Handwritten citizen statement re KOMO news report on D.B. Cooper, itemized observations near Venersborg

1-17-79 164-81 [illegible]

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Re: News Report KOMO D.B. Cooper Item I. SUBS J.R On the night of this event we were effecting our [guess: Crazy] San home on leave. He had called stating he was unsure of his departure and arrival time but thought he would get the 5:05 plane which would have put him in Portland at approx 6:00 pm from San Francisco. we went to Portland Intl Airport and waited. Not arriving on that flight we Continued on home to [guess: Venersborg] which is 8 mi, [guess: NE] of Battle Ground, approx 1/2 mi south [guess: & west] of our home we rounded a bend and saw a brilliant flash of light on top of or near Spotted Deer Mtn. This was about 10 minutes to 7:00 pm. We had heard on the [guess: late] radio of the sky jacking [guess: out of] and we became extremely worried about an unchartered flight in the air at the same time and area, with our son possibly on another

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LA-81-8351

plane. If he caught the 7:00 p.m. plane he would have been in Portland about 15 min to 8:00.

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Item 2: There was a power outage, two times in the same place. In the hills above Venersborg. [guess: Icalled] the P.U.D. the next morning and asked questions, was told yes they had sent a crew out for repair on a [guess: burned] transformer, and again [illegible] [guess: of hours later] the same thing again [guess: occurred by] Item 3 on next page

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Item 4. next morning There was a Khaki Telephone Repair truck came by our house traveling East on Fannenberg Rd. We had seen a truck of this kind previously. I Called N.W. Bell Co. They did not have a truck of that description in our area. The previous nite or that morning, [guess: if it] [guess: offers]. I inquired of a neighbor[guess: ,] one of the neighbors who lived on up the

[guess: kill] was an electrical Contractor & had a truck of that description. Item #5. The time element is not exactly but prior to 8:35 p.m. I was doing dishes at the EAST window, heard an airplane, hollered at my [guess: husband], we ran outside and watched a very large plane, we could see the lights and it against the sky, travelling in south easterly direction low over the top of Spotted Deer mountain. [guess: go back to item #1] Question: was there another plane of this description in our area that night, I called the Sheriffs dept. and reported sighting it. and the flash of light. Question: Could an accomplice of D.B. Cooper having knowledge of electrical circuitry produce a burn- out, (a normal phenomena) to cause a flash of this type, at the sound of approaching plane to guide a

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DB Cooper-17885

parachutist to an open field. There are several on top of those hills. The time element was a question, I do not know the time of the second report to P.U.D. That would be on their log. Was there a phone outage in this area, also maybe on record; Was there an electrical Contractor living near the open fields, and was the transformer burn-out near the fields. I found out 3 years later (still snooping) one of the residents living at the end of [guess: the] road in that area of the hills had been a parachutist & possibly a sky diver. There were so many things that could have been answered. I called the F.B.I. and reported these things. Maybe they don't make sense, but after 7 years no one else has come up with a solution. I still think the

5.

time element of the flash, another electrical problem later and the fact that we were anxious & watching the skies when the plane went over is pertinent.

We have talked of this to a great many people, all urging us to try and get some one to listen. Is Spotted Deer and Bell Mountain anywhere near the flight path of D.B. Coopers plane. With some low clouds and some wind, would a blue flash that lit up a large area be a good way to signal an open area, if the transformer was near it? We did not see any wind of the strength to blow 2 wires together to cause an electric problem, The P.U.D. told us that was probable cause for the transformer burn out. He have looked at maps and the area

of Spotted Deer is not that far away from Woodland and ariel etc. when you are talking of air flight paths and hundreds of miles per hour. We would just like to know, is this feasable, was DB Coopers plane the one we saw? Why was there no FBI agent or even Sheriffs Dept. officers out to question us & give us the answers, what plane did we see. It don't feel [guess: we] are crack pots (or hopefully not.) at that time we had the time elements all down. Just when everything happened and as it happened plus names & dates. Everytime the subject comes up on the news media we start wondering all over again. But then so is the majority of people plus the news media. Thanks for your time & the splendid news program.

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DB Cooper-17888