Chowchilla kidnappings

Twenty-six children and a bus driver were forced to climb into this moving van that had been buried in a rock quarry. Above, the van just after it was pulled from the quarry in Livermore on July 20, 1976.  (Boris Yaro / Los Angeles Times)

On Oct. 19, 1976, James Schoenfeld, left, Fred N. Woods and Richard Schoenfeld arrive for court session in Madera on charges of kidnapping the children and bus driver and planning to demand a $5-million ransom.  (Joe Kennedy / Los Angeles Times)

Police officers escort the children from a bus upon their return to Chowchilla. They had spent 16 hours entombed at the quarry. This photo was published in the July 18, 1976 Los Angeles Times.  (Rick Meyer / Los Angeles Times)

The children attended the Dairyland School in Chowchilla, seen on July 17, 1976.  (Boris Yaro / Los Angeles Times)

A view of the interior of the moving van where the kidnapping victims were held. This photo was published in the July 24, 1976 Los Angeles Times.  (Rick Meyer / Los Angeles Times)

Officials work to remove the van buried at a rock quarry in Livermore on July 20, 1976.  (James Palmer / Associated Press)

Bus driver Ed Ray, surrounded by some of the children he was credited with rescuing, was celebrated during an “Ed Ray and Children Day,” with a parade, speeches and a barbecue in Chowchilla. This photo was published in the Aug. 23, 1976 Times.  (Art Rogers / Los Angeles Times)

Alameda County Sheriff Tom Houchins briefs the news media at the California Rock and Gravel Co. quarry. In the foreground is the shaft leading to the buried van where the victims were imprisoned. This photo was published in the July 18, 1976 Los Angeles Times.  (Boris Yaro / Los Angeles Times)