Friends With a Snowy Fate — The Case of the Yuba County Five
Are there more questions than answers in this tale of the wilderness?
Old footprints in the snow and a relentless wind in the air, the Plumas National Forest in Sierra Nevada, California, held bare traces of humanity across the frozen land. Most of the campers who dared navigate the terrain were experienced with the area, especially given the wintry February climate. Yet for a group of friends from Yuba City, it was a confusing final destination that left their parents perplexed and concerned following news of their disappearances.
Their names were Ted Weiher, 32, Gary Mathias, 25, Jack “Doc” Madruga, 30, William “Bill” Sterling, 29, and Jack Huett, 24, all who had developmental, cognitive, psychiatric or learning disabilities. En route from a college basketball game, the five men disappeared. They were scheduled to play the following day at the Special Olympics tournament, an event that the group — affectionately called “the boys” by their family and friends — voiced excitement over.
Till this day, many answers remain about why the group went out of their way to an unfamiliar, mountainous path rather than straight home. The case is sometimes referred to as the “American Dyatlov Pass” for its similarities of cold, unforgiving weather, multiple casualties, and genuine mystery.
