Gary Mathias

Status:

Open

Missing From:

Oroville, California

Summary:

Gary Mathias, age 25, was one of five young men from Yuba County, California who were reported missing after attending a college basketball game at California State University, Chico on February 24, 1978. Four of the men were later found dead, but Gary Mathias has never been found. He is presumed deceased but remains classified as a missing person.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Gary Mathias disappeared with four friends—Jackie Charles Huett, Jack Antone Madruga, William Lee Sterling, and Theodore Earl Weiher. The men were part of a day program for mentally handicapped adults and played on a basketball team. They were last seen at Behr's Market, now Downtown Liquor and Market, where they bought soda and candy for the drive home to Marysville. On February 27, their car was found on a mountain road in the snow on a Plumas National Forest service road, 70 miles from Chico and far from their route home. Although the vehicle was at the snow line with spun tires, it wasn't stuck and the men could have pushed it free; it had a quarter tank of gas and was in operable condition. The snow was four to six feet deep, and a storm was raging in the area at the time. The men were not dressed appropriately for the weather; they all wore street clothes and low-cut shoes.

Additional Details:

In June 1978, four of the men's bodies were discovered after the snow had melted. Ted Weiher was found inside a United States Forest Service (USFS) trailer some 20 miles north of the abandoned car. Only bones were left of Jack Madruga, Bill Sterling, and Jackie Huett as a result of scavenging animals; Weiher had apparently lived for as long as three months after the men were last seen, starving to death despite an ample supply of food and heating materials in and near the trailer. Weiher was missing his shoes; investigators found Mathias' own shoes in the USFS trailer, suggesting Mathias also survived for some time beyond the group's last sighting. His black shoes were found in the trailer where Ted Weiher's body was discovered. The four men's relatives believe it's possible that Mathias was somehow involved in the incident that lead to their deaths. Investigators don't believe Mathias is still alive, however; his family stated that he always kept in touch with them, and without his medication he could not have been able to stay off the grid even if he had wanted to. According to a 2019 official police memo signed by Yuba County Sheriff Wendall Anderson, Gary Mathias is "believed to be a victim of foul play." Anyone with information on Gary Mathias or the Yuba County Five is urged to contact the Yuba County Sheriff's Office at 530-749-7777.

Case Last Updated:

Sep 18, 2026