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foreign [Music] [Music] at six years old I had never been in darkness like that before
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it was just pitch black like the dark was touching me engulfing me like I was actually inhaling the darkness
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Chowchilla in 1976 was a Cow Town you could drive through the heart of town in about 30 seconds
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[Music] very close-knit community everybody looked out for each other people didn't lock their doors
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there was nothing to fear I didn't know what fear was I still have a hard time grasping the
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way that my life changed on July 15th it's another average summer day very hot going to summer school and that day we
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got to go to the town swimming pool got back on the bus ready to go home the bus driver was Ed Ray he was a
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strong Quiet Man everybody liked Edward and respected him the buses had the windows down the Hot
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Summer Breeze the kids were laughing and singing happy and just glad to be going
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home [Music] what I remember was her traveling he just left off two kids all of a sudden
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he said what the heck is this and then I can remember the bus stopping at a stop sign Edward went to go around
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a white van that was parked in the road and then this man came up with a stocking over his head with a gun and
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said open the door foreign the first man came on the bus and he had a gun Ed Ray said what's
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going on and he said shut up and move to the back I remember telling him that if
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he didn't get me home on time my dad would be on him like stink on skunk you know I wasn't afraid of anything I
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didn't know I needed to be and then another man came on the bus and he had a sawed off double barrel shotgun
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the shotgun filled me with Terror the masked men had pantyhose pulled over their face it was a very distorted look
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where their eyes were it almost looked Hollow it was like looking at death one of the kidnappers got into the
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driver's seat and the bus started moving again I started to think I wonder where
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they're taking us [Music] 26 school children and their bus driver have vanished anguish parents President
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Ford hundreds of searching police are asking the question where are the children