On the night of February 24, 1978, five men: Bill Sterling, Ted Weiher, Jack Huett, Jack Madruga, and Gary Mathias, attended a California State University basketball game. But by the end of the night, 4 were later found dead, and one is still missing to this day.
“I think it’s so strange how one minute you can go from having a fun time with your friends to missing all in the same day,” Freshman Hailey Ashton said.
After the basketball game concluded, the last sighting of the 5 friends would be at a convenience store buying snacks. However, a few days later, Jack Madruga’s car was found stuck in the snow in Plumas National Park, about 70 miles away, on their way back home to Yuba County. The car was found in working condition with no sign of damage or tampering done to the car. The police were lost as to why this could have happened, considering the condition of the car. The remnants of their snacks were found, but the key to the car remained missing. Police were also confused as to why they took a route to the mountains, considering most people drive that road to go cross-country skiing.
“I think that the men probably had a psychotic break, like there’s no way the car was found in such good condition, yet they all died tragically,” Freshman Clara Bonelli said.
Months later, in June 1978, four bodies were found after the snow had melted, 4 of them being the original 5, but Gary Mathias would still be missing. The bones of 3 men, Bill Sterling, Jack Huett, and Jack Madruga, were all found, likely due to starvation and hunger. Ted Weiher was found, but about 20 miles away, living in a trailer, and unfortunately, he was dead. It was suspected he lived for as long as 3 months after the incident, but had still died of starvation, despite the trailer he was living in had a supply of heating tools and food.
“I just wonder what was going through his mind and why he didn’t use the resources in the trailer, I definitely would’ve used them,” Freshman Riley Gilbert said.
After a search and rescue attempt, a snowstorm stopped the search, and no other evidence was found other than the scattered bones of the 3 men. Gary Mathias’ shoes were found in a trailer, but no other trace was found. The family of Gary Mathias claimed this was very unlikely for him; unlikely to ever drive up there, let someone else drive his car, and leave his car window open at the scene. Sightings of the car were reported, but weren’t sufficient to solve the mystery. Gary would never be found or seen again.
“I don’t think this case should be reopened because of how little evidence there is; it’s definitely sad we don’t know what actually happened,” Freshman Evelyn Bardenhagen said.
Some theories include the men wanting to visit some friends, but ultimately took a wrong turn, panicked, and abandoned the vehicle. Other theories suggest that while all the men had various intellectual disabilities, Gary had schizophrenia and was off medication, leading to him having a psychotic break and fleeing the scene.
I believe the theory that he had a psychotic break and just abandoned the car, but maybe he and the others were scared,” Freshman Harper Downing said.
In the end, Gary Mathias was never found. Police and investigators are still at a loss as to what happened to the car and what drove the men to reach this point. The case is also referred to as the American Dyatlov Pass case, making it one of the strangest and most famous cold cases in California history.
