The Day the Children Vanished

1. The Day the Children Vanished Modified by: Laura Parsons

2. Went to school in bus Nine children from the town of Clayton travel by bus to school in Lakeview everyday. Nine children

3. station wagon painted Since there were only nine children, their bus was a station wagon painted as a school bus. The bus

4. Bus driver Jerry Mahoney, a man from Clayton, was hired to be their bus driver. Jerry Jerry Mahoney

5. Liked Jerry Mahoney Everyone in Clayton and Lakeview liked and respected Jerry Mahoney. Everyone

6. Was a mechanic Jerry was a mechanic who could fix any engine. Jerry Mahoney

7. Elizabeth Deering He was engaged to marry Elizabeth Deering. Peter was engaged

8. Worked at bank Elizabeth worked at Clayton bank. Elizabeth

9. Two mile “dugway" The road the bus traveled included a two mile “dugway”. The bus route

10. Dug from mountain It was called the “dugway” because it had been dug out of the side of the mountain. The road

11. Protects from lake The road also wound around the side of the lake with a heavy wire guardrail protecting it from the lake. Heavy guardrail

12. To take kids home After school one day, Jerry headed into the dugway to take the nine kids home in his bus. Drove into dugway”

13. The bus was late At about four thirty in the afternoon, Joe Gorman realized that the bus was three quarters of an hour late. At four thirty

14. Called the school He called the school principal to find out what had happened. Joe Gorman

15. Mrs. Bromfield Mrs. Bromfield, the principal, received seven phone calls about the bus. He spoke to principal

16. Where the kids were Nobody knew where the bus with the nine kids was. Nobody knew

17. Had vanished It seemed to have vanished. The bus

18. He had seen Jerry Jake Nugent said that Jerry had stopped by before driving into the dugway. Jake Nugent said

19. Drove jeep to look for kids Joe Nugent drove his jeep into the dugway to look for the bus. Joe Nugent

20. Were not bent He didn’t find the bus. There was no break in the wire guardrail and no bent post. Guardrail and wire

21. Didn’t go into lake There were no signs of the bus going into the lake. The bus

22. …called state troopers Joe called the trooper barracks in Lakeview to report it. Joe Nugent

23. Karl Dickler Trooper Teliski and Karl Dickler showed up to figure it out. Trooper Teliski

24. Had passed the bus Karl Dickler said he passed the bus going into the dugway…but it never came out the other end. Karl Dickler

25. Searched the area Hundreds of people began searching the area. Hundreds of people

26. …was frozen over The bus couldn’t be in the lake because the guardrail was intact and the lake was frozen over. The lake…

27. About Jerry Mahoney People began saying mean things about Jerry Mahoney. Saying mean things

28. …Jerry kidnapped the kids They started saying that he kidnapped the kids. People said that…

29. Jerry Mahoney’s house At nine-thirty at night, people went to Jerry Mahoney’s house to question his father and girlfriend. People visited

30. Jerry’s dad Jerry’s father, Pat, and girlfriend, Elizabeth, didn’t know anything. Pat Mahoney

31. Elizabeth was worried They were very worried about Jerry. Pat was worried

32. …the old days Pat was a old man who kept talking about the old days…not the missing bus. Pat talked about…

33. Greatest magic act ever He liked to talk about “The Great Thurston” who had the greatest magic act ever. “The Great Thurston”

34. Helicopters searched for missing kids At daylight, helicopters were searching and a five-state alarm was issued. At daylight

35. In charge of search A man named Clyde Haviland was in charge of the search. Clyde Haviland

36. Asked Pat Mahoney questions He went to Jerry’s house to ask Pat some more questions. Clyde Haviland

37. He didn’t know where the kids were Pat still did not know where his son, Jerry, and the nine kids were. Pat told him

38. “The Great Thurston” Pat continued to talk about “The Great Thurston” and his magic act. Pat talked about

39. He and his wife He also talked about the act he and his wife used to do… Mahoney and Faye Boffo Buffalo Pat talked about

40. Were found News came that some clothes and books had been found by the quarry…but no kids. Clothes and books

41. Were closed By this time, the town of Clayton was dead and most stores were closed. Most stores in town

42. In telephone office There were only two girls, Gertrude and Millie, working in the telephone office… Two girls working

43. At the bank … and one man, Mr. Granger, working at the bank One man working

44. Searching for the kids Everyone else was out at the quarry helping search for the missing kids, bus, and bus driver. Everyone else

45. Dressed in cowboy suit Pat Mahoney, Jerry’s father, decided to get dressed in his old cowboy costume. Pat Mahoney

46. In the street Pat walked out of his house and towards the bank. Pat, in cowboy suit

47. Saw Pat in street The girls at the telephone office saw him in the street. Two women

48. Went into bank Pat walked into the bank and asked for his bank account statement of the past three months. Pat Mahoney

49. Walked into the vault Mr. Granger walked into the vault to get Pat’s bank statement. Mr. Granger

50. Set off alarms Pat told him to close the vault, stay inside, and set off the bank alarms Close the vault