Heroic driver in Chowchilla kidnap case dies

Nation & World News

Photos: Ed Ray, the man who led a terrified group of children to safety after they were kidnapped aboard their school bus and held underground for ransom in 1976 has died.

In this 1992 file photo, Frank Edward Ray stands in Chowchilla, Calif., by the bus from which he and 26 students were kidnapped.

In this July 20, 1976, file photo, officials remove a truck buried at a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif., in which 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver, Ed Ray were held captive.

In this July 17, 1976, file photo. members of the Alameda County Crime Lab and FBI are pictured working around the opening to the van where 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver were held captive at a rock quarry.

Officials remove a truck buried at a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif., in which 26 Chowchilla school children and their bus driver, Ed Ray were held captive.

Photo taken July 23, 1976, shows the inside of the van in which 26 Chowchilla, Calif., school children and their bus driver were held captive is seen in a Livermore, Calif., quarry . Photographers were not allowed inside the van, but were allowed to shoot pictures after the van doors were opened.

Robertson Boulevard, the main business district in Chowchilla, Calif., main business district,on July 28, 1976.

In this July 13, 2001, file photo, Frank Edward Ray is shown at his home in Chowchilla, Calif. He and many of the children stayed in touch.

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In this 1992 file photo, Frank Edward Ray stands in Chowchilla, Calif., by the bus from which he and 26 students were kidnapped.

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