66: The 'Boys' Who Never Came Home (Yuba County Five)

In February of 1978 the news in northern California was consumed by Ted Bundy’s arrest, coverage of the East Area Rapist, and Roman Polanski’s escape to France following charges of rape. There was one story, however, that took up a lot of page space in The Sacramento Bee, from February to June of that year. It’s the story of five men that went to a basketball game in Chico and never came home.

The mystery of the Yuba County Five, or the boys as their parents called them: Tim Weiher, Jack Madruga, Bill Sterling, Jackie Hewitt and Gary Mathias was forgotten about for nearly 40 years, until the story was posted on Reddit in 2017 on the Unresolved Mysteries subreddit. From there, the story became an internet sensation. Podcasts far and wide have covered the topic ever since, and there has even been new information to emerge 40 years later.

But the heart of the mystery still remains where it has always been: in the questions that still need answering. This week, The Our Strange Skies P...