FBI report re NORJAK, cont.: ground and air search, first and second terrain searches
Document date 30 May 1973
Also filed at: Part 60 pp. 315–323
Copies may differ in what was redacted.
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Id: Cooper-Part-41:040-048
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-41:040-048 Document: FBI report re NORJAK, cont.: ground and air search, first and second terrain searches Id: Cooper-Part-41:040-048 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-41%3A040-048 What is wrong (title, date, type, which pages belong together, copies)? What does the scan show?
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FBI 164-81, Vault Part 41 pp. 40–48 (DB Cooper-11408–11416), Report, dated 30 May 1973 — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-41%3A040-048
SE 164-81
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On 11/24-25/71, based on information available from NWA, a search area was laid out in the southwest portion of the State of Washington, which was bounded by Woodland, Washington, on the west, Amboy, Washington, on the east, Kalama, Washington on the north and a point seven miles north of the Columbia River, on the south. The prime search area was in an area seven miles east and seven miles west of an eight mile long flight line of the hijacked aircraft, bounded by an area two miles north of Lake Merwin and the Lewis River on the north, Amboy on the east, Woodland, on the west and Battle Ground, Washington, on the south. The search area was divided into six sectors. Four heli- copters and seven fixed-wing aircraft were utilized in an intensive, gridded air search of the prime area and a well executed search of the secondary search area on 11/26, 11/27 and 11/29/74.
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Ground units of local law enforcement personnel and Bureau Agents, made a house-to-house canvas of every dwelling and business establishment on every road in the prime search area from 11/25/71 through 12/3/71. Most of the roads in the full search area were also intensively covered in a door-to-door canvas, with negative results. All leads developed in this search which was coordinated with the air search, were checked with negative results. One item con- cerning a small aircraft flying in the vicinity of two private airfields west of Yacolt, Washington, was completely checked and it was found that the aircraft in question was a private plane flown by a known private pilot in the area and the flight took place the evening of 11/23/71.
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All sightings from the air were checked by ground units with negative results. Lake Merwin was patrolled from the lake by two boats for its entire 42 mile length, of navigable water and also to the full extent of its 80 mile length, with negative results.
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20.
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DB Cooper-11408
1
SE 164-81 TJM:kdl
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Based upon information received from the Seattle Division on November 25, 1971 preliminary steps were taken to alert all law enforcement agencies in Cowlitz, Lewis, Wahkiakum, and Clark Counties concerning the search which was to be instituted for the subject. A meeting was held with members of the Clark and Cowlitz County Sheriff's Offices and local agencies at the Woodland, Washington City Hall and Police Department which was designated as search headquarters in view of its proximity to the Wood- land airport at which facilities were available for fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. Arrangements were made for helicopters and fixed wing aircraft to be available on November 26, 1971 and the search area was divided into seven sections, one of which was located in the Lewis River area of Cowlitz County and the others in the north- eastern section of Clark County.
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On November 26, 1971 personnel of the Clark County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff EUGENE COTTON, and con- sisting of twelve cars and four aerial observers, seven cars of the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office, and eleven deputies under Sheriff CHARLES E. GILL and In addition, three officers of the Woodland, Washington Police Department and six Agents were at the scene.
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On November 26, 1971, after law enforcement officers were briefed on facts known to that point and what was being sought and having been familiarized with the prime search area of 150 square miles, the various ground units were dispatched to Cowlitz and Clark Counties with instruc- tions to contact all available residents and businessmen on every road in the assigned section to secure information concerning the subject. The description, then available, was furnished to all personnel involved in the search. Further instructions were given to the officers to request individuals contacted to contact their neighbors and acquaintances to insure that all residents of the prime search area were cognizant of the hijacking and the descrip- tion of the subject.
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21.
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DB Cooper-11409
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SE 164-81 Editorial
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On [guess: November] 26, 1971 the banks of Lake Merwin, partly located in the prime search area, were completely patrolled by [illegible] of the Coalition County Sheriff's Office with all suspicious sightings personally checked. One sighting of a white object on the south side of the lake was unable to be checked on November 26, 1971 but on November 27, 1971 was checked by helicopter with negative results.
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On November 26, 1971 two Army helicopters, one Bonneville Power Administration helicopter, and one [illegible] (County helicopters plus five fixed wing aircraft from [guess: Woodland] and [guess: not] Vancouver, [illegible] were aloft over the search area/[illegible] seven hours of total flying time. Several sightings of unidentified items were checked by ground contact with negative results.
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On November 27, 1971 the search was continued with the same number of personnel, ground units, three helicopters and seven fixed wing planes. The search on this day encompassed a [illegible] mile [illegible] on [illegible] laid out on a upon [illegible] [illegible] [guess: defined] by [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] as a [illegible] position at [illegible] [illegible] of [illegible] left the planes [illegible] [illegible] at [guess: ranging] ten miles on the [illegible] and west side of the [guess: airline] [guess: flight] path and [illegible] [illegible] from the vicinity of [guess: Kelburn], [guess: Washington] to the suburbs of Vancouver. Washington was [guess: included] [illegible] [illegible] crossed by the [illegible] mentioned with negative results. All sightings of suspicious items were checked with negative results.
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The ground search on November 27, 1971 consisted of contacts by personnel in ground units with as many individuals as possible in the search area.
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On November 27, 1971, in addition to contacting all individuals in the search area all airfields with any aircraft or parachuting schools or activity were contacted from Vancouver - Camas, Washougal area to Woodland. A number of individuals contacted at these locations gave information pertaining to skydivers, pilots, clubs in- volved in skydiving and other information, all of which has been checked with negative results.
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22.
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DB Cooper-11410
3
SE 164-81 TJH:kdl
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Airports and Flight Services:
Scholls, Orchard, Washington [REDACTED] Vancouver, Washington
Evergreen Airfield, [REDACTED] Vancouver, Washington
Pearson Air Park, [REDACTED] Vancouver, Washington Skycraft, Inc. Pearson Air Park Aircraft Specialties at Pearson Air Park -
Northwest Flight Services, Inc. Pearson Air Park - [REDACTED] Vancouver Flying Service, Pearson Air Park [REDACTED] Camas, Washington,
Kelso-Longview Airport, Kelso, Washington -
Farm and Forest Helicopter Service, Napavine, Washington Hillsborough Aviation, Pearson Air Park, Vancouver, Washington Toledo Airport, Toledo, Washington Chehalis - Centralia Airport, Chehalis, Washington
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On November 28, 1971 the house to house canvass of business establishments and houses in the prime search area of 150 square miles was continued by Agents of the Seattle Division. All individuals contacted were queried concerning the subject and were shown composite drawings and given physical descriptive materials. The search area was gridded and close contact was kept with the control point until all streets, roads, highways, and passable by- ways were covered all with negative results.
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DB Cooper-11411
SE 164-81
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On November 28, 1971, reports of planes flying at night on November 23, 1971, in the vicinity of the airfields located at View, Washington, and in the vicinity of County Road 42 and Grantham Road in Clark County as well as other small airports in Clark and Cowlitz Counties were checked with all flights being explainable and normal.
On November 29, 1971, the area from Woodland, Washington, up the Lewis River Road to Cougar, Washington, and Yale Lake was covered on a house to house basis, all locations being in Cowlitz County. The business establish- ments and private homes contacted all had information concerning the subject and his physical description.
Further house to house coverage was afforded in an area near the midpoint of a circle specified by Northwest Airlines as the center of the suspected area in which the subject exited the airplane. Every house and business establishment in a 20 mile square area was contacted or recontacted and it was found all individuals contacted had information on the subject but no information of value other than that previously reported.
On November 30, 1971, all doctors, clinics, hospitals, and agencies which could render medical assistance to an individual who could have broken limbs or severe abrasions from being in a heavily wooded area were contacted and were also circularized with a composite photograph and description of the subject in Clark, Lewis, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, and Skamania Counties.
A Bonneville Power Administration helicopter and one fixed wing aircraft upon a partial clearing of the weather continued an air search concentrating on the area which has a center point of a circle as furnished by Northwest Airlines. The search took in an area approxi- mately 150 miles square and nothing of a positive nature was found.
Further house to house canvassing was conducted by Agents in the prime search area near the center of the circle as provided by Northwest Airlines. Nothing of significant value other than that already secured was found.
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DB Cooper-11412
SE 164-81
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On December 1, 1971, a fixed wing aircraft from Woodland, Washington, was aloft and covered an area during a slight period of clear weather which encompassed the area from Woodland, Washington, north to Silver Lake in Cowlitz County, a distance of 40 miles and a section 10 miles on either side of the flight path of the hijacked aircraft. While this was being conducted, Agents in ground units were conducting door to door canvass in the vicinity of the southerly end of Cowlitz County. Total area covered by air was 800 square miles with negative results.
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On December 2, 1971, ten Agents walked in a defined search pattern the area in the immediate vicinity of the circle of search as set forth by Northwest Airlines. The terrain was found to be composed of fields which are being farmed and a number of impenetrable thickets which have fallen logs, hidden beaver ponds, and creeks and generally hazardous and most difficult terrain to search on foot. It was noted that in getting into the thicket and under- brush growth, it was so heavy that even if an item was five yards from the observer, it could easily be missed due to overgrowth problems. The area covered in this physical terrain search was 1 1/2 miles long and 2/3 of a mile wide and took approximately five hours. Negative results in the search.
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DB Cooper-11413
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25.
SE 164-81
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FIRST TERRAIN SEARCH
The purpose of the first terrain search was to search for possible evidence left behind by Unsub and to find the remains of Unsub assuming he made an unsuccessful jump. The first terrain search commenced at 2:00 PM on March 21, 1972 with 218 Army troops including officers, 20 Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and 9 helicopters. The area to be searched covered approxi- mately 25 square miles.
Due to snowfall in search area on March 25, 1972, the search was temporarily held up. Army troops remained on location and the search resumed at 12:00 Noon on March 26, 1972. The search was temporarily discontinued at 12:00 Noon March 30, 1972 to allow search personnel to rest and enjoy the Easter Holiday. The Army search equip- ment was retained at search headquarters at Merwin Park.
The search recommenced 7:15 AM, April 8, 1972, with 265 Army personnel and 20 Agents. Snow, sleet and freezing rain hampered search on April 12, 1972. Remaining areas to be searched were reached only by helicopter in- sertion of search personnel and landing zones in most cases were under 6 to 12 inches of snow.
The search of the entire area was completed at 1:00 PM, April 17, 1972 with nothing found.
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HUNTERS SEARCH
Prior to the 1972 hunting season, the following information was made available to Washington State Game Wardens who supervise the area into which the hijacker parachuted:
"On November 24, 1971, a man parachuted into the below-described area with $200,000 in $20 bills. If, while camping or hunting, you should discover any evidence con- cerning this skyjacking please contact the nearest FBI office.
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26.
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DB Cooper-11414
SE 164-81
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AREA INVOLVED
"Bound on the west by US 5, bound on the south by the Columbia River, bound on the north by the Kalama River, and bound on the east by the Skamania-Clark County line.
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WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
"1) The remains of a man, possibly dead for one year.
2) The remnants of a parachute, harness or parachute shroud lines.
3) 10,000 $20 bills wrapped in a parachute canopy, all serial numbers are known and can be identified.
4) Deteriorated raincoat or overcoat.
5) Small briefcase or attache case.
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REWARD:
"$25,000.00 total or 15% of any lesser portion of the ransom money that is returned has been offered by Northwest Orient Airlines.
"If any information concerning this matter is discovered, it should be reported to the FBI Office at Seattle, Washington, area code 206, telephone MA. 2-0460 collect, or to the nearest FBI Office, which can be found by checking in front of your telephone directory."
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The above information in the form of letters was distributed to hunters by game wardens.
The remains of JAMES ANNIS were found by hunters near Cougar, Washington on November 5, 1972. ANNIS, 16 years old in 1971, was reported missing on November 13, 1971 while hunting. He was positively identified by dental examination.
Several leads were received as the result of the publicity afforded this case by the news media and the Washington State Department of Game Wardens. These leads
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DB Cooper-11415
SE 164-81
all received expeditious and thorough attention but all results were negative.
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SECOND TERRAIN SEARCH
In attempt to determine the accuracy of the first search area, the following was learned:
The first search area was calculated using a system of plotting known as "GEOREF" (i.e. Geographical Reference) which has a plotting error of plus or minus one mile. A new plotting system using a computer generated latitude and longitude has a plotting error of plus or minus 1/2 mile. Using the new system, [REDACTED] plotted a new course for Northwest Orient Airlines [REDACTED] plotted a new course for the NORJAK airplane and a new search area based on the new course. The new search area based on the new course. The new search area is partially outside the first area. (See maps.)
It is felt that if Unsub's parachute opened, he is no longer in the southwest Washington area, but if his parachute did not open he would be in a corridor along the flight path. The time of jump is known, and an area approximately one mile by seven miles represents the area. Unsub would have landed in if his parachute did not open.
Because some of the above corridor fell in the old or first terrain search area, only an area 2 miles by 1/2 mile was searched during the second terrain search.
The second terrain search commenced March 12, 1973, and involved 10 Special Agents of the Seattle Office. It was temporarily interrupted on March 16 and resumed again March 26, 1973.
The second terrain search was completed March 29, 1973 with nothing found.
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28. DB Cooper-11416
Serials: SE 164-81