CHOWCHILLA - Richard Schoenfeld, the youngest of the three convicted kidnappers that took 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver in Chowchilla and buried them alive in a rock quarry 36 years ago has been released from prison.

A statement released by the California Department of Corrections said Schoenfeld was release to an undisclosed location last night and will be monitored 24 hours a day with a GPS monitoring device.

FRESNO – Tuesday afternoon Fresno Polcie Officers Martin VanOverbeek and Charles Renfro were assigned to patrol crime “hot spots” in the City of Fresno as part of the Department’s Summer Deployment plan. While patrolling, the officers observed a suspicious gold Saturn parked near Fifth and Clay with the windshield wipers running, but nobody around. The officers ran the vehicle’s license plate and discovered it was stolen.

When the officers got out to investigative further, they looked through the windows and saw a small white poodle lying motionless on the rear floorboard. The poodle appeared to be in distress due to the heat, but the officers discovered the Saturn’s doors had been locked by the suspects when they abandoned it.