Remembering the Chowchilla kidnapping: A never-before-seen interview with a survivor
CBSN
In the summer of 1976 three young men from wealthy families kidnapped a school bus full of children in the small town of Chowchilla, California. Twenty-six children ages 5 through 14 and their bus driver were on their way home from summer school when they were taken hostage at gunpoint. It is believed to be the largest kidnapping ever in the United States.
Jodi Heffington was one of the kids on the bus. She was just 10 at the time. In a never-before-seen interview, Heffington spoke in detail about her memories from the horrific experience.
"And this man came up with a stocking over his head with a gun and said 'open the door' ... I never been around guns. You only see bad guys in the movies with stockings on, so I knew it wasn't good ... He held a shotgun to my stomach ... I thought he was going to shoot me," Heffington told "48 Hours" in this week's episode, "Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping," airing Saturday, March 18 at 10/9c* on CBS and streaming on Paramount +.
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