The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • 1

Vehicle Abandoned FBI Joins Search With Kidnap Feared By UREY CARROLL Bee Staff Writer CHOWCHILLA FBI and Madera County authorities launched an extensive air and ground search for 26 school children and their bus driver who vanished mysteriously Thursday on the way home from a swimming outing President Ford was described as concered about the safety of the children" and FBI Director Clarence Kelley said the FBI has actively entered the case Madera County Sheriff Ed Bates declared appears to be an abduction so we are waiting to be contact- ed" There were 19 girls and seven boys aged 6 to 14 on the bus at the time of the suspected abduction Five other students were dropped off before the incident The bus was found abandoned about 7:50 pm in a bamboo thicket at the Berenda slough near Avenue 21 and Road 1416 about five miles southwest of this small farming community Bates said the bus apparently was driven into the slough then camouflaged with tall reeds There was dust on the scats leading authorities to believe the children were taken off the bus before it was abandoned There was speculation radicals may be involved in the incident and authorities today were checking the short story Day the Children by Hugh Pentecost which reportedly follows closely the plot of what is happening in Chowchilla After reports about the short story came in police checked it out of the library and were poring over it at Missing Madera school bus found in heavy brush in Berenda Slough Exclusive Bee Photo by Ralph Thronebery Additional Stories Photos On Cl And CIA The coversge of the 26 missing Madera County school children and their bus driver is expanded on Psges Cl and CIA Included are stories quoting families of the missing children comments of bystanders and officers and several photographs A team of Bee reporters and photographers is at the scene Reporters are Larry Carroll Darrell Maddox Gene Kuhn Jim Boren and Joe Rosato Photographers are Ralph Throneb-ery and Carl Crswford r-( Today -a Reign of terror in Uganda A4 Yanks will stay in Olympics A10 Reagan wants to debate Carter A5 Ford sees 77 economic upturn A13A Bess Truman hospitalized A5 Gasoline sales soar in state A7 wife Matilda await word of missing daughter Lisa 1 2 Carter Vows To Honesty Sam Barletta and his and takes his strength and wisdom and courage from you" He called on the nation to renew its faith say to you that our nation's best is still In accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in a speech in the direct tradition of the New Deal the Fair Deal and the New Frontier Carter accused the Republicans of promoting self-perpetuating between money and politics he said had to suffer at the hands of a political and economic elite who have shaped decisions and never had to account for mistakes nor to suffer from injustice Restore unemployment prevails they never stand in line looking for a job When deprivation results from a confused welfare system they never go without food or clothing or a place to sleep the public schools are inferior or torn by strife their children go to exclusive private schools And when the bureaucracy is bloated and confused the powerful always manage to discover and to occupy niches id special influence and privilege unfair tax Structure is designed to serve their needs And tight secrecy always seems to prevent BIS MUTE SCHEDULED ROM Map shows route of bus after leaving the Dairy land Union Elementary School to take the children home One child was dropped off in the area of circle 1 three near circle 2 and another child near circle 6 Another stop to drop off a child was scheduled on Road 15 just north of Avenue 21 and then follow the scheduled route into Chowchilla Instead the bus was found in a slough (circle with X) just off of Avenue 2L Bee Map by Richard Nakaguchi headquarters Worried parents called authorities Thursday to report the bus 30 minutes late around 4:30 pm deputies retraced the See Bus Page Cl Paul Gallico a best-selling writer dies in his Monte Carlo home C1B APLaserphoto However more than 150 fires caused by lightning strikes were reported in the grass and timber lands of the Sierra Nevada mountains and foothills State Division of Forestry and US Forest Service officials said none of the fires is out of control and none burned any significant acreage Most were near the 5 000-foot level Division of Forestry officials said the largest fire scorched 90 acres of grass and trees about six miles south of Hornitos near the Sierra National Forest Another burned 50 acres five miles southwest of Millerton Lake Spokesmen for the Division of Forestry the US Forest Service the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests and the Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks reported See Storm Page A4 By THOMAS ROSS Chicago Sun-Times NEW YORK Jimmy Carter denounced the Ford and Nixon administrations last night for war scandal broken promises and favoritism toward an He promised as president to care for the poor and restore honesty and faith in government Setting a keynote for the election he said: can have an American President who does not govern with negativism and fear of the future but with vigor and vision and aggressive leadership a president who is not isolated from our people but who feels your pain and shares your dreams Index Amusements Theaters Section Briefly Told C4 Classified C6ToC20 Comics B6 Contemporary Life A8A9 Editorials A14 Financial C2C3 Sports A10ToA13 Television-Radio B7 Weather Forecast: Variable cloudiness through Saturday with scattered thunderstorms and a few sprinkles northwesterly winds 5-15 mph not much change in temperatures Fresno temperatures: 93 67 today's low 68 high 96 Details on Page C5 Carter appeared at the national convention for the first time after Sen Walter Mondale his personal choice was nominated as vice president and delivered his own acceptance speech Mondale hailed Carter as a Southerner who will re-create a United States" for the first time since slavery split the nation in two in 1848 He echoed Carter's complaint that the Ford administration is dedicated to providing "further comfort to the In a sign that he will serve as Carter's link to urban Catholics and Jews Mondale praised Israel for and in the rescue of the hijacked airline passengers in Uganda Carter himself also sought to reach out to all segments of the old Democratic coalition which he has put back together for the first time since Franklin Roosevelt In a direct appeal to Northern ethnics Carter reminded the convention that the Democratic party has been the traditional friend of of immigrants the Jews the Irish the Italians the Poles See Carter Page A4 No State Funds For Completion Off Highway 41 Central Valley hopes for completion of the Freeway 41 system have been dashed with the announcement from Sacramento that the state Highway Com-mision has failed to include funds for it New proposals submitted for the state include only two short stretches for the San Joaquin Valley Story on Page C3 Storm Jolts Valley-Foothill Fires Sprinkles By RAY STEELE JR Bee Staff Writer Thunderstorms roared through the San Joaquin Valley during the night creating an electrifying Bicentennial display which caused fires knocked out power to many homes and businesses and jarred sleeping residents However there was little precipitation in the thunderclouds to alleviate the drought conditions the National Weather Service reported The first thunderbolt hit the Fresno area shortly after 9 o'clock Thursday night rattling windows and shaking buildings The Fresno Fire Department reported the thunder and lightning prompted several calls from persons who thought their houses were on fire No lightning-caused fires were reported in the city 1 '1 4.