Larry Park

Larry Park confesses that the incident has severely scarred him and claims he has battled schizophrenia and addiction for most of his life.

Locals watched a replay of the events from two weeks ago on television in the fairground auditorium on Wednesday night, reliving the nightmare and miracle of the kidnapping and escape with terror and interest.

When word spread on July 15 that 26 children and their bus driver had vanished while returning from summer camp, more than 500 people, or 10% of this remote village’s total population, showed up to see how the community reacted.

And each time 55-year-old bus driver Frank Edward Ray Jr. was spotted returning with the children just before dawn on Saturday, the folks here cheered.

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Larry Park, Andrea Park, And Darla Daniels Remember The Ordeal

On July 15, 1976, at around 4:00 pm, three armed men—Frederick Woods, James, Richard, and their brother Richard Schoenfeld—came up in a white van and stopped a bus carrying 26 summer school kids from Dairyland Primary School as they were leaving a trip to a local pool. 

Frederick Woods, 24, the suspected mastermind of the plot, boarded the bus prepared to carry out one of the largest mass kidnappings in U.S. history, with a pantyhose pulled over his head as a mask and a revolver drawn.

James and Richard Schoenfeld, his accomplices, joined him, carrying sawed-off shotguns and wearing identical clothing.

Chowchilla Kidnapping: How many kids were kidnapped?

The trauma of the Chowchilla school bus hijacking, in which 26 children, aged five to 14, and their bus driver were kidnapped and buried alive in a box truck prison, still haunts the survivors even after more than 40 years have passed.

In the most significant mass kidnapping in American history, three armed men wearing pantyhose masks kidnapped Ed Ray, the bus driver, and 26 kids from Dairyland Elementary on July 15, 1976.

chowchilla-kidnapping
26 Kids were Kidnapped in Chowchilla (Source- all that interesting )

Before completing a daring escape under Ray’s leadership, they were imprisoned in an underground box truck in a rock quarry for about 16 hours.

On March 18, 2023, a new edition of CBS 48 Hours titled Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping will air.

It will chronicle the horrific incident decades earlier and include never-before-seen interviews with the survivors. The summary says:

“Twenty-six school children were abducted by three men and buried alive in a trailer. Inside their daring escape.”

Who is Larry Park?

Larry Park was a young schoolboy six years old when he was taken hostage and kept in a used truck trailer.

According to sources, on July 15, 1976, Larry and 25 other pupils aged 5 to 14 were traveling home from a summer school near Chowchilla, California.

The bus driver, Ed Ray, initially tried to stop the assault but soon discovered they were all armed.

Out of concern for the children’s safety, he complied with their demands, and the kidnappers then forced loaded everyone into the backs of two windowless vans.

According to the survivors, the kidnappers traveled without a map for almost 12 hours until stopping at a rock quarry.

The authorities later found the survivors at a quarry in Livermore, California, roughly 100 miles from the kidnapping scene. Larry said the kidnappers led the kids to a hole and made them jump in it once they got to the quarry.

Where is Larry Park Now?

The survivors were taken to the Santa Rita Rehabilitation Center after Police authorities took over the case, where they were given food and liquids. The kids were then given the go-ahead to head back to Chowchilla, where their waiting family waited.

Larry also mentioned that the authorities had arranged for the kids to go to Disneyland immediately after the incident, hoping it would help them forget the horrible event they had just been through.

Nonetheless, Larry finished his education at the Preston School of Industry before obtaining a Master of Arts in Christian Counseling at the AMES International School of Ministry.

chowchilla park kidnapper
Larry Park (Source- WCBI )

He currently resides in Mariposa, California, and makes a living as a pastor. In addition, Larry mentors young people and shares the forgiveness message while serving as a Christian counselor.

He is a firm believer in the healing power of forgiveness and thinks that by sharing his story, he might help those suffering. Readers will be happy to learn that Larry is in a fulfilling relationship, and we wish him luck in his future aspirations.

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