Gary Mathias is my uncle. I live in YC and most of my family still live here as well. Not all the facts are out there so keep that in mind, but my uncle is still missing after 40 years now. My grandparents always held out hope he would walk through the door someday. He was a very kind person. A writer and compassioniate man who loved his friends and family. It is my hope that someday we will all know what truly happened and my family will have some closure. Thank you for doing this story. I have better pictures if you need them. ☺️

This channel is so good. Keep it up!!!

Is no one gonna mention how that guy who had the mild heart attack and had to spend the night in his car nearly freezing to death whilst experiencing a series of weird events just to walk 8km in a snowstorm for help was having the worst night ever?

So sad. A group of disabled boys who had such a great friendship would have been nice to see grow old together. God bless their families.

My brother has high functioning autism. He can hold simple jobs washing dishes or stocking inventory and drive a car along familiar routes but if there is no soap in the shower he won’t ask for more or ask if we are out of soap. He just keeps going with his routine. My point being we have to make sure my brother has everything he needs and it’s in the usual places because his routines continue no matter what. He can’t problem solve if things deviate from his established norm. And he’s high functioning. I can’t imagine the confusion and fear these boys went through being lost in the wilderness. Heartbreaking.

Why is it that after I watch one of these videos everything in my house becomes so loud. I just heard a leaf fall down from two miles away

When assessing the condition of the disappeared men, please keep in mind that the older antipsychotic medicines were quite hard on the neurological system. I have met people who have used these medications and they appeared more disabled than schizophrenics nowadays. This is also portrayed in the film A Beautiful Mind. Also, depending on the level of disability, I suspect that being out of their normal surroundings and routines, these men simply weren't able to adapt to a new, sudden situation.

One assumption about why they didn’t eat the food is due to them being scared of stealing and being subsequently arrested for stealing hence why they didn’t touch most of the rations.

Every now and again you come across a KZfaq channel that's worth a look. This is one of those scenarios. Salute.

This story is particularly heartbreaking due to the innocence of the men who fell victim to the elements.

My parents taught me from an early age to always bring a coat if it was cold, even if I didn't need one. That way if the car broke down and we had to wait for a tow truck I would have something to keep me warm; we had spare blankets in an emergency kit for the same reason. Thankfully we never had to use the emergency kit, but when it comes to safety it's better the have something you don't need than to need something you don't have. Just thought I'd share that advice now that the weather is getting colder. Edit: I wanted to share another safety tip but I needed to fact check it first. As long as the hardware of a cell phone is able to make phone calls it can call 911, even if it doesn't have service. If you have an old cell phone of any kind that can still turn on and last long enough to make a phone call, it's a good idea to keep it fully charged (but off so the battery doesn't drain) in your vehicle. That way if your phone breaks or the battery dies you still have a way to call for help in an emergency.

That guy being stuck in a car and hearing whistling really creeped me out. Especially the description of the group of people with the baby

"He barely left the house aside from church, basketball, or attending a program" That's more than I leave the house haha

They seemed like such a nice group of friends. :(

I know that when under stress in an alien environment even 'normal' people can make some very bad decisions.

I love how u put on subtitles on this video. Its good for those with hearing impaired.

Did anybody else get creeped out by the other guy who spent the night in his car and heard whistling outside and didn’t know where it was coming from!!

Wow, I never heard of this case. Having worked with the disabled though, those with mental health/cognitive disabilities can be prone to making mind-boggling poor decisions. No matter how hard you may try to second guess them in order to prevent disasters, they can still act out in ways you could have never foreseen. This is especially true in situations where a routine which they are comfortable with gets suddenly disrupted and they are forced to make unplanned decisions. This entire situation unfortunately had the potential for disaster. I think initially something went off-course, made them panic and thus put into motion a series of increasingly poor decisions which eventually lead to their sad demise.

I'm from Chico, CA. Brought this story up to my dad and he recounted it with clarity. Scary goings on in my own backyard. The only discrepancy I noticed is that Chico is only 30 minutes from Oroville.

As a high functioning autistic, it does pain me to listen to this story. I guess it's because I can relate to their lives and to see how they've managed to cope with and handle their mental issue only for it to be taken away by the cruel hands of fate bothers me on a level I can't quite describe properly.

Actually, I have heard of this case several times before; you, the narrator however, have gone so far in-depth with this story that this is the best narration I have heard of this case to date.

Having the mind of a child I can't even imagine how scared, lonely and sad these boys must have been!

It actually makes total sense that the two men who were in the army during Vietnam couldn't survive out there. During Vietnam, there was an experiment called Project 100,000 where the US Army actively recruited men who were mentally handicapped. It had an extremely low bar to enter, and if I remember right there were even times where recruits didn't meet that bar and the army still said, "Eh, close enough." The hope was that they could train the "Moron Corps" into being just as good as your average soldier with a little special treatment. They also claimed it was for their benefit, as it would help fight poverty and help educate them. In reality all that happened was that the US Army decided to yeet the short bus crowd towards enemy soldiers as cannon fodder, as apparently it didn't even teach them well. With all that in mind, I could easily see how these poor guys were able to get in the army and still not have the skills to survive out on their own. Thanks, McNamara!

This episode and the Dyatlov Pass Incident are my favorite episodes of this series hands down. Very well told.

The level of professionalism of these videos is astounding. I wish I could contribute but unfortunately I cannot, due to my financial situation. But I can at least give a sub.

My thoughts center on Gary Mathias. He did suffer from paranoid schizophrenia. If he somehow relapsed into a dangerously paranoid state and became convinced that he and his friends were in deadly danger and needed to hide themselves in the woods, he might have been able to dominate or coerce the other members of the group into falling into line with his delusions. You've heard of folie à deux? Well, what about folie à cinq? It would at least explain why they were in the mountains at all.

I listened to a podcast recently where they talked about this case, and some new things have come to light. In 2019, a journalist at The Sacramento Bee published an article on Gary Mathias and his earlier crimes. While serving in the military in West Germany, he left his station without permission, and was arrested and placed in a cell. While in the cell he called for help, and a couple of guards came and opened the cell door. Mathias then rushed out and punched one of them, causing that guard to bleed from the nose and mouth. He then tried to beat the others up as well, but they managed to restrain him and put him back in the cell. When Mathias was questioned about it, he said that he did not like being in the army, and thought that if he beat someone up, he'd be fired from the military, which is what happened. That same month, Gary Mathias was at his cousin's house. Mathias went to the bathroom, and when he didn't return, his cousin went to check. The cousin found Mathias in the bedroom, sitting on top of his sleeping wife, doing inappropriate things to her. The cousin asked Gary Mathias what he was doing, and Gary Mathias replied that he wanted to "kiss the woman". The cousin then said that he was going to call the police, and Mathias said that he didn't care, because he wanted to go back to jail. Mathias got away with a light sentence for both these offenses. Gary Mathias was released from prison after 8 months, and went to visit a couple that he was friends with. Before he went to visit them, he took methamphetamine and benzedrine. When Mathias arrived for the visit, he told the couple that he would very much like to stab a woman in the jaw. The couple had a 3-year old daughter that came out of her room, and when Gary Mathias saw her, he said: "I thought i'd killed you already, but now it seems i'll have to do it again". The couple kicked him out of their house and locked the door. Gary Mathias stood outside, pounding on the door in a rage until the police arrived. At one point, Gary Mathias moved to Oregon to live with his grandmother. Some time later, Gary Mathias turned up at his mother's house, and looked ragged and filthy. He claimed that he had walked home the entire way from Portland, a 540-mile journey. He had stolen milk standing outside homes, and he had eaten dog food he found in dog houses. Another couple in Yuba County woke up in the middle of the night to Gary Mathias standing in their bedroom. He had smashed a window with his fist and opened the front door. When the couple asked him what he was doing in their bedroom, he said that he was searching for the ring that could make him return to satan. When the couple asked him what he was doing in their house, he said that it was his house and that he was there to collect rent. After that, Mathias' path straightened out and he started taking medication for his schizophrenia. He started to hang out with Madruga, Huett, Sterling and Weiher a few months before the disappearance. The other boy's parents were not comfortable with Gary Mathias, and his personality was different from that of the other boys. While the other boys always went to places and did things together, Mathias never melded with them. There are numerous other examples, but you get the picture. Without his medication, Gary Mathias was dangerously unstable. The article suggests that Gary Mathias might have chosen not to take his medication, with side effects such as dizziness and lethargy, wanting to be at his best at the basketball game the next day. I personally get the feeling that Gary Mathias would be the most likely person to suggest that they should drive up that mountain road, perhaps in a psychotic state due to being off his medication. This could also explain the seemingly strange decisions the boys made, such as abandoning the car which was in good working order and had plenty of fuel. Perhaps Gary Mathias' mental breakdown scared the boys into abandoning the car and running for their lives. Being up on that mountain, having left the car and perhaps arriving at the trailer with a psychotic Gary Mathias would have been a terrible situation to be in. However, as mentioned in the video, there's still the shell casings on the road and Shones' testimony of seeing the men and the woman on the road, witness testimony of the boys being involved in an altercation at the parking lot, but then going to buy snacks anyway, despite possibly being followed etc. This case is still very mysterious, but i thought these things might give us a better understanding of what Gary Mathias was capable of, and how this might have contributed to the disappearance. What are you guys' thoughts on this?

"Wouldn't be needing his coat" - that kinda shit wouldn't fly in my house growing up, I can tell you that.

I posted this on the Facebook page a few months ago, and realized that I never actually posted it here. Derp! I'm a truck driver and made a delivery to Oroville. Spoke with a man who remembered when it happened. Here's the post: Okay, so a lot of what I'm writing is pure speculation on my part, based on what I learned today. Please keep in mind when reading. I talked to a man named Norris who was alive and an adult during these events. He remembers it well. He said that the boys became lost after the basketball game. My personal guess is that Madruga followed California route 162 (a main traffic artery in Oroville) in the wrong direction and kept going. Norris confirmed that it was much colder than usual, and that there was a heavy snowfall in the area where Madruga's car was found. One interesting bit of information he offered that differs from what is typically reported is that Madruga *did* run out of gasoline, and that due to road conditions, the police decided to bring gasoline to the car and hotwire it instead of risking a heavy tow truck getting stuck in the snow. There was gasoline in the car when it arrived in town, but only because it was partially filled from a small gas can on the site of the abandonment. The news services got this confused with there being gasoline in the car when it was left behind. I would speculate that the boys decided to follow CA 162 (which is now known as "Oroville-Quincy Highway" in this location) even further east (mistakenly believing that it was leading back to Oroville) until they happened upon the camp where Weiher's body was eventually found. I believe that Weiher probably fell ill and the rest of the group left out to try to get help. As Weiher's condition worsened, I believe he probably lost his appetite and became emaciated; which would also explain why he didn't leave the bed. Norris stated that the day after the young men disappeared, search parties were formed with well over a hundred people, many of them on snowmobiles. I'm not sure how many days the search lasted, but it had to be called off due to increasingly worse winter conditions. One of the men on a snowmobile took a 20-foot plunge off an embankment into a snow bank after becoming disoriented. Thankfully, his friend was close behind him, and was able to help him get to safety. Otherwise, this story may have had an additional fatality. I personally believe that the boys heard the snowmobiles in the distance and decided to leave to get help for Weiher (leaving him behind), who was no doubt suffering from frostbite and most likely illness, at this point. Unfortunately, the young men made their way down less traveled trails and back roads (as shown in the map in your video), but the search parties were sticking close to Oroville-Quincy Hwy because it was the road on which the car was found. The search parties may have very well driven snowmobiles past the trailer where Weiher was bedridden. However, because of his weakened state and frostbite, he was unable to get out of bed to get their attention. Norris did not mention anything about the alleged altercation that took place after the basketball game. He seems to think it was just a simple mistake that led to a series of events that caused a tragic end for these five young men. Oroville-Quincy Highway is now closed during the winter months of the year. As to whether or not this tragedy had any bearing on the decision to close this road every winter, I can't say.

I'm addicted to these types of cases and stories. I drive trucks and always listen to your work, or Missing 411 w David Paulides.

I was ok until "saw them with a woman holding a baby...whistling sounds..."

This is the very first time I heard about these poor guys when I first saw this video a few years back. There are so many unanswered questions that it's frustrating. Thanks for treating these fellas with such respect while still presenting all the peculiar details of their last night and final discoveries. This is my favorite video and spooky tale! w/ Love from the SE United States.

if they walked 20 miles in extreme cold they would have had severe hypothermia which completely destroys finger dexterity. many hikers have been found dead with matches and lighters but were so hypothermic they couldnt strike a match which explains why there was no attempt at starting a fire or turning on any heat at the cabin in my opinion....a test for hypothermia is try touching your pinky to your thumb in early stages of hypothermia this is practicly impossible....these guys would have had severe hypothermia

You guys really know how to make a story both scary and sad, and I commend you guys for pulling it off so well.

Bedtime Stories is honestly one of the best channels on KZfaq. It's easily one of my top 5. They just tell great stories perfectly. This one about the Yuba 5 is so absolutely heartbreaking. Keep it up guys.

That “keep this channel alive” plea at the very beginning always puts a lump in my throat. Honestly, this is a wonderful channel that does good work with great people. I hope it survives forever. The same with all their other family channels. KEEP THIS CHANNEL ALIVE!♥️

Do you draw these scenes? Superb work. This is first rate work, subbing for sure.

Here is my sequence of events: - Car gets stuck - The five try to walk home - Only Mattias and Bed Man make it to the cabin, the rest succumb to frostbite on the way. - Mattias makes Bed Man comfortable, changes shoes and sets off to rescue his friends. - Bed Man can't get up to build a fire or exploit the extra resources in the cabin due to his severely frostbitten feet. It makes a lot of sense, really. None of them were equipped for the weather. Bed Man could have easily been crippled by frostbite. The only mystery is why they went up the wrong road.

Came expecting supernatural horror, ended up weeping for those poor young men. Amazing work.

Having driven in a snowstorm in the same area I know how difficult it was to see just where I was. Luckily for me, there was a semi-truck in front of me which helped me to see tracks to follow. I think they unfortunately made a wrong turn and then became confused and frightened. Just a series of unfortunate choices that anyone else might make in a bad situation.

Army service might not count for much if it's from the Vietnam era, that time had notoriously bad recruitment problems. There was such desperation to increase manpower numbers that they were taking people they otherwise never would have taken, and on top of that they were not being trained to think independently and make difficult choices. They certainly weren't all like that, but many Vietnam Vets had noted how the army had drafted people who had no business being soldiers and on top of that they were negligent in using training to raise standards.

I never take the time to comment. But i just moved to Russia im alone at the flat most of the time and while watching this video it give me the creeps... I love your channel....

This is one of the more heartbreaking of these stories

There's a major difference between this case and dyatlov pass incident the people who died in the dyatlov pass were experienced hikers used to being out in the cold

The moment I heard about the special condition of these men I'm glued to finish this no matter what... what a sad story...thank you for sharing....

My honest opinion in this case is these boys had pure souls like many wonderful mentally challenged people do. Sweet dispositions and always over trusting, sometimes this aspect works against special needs victims. The simple thought of “we can’t use this or eat this cause it’s not ours” seems odd to us due survival instinct to these poor men, some who had iqs below 75 was natural and spoke to their manners.

This story is so sad.. a group of innocent young adults trying to enjoy life, just to get cut short 😢 I hope they’re all resting in eternal peace. I bet they were all cool guys to hang out with.

In 2014 a black man from Chico disappeared and his car ( and body) was found burnt at the exact location these boys car was found.... Probably just a coincidence but how strange...

"Which you, the viewer, had probably never even heard of." Touchè KZfaqr guy, go on...

This story haunts me to my core. Those poor boys...

This was the first Bedtime Stories video I ever watched. I was looking up videos about the Dyatlov Pass incident and this was in the side bar on another channel's video (not sure why it wasn't one of their actual Dyatlov Pass videos but >algorithms). I've been hooked on this channel ever since, but I keep coming back to this one. The introduction and setup is just unsurpassed.

Mr. Ballen sent me, and if my favorite flannel frocked friendo says to check something out, as amazeballs as he is , who am I to ignore him? Thank you, John! This is going to get me through a huge portion of my insomnia tonight!!

I've lived in Yuba City my whole life and I've never heard of this. That's crazy

"Heartbreaking" doesn't even begin to describe this case... There's a lot of weird and unexplained shit that happens in the world, but the state of how these boys were found and the fact that there's NO explanation for it, and constant contradictions about every piece of evidence, its absolutely heartwrenching. Sadly, their mental state is most likely the reason why they perished--they panicked, they were scared and lost, and they didn't know what resources were available, as the video mentioned. This is one of those videos that actually has me crying... I went in to it knowing the boys didn't survive and still, it's awfully sad.

Finally I've found a channel with a perfect narrator!!!😃👍🏻👍🏻 I've been binging this channel for at least 2-3 months straight at this moment! Awesome channel!!!

I'm definitely entertaining the possibility of foul play on this one.

This case is so frustrating!!!! What in dagnabbit happened out there!!!! Just found your channel BTW and wow, is all I can say.

Wow. Never heard of this story before. How terribly tragic, and utterly baffling. As usual, fascinating, well written, fab art work, and atmospheric sound effects. You are also very respectful to people who are lost or deceased and that’s really nice.👍👍

What a truly heartbreaking story. I love the format of your vids. Please never change them. I’m very hard of hearing so the fact there is no background music is really good for me. Plus the narration is also at the top of the screen. My hearing impairment means that if there is more than one noise happening at the same time it’s difficult for me to hear the words unless I’m looking at the person talking. Which is obviously not possible in these types of videos. So thank you. Keep it up. It also helps that there is no background music. X

As a father of a mentally disabled daughter who is 19 in body and 4 or 5 in mind, this cases deeply affected me. Very job on this one, especially paying respect to the lost and grieving

I’m from Yuba City and I graduated from Chico State. I was born the year this event happened and never heard of it. Thank you for sharing their sad story. There is a minor drive time estimation error at 6:40. Oroville to Chico is a 25 minute drive not two hours as stated. Yuba City to Chico is only an hour drive and Oroville is roughly mid way between the two and it is a bit closer to Chico than Yuba City.

You guys are so good! You better be proud of yourselves! ONE person does all the artwork?! You deserve a metal man, scratch that- a trophy 🏆 can't get over how good you are as a team! Love you guys.

First time watching, and this is so incredibly well made. I love the use of illustration instead of generic stock images. It really adds to the storytelling.

No hate for Dyatlov and his group, but i find this more sad and tragic...

For the benefit of American viewers. Kit means Uniform. Match means Game. Petrol means Gasoline

New Subscriber-here- You had me at The Dyatlov Pass Incident. That was brilliantly put together, all your work is brilliant. Keep it up, and stay awesome!

As a nurse, my heart is already broken at the 8 minute mark... rest in peace YC boys

I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't pounced on this pitch. The story already wrote itself, however I'm sure Big-Film would figure out a way to ruin it.

Another great video with great production values. You guys deserve more success with your channel. An intriguing story and while not quite as utterly mind boggling as the Dyatlov Pass Incident it has some similar aspects. For the families these kinds of deaths must just undermine your whole life haunted by not knowing what has happened. My heart goes out to them.

As the mom of a child like this my heart breaks for the families.

Great professionalism and art!! Thank you for captioning as well.

iMO, this incident is far far worse than the Dyatlov case! They were in civilization and not hundreds of miles away in the mountains. So mysteriously heartbreaking!

This is so eerie. Just last week I was thinking, “What is the American story that is like the Dyatlov Pass case? Here we go. Thank you!

Damn, that is a very tragic story, I actually grew up in the Central Valley, and have been to Yuba City a few hundred times, but have never heard of this incident, wow it's just shocking that something like this can happen so close to home, amazing work on the video, the narration and artwork was just phenomenal, looks like I just found my new favorite spooky YT channel

Just found this channel and must say one of the best channels on you tube by far

God bless you for the kind words at the end. Very well done.

Awesome guys. Very well produced. I think this is the result of my emailing you this idea, but then again maybe you already knew about this case. Love it.

Your videos are fantastic. Love the narration, artwork and everything else that goes into making the videos. You deserve way more subs.

Is it possible that Mathias had a mental breakdown and killed them? He was the only one not found and he had weapons training from the military.

How did the sister know about one of them being throwin off a bridge. Of nobody was left alive to tell the story.

You should do a story that is semi famous in Australia that details the account of a man named "Bongo" and his brush with the Yowie (Aussie Bigfoot) in the Pilliga National Park in New South Wales, a number of years ago. There's also some interesting stories from Aboriginals who have lived in the region for hundreds of years who have horrifying and similar stories about the Yowie.

Well done you guys. This is indeed a very odd case and thanks to you for the information provided by the so called sister in law which I didn't hear about the first time I heard the story. This makes me think of Missing 411 and I wonder if they are connected somehow? People will say they couldn't start a fire or eat the rations because of their mental state but two of them were in the army. This case just doesn't make a damn lick of sense. Those poor guys and their families.

Dude, i am in LOVE w your channel. I often long for the mysteries & curiosities of youth. Your channel has provided that for me. 🙏 muchas gracias

" _Ted would often phone Bill, to read him bizarre newspaper articles, or repeat amusing names found in the phone book._ " [if Corona goes on much longer, I'M going to Start Reading The Phone Book!]

BEST. CHANNEL. EVER. Every week I watch your videos. Every week I'm always impressed. Keep this up guys, your channel will be massive!

This case absolutely baffles me... I've heard a few different sources reporting on this case. Oddly enough all of them only recently. It seemed to have gotten lost in time. How, I'm not sure, as this case holds everything a good mystery needs to stay at the forefront of someone's memory. I wish I had a plausible idea as to what could have happened, but I do know that this story goes against human nature and the primal survival instincts that kicks in, in life or death situations.

Yeah, it's real weird when your hometown (Oroville, in my case) comes up in a video like this. Though I've never heard of snow being forecast in the North Valley. Hail happens occasionally, but snow around Oroville and Chico? Once in a decade. Edit: Oh, snow up in the mountains. That makes more sense. Minorest of details- It doesn't take 2 hours to drive between any of these towns. Certainly not from Oroville to Chico, probably not from Yuba City to Chico. I've made the drive from Chico to Oroville hundreds of times commuting, it takes about 30 minutes. 2 hours is Chico (the furthest north of these towns) to Sacramento south of here. Fuck man, I work with special needs kids in this community. Wait, does anyone call it the 'Feather River Mountain Range'? News to me, it's the Sierras to people who live here.

That was a beautiful way to end this story. Im sure your sentiment is deeply appreciated by all the families involved. Great presentation!

What bugs me most about this, is that if someone was stationed at the US Forestry camp, some of those poor boys could have been saved.... Edit: I feel more bad for these fellows because, well, I also have a mental illness that makes me...childish? Being in social places is agonizing because I clearly don't belong or know what to do. It's kind of like being a child lost in a mall. I also read the replies, and you guys make sense. I understand that it's too much to ask, I'm just voicing the "what if" in my head. Maybe a stranger could have helped, or something. It just feels horrible for such lost people. Being trapped in a mental handicap is no laughing matter, especially if it increases your changes of danger.

If Mathias was thrown off a bridge, how were his shoes in the trailer..What I find interesting is that someone must have known the trailer was there, unless you want to believe that a couple lost men, in pitch black in the snow got lucky enough to happen upon it, I don't..

Here because Mr. Ballen, who else?

This is such a sad story... My heart goes out to their families and I hate to imagine what these five young men must have gone through...Terribly sad...

The name "The Boys From Yuba City" and the beginning made it sound like it was some sort of motorcycle gang that got lost, once I got into the vid however I was like "oh... thats sad"

This breaks my heart.

I know this video was posted over a year ago, but I wanted to say thank you. I heard about this case 30 years ago in a forensic class I was taking in junior high school. We did a case each quarter and we covered both of the Daytlov Pass cases. I have always found this case really interesting. Most of the class thought it was an open and shut case of murder-suicide, but in my opinion, the pieces just don't fit. I have done a LOT of research on this case, so I was surprised your video included some information I had not heard before. Down the rabbit hole I go again. 😁

I've lived in Chico my whole life and didn't know about this until just today. Truly sad.

I don't understand why no one found them in a reasonable amount of time? Did they not start searching immediately? It sounds like their families were concerned that night so why did it take so long to find them?

Your voice is perfect for narration. Thank you for all that you do. *new sub*

Once again you have taken an incident I had previously heard & made it many times more entertaining & presented the facts in such a way as to make it seem like they are new. No other versions begin to compare. Your presentation style leaves everyone else in the dust...

This was a tragedy, and my heart goes out to all affected. I have the utmost respect for individuals with mental health diagnoses - the vast majority of whom are highly intelligent, functioning people. But given the evidence, Mathias' diagnosis of schizophrenia cannot be overlooked. Another important fact is that only two of the boys had driver's licenses: Mathias and Madruga. It is usually assumed that Madruga was behind the wheel because it was his car - but we don't know that. I'm not qualified to make a judgement, but this is what I believe most likely happened: 1. The boys depart from Chico to return home, with Mathias behind the wheel of the car. Madruga allows him to drive, perhaps because he is too tired. Mathias had been prescribed medication for schizophrenia, according to a contemporaneous report in the The Washington Post. But having forgotten to take it recently, he begins to experience a schizophrenic episode while he is driving the car. Perhaps he believes he is being chased and panics, increasing his speed and making a wrong turn onto a remote road going up a high elevation. 2. The car gets stuck in the snow. The other boys try to calm Mathias and convince him that there is no one chasing them, and everything's fine. They get out of the car to push it out of the snow. 3. Suddenly the boys hear a loud voice screaming at them from the darkness. That voice is Joseph Schons - the man having a heart attack just up the road. He can see their headlights, but the boys can't see him because his car's lights are turned off and it's too dark. Suffering a mild heart attack, Schons is yelling to the boys for help. 4. The sudden sound of Schon's voice scares the crap out of the boys - who had thought they were alone. All of the boys visibly react to the voice, which further terrifies Mathias because he is not the only one hearing it. As soon as Schon yells at the boys, Mathias - who was already shook up from a schizophrenic episode - simply snaps and runs into the woods. This is the most unlucky event in the story and really the turning point of the whole story. 5. Now the other 4 boys are left in a horrible situation, because Mathias - who had been driving - just ran into the woods with the car keys in his hand. So the other boys are unable to drive the car anywhere. They turn off the car lights and whisper to each other, spooked by the voice. They feel a responsibility to go find their friend, but they are terrified of going into the black woods. 6. After some deliberation they decide they have no choice but to go into the woods and try to find Mathias. They find the flashlights that were stored in the car, and after about 20 minutes they finally work up the courage to go into the woods. 7. Schons sees the flashlights turn on and the boys go into the woods, never to be seen again. You can ignore the woman Schon's thought he saw - that's a red herring. The man just suffered a heart attack and was not in his right mind, plus he was seeing silhouettes in front of the headlights - a slender boy's silhouette could easily be mistaken for a young woman. 8. Mathias - who is scared out of his mind - is running extremely fast and covers an incredible distance. Even if they knew which direction he went, the other boys have no chance of catching up with him. None of the boys are dressed for the weather and Madruga, Sterling, and Huett quickly succumb to hypothermia. Weiher eventually stumbles across the Forest Service trailer and survives for several weeks before dying of malnutrition. Mathias is never found - having traveled further than the area that investigators searched. What do you guys think? While it's tempting to assume foul play, I believe the simplest and most likely explanation is that this was simply a series of unlucky and extremely unfortunate events. Any explanation involving foul play simply becomes far too complicated, not to mention it lacks motive and suspects. I believe a much simpler explanation is more likely and more logical. I don't believe there are any significant holes in my theory - unless I'm missing something?