New Documentary Examines Kidnapping of School Bus Full of Children — and How They Miraculously Escaped

"Chowchilla" premieres Sunday, Dec. 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CNN

On July 15, 1976, three men in their 20s hijacked a busload of 26 school children on their way back from a swim excursion in Chowchilla, Calif.

The men, who were asking for $5 million in ransom, drove them around for 11 hours before forcing the driver Ed Ray and children, ages 5 to 14, to climb through a hole in the ground into a moving van buried in a rock quarry in Livermore.

After sealing the hole, the kidnappers fled, leaving their hostages buried alive in an 8-by-16-foot area for 16 harrowing hours.

However, the children and the driver made a miraculous escape — and how they did so is the subject of a new documentary, Chowchilla, by CNN Films and Max, premiering Sunday, Dec. 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CNN. (An exclusive clip is shown below.)

The documentary, which is directed by Paul Soret, features exclusive interviews with survivors.

Ray, who died in 2012 at age 91, emerged as a hero, rallying the children and directing their escape. He was helped by the oldest boy, Michael Marshall, then 14, who helped Ray get everyone out. 

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The identity of the three kidnappers, and their connection to the crime scene, was shocking, and added a layer of malice to the infamous crime. They were caught, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Related: As Chowchilla Bus Kidnapper Gets Parole, Victims Speak Out: 'I Only Felt Safe When They Were Behind Bars'

“I’ve had empathy for the victims, which I didn’t have then,” one of the kidnappers said at a one of his parole hearings, according to the Los Angeles Times. “I’ve had a character change since then.”

The victims, despite their anguish, have found comfort and healing in one another, they told PEOPLE in a 2012 article. Out of touch for many years, some reconnected through Facebook and at Ray's funeral.

"It's been healthy for us to share our feelings. We have this unspoken bond," Jodi Heffington Medrano, who was 10 at the time during the kidnapping, told PEOPLE. "[At Ray's funeral] someone said, 'We are glad we are here today.' We all laughed because we are all here and we are doing well."

Solet, in a press release, said, "Our goal in making Chowchilla was to provide a platform for the people who endured this event — who were just little kids on their way home from summer school when it happened — to tell their own stories in their own voices, not only about the kidnapping, and their incredible escape, but about the struggle to find peace in its aftermath that continues for many to this day."

Chowchilla premieres Sunday, Dec. 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CNN.

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