Hey everybody welcome back to Cole Case Murder Mysteries. I'm your host Ryan Kraus

back at you once again to break down the psychology of a highly compelling mystery, which is the tragic tale of the Yuba County 5.

On a personal note, I think this is an incredibly fascinating case, but one that is likely misunderstood, unsolved, and eerily resigned to being an

enigma due to a single missing piece of information.

So let's dive into this rabbit hole and see where it takes us.

On the night of February 24th, 1978, five guys between the ages of 24 and 32,

all friends living in the Yuba City, California area, head out on a 50-mile drive north to Cal State Chico, with the intention of watching a men's basketball game between Nat School's team and a visiting squad from UC Davis.

The boys, a name the group of friends was given by their families,

cheered on the visiting team that night and were rewarded with a victory that was

won with a difference of only one shot. So it was an exciting game with a good end, to say the least,

and the boys left afterward with the intention of heading

home, but they never arrived.

Not that night, not the next morning, or ever again for that matter.

Now, I couldn't confirm that the boys were actually seen at the game that night,

but that assumption is prevalent throughout retellings of the story.

It seems accurate and also likely that the police could confirm they were there.

In addition to that, a clerk at a convenience store nearby claims all five young men entered just before closing time that night, which annoyed her to the extent she remembered them well. They purchased the types of things you might grab for a short road trip,

snacks like a Cherry Pie, a Mars Bar, a lemon Pie, soda, and milk.

It was a quick pit stop and then they were gone

Presumably on the ride home. But something goes wrong.

That's where the mystery starts.

We don't know what propelled them to not get on Route 90 heading south back to the Yuba City area.

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