Rebecca Dailey was among the 26 children kidnapped by Fred Woods and two others in 1976.
A victim of the Chowchilla kidnapping plot says she was offered money in exchange for support at her former captors’ parole hearings.
Speaking to INSIDE EDITION, Lynda Labendeira said former Detective Dale Fore was hired by the three kidnappers’ families to offer money in exchange for support at the parole hearings.
Read: 40 Years On, Victims Recall Being Buried Alive in Van as Children as Kidnapper Gets Parole
“He mentioned there was money to be made,” she said. “I said, ‘no thank you’ and he said, ‘well you know those kidnappers come from very wealthy families.’”
An investigation has now been launched into the allegations.
Three men were convicted of the plot, in which 26 children and their bus driver were kidnapped at gunpoint 39 years ago. The victims were taken to a rock quarry, loaded into a moving van and buried alive. Miraculously, after 16 hours, they managed to dig their way out.
Two of the three men were recently paroled but one, Frederick Woods, remains behind bars. At his latest parole hearing, one of the victims made a shocking request for him to be freed.
“Cause God told me to ask for closure,” Rebecca Dailey explained to INSIDE EDITION.
It came several years after she told IE that she never wanted her kidnapper to go free. “You need to die where you are,” she said of him during an interview four years ago.
Read: Man Who Was Mistakenly Kidnapped By Biker Gang Recalls His Daring Escape
During the hearing, Dailey denied she had received payments from him, but admitted she was pen pals with Woods. Despite her pleas, Woods’ parole was denied.
Labendeira said she was “really disappointed and shocked” to hear Dailey’s request.
Madera County District Attorney David Linn said he is aware of allegations of payments to the victims.
“I’ve heard that allegations that at least one of them is getting monthly or frequent deposits into her checking account,” he said.
Watch: 8-Year-Old Saves Her Baby Brother From Kidnapping
