Kidnapped! At Chowchilla

by Gail Moock Miller

Book by Miller, Gail Moock

181 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Kristel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kidnapped! At Chowchilla by Gail Miller & Sandra Tompkins tells the true story of the kidnapping of 26 school children and bus driver on July 15, 1976. The author's center the story on the way the parents and children coped and especially on faith and prayer. The children were able to escape and the ordeal was over in 36 hours. The last chapter talks about the long lasting effects of trauma on the victims.

The book was published in 1977 by Logo Press and obviously not reprinted. I found it at a library in Minnesota and was able to obtain it on a inter library loan. It was a quick read. The kidnappers were caught but the book does not tell why they chose to kidnap these children from a small rural area. It also would be interesting to know how these children are doing today. Their ages at the time of the kidnapping ranged from age 5 to 14.

What is disappointing is that the authors did not give any information about the kidnappers except for a brief epilogue stating that they were captured. This book could have been so much more.