Things Aren't Right: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five by Tony Wright
The Most Baffling and Heartbreaking Missing Persons Case in US History
New Book Delves Into Police Reports to Reveal New Evidence
Portage, MI: On February 24, 1978, five men went missing. Jack Madruga, Ted Weiher, Bill Sterling, Jackie Huett, and Gary Mathias drove from Marysville, California to Chico, California to watch a college basketball game. Four of the men were intellectually disabled while one was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but they never let this interfere with their independence. None of them would ever return home from the game. Thus began a case of missing persons and possible foul play that has baffled their families and law enforcement for over 45 years.
Four days after the men went missing, their car, a light blue 1969 Mercury Montego coupe, was found abandoned on a snow-covered road in the mountains of the Plumas National Forest, some 75 miles in the wrong direction from home. Four jurisdictions of law enforcement would investigate and search for the missing men. Psychics were brought in, and bizarre sightings of the five were reported from numerous people. They all led to dead ends which frustrated families and law enforcement. Months later, four of the five men’s remains were found deeper into the mountains, 12 miles from the car, near the Daniel Zink Campground high in the Sierra Nevadas. One was found in a US Forest Service trailer with plenty of food and fuel to keep them alive for months. In fact, some of the food was eaten, though the fuel was never used to heat the trailer. The fifth man’s whereabouts has never been determined.
Tony Wright spent four years thoroughly investigating the 1978 disappearance of these men, including gaining access to the crucial Yuba County Sheriff’s Department case files. Things Aren’t Right: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five is the first book to thoroughly investigate this case. Interest has grown dramatically in recent years in the true crime and mystery communities. Mr. Wright’s research explores how people with disabilities and mental illness were and are treated by society. Families and researchers who have spoken with Mr. Wright believe there has been a bias against the men for their disabilities and they know those men would not have ended up where they did by accident. Many believe something sinister happened that evening, including the murder of Gary Mathias, who has never been found.
“The mystery of the Yuba County Five needs to be brought to the public,” Mr. Wright says. “This is not just a case of getting lost in the mountains during the winter. Something happened to these five men on February 24, 1978. It is time for someone to come forward with the truth.” Things Aren’t Right: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five will be the catalyst for getting the story—and the truth—out to the public.
Copies of Things Aren’t Right: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five as well as high resolution author headshots, cover images, and scans of documentation are available to the press upon request.
About Tony Wright
Mr. Wright is a government archivist living in Michigan. He is the published author of four comic books and a graphic novel from Source Point Press. Mr. Wright is a father and husband and a lost soul of rock and roll. He is considered to be the leading expert on the Yuba County Five case. He has been featured on the Mopac Audio podcast Yuba County Five and was a featured case expert on the Motor Trend TV show Auto/Biography: Cold Case (Yuba County Five episode).
About Genius Book Publishing
Genius Book Publishing is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based publisher focused on true crime, fiction, and music-related books. Established in 2011, Genius Book Publishing has published authors such as Dr. Al Carlisle, The Rock And Roll Detective® Jim Berkenstadt, Dr. Don Redden (FBI Ret), Dr. Mark Hewitt, Sheriff’s Capt. Dean T. Olson (Ret), Police Chief David Dean (Ret), photojournalist Monty Orrick, undercover investigator “Billy the Liquor Guy,” journalist James Kirkpatrick Davis, Detective Steve Rush (Ret),attorney and private investigator Tony Reid, private investigator and activist LaDonna Humphrey, journalist Monique Patterson, KMOV-TV (CBS) veteran reporter Bob Cyphers, and others. Our books and other information can be found at https://geniusbookpublishing.com
