On April 22, 1968, fourteen hippies—nine women and five men—were found sleeping naked beside a bus in Ventura County. The group turned out to be members of the Manson Family. Nine were arrested, including Manson. The picture above is Charles Manson’s Ventura County mugshot, taken while he was under the influence of LSD. This mugshot later appeared on the cover of Life magazine, as well as on the cover of his album Lie: The Love and Terror Cult.
Below is the Herald Examiner newspaper article about the incident, which I’ve typed out for convenience. I’ve also added the individuals’ real names and aliases in brackets, along with Lynette Fromme’s account of the arrest and a second newspaper article about the incident.
Nine Nude Hippies Arrested; Found Huddled Around Bonfire
The Los Angeles Herald Examiner. April 23, 1968.
Nine hippies were arrested and five others were released after they were found sprawled nude around a bonfire near their disabled bus above Little Sycamore Canyon in the Bass Rock area, sheriff’s deputies said.
Deputies said they found the group of hippies Sunday night after spotting their bus stuck in a deep ditch along Deer creek Mountain Road, just above Bass Rock, located about five miles south of Point Muga.
The 1952 bus had been reported stolen in San Francisco April 12, according to deputies. One of the hippies, identified as Mary Brunner, of Topanga Canyon, was booked on suspicion of endangering the life and health of a child, after deputies said they found her week old son, Steven (Valentine Michael Manson aka Michael Brunner), improperly dressed and shivering in the near freezing temperatures.
Miss Brunner claimed she delivered the child on the floor of a home with the help of a friend. The infant was placed in protective custody of Ventura County General Hospital where his condition today was reported satisfactory.
The alleged driver of the bus, Charles Manson, 34, whose address was unknown, was booked on suspicion of grand theft auto and having two driver licenses in his possession. Three others, Brenda McCann (Nancy Pitman), 18, Ella Sinder (Ella Jo Bailey), 23, and Mark Damion, 21 , all of Topanga Canyon, were jailed on a charge of disorderly conduct and not having proper identification.
Booked on a charge of possessing fictitious and fraudulent prepared driver licenses were Sadie Glutz (Susan Atkins), of Los Angeles; Diana Bluestein (Dianne Lake), 20, of Malibu, Susan Scott (aka Stephanie Rowe), 23, and Bruce Van Hall (Bruce Hall), 22, both of Hollywood.
Deputies said the group was apparently driving back into the canyon when the bus became stuck in the deep ditch along the roadway about a quarter-mile east of Highway 1.
Lynette Fromme’s Account of the Arrest
Lynette Fromme later described the incident in her memoir, offering additional context about how the group ended up in the canyon. According to Fromme, Manson had driven the bus north of Malibu and turned inland onto what appeared to be an unmarked, unowned dirt road. The bus became lodged in a crevice, and rather than continue trying to move it, most of the group treated the spot as a place to camp.
They set up a small encampment near a stream, built a fire, and went to sleep. Fromme wrote that they were awakened during the night by deputies and police dogs before being marched back to the road at gunpoint. She also noted that Dianne Lake and Charles Manson swallowed doses of LSD during the arrest, which resulted in Manson’s wild-eyed mugshot.
Below is a second newspaper article about the incident.
14 Nude Hippies Found Beside a Wayward Bus
OXNARD (UPI) — A pair of hippies, discovered sleeping nude with 12 companions beside a bus in a weed filled ditch near here, were being held today on charges of grand theft and endangering the life of a child.
The surprising discovery was made early yesterday by Sgt. Glenn Fisher of the sheriffs department. He said he found the bus in a ditch in Deer Canyon along the Pacific Coast Highway 12 miles south of here.
Fisher said he went to investigate and saw nine women and five men sleeping nude in the weeds.The hippies were ordered to dress and were taken to headquarters where it was learned the bus had been stolen from the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco.
Among the hippies was found a newborn infant. The mother, Mary Brunner, 23, said she gave birth to the child “somewhere along the line while we’ve been on the bus trip.” She was booked on a charge of endangering the life or health of a child.
Also booked was the self proclaimed leader of the group, Charles W. Manson. He was charged with suspicion of grand theft in the theft of the bus and also with possessing a fraudulent driver’s license.
Deputies also booked three others for possessing fraudulent driver’s licenses and two more for disorderly conduct.
