The text describes a series of events that occurred on a Friday night, involving a group of five men known as "The Boys" from Yuba County. The group, which included Jack Madruga, William Sterling, Jack Huett, Theodore Weiher, and Gary Mathias, went out for a night out at a Chico State Basketball game and decided to return home via a detour.
The Boys took off from Oroville, heading towards Chico, and then took a detour off of Highway 70 onto the Oroville-Quincy Highway, a road that runs across Lake Oroville and up towards the Plumas National Forest. They drove until the road ended and continued their journey up a dirt trail. Their vehicle became stuck in the snowdrift.
Joe Shones, who was stuck in the Plumas National Forest, spotted an abandoned turquoise Mercedes Montego on an unpaved road near Elk's Retreat, a staggering two-and-a-half hours from where the basketball game took place. The vehicle appeared ordinary, was unlocked, the window was down, and snack wrappers littered the seats.
The search for the missing men continued, with mounting public attention and hope for closure. A group of bikers found a body in an abandoned forest service trailer, which was identified as Ted Weiher. The rest of the bodies were found scattered around the area, with Gary Mathias' body never found.
Theories about the case include a potential nefarious activity, with some speculating that Gary Mathias had more to do with the situation than previously thought. There were also questions about why The Boys didn't head home and why the car was found in immaculate condition, which is unheard of considering the rugged terrain that existed on the road they'd taken.
The case remains open, with numerous questions surrounding the motive and the circumstances of that late winter night.
1. Joseph Shones was scouting back roads in the Plumas National Forest on a Friday. He was navigating his Volkswagen in hopes of returning with his family the next day.
2. Due to harsh weather conditions, his venture led to his car becoming stuck around 5:30 PM.
3. He hopped out of his car to give it a push, but in a strikingly unlucky turn of events, this physical exertion led to him enduring a heart attack at the worst possible place and the worst possible time.
4. He returned to his vehicle, enduring the pain and contemplating on what to do.
5. A short while later, he caught his biggest break. Two sets of headlights coming from the opposite direction, and the shadows of what looked like a woman, a baby, and a group of guys walking towards him while engaging in conversation.
6. After realizing that this could be his ticket home, he fumbled out of the car and began calling for help.
7. A couple hours later, with his car still running, he encountered another anomaly, flashlights shining in the far distance.
8. As expected, he jumped out once more, vehemently pleading for one of them to notice him. However, this too, fell unsuccessful.
9. Another couple of hours pass, and Shones' car runs out of gas.
10. Fortunately, though, by this point, he'd felt well enough to exit his vehicle and begin a trek up the road towards a lodge roughly eight miles away.
11. It was on this walk when he'd witness a 1969 Mercury Montego with no passengers inside.
12. His trek to the mountain lodge took him to the early morning of the next day, and there he was able to obtain medical treatment and much-needed help to get his car out of there.
13. What he failed to realize, however, was the fact that on this journey, he passed the vehicle of five men that would soon become enveloped in one of the strangest unexplained mysteries in history.
14. On February 24th, the lives of five long-time friends would converge. 30-year-old Jack Madruga would make his rounds within Yuba City and Oroville, California, to pick up the others for a night out at a Chico State Basketball game.
15. The group played for a team called the Gateway Gators, an extracurricular segment of the Yuba City Gateway Program. This was a rehabilitative center aimed at helping them learn a trade while overcoming their mild intellectual disabilities and mental health issues.
16. Jack Madruga, the owner of his prized 1969 Mercury Montego, was known to have recently worked as a dishwasher at a local fruit company. He was keen on handling his finances.
17. They hit up a local convenience store by the name of Behr's, where they loaded up on a Hostess cherry pie, a lemon pie, a Snickers bar, a Marathon bar, a couple Pepsis, and a quart of milk.
18. The Boys jump back in the car and embark on their journey back home. They didn't make it back home that night. Instead of driving south, they took a detour east.
19. Their journey that night encompassed their ride from Oroville to Chico. Right before arriving in Oroville, the driver took a detour off of Highway 70 and onto the Oroville-Quincy Highway, a road that runs across Lake Oroville and up towards the Plumas National Forest.
20. They drove until the road ended and continued their journey up a dirt trail until their vehicle became stuck in the snowdrift.
21. A forest ranger scouting the area notices an abandoned turquoise Mercury Montego. It was left on an unpaved road near Elk's Retreat, a staggering two-and-a-half hours from where the basketball game took place.
22. The vehicle appeared ordinary. It was unlocked, the window was down, and snack wrappers littered the seats. In the gas tank was more or less a quarter tank of gas.
23. Yuba County PD began broadcasting the details and photos of the missing men, and for the next five days their search team would scour the region.
24. A group of bikers are out on a weekend ride and