EC Seattle to Director's Office requesting authority for $100,000 NORJAK reward
Document date 10 October 2000
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Id: Cooper-Part-51:318-320
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-51:318-320 Document: EC Seattle to Director's Office requesting authority for $100,000 NORJAK reward Id: Cooper-Part-51:318-320 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-51%3A318-320 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 51 pp. 318–320 (DB Cooper-21475–21477), Memo, dated 10 Oct 2000, serial SE 164-81-9350 (as read from the transcript) — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-51%3A318-320
(Rev. 10-01-1999)
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Precedence: ROUTINE Date: 10/10/2000
To: Directors Office Attn: OPCA Criminal Investigative VCMO, Section Chief Andreas Stephens VC/FU, SSA [REDACTED] b6 From: Seattle b7C Squad 5/ PSVCTE Contact: [REDACTED] (206) 262-2503 b6 Approved By: [REDACTED] b7C
Drafted By: [REDACTED]
Case ID #: SE 164A-81-[illegible] (Pending)
Title: NORJAK
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Synopsis: Request Bureau and Attorney General authority for the offering of a $100,000 reward for specific evidence leading to the resolution of this case. This was discussed between Seattle SAC Charles E. Mandigo and Section Chief Andreas Stephens on 8/18/2000
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Details: To summarize, this case involving the 11/24/1971 hijacking of Northwest flight 305 has remained the only unsolved hijacking in U.S. history. Seattle has processed well over 1100 subjects over the years and virtually every other field division has also expended significant investigative resources. Other than a small portion of the $200,000 ransom money being recovered along the bank of the Columbia River, near Vancouver, Washington in February, 1980, no trace of the unidentified subject has ever been found. A recently updated prosecutive opinion received from the Seattle USA's office and DOJ has continued to indicate that a statute of limitations does not apply in this matter. At the time of this crime, airplane hijacking was a capital offense in the United States. This hijacking, due to its singular nature, certainly contributed to the acceleration of sweeping changes in U.S. airport security and thus had a direct and long lasting impact on the traveling public.
The hijacking of Northwest 305 continues to garner media attention. Seattle continues to receive numerous media inquiries (about fifty in the past year alone). Pursuant to recent requests from the National Press Office, Seattle cooperated in the new production of a special on the History
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SE 164A-81-9350 DB Cooper-21475
To: Directors Office From: Seattle Re: SE 164A-81, 10/10/2000
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Channel, a U.S. News & World Report story, and another soon to be filmed production titled "The Ultimate Ten" to be shown on the Learning Channel. In most of these media inquiries, the issue of a reward is invariably raised.
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Previous Rewards Offered
A $25,000 reward offered by Northwest Airlines in the early 1970's was later withdrawn after the airlines was fully reimbursed by its insurer, Royal Globe Insurance. A Seattle area newspaper offered a $5,000 reward for one of the NORJAK $20 bills until the offer was terminated in 1976. There has been no FBI sponsored reward ever offered.
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Timing and Benefit of Offering a $100,000 Reward Now
As this case nears its 30 year anniversary, it is likely that any associates or family members of the unknown subject (as well as the subject himself, if alive) are in their seventies. With the passage of this amount of time it is possible that any such person might be now motivated by such a reward to come forward to resolve this matter. Additionally, it is expected that this approaching anniversary will be the appropriate time to make best use of likely additional media interest. It is undoubtedly in the best interests of this case not to discourage any person with positive and direct information from contacting the FBI due to press accounts of a reward no longer being available.
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To avoid generating large quantities of "looks like" leads, any reward should be specific as to direct evidence or knowledge that could resolve this case. Additionally, it is anticipated that the fact of the existence of a reward, if approved, will be provided to those inquiring, not contained in a press release. It is unlikely that Northwest Airlines would wish to participate in a new reward at this time due to current public relations considerations.
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If someone were to come forward with information that resolved this case, Seattle would, in any event, very likely be able to justify the payment of a significant cash payment after the fact. Approval of a reward now would enable Seattle to use this fact as an investigative tool as this anniversary date approaches.
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DB Cooper-21476
To: Directors Office From: Seattle Re: SE 164A-81, 10/10/2000
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LEAD(s):
Set Lead 1:
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE
AT WASHINGTON, DC
For information of the VCMO Section. Request appropriate approvals be obtained for offering a $100,000 reward in this case.
279rnh01.ec ♦♦
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3
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DB Cooper-21477
Serials: SE 164-81, SE 164-81-9350