Interview of Charlottesville witness re John Scott Maze as Cooper suspect
Interviewed 11 April 1980Dictated 14 April 1980Transcribed 23 April 1980
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Id: Cooper-Part-45:349-352
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-45:349-352 Document: FD-302 interview of Charlottesville witness re John Scott Maze as Cooper suspect Id: Cooper-Part-45:349-352 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-45%3A349-352 What is wrong (title, date, type, which pages belong together, copies)? What does the scan show?
A person reads every report. Corrections are made by hand, to the data — titles, dates, names, which pages belong together — never to the scans, and they can take a while to appear.
FBI 164-81, Vault Part 45 pp. 349–352 (DB Cooper-18666–18669), FD-302 interview, interviewed 11 Apr 1980 — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-45%3A349-352
FD-302(rev.3-8-77)
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[guess: Sub] [guess: let] Q
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FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date of transcription 4/23/80
1
[REDACTED], Charlottesville, Virginia, telephone number [REDACTED] furnished the following information relating to the D. B. Cooper Skyjacking case under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
[REDACTED] viewed a television program entitled "In Search Of" which is broadcast weekly on Sunday nights. She noted one of the recent broadcasts reviewed the D.B. Cooper Skyjacking case and in the presentation a composite picture of Cooper, made from information furnished by witnesses was displayed.
[REDACTED] stated the composite picture was without question in her mind a picture of [REDACTED] John Scott Maze, who died in Scottsdale, Arizona, of a heart attack, in November, 1974.
[REDACTED] related she was [REDACTED] and whom she believes is currently residing with [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Tempe, Arizona, [REDACTED] [REDACTED] John Scott Maze.
[REDACTED] related John Scott Maze, at the time of his death, resided in a trailer home at 1149 North 92nd Street, Scottsdale, Arizona. She noted that John Scott Maze had been employed by AiResearch, Phoenix, Arizona, as an engineer for twenty years prior to being fired in the middle 1960's for being an alcoholic.
She continued after he was fired, he never held any meaningful employment to her knowledge up to his death. She added after he was fired, he used to disappear for two or three months at a time and just go out into the wilderness of Oregon and the state of Washington to be by himself.
She noted he was a "real loner" and had as little to do with other people as he could.
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Interviewed on 4/11/80 at Charlottesville, Virginia File # RH 164-167 SE 164-81
By SA [REDACTED] /vlr Date Dictated 4/14/80
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; SEARCHED... INDEXED... contents are not to be distributed outside your agency. SERIALIZED... FILED... JAN 2 1 1981
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DB Cooper-18666
RH 164-167 SE 164-81 2
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She further stated he knew airplanes inside and out and could fly. She advised he did fly various kinds of aircraft although she did not know if he had a flying license of any kind. She added he could fly a helicopter, and on one occasion when he read about a bank robber being arrested for a robbery, he explained what the robber did wrong and how he would have done it.
She noted he stated he would have used a helicopter to make his escape after the robbbery.
[REDACTED] also stated in 1967 or 1968, Maze spent a year in San Diego during which time he took sky diving lessons. She was unable to furnish the address where Maze resided during that year, but she noted [REDACTED] who currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona, visited Maze in San Diego during that time and she would know.
[REDACTED] continued, Maze had received a less than honorable discharge from the United States Army during World War II for being a "neurotic".
[REDACTED] related that in 1970, Maze made a down payment on a hotel in the southern section of the state of Washington, near the state border. She could not recall the name of the town where the hotel was located but did recall it was a small town and the town had the same name as a city located in Arizona.
She continued, in 1972, Maze paid off the debt owed on the hotel and he later sold it prior to his death. She noted the person or persons who bought the hotel are currently making payments on the debt to Maze's estate for which [REDACTED] b6 [REDACTED] who resides in Phoenix, b7C Arizona, collects the payments and distributes the payments among [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] added, Maze did not have any savings or means of income and it puzzled members of the family as to how Maze could purchase the hotel and live so well.
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DB Cooper-18667
RH 164-167 SE 164-81 3
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She noted he bought expensive clothes, jewelry, etc., and always had new vehicles, including campers, which he used when he went off into the wilderness of Oregon and Washington. [REDACTED] b6 noted Maze also owned some property in Florida and Arizona. b7C
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She added when he was fired from AiResearch in the early 1960's, he did not have any savings or assets and there was not any family wealth.
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[REDACTED] further related that in 1972, Maze visited [REDACTED] b6 [REDACTED] in Charlottesville, Virginia, at which time he had a new b7C Chevrolet Elcamino pickup truck with a sleeping camper on the back. She emphasized Maze was an avid camper at home and in the wilderness by himself.
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She also related Maze exercised and took care of his health, having quit drinking for approximately eight years. She noted in 1972, although approximately 57 years of age, he looked about 35 years old in appearance. She added, he did not have any age wrinkles but did have some small "laugh wrinkles at the corner of his eyes" which were not real prominent.
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She described him as follows:
Complexion Tan Height Approximately 5 feet 10 inches to 5 feet 11 inches Weight Approximately 165 pounds Hair Full head of dark brown hair which was fine in texture Eyes Blue
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[REDACTED] continued in appearance Maze looked like "a young b6 David Niven", the movie star, and wore a mustache like Niven. She b7C added, Maze was a secretive and very methodical person who never did anything impulsively. She explained if Maze was going to buy a vehicle, he took several months to decide on which vehicle to buy and he would even go so far as to study the vehicle on blueprint, test run it, and check it over completely before deciding.
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DB Cooper-18668
RH 164-167 SE 164-81 4
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She added he always thought things out completely before acting. In her judgment Maze was extremely intelligent and could do anything he set his mind to do.
[REDACTED] also related when Maze [REDACTED] Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1972, he would not sleep in a bed, and he slept on the floor in the bedroom made available to him.
She added, Maze was born in Kane, Pennsylvania, in September, 1915, where he was raised by a mother and a grandmother after the death of his father when he was very young.
[REDACTED] further related, Maze had stipulated in his will that upon his death, he was not to be embalmed, he was to be put in a pine box and buried as soon as possible so that he could rot as soon as he could.
She added, to her knowledge, Maze's wishes were carried out and he was buried in the East-Resthaven Cemetery in Scottsdale, Arizona, by Carr Mortuary, 26 East Fifth Street, Tempe, Arizona.
[REDACTED] reiterated, the composite she observed on the television program "In Search Of" for D. B. Cooper is identical to [REDACTED] John Scott Maze, minus his mustache.
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DB Cooper-18669
Serials: RH 164-167, SE 164-81