Yuba County Five

Case background and investigation

On the evening of February 24, 1978, five men from the Yuba City area of California drove to Chico to watch a UC Davis basketball game at Chico State. According to Wikipedia and All That's Interesting, the group was Gary Mathias, 25, Bill Sterling, 29, Jack Huett, 24, Ted Weiher, 32, and Jack Madruga, 30. Wikipedia reports they were last confirmed seen buying snacks and drinks at Behr's Market in downtown Chico shortly before it closed at 10 p.m. They did not return home.

Madruga's 1969 Mercury Montego was found on February 28, 1978, on a remote mountain road in Plumas National Forest, far from their route home, according to Wikipedia and Dyatlov Pass research site accounts of contemporary coverage; one account gives the date as February 27. All That's Interesting reports that the car was stuck in snow, still had fuel and was missing its keys.

On June 4, 1978, motorcyclists came upon a U.S. Forest Service trailer about 19 to 20 miles from the car and found Weiher's body inside. According to Wikipedia, his condition suggested he had survived for weeks, possibly around three months, even though the trailer held stored food, fuel and warm clothing that had not been used. Mathias's sneakers were found in the trailer.

The following day, the remains of Madruga and Sterling were found about 11 miles from the car, and on June 7 Huett's remains were found roughly two miles from the trailer, according to Wikipedia. Officials found no signs of foul play, and the four deaths were attributed to hypothermia, exposure or starvation, according to Wikipedia and the Dyatlov Pass account. The search for Mathias was called off later in June 1978.

Gary Mathias has never been found. He is listed as a missing person in national databases. Investigators never established why the men drove into the mountains, and a California Department of Justice special agent was quoted by All That's Interesting describing the many leads that went nowhere. The Yuba County Sheriff's Department continues to take information on the case, according to a 2024 report by 98.3 The Snake.