SAC Milwaukee to Director re continued NORJAK investigation of Merlin Cooper
Document date 16 August 1988
Also filed at: Part 97 pp. 162–164
Copies may differ in what was redacted.
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Id: Cooper-Part-49:127-129
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-49:127-129 Document: Airtel SAC Milwaukee to Director re continued NORJAK investigation of Merlin Cooper Id: Cooper-Part-49:127-129 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-49%3A127-129 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 49 pp. 127–129 (DB Cooper-20231–20233), Airtel, dated 16 Aug 1988, serial SE 164-81-8923 (as read from the transcript) — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-49%3A127-129
FD-36 (Rev. 8-29-85)
FBI
TRANSMIT VIA: PRECEDENCE: CLASSIFICATION: ☐ Teletype ☐ Immediate ☐ TOP SECRET ☐ Facsimile ☐ Priority ☐ SECRET ☒ AIRTEL ☐ Routine ☐ CONFIDENTIAL ☐ UNCLAS E F T O ☐ UNCLAS Date 8/16/88
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[guess: CLS] [guess: NFW] [guess: CONF] [guess: copy] [illegible] IT [guess: 1300] L
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TO: DIRECTOR, FBI (164-2111)
FROM: SAC, MILWAUKEE (164A-36) (MRA) (P)
SUBJECT: NORJAK; CRIME ABOARD AN AIRCRAFT-HIJACKING; OO: SEATTLE
Re Seattle airtel to Director, 7/28/88, captioned as above.
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For information and evaluation of Seattle.[REDACTED] [REDACTED] Baraboo, Wisconsin, telephone number [REDACTED] advised that [REDACTED] MERLIN GENE COOPER, who is now deceased. He advised that MERLIN COOPER was a pathological liar and a con man, and he would not be at all surprised if [REDACTED] was determined to be identical to hijacker D.B. COOPER. He stated that in about 1971, when the D.B. COOPER story broke and artists' drawings of D.B. COOPER were printed in newspapers, he thought to himself that the artists' drawings bore a striking resemblance to [REDACTED] MERLIN COOPER.
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He advised that [REDACTED] was in the U.S. Air Force in Europe, and, upon his discharge from the Air Force, worked as an air traffic controller at Midway Field in
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ARMED AND DANGEROUS
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2 - Bureau (164-2111) (2)- Seattle (164A-81) 2 - Milwaukee (164A-36) KHM:cal (6)
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[guess: 164A-81-8923] SEARCHED INDEXED SERIALIZED FILED AUG 23 1988
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DB Cooper-20231
MI 164A-36
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Chicago, Illinois, and at Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin. He stated that in about 1956 or 1957, [REDACTED] was arrested for writing bad checks and served some time in Waupun State Penitentiary, Waupun, Wisconsin. He stated that in approximately [REDACTED] became divorced from his wife, [REDACTED] who now lives in the La Crosse, Wisconsin, area, and [REDACTED] moved from Wisconsin, and he had no contact whatsoever with [REDACTED] [REDACTED] for approximately 10 years. He stated that, subsequent to about 1959, he never did see [REDACTED] again before he died, but he did periodically correspond with [REDACTED] by letter and telephone from about 1969 until [REDACTED] death in 1973. He stated that [REDACTED] called him two days before he died and said that he did not have much longer to live, but that [REDACTED] did not elaborate on that statement.
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He stated that he never heard [REDACTED] use the name D.B. COOPER, and [REDACTED] never mentioned the D.B. COOPER hijacking in his letters or telephone conversations. He further advised that, although [REDACTED] was very knowledgeable about airplanes from his Air Force and air traffic controller experience, he has never known [REDACTED] to have any knowledge of or experience in parachutes or sky diving.
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He stated that he is not aware of any leg injuries which [REDACTED] might have sustained in 1971 or prior to that time, but he believes that [REDACTED] did sustain some arm injuries at about that time when [REDACTED] was apparently injured in a truck accident in Oregon. He further advised that [REDACTED] was quite a good artist and painted a picture for him on one occasion, but he no longer has this painting and cannot remember if or how the painting was signed. He stated that [REDACTED] [REDACTED] ORPHA COOPER, may presently have this painting and probably has some other paintings by MERLIN COOPER, and he advised that ORPHA COOPER also keeps a diary and may have documented her contacts with MERLIN COOPER over the years.
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He stated that the address of [REDACTED] ORPHA COOPER, is 353 Tyrell Court, Delavan, Wisconsin, telephone number 414/728-2844, and he stated that he believes [REDACTED] is in relatively good health. He further advised that the only [REDACTED] [REDACTED] but he does not have her address or telephone number. He stated that he believed [REDACTED] [REDACTED] would have the address and telephone number.
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[REDACTED] advised that he could furnish no further information in this matter.
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2
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DB Cooper-20232
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b6 b7C
MI 164A-36
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Investigation is continuing in the Milwaukee Division, and FBIHQ and Seattle will be kept advised of developments.
ARMED AND DANGEROUS
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3*
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DB Cooper-20233
Serials: 164-2111, 164-36, MI 164-36, SE 164-81, SE 164-81-8923