SAC San Francisco to Director re Arthur L. Wheeler's parachute find near Sardine Point, with leads

OPTIONAL FORM NO. 10 JULY 1973 EDITION GSA FPMR (41 CFR) 101-11.6 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT Memorandum

TO : DIRECTOR, FBI (164-2111) DATE: 11/7/75

FROM : SAC, SAN FRANCISCO (164-220) (P)

SUBJECT: NORJAK OO: SEATTLE [handwritten: Sub 786]

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Reference Bureau airtel to San Francisco, dated 10/30/75, with copies to Seattle and Las Vegas. [handwritten annotation beside this line: 164-81-1a(522)]

Enclosed for the Seattle Division is one AAA map of the Feather River and Yuba River, California, area.

One copy of this letter is being furnished to Las Vegas and Sacramento Divisions for their information in the event the Office of Origin (Seattle) desires additional information relating to the following facts set forth, which are certainly unusual.

For the information of Sacramento, Mr. ARTHUR L. WHEELER, [redacted/illegible], Napa, California, telephone number (707) 226-7748, by letter to the Bureau, dated 10/21/75, advised he was in possession of a parachute that he feels might possibly be connected with the hijacking-extortion matter which occurred in the captioned case on 11/24/71.

It is noted that the enclosed map has marked on it, by SA ELWIN N. WEGNER of the San Francisco Division, where the parachute in question was found by Mr. WHEELER and also the area where an abandoned car is located.

To get to the area marked on the map, one would take a dirt or gravel road out of Sierraville, California, going southwest on Lemon Canyon Road, to the junction of Bear Valley Road. You then proceed on past the Bear Valley Road, approximately five miles on Lemon Canyon Road, to a point where the Lemon Canyon Road is divided, with one part going northwest toward Sardine Point, with an elevation of 7,575 feet and the other main portion of the road going southwest.

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2 - Bureau 1 - Las Vegas (Info.) 1 - Sacramento (Info.) 2 - Seattle (164-81) (Enc. 1) 1 - San Francisco FMW/dmp (8)

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[handwritten: 164-81-Sub 786] SEARCHED ___ SERIALIZED ___ INDEXED ___ FILED ___ NOV 15 1975 FBI - SEATTLE

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Buy U.S. Savings Bonds Regularly on the Payroll Savings Plan DB COOPER-54667 5010-110

SF 164-220 FNP/dmp

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Mr. WHEELER advised he was hunting at a point going toward Sardine Point, past the first dog-leg curve, which is about a mile from this point, up to the second dog-leg, which is probably about two miles from this point on the Lemon Canyon Road.

Mr. WHEELER noted that he went from the top portion of this second dog-leg road down to the road below, which he estimated to be maybe 200-400 yards across. The parachute was located under a snag tree, about 18 inches in diameter, over the top of another log, causing it to be about six inches off the ground. The parachute was under this portion and had it have been pushed back two feet further, would have been out of view. He also noted that these logs were about halfway between the upper road and the lower road or about 100-200 yards from each road, the upper and lower roads. Mr. WHEELER advised he estimated he started down from the upper road to the lower road across this area about 200 yards south of the edge of the dog-leg or switchback in the dirt road. The parachute, which is orange and white in color, has been furnished to the Bureau. The parachute, according to Mr. WHEELER, was all twisted up, as if to make a rope out of it, and then rolled up prior to being put under the log. He estimated that there were approxi- mately seven panels and it appears as if it had been cut in half, indicating the jumper may have gotten hung up in a tree.

Mr. WHEELER further noted that from the upper portion of this road, he could look down across the canyon to the lower road, where he had his camper-pickup parked by a culvert and that is where he was heading at the time he found the parachute. He advised the area around the parachute was rocky, with very little timber and only a few windfalls. He said approximately 30-50 feet from where he found the parachute, under the log, he located, with his wife, two trees together, one being a yellow pine and the other a real big juniper tree, on the hill. He said in looking up the one tree, he noted that near the top, about 65 feet up, was evidence that a limb, approximately one and one half inches in diameter, had been broken off. Below this, approximately 10 feet, he noted another limb, two and one half inches by about three inches, had been broken off and below this, all the way down the tree, were other limbs that appeared to have been broken off. He said he could not

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DB COOPER-54668

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estimate the age of these limbs or when they were broken off but that they did not appear to have been recent. Mr. WHEELER advised he speculated that maybe the parachute had been cut in half to make a rope so that the jumper could have lowered himself from the tree if he had been hung up in the tree. He then could have placed half of the parachute under the log, where it was found, and kept the other half to keep warm and maybe use the harness on the parachute as a pack rack to carry out whatever he had with him.

Mr. WHEELER advised he was formerly in the U. S. Forest Service and he noted that the parachute he recovered was similar to parachutes used by the forest service smoke jumpers. However, the parachutes the forest service used, although similar in color, were usually larger than this particular one.

Mr. WHEELER further noted that approximately one mile northeast of where he found the parachute, near the Bear Valley Road, is a grass level meadow area, about 200 acres in size. In addition, south of this area, approximately one mile down Lemon Canyon Road, is another grass meadow flat area, approximately 200 acres in size.

In addition, Mr. WHEELER noted that there is a very small airport at Sierraville, California, and that the beacon light from this airport shines in the direction of where the parachute was found.

Mr. WHEELER advised he recalled that the hijacker in the instant case had the pilot fly at an elevation of approximately 10,000 feet en route to Reno, Nevada. WHEELER noted that on the map, the elevation of Sardine Peak is 8,134 feet, whereas the elevation at Sardine Point, in the same general area, is only 7,575 feet. Mr. WHEELER advised the hijacker may have known this and planned to land in one of the two above described meadows and missed his target but realized the plane would have to fly at 10,000 feet in order to miss Sardine Peak.

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SF 164-220 FNW/dmn

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Mr. WHEELER said he did not dig around or explore under the log because he did not want to ruin any possible evidence that could be located there if this was the parachute the Subject used.

Mr. WHEELER advised another strange thing is that going southwest on Lemon Canyon Road from the junction, about five miles from where he turned northwest on the junction, was located an old car, white in color. He advised this car was also located in a very strange place. He noted that it had, apparently, been driven off the dirt road, up under the trees. He said it is now on its side but obviously had to be driven to the point where it is now instead of towed there and abandoned. He said there are no houses or any people in this remote area, where the car and parachute were located, where he was deer hunting.

Mr. WHEELER said he believed that if aerial photographs could be made of the area and shown to him, he could identify the tree above that had the broken branches off and then point out the log. He said he would also be willing to accompany Agents to this remote area to search if there was any possibility that this could be where COOPER jumped.

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LEADS

SEATTLE

AT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: 1) Will contact the pilot of the plane in question and exhibit to him the enclosed map in an attempt to determine whether or not he would have flown anywhere near the area where the parachute was found, south and west of Sardine Point, en route to Reno, Nevada, where he, apparently, landed.

No lead is being set out for Sacramento at this time to go to this area in an attempt to locate the car and determine the identity or how the car got to the area. It is noted Mr. WHEELER speculates that the jumper may have had the car parked there as a means of escaping after he landed but because of an injury or some mishap, never made it to the car.

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DB COOPER-54670

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2) Will attempt to determine whether or not COOPER may have had in his possession a small orange and white type parachute as an emergency chute.

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It is noted WHEELER appears to be a very reliable citizen in Napa County, California. The indices of the San Francisco Division disclose he was interviewed some years ago as a reference on an AFAA type case.

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SAN FRANCISCO

AT NAPA, CALIFORNIA: Will maintain contact with WHEELER, pending results of examination by the FBI Laboratory and interview with the pilot of the captioned hijacked plane.

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DB COOPER-54671