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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.
On February 24, 1978, the companions decided to attend a University of California Davis match in anticipation for their own game. Leaving their homes in Marysville-Yuba-City 50 miles to the town of Chico, they were excited to see the team considered a “favorite” by the close-knitted, athletic circle. Some of them had experience working at the Gateway Project, a now-closed vocational center that helped adults with disabilities. After spectating, the team, known as the “Gateway Gators,” stopped at a convenience store right before closing time, annoying the employee who wanted to close with their 10 p.m. junk food purchase. Whoever became the winner of the upcoming game received a free week in Los Angeles, and they were looking forward to competing.
Mathias and Madruga both had their licenses, but since the car, a 1969 Mercury Montego sports coupe, belonged to the latter, it is assumed that only he drove…
