Out of Bounds: What Happened to the Yuba County Five?

by Drew Hurst Beeson

his book will take you on a harrowing roller coaster ride, full of twists and turns and bizarre outcomes.

This case is bizarre as hell. - Yuba County Undersheriff Jack Beecham, February 1978

The Yuba County Undersheriff simply could not think of a better choice of words to describe how five grown men, who had attended a basketball game an hour’s drive from their homes on a Friday night, simply never made it back home. For months after their disappearance, not even a trace of their whereabouts was found despite frantic and thorough searching.

Adding to the intrigue of this classic American missing persons’ case is that four of the missing men had some form of cognitive disability. The fifth man was a diagnosed schizophrenic, who had a history of violent outbursts, arrests, and drug use. According to their families, “the boys,” as they were affectionately referred to as a group, would not “just disappear.” Not telling anyone where they were going was highly unusual, especially in light of the fact that all five of “the boys” were set to play in a regional playoff game in a Special Olympics basketball tournament the next day, something that each of them had been looking forward to for many months.

In this book, I have made a heartfelt effort to piece together the known facts of this case, many of which have been misreported; present all known theories of what may have caused the boys to disappear; and examine the merits of these theories. This case raises many more questions than it answers, which is one reason why it is one of the most fascinating cases in American history.

The case of the Yuba County Five is one of mystery, intrigue, bewilderment, and most of all, tragedy and sadness. For the families of these young men, the sense of heartbreak and loss is just as strong today as it was over forty years ago.

Genres: True Crime

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2020

Reviews

[Rachel Humphreys · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and easy read and gives a good history of what is believed to have happened to the Yuba County Five.
I first heard about this case on one of my favorite podcasts (Stuff You Should Know) and was absolutely intrigued behind the case. It's heartbreaking to say the least, but why so many inconsistencies in the reporting from the police?

If unsolved mysteries are your jam, this is a great one to read since it's just over 100 pages and I agreed with the author's hypothesis at the end. I felt the tiniest bit of closure, but my heart really goes out to these boys, and their families. Such a tragic loss of innocent life.

[Sandy Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

This story takes place in Yuba California. I found it very interesting. It left me thinking about even after I finished reading it.

[Ryan Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This really is a fascinating story. I think the author did a good job stitching together what information was out there (which seems like 3-4 newspaper articles, which do comprise nearly 90% of the information in the book). The fictional narratives to give another perspective for the "characters" in the book were kind of bizarre and unnecessary - I skipped them altogether since they weren't actual accounts of anything. Typos aren't going to make a case for a book being 4-5 stars, along with inconsistencies such as bleeping expletives on some pages and letting them through in all their glory on others. Testimonials from members of the family were sparse and thin - the benefit of the doubt being they were interviewed decades later though.

I will say some of the theories that arose you won't find on your (very) common cold case/murder podcast, and it was a quick read, so I'd still recommend.

[Caroline_d · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book told me about 4 things I didn’t know about the case prior, and that’s exactly what I was looking for when I read it. Sometimes you have to reread what you already know in order to find new snippets. Unfortunately I am no closer to having any clue what happened to these boys, and I dont think I’ll ever get there. A haunting case that any true crime fan should know about

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inexpensively published, decent book for getting the facts of the case. Often times there are grammatical errors and misspellings. On a couple pages, the author mistakenly uses the wrong name when referring back to someone and the reader must deduce which name he meant to reference. People are mentioned casually by first name that were never introduced in the book before, so we don't know them at all but it reads like we should. The author references anonymous internet social media posts as if they're informational, when there is no way of knowing if there is any truth in those accounts. It could've been posted by anyone, for any reason.

The author did present some new information that was good to have. A good quick read if you want a good overview of the case.

[Miriam B. Sayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often called the American Dyatlov Pass, it really isn't.
A lot of the evidence points to Schon. Still, it's never been solved and Gary Mathias was never found. It's a nifty, quick read. I would still recommend it.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discovered the story of these five men. Bought the book hoping to piece together the information and get more nuggets of info (locations, directions traveled.) this book strings the information of these important events nicely, with pictures too. Loving it.

[Deanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very engaging read. It captures the reader from the very beginning. After finishing the book, I am still puzzled about a few things left unanswered. It was worth the read, but needed a better proofreader to catch all the grammatical errors and mistakes throughout the book.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a considerable amount of typos for a published book, and some of the information seemed contradictory although not too much. Overall it’s a very comprehensive book on the case. It’s not a narrative story, it’s very straight forward for the most part, and mostly information.

[Dodger Westlake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read

Just heard about the case and became intrigued. Book has several typos and word admissions that author should fix.
If interested in YC5, worth a read.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story about the mysterious disappearance of five men. Quick read, but I really enjoyed it!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, fascinating case . A few spelling mistakes, I got more information frankly from the podcast. Just ok

[Monroe Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book about an unsolved mystery. "Out of Bounds" is well researched and takes great care to treat the victims and their families with respect.

[why_monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and easy read and it tells you all the info that’s available and leaves you thinking

[Salena Moffat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giving this 5 stars for the research etc. My Kindle copy was absolutely riddled with spelling and grammatical errors however.