Parole Denied for Man in ’76 Bus Abduction

The state Board of Prison Terms denied James Schoenfeld parole for the 13th time Tuesday, nearly 25 years after he and two other men kidnapped and buried a busload of schoolchildren for a $5-million ransom.

The decision was based on the nature of the crime and Schoenfeld’s failure to participate in structured self-help programs since 1992, spokeswoman Denise Schmidt said. Schoenfeld refused to discuss his offense, but that did not enter into the board’s decision, Schmidt said.

The board denied Schoenfeld parole for two years after the two-hour hearing, Schmidt said.

Schoenfeld was arrested about two weeks after he, his brother Richard, and Frederick N. Woods, all scions of wealthy San Francisco Peninsula families, commandeered the bus July 15, 1976, near Chowchilla in the San Joaquin Valley.

They transferred their hostages to two vans, drove about 100 miles north and put them in a moving van they had buried in a quarry owned by the Woods family in Livermore.

While they were trying to arrange for the ransom, bus driver Ed Ray and some of the older boys dug their way out of the truck and summoned help.

Richard Schoenfeld turned himself in six days after the kidnapping. Woods and James Schoenfeld were captured six days after that.

All three were sentenced to life in prison.

Richard Schoenfeld has been denied parole 16 times, the last time in May. Woods was denied for the 10th time in September.