Tonight (Saturday March 18 2023), CBS broadcasts an episode of the series 48 Hours!
Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping 3/18/23 Episode Summary
The final of three men convicted of kidnapping 26 children and their bus driver was released from prison in California last summer after serving 46 years. For the first time, “Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping,” which will air on Saturday, March 18 (10:00–11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and stream on Paramount+, will feature an intense, moving interview with one of the survivors of that terrifying incident.
When three masked gunmen kidnapped the kids and their bus driver in 1976 as they were returning from school and buried them alive in an old moving truck under a rock quarry, the case captivated the country. Before making a daring escape, they remained in the dark for nearly 16 hours. One of those kids, Jodi Heffington, spent her entire life fighting to keep her kidnappers in jail. Heffington recounts the experience in public for the first time and discusses the emotional details of her post-trauma life in an interview that was captured prior to her death in 2021.
“How that day affected me has affected me every day in some way or another,” Heffington told 48 HOURS. “I think it made me not a good daughter, sister, aunt, or mother, in particular,” she said. I try to embody each of those. But it seems to have just taken something away from me that I will never be able to get back. And no matter how hard I try or what I do, I can’t knock it down.
48 HOURS, narrated by David Begnaud The book “Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping” tells the tale of a group of kids and their bus driver enduring the unimaginable. The size of the kidnapping is thought to be unprecedented in American history. Police focused their attention on Fred Woods, 24, the son of the quarry owner, and two of his friends, James and Richard Schoenfeld, not long after the kids and their driver fled. The three men were detained, found guilty, and given life sentences with a parole possibility. All received parole eventually.
Nearly every parole hearing for the kidnappers included testimony from Heffington.
Heffington told 48 HOURS, “They just let us off the bus with all these people. “And you were unsure of the location of your parents… It was never the same twice. After that, nothing was ever the same.
48 HOURS: Chris Young Ritzen and George Osterkamp are the producers of “Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping”. Producer-editors Gary Winter and Mead Stone are involved. The associate producers are Hannah Vair and Jordan Kinsey. The editor is Joan Adelman. The executive story editor is Nancy Kramer. The executive producer is Judy Tygard.
The schedule for this edition, which airs after CBS Sports’ coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, may change.
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What Time is the “Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping” Episode On?
The Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping episode of 48 Hours will be broadcast on CBS at 10:00 PM at ET/PT.
Is the “Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping” Episode New?
The Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping episode of 48 Hours is all new!
Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping Episode Videos & Previews
Watch 48 Hours Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping Online
You can find episodes on the CBS website and watch full episodes on Paramount+.
48 Hours Series Information
This newsmagazine investigates intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all aspects of the human experience. Over its long run, the show has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, driven the reopening — and resolution — of cold cases, and changed numerous lives. CBS News correspondents offer an in-depth look into each story, with the emphasis on solving the mystery at its heart. The program and its team have earned critical acclaim, including multiple Emmy, Peabody and Edward R. Murrow Awards.