get up early the next day for work. His brother ended up carrying him out. There was also a time that Ted spent $100 at a store on pencils for no reason. He graduated from Marysville High School in Marysville, California and set the school’s record for throwing a softball the greatest distance. His mother said that Ted was a “very loving person…he loved life and he loved people.”

William “Bill” Sterling was 29 years old at the time of his disappearance. Similarly to his friend Ted, Bill was also often described as having a child-like mind. One of Ted’s favorite things to do was to call Bill on the phone and read him funny-sounding names that he’d found in the newspaper. Bill loved to read and was often found at the library. He had two sisters that were identical twins, Deanna and Debbie. Bill attended the Marysville Community Church every Sunday and considered faith to be one of the priorities in his life. He would even visit residents of psychiatric hospitals, reading aloud to them from the Bible. 

Bill worked at Sunsweet Growers as a dishwasher with his friend Jack, but his job there didn’t last too long. Sunsweet got new dishwashing equipment and Bill had a very difficult time learning and operating it. He soon got another job as a dishwasher at the nearby Air Force base, but his mother forced him to quit. She found out that the men who went to the bar would get Bill drunk and steal his money. Bill considered Ted to be one of his close friends and had known him for about eight years, however his best friend was Jack Madruga.

Jack Madruga was 30 years old and an Army veteran. He’d served in Vietnam in 1968 and was living with his mother, Melba Gail Madruga, in Linda, California. One of his favorite sayings was, “What’s up, Doc?” Whichearned him the nickname of Doc from friends and family. Jack loved playing sports and board games. He watched game shows often and his favorite genre of TV shows were comedies. His favorite show was ‘I Love Lucy’. Jack was a big fan of Motown music, especially Diana Ross and the Supremes and he loved dancing.

Though Jack hadn’t been diagnosed with anything, his mother said that her son was generally thought of as “slow,” however he was able to successfully manage his own finances. His nephew described Jack as “an intelligent and sensitive man. Just extremely shy in social situations.”

Jack’s favorite thing in the entire world was his 1969 Mercury Montego. He wouldn’t let anyone drive it except him. He was one of only two of the boys in his friend group that had a license so he loved chauffeuring his friends around. He’d saved up money from his job as a dishwasher and from his Army allotment to buy the vehicle and he was incredibly proud of it.

Jack “Jackie” Huett was 24 years old at the time of his disappearance. He reportedly had the most significant mental deficits of the group, though he was not diagnosed with anything specifically. Jackie lived on a farm with his family and, being the youngest of the group, looked up to Ted. They’d known each other for almost eight years. Ted was a big brother to Jackie and even made phone calls for Jackie because they made him anxious. Jackie had a Honda motorcycle and loved riding it around the farm and playing with his dog, a beagle named Beau.

Jackie had a low IQ and was unable to read or write. He was very shy around people he didn’t know and had a speech impediment. Jackie seemed to always have a smile on his face and loved playing basketball with his group of friends. His mother described him as a “delight…he was just slow, but real happy.” 

Gary Mathias was 25 years old at the time of his disappearance. He had very poor eyesight that was a result from jumping out of a moving car as a child. Gary was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and often had violent outbursts. He served in the Army in 1973, but ended up being honorably discharged due to his schizophrenia. Under a doctor’s care, Gary was taking three medications for his diagnosis and was considered to be managing it well. 

Unlike his group of friends, Gary was never suspected of having or diagnosed with a mental disability. He was much more independent than his friends. He had a job in landscaping and played in a rock band. When he disappeared, he was still dating his high school girlfriend. Gary graduated from Marysville High School in 1971 and played on the school’s football team.

Because of the time period that the young men were living in, they were often referred to as “slow” or other outdated language. (When you research or read on this case, they’ll often use the word retarded. Yuck.) Now, it’s believed that Ted, Bill, and Jackie would’ve likely have been found today as being on the autism spectrum, while Jack probably wouldn’t have been diagnosed with anything at all. 

The five young men all came together at Gateway Projects in Yuba City, California in June of 1977. Gateway Projects was a facility that assisted with those in the community that were mentally handicapped or emotionally troubled. They provided counseling and assistance with finding jobs or living quarters. Gary, after dealing with legal issues and substance abuse, was attending drug counseling at Gateway Projects. Gary’s counselor told him that he needed some help with a group of guys at the facility who wanted to play basketball on the Special Olympics team. He said that they were all “slow”, but were good guys and needed a bit of leadership. Gary, who used to play basketball, agreed to help. Gary already knew one of the guys, Ted, as he lived down the street from him. The team, now of five, were known as The Gateway Gators.         

                                                                                         
The Disappearance

On Friday, February 24th, 1978, the group of guys were excited for the night they had planned. They were going to make the hour drive to Chico State to watch their favorite basketball team play, the U.C. Davis Aggies. All five boys were also preparing for their team, the Gateway Gators, to play their own game at 9:30 the following morning in a tournament for the Special Olympics. At 6:30PM on Friday, Jack, driving his Montego, picked up each of his four friends from their homes. They stopped at a local service station where Bill’s father worked so he could get his allowance. 

The group of guys made it to the game at Chico State. Several witnesses reported having seen the group at the game and Jack’s car leaving the parking lot just after 10PM. The Aggies won the game, so the boys were surely in a great mood. Before leaving the town of Chico, they stopped at Behr’s Market to get some snacks. The clerk recalled being annoyed that they came in so close to closing time. They purchased one Hostess cherry pie, one lemon pie, one Snickers, one Marathon bar, two Pepsis, and a quart and a half of milk, then headed out. 

The next morning, Saturday, February 25th, Ted’s mother awoke around 5AM. She went to her son’s bed and was shocked to find it empty. She quickly called Bill’s mother, who said that she’d been awake since 2AM and that Bill hadn’t come home yet either. Bill’s mother had already called Jack’s mother. Jack hadn’t returned yet. Ted’s mother called Jackie’s mother and walked to Gary’s house. Both parents said that they hadn’t heard from their sons. None of the group of boys had returned home, which was incredibly out of character for them. While Gary occasionally stayed out late with friends, sometimes even all night, the other four boys did NOT do this. They thrived on their routines, and NONE of the boys would’ve risked missing their own basketball game Saturday morning. Gary had even specifically instructed his mother not to let him oversleep since they had a big game! Jackie had never spent the night away from home and likely wouldn’t have done so by choice, especially without quite a bit of planning and preparation. 

Jack’s mother called the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department to report her son and the other boys as missing around 8AM, however the call taker told her that she’d have to wait 24 hours before filing the report. She called back at 8PM on Saturday night and officially reported the boys missing. There are varying reports as to when exactly the search started, however once the boys remained missing throughout the rest of the weekend, everyone had grown much more concerned. Families of the young men said that officers didn’t seem very concerned initially. They said that they’d check the jails, as this seemed like a possible place that five men could end up after a night out. However, when the families informed them that the men had developmental delays and were considered “slow”, things changed.                                                                

                                                                                  
The Search

On Saturday, one family member went down to one of the local department stores, where the basketball teams were set to meet before taking a bus to their game. The other teams were there, but none of the missing five were there. The bus with the other players left for the tournament. Other family members drove around the area looking for Jack’s car. They took photos of the young men to Chico State, where they’d attended the basketball game on Friday night. They showed the photos to security guards and ticket takers at the basketball court, but nobody recognized them. 

The family started contacting television stations and newspapers, doing anything they could to get their boys’ photos out to the public. By Monday, the first news article came out referring to the five boys as “retarded”. This was the first of MANY media reports using this term to describe the missing men. To the families, it seemed like some people just didn’t care about their disappearance because of that. They’d heard the phrase, “they’re just retards” multiple times.

On Tuesday, February 28th, Jack’s turquoise Montego was found. A forest ranger reported that he’d seen the vehicle parked on a rural mountain road in the Plumas National Forest the day after the boys had attended the basketball game, but didn’t think much of it since sometimes locals would park there to go skiing. He called police after seeing a news report about the vehicle belonging to the missing men.

The car was buried in snow, right at the snow line. The area where it had been found was about 70 miles from Chico, but still about 70 miles from home. The drive from the basektball game in Chico to their home was essentially a straight shot. However, it seemed that they’d gone south for a short time (which was the correct direction), then suddenly turned east and headed back up north towards the mountains. The car seemed to have initially been stuck in almost a foot of snow and had spun its tires. The odd thing though, was that it didn’t appear to have been stuck so badly that five healthy young men couldn’t have pushed it out. The gas tank still had about a quarter of a tank and the vehicle started easily when officers hotwired it to move it. The keys were not found. 

Strangely enough, there was very little, if any, damage noted to the udnercarriage of the vehicle. Jack drove his vehicle with care and, whoever drove it up this mountain did the same. The Montego was low to the ground and would’ve easily been torn up if not driven carefully in terrain like where it was found. One of the windows was partially down and the doors were both locked. The wrappers from the snacks and candy that they’d bought earlier at the market were strewn about the seats and the floor.

This was more than just a wrong turn that’d gotten the boys off their route. There were several maps in the car’s glove box and Bill was very good at reading them. He even had a collection at home. Jack’s family said that Jack knew to stop and turn around if he made a wrong turn. It didn’t make any sense that he would’ve continued up the mountain in the dark. None of the men were familiar with that particular area. 

Having located the missing vehicle, investigators now had a specific area to search. Not long after the search in the forest, a blizzard moved into the area, dropping almost a foot of snow and covering any obvious tracks the men might have left. Searchers, some on foot, some on snowmobiles, others on horseback trekked through the area, but the snow made it dangerous. They couldn’t find any signs of the missing five.                                                                                           

                           
Joseph Schons

Sometime in late February or early March, Berry Creek resident, 55-year-old Joseph Schons (pronounced shones) came forward with a story about the missing five. Schons said that he’d driven up to the area near where Jack’s car was found on the night of February 24th (the night the men were last seen at the Chico State basketball game) in order to check the snow in preparation for a ski trip he was planning. Schons owned a cabin in the area and was planning on taking his wife and daughter there soon. Around 5:30PM, Schons got his Volkswagen Beetle stuck in the snow, about 150 feet up the rural road. He said that as he tried to push his car out of the snow, he began having chest pain. He got back into his running car to keep warm and wait for help.

This is when Schons’ story becomes confusing. In different interviews with police, he gave different accounts of what he’d seen that night. In one account, Schons said that around 11:30PM, while still in his vehicle and in excruciating pain, he heard whistling noises coming from outside. He saw a vehicle parked about 20 feet behind him. Schons got out of his car and called for help, seeing five or six men and possibly a woman with a baby. The figures were dark, with just the backlight of the vehicle’s headlight. He continued calling out for help, but said that the figures walked back to their car and the headlights went out.

Another one of Schons’ accounts said that he saw two sets of headlights coming up behind him, one was a vehicle and one was a pickup truck. Schons said that he got out of his car to flag the cars down, but that they stopped about 20 feet from his car. He said that everyone got out and left in just one of the cars. 

Schons got back in his vehicle and sat inside until about 4AM, when the vehicle ran out of gas. He got out and began walking towards the vehicle he’d seen earlier. It was about 50 yards away. Nobody was in the vehicle, which he later confirmed was Jack’s Montego. Schons continued down the mountain, walking several miles until he reached a lodge and was ultimately taken to the hospital. He was found to have suffered a mild heart attack. There’s a lot of discussion as to whether Schons really saw anything that night or if his stories were fabricated.

In early March, after several searches, including helicopter searches, the hunt for the young men was called off due to the significant amount of snow. It was no longer safe to search the area. The Sheriff and other investigators had grown increasingly concerned that the disappearances were not voluntary. Sheriff Beecham said, “In fact, as time goes on, it looks more and more like foul play.”

Though the searches had been called off until the terrain was safer, the boys’ families continued to do what they could. They raised money and announced rewards for information. Tips about sightings came in, but none led to anything. Some family members even consulted psychics, but nothing credible came to light. 

Investigators searched approximately 30 stores along the route from Chico State to where Jack’s car was found, but nobody had anything useful to say.

The Bodies

On Sunday, June 4th, 1978, the snow had finally melted enough and a group of motorcyclists were riding through the forest area when they came across an abandoned U.S. Forest Service trailer. The large trailer was surrounded by four smaller trailers. One of the riders noticed a nauseating smell as soon as he removed his helmet. He walked around, looking for a dead animal or whatever the source of the smell might be, but found nothing. He noticed a broken window on the big trailer and walked over to look inside.

When the young man peered inside the window, he saw an extremely emaciated human body laying on a bunk. It appeared the man had frozen to death. He said that the man was lying face up and that both legs of his pants were rolled up. He said, “both of his pant legs were rolled up above his knees, revealing apparent blood poisoning and gangrene.” The motorcyclists quickly left to tell law enforcement what they’d found.

When investigators returned to the trailers, they found the body of 32-year-old Ted Weiher covered in several bed sheets, pulled up to his chin, almost as though someone had tucked him in. He was barefoot and five of his toes were missing, likely from frostbite, and his feet were gangrenous. The medical examiner determined that it likely would’ve been too painful for Ted to move, so someone must’ve tucked him in. There was a small table by the bed and on it were several of Ted’s items, including his ring with his name engraved on it, his gold necklace, his wallet with cash still inside, and a gold Waltham watch with the crystal missing. When consulted, Ted’s family identified all of the items, except for the watch. In fact, all of the families denied that the watch belonged to any of the men. Ted’s leather shoes were missing. 

Everything found inside the trailer only left investigators with more questions. There was one partially melted candle on the table, which appeared to be the only source of heat in the trailer. In addition to furniture that could’ve been broken down to use as kindling, there were many paperback books. There were also matches found. There was no evidence that a fire had been started in the trailer, despite clear resources to do so. There was a shed outside with a full propane tank. If it had been switched on, it would’ve provided the trailer with heat. The shed however, was partially blocked by snow so the boys may not have seen it. 

There were plenty of extra blankets and clothing inside the trailer, as well as quite a bit of food. Another shed outside held a large reserve of C rations, which were typically used in combat. They were in tin cans and had crackers, fruit, and stew. A total of 36 meals were eaten. Beside the cabinet where the C rations were was another cabinet with a significant amount of dehydrated meals, some saying that it was enough to last the men a full year. Some of the meals had been opened using an Army can opener that only Jack and Gary would’ve known how to use. 

Ted’s autopsy revealed that he had actually died of pulmonary congestion due to exposure. This is often referred to as “wet lung” and is caused by cold exposure. At the time he disappeared, Ted was 5’11 and 200 pounds. When his body was discovered he’d lost close to 100 pounds. The medical examiner also said that based on Ted’s facial hair growth, he must’ve survived for anywhere between 8 and 13 weeks before dying. Just two weeks before his body was found.

With the discovery of Ted’s body, investigators spread out in the area around the trailer. However, they found it incredibly difficult to imagine how the men had made it all the way to the trailer from their vehicle. There is conflicting information as to how far they would’ve had to walk to get to the cabin, it was at least 11.5 miles. None of them were dressed for the weather and none of them had any real experience with being out in the wilderness, especially in such brutal weather. They’d found that a Snowcat belonging to the forest service ran up the road to the trailer, which left a path in the snow. The men may have followed that path.

On Tuesday, June 6th, a volunteer who was using his tracking dogs to help with the search for the men, got an alert from one of his dogs, just off the main road. There he found the body of 30-year-old Jack Madruga near a stream. His body had been ravaged by wildlife, with his right arm having been bitten off. He had his watch in his left hand and his car keys in his pocket.

Not long after, 29-year-old Bill Sterling’s body was found, just across the road from Jack’s. Bill’s wallet was on him, which held his social security card and a photo of Bill’s sisters. His body, like Jack’s, had been picked apart by wildlife. His skull was found 50 yards from the rest of his body. Both bodies were about 4.5 miles away from the trailer, towards Jack’s vehicle.

The following day, June 7th, Jackie’s father discovered his 24-year-old son’s remains about 2.5 miles from the trailer. He picked up his son’s spine, which was inside of his clothing. His skull was about 100 yards away from the rest of his remains. The three men found outside were identified by their dental records. Still missing though, was 25-year-old Gary Mathias.

                                                                                                                     
Well What the Hell Happened?

Though Gary hadn’t been found, there WAS evidence that he’d been at the trailer. His tennis shoes were there, while Ted’s thick leather shoes were missing. Police believed that after Ted was no longer able to wear his own shoes due to his swollen, frost bitten feet, Gary probably put Ted’s shoes on to accommodate for the swelling in his own feet, since Ted’s shoes were bigger.

The families of the boys were absolutely heartbroken. But also, they were so confused. While the media was so focused on the boys being “slow” and likely having just gotten lost, the families knew that wouldn’t have been the case. 

Jack Madruga’s mother said,

“Things aren’t right. They want to say they got stuck, walked out like a bunch of idiots and froze to death. Why would they leave the car to go die? There’s no sense to that theory. But we can’t figure anything that works out right, there’s no rhyme or reason to any of it.”

Bill’s sister said, “Someone made them go up that road. Bill didn’t like the snow. They knew that it was cold up there. Madura wouldn’t have driven his car up there because he likes it too much.”

The families were convinced that their boys had met with foul play that night. Nothing made sense as to why they would’ve ended up where they ended up. There was no evidence of foul play in the cabin or on any of the remains found.

A month or so after the boys first went missing, a woman in Yuba City by the name of Debbie Lynn Reese began receiving some strange phone calls. During the first phone call, Debbie answered and a male voice said, “I know where the missing five men are.” He then hung up. The next day, the same voice called back and said, “I need help ‘cause I hurt those guys bad.” Debbie asked who he hurt. The voice replied, “Don’t play dumb with me,” then hung up. He called once more, a few days later and when Debbie answered, the same voice said, “Those five guys are all dead.” Debbie repeated back to him, “They’re all dead?” The voice responded with, “They’re all dead,” then hung up. He never called back. Debbie had absolutely no connection to the five missing young men.

                                                                                                                     
Theories

With Gary still missing, the families of the other four boys grew suspicious that he may have had something to do with what happened. Gary had no diagnosed learning disability, though he was taking medication for his schizophrenia. He also had a history of aggressive behavior and run-ins with law enforcement. He’d been arrested twice for assault and had issues with psychosis when he stopped taking his medication. Despite these problems in his past, Gary’s family said that he was doing well. He was working at his stepfather’s business and taking his medication as prescribed. His doctor called him a “success case”. 

There was a rumor expressed to several family members of the five men that there’d been a fight in the parking lot of the market that they’d stopped in for snacks after the game. Supposedly, a group of guys had started teasing Jackie in the parking lot. When Gary tried to break up the fight, it led to the other group of men following or chasing them in their vehicle, which resulted in the boys getting lost. These claims have never been verified. 

Another theory is that a local man was behind their disappearances. This person reportedly had a bad history with Gary and had made threats against the now-missing man in the past. He also had an extensive arrest record with drugs and violence. This unnamed person became a pastor later in life. The rumor says that this man, often referred to as the “town bully”, was dating Gary’s sister. When she broke up with him, the bully began harassing Gary’s family. It’s theorized that the boys ran into the town bully on their way home from the basketball game. At some point, Gary was thrown into Lake Orriville after a fight. The other four were then forced up the mountain and out of their vehicle. A witness, who later was too frightened to come forward officially, said that while at church, she heard this man confess to several murders. Though some people believe this is a very likely theory, it’s also pretty widely accepted that Gary made it to the trailer, since his shoes were found. 

Gary’s sister Tammie later said that she went to the trailer where Ted was found and found several handwritten notes on scraps of paper that looked like Gary’s journaling. She also said that these were compared to Gary’s handwriting by a specialist and confirmed to be a match. There have been several unconfirmed sightings of Gary after the boys’ disappearance.

Another theory is that Joseph Schons, the man who reported seeing several people by Madruga’s car on the night of the boys’ disappearance, may not be telling the truth. Schons had a history of drinking and driving. There was quite a bit of gossip around town saying that Schons was not a truthful guy. He would often tell stories for attention and elaborate on outlandish details. One of Schon’s old neighbors said that Schons’ had made quite a few enemies. Some believe that it’s very possible that Schon would’ve pointed the young men in the wrong direction if he encountered them. There are also some details in Schons’ story that don’t make sense. For one, Schons said that he sat in his Volkswagen Beetle to stay warm, however, this type of vehicle doesn’t produce any heat when not moving. Also, he said that he was checking the snow line in preparation for a family trip to the cabin. His former neighbor said this was ridiculous, that he and his wife didn’t get along and it would’ve been outlandish that they would’ve gone on a cabin trip together. This same neighbor referred to Schons as a “wet brain alcoholic and a pathological liar.”

Here’s our theory: What happened once the boys headed up the mountains seems pretty much understood. Jack very likely drove his own vehicle up the mountain. The amount of care that was clearly used to drive over the terrain was obvious and very much like Jack. He wouldn’t have let anyone else drive the Montego. 

As they headed up the mountain, Bill and Jack, then Jackie ultimately succumbed to the elements. Ted and Gary continued to the trailer, where Gary attempted to care for Ted and his severe frostbite and gangrene. Gary was able to use the combat can opener to open the C rations for him and Ted. Gary likely decided to go for help and switched to Ted’s shoes since they were bigger and thicker. With Gary gone, Ted was unable to open any more of the food. However, this still leaves the question of why there wasn’t a fire built or why the shed hadn’t been broken into and the gas turned on. One Reddit poster who works with adults with disabilities said that it may have been very difficult, if not impossible, for the young men (other than Mathias) to go against what they’d been taught, such as not burning books or furniture, or not breaking into other peoples’ properties. Though Gary was likely still thinking straight initially, he might have not been able to convince his friends to do certain things, and they especially would’ve been less likely to do them after Gary was gone. This still leaves a very big question unanswered…why did the young men drive up there in the first place?

Gary Mathias has never been located and no real developments have been made in the case. There has been no evidence to indicate foul play or that Gary was responsible for the deaths of his friends. Gary is presumed deceased, but still classified as a missing person.