'Tips trickle in 25 years after D.B. Cooper's skyjacking' (Argus Leader)

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11. 25-96

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Tips trickle in 25 years after D.B. Cooper's skyjacking

FBI checks reports, keeps case open

By GEORGE TIBBITS Associated Press

SEATTLE — It's been 25 years since he took that big step out of a Boeing 727 at 10,000 feet, yet tips on D.B. Cooper still come in. [guess: Some] of the most daring — or best — criminals ever remains at large, having either flouted the laws of society or been foiled by the law of gravity.

"It's still a pending investigation," says Seattle-based FBI agent Ray Lauer, who adds that the case will stay open "probably forever."

The FBI here still stores 60 volumes of interviews and other documents telling how Cooper hijacked a jetliner, demanded and received $200,000, then jumped from the plane over the Cascade Mountains of southwestern Washington and into legend.

He hasn't been heard from since, although $5,880 of his loot was found by a boy playing on the banks of the Columbia River in 1980.

A few taverns and restaurants mark the anniversary of the nation's only unsolved skyjacking case. And now and then someone calls the FBI with a tip or suggestion.

"Surprisingly, yeah, we still get quite a few of them," Lauer says. "They tend to come in spurts, when they might get two to four in a week, then might not get any more tips for several months."

The FBI dutifully checks them out.

You're being hijacked

Wherever Cooper is, it's a safe bet his skydiving days are over: If he survived, he'd be 70 or older now.

On Nov. 24, 1971, the night before Thanksgiving, a man in his mid-40s wearing dark glasses boarded a Northwest Orient Airlines plane in Portland.

He bought a ticket under the name Dan Cooper — a law enforcement official later erroneously referred to him as "D.B." and the initials stuck — and took seat 18F in coach. He ordered a bourbon and water and handed flight attendant Flo Schaffner a note.

He apparently lacked a strong criminal presence; the busy Schaffner stuck the paper in her pocket.

Not until takeoff did she bother to read the message: "Miss, I've got a bomb, come sit next to me — you're being hijacked."

Fellow cabin attendant Tina Mucklow Larson recounted how she and Schaffner relayed dozens of messages from Cooper to the cockpit — including his demands for $200,000 in used $20 bills and four parachutes.

He had no unusual characteristics, Larson recalled. He wore a dark suit, dark tie, white shirt and the sunglasses, which he never took off, and chain-smoked.

He also had a black briefcase, which he opened for Larson, showing her a couple of red cylinders, wires and a battery.

He collected the money, provided by the airline, during a stop at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where the 36 passengers and two flight attendants were released. Larson and the two pilots remained on board. Cooper demanded the plane be flown to Mexico, agreeing to a refueling stop at Reno.

Missing with parachutes

Just after takeoff, Larson said, Cooper asked how to lower the rear stairs of the 727, the only jetliner equipped with that feature. When the jet landed in Reno, the stairs were down and Cooper was missing, along with the money and parachutes.

Cooper dove into a freezing rainstorm at 10,000 feet, wearing only a business suit and loafers. The temperature was 7 below zero, not counting a wind chill estimated at minus 70 because of the plane's speed of 200 mph.

Ralph Himmelsbach, the FBI agent assigned to the case before his retirement in 1980, has long maintained Cooper was a bumbler and a fool. If the cold didn't kill him, if he withstood the powerful turbulence, Cooper was still parachuting into dense forest at night, at the onset of winter, with no food or survival gear.

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DB Cooper-21379

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[illegible header] Meteorologist Chris Jensen said no more snow is expected until after Thanksgiving, except for a light dusting Tuesday. But it should stay chilly, with high temperature in the teens and 20s and lows from zero to 10 above. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, Sioux Valley Southwestern Electric of Colman had restored power to about 1,300 customers, leaving 1,200 customers without electricity, said company spokesman Martin McGrane. The outages were scattered, but large numbers of homes were without power between Trent and Garretson and in the Humboldt and Hartford areas, he said. Slippery roads kept state troopers busy Sunday morning, as at least 30-40 motorists slid into ditches. Troopers handled more [illegible] over the weekend, none serious. Also Sunday evening, Northern States Power Co. had one South [illegible]

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should have power by this evening, he said. McGrane wasn't certain when all of Sioux Valley Southwestern's customers would have power. The freezing rain that fell in the days before the snow storm caused about 400 electric poles to snap. "A lot of them just splintered — there was a lot of weight in this ice," McGrane said. "They snapped like a baseball bat." Sioux Valley Southwestern called in about 100 workers from other electric cooperatives in South Dakota and surrounding states to assist its 16 lines workers, he said. Many customers realize bad weather and occasional power problems come with the territory, McGrane said. "That's true for most people, however, we're starting to notice a little cha[nge] [illegible]

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Lew Sherman/ Argus Leader Vehicles race past an ice-covered sign Sunday in the southbound lane of Interstate 29 near the intersection with Interstate 229 southwest of Sioux Falls.

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caught using alcohol, drugs or tobacco anywhere at any time would face discipline, instead of just during the season. "We will give them plenty of opportunity to change their behavior, but there will be firm consequences," Smith said. Students and parents give the proposed policy mixed reviews. Some like the message it sends, while others think the administration refuses to trust students. The policy allows students a chance to cut their suspensions if they and their parents participate in counseling sessions. "Parents need to be a significant part of the solution," Smith said. School board President Roger Risty says an incident this fall where football players were caught partying provided the catalyst to strengthen the policy. "All kids who participate in an activity are required to sign a statement that they are drug and alcohol-free during the season. We are now extending that year-round," he said. "Some kids told us they signed it just so they could play." Evidence exists that substance

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can take more severe action, such as for assaults or vandalism.

abuse is increasing in the school system, Risty said. Research indicates that at least two-fifths of high school students used prohibited substances five or more times: ■ Sixth grade: 2 percent. ■ Seventh grade: 7 percent. ■ Eighth grade: 20 percent. ■ Freshmen: 40 percent. ■ High school: 44 percent. "It showed kids' patterns of use were well established by the en[d of] their ninth-grade year and t[hey] stayed about the same," Smith said. "They are well on their way at the end of the eighth grade." Parents and students see the proposed plan as a mixed blessing. Donalene Spars' daughter, Gretchen, is a junior at Washington High School who participates in cheerleading, concert choir and tennis. "As a parent, I sign that activity slip that my child signs," Spars said. "She is a representative of Discipline/ See 3A

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O.J. interrogation today

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