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What motives were behind the crime? Because the kidnapers took a trinket or item of clothing from each captive, some officials felt that they were preparing to make a ransom demand. In fact, the Oakland Tribune quoted police sources as saying they had discovered an outline of the kidnaping and a ransom note demanding $5 million in the cottage occupied by Frederick Woods IV.
As police tracked down a number of reports at week's end, easygoing Chowchilla was a town transformed. Once, the 4,550 residents left doors unlocked and greeted strangers with home-cooked meals. Now armed guards and unmarked cars accompanied the Chowchilla school district's 14 buses whenever they went out on their routes. An air of frustration and anger hung over the town—people spoke of "revenge" and "lynching"—and few doors remained unlocked.