FD-350 clipping 'Dan Cooper remembered, 4 years later' (News Register, McMinnville)

FD-350 (Rev. 7-16-63)

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(Mount Clipping in Space Below)

'Dan Cooper' remembered, 4 years later Stories link local man to skyjacking

By JEB BLADINE and BARBARA PROPOTNIK

Four years ago, on Thanksgiving eve, a man boarded a Boeing 727 in Portland bound for Seattle, hijacked the plane for a $200,000 ransom and parachuted into oblivion. No trace of the man, or the money, has ever been found.

Could that most famous and most mysterious skyjacker have been living in McMinnville at the time he committed his innovative and as yet unsolved crime?

Not likely, says the Federal Bureau of Investigation upon preliminary analysis of information concerning the "suspect." But possible, and worth investigating, the FBI says, after having assigned a Salem agent to further explore any links between legendary skyjacker "Dan Cooper" and a former McMinnville resident.

On this fourth anniversary of the crime it is easy to understand why the FBI is less than excited about prospects of ever identifying the famous criminal. For one thing, prevailing theory is that the skyjacker did not survive his parachute escape jump. But the file remains open enough so interesting leads, such as that involving the former McMinnvillans, still are being followed through until a suspect is cleared.

Some officials believe Dan Cooper perished in his spectacular escape attempt for the simple reason that four years later, after spending countless man hours and dollars investigating the crime, the FBI has found no substantive clue to the criminal's identity.

"I can sum it up in a sentence," said Portland FBI public relations agent Bill Williams, as he held a three-inch thick book of Dan Cooper investigative data consisting of [illegible]

terviews conducted within hours of the crime. "We don't really know any more about this guy than we knew the morning after the skyjacking."

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(Indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.)

"THE NEWS REGISTER" McMinnville, Oregon

Date: 11/26/75 Edition: Author: JEB BLADINE & Editor: BARBARA Title: PROPOTNIK

Character: or Classification: Submitting Office:

☐ Being Investigated

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THE EXPERT on Dan Cooper is Portland FBI agent [guess: Ralph] Himmelsbach, who has been with the case since its begin- ning. He has led bureau efforts which included flights in the same plane under the same conditions of Cooper's historic ride. The FBI pinpointed a 24 square mile area in Southwest Washington it feels is the drop zone, and some of it is rough enough country that many officials think Cooper killed himself trying to escape.

"My personal guess is that there is no better than a 50 percent chance he's still alive, and that's being very generous," Himmelsbach said. "In fact, the chances are very slim indeed."

There remains, however, the fact that all missing person reports in the country were checked in the days and weeks following Cooper's crime—none of them led FBI in- vestigators a step closer to Dan Cooper, leaving the belief among some that he must have escaped.

Leads in the case have dwindled, and just 12 months separates Dan Cooper (if he still lives) from possibly avoiding prosecution even if apprehended. Statute of limitations on the crime expires Nov. 24, 1976, and unless Cooper were found to have fled the area to avoid prosecution, he would be safe if he remains free beyond that date.

Charges such as possession of stolen money or income tax evasion could be leveled, however, and there would be possibility of civil suit from Globe Indemnity Corp. of New York, which had to pay $180,000 of the $200,000 ransom.

SEVERAL McMINNVILLE residents have told the News- Register they once believed a man formerly living here was skyjacker Dan Cooper. One woman, described to N-R reporters as one who possibly had the strongest reasons for suspecting the man, refused to answer any questions of reporters.

Two local men went as far as to conduct a lengthy, private investigation, hoping a $25,000 reward might be in the offing. Their efforts, however, never came to the FBI's attention. They thought the FBI was following up their investigation; the News-Register was told, but apparently an IRS agent they talked with never passed the information along.

Now, some of those suspicions have been presented to the KBI Himmelsbach, though pointing out that he feels little confidence that the former McMinnvillan actually is Dan Cooper, nevertheless admits the stories warrant further FBI investigation.

One man who investigated McMinnville's "suspect" told the News-Register things which had led him to believe he might be on the right trail. Among them were comments that the man bore resemblance to Dan Cooper, that his reported whereabouts that Thanksgiving weekend apparently were entirely unsupported by any witnesses and that he returned to McMinnville with an injured ankle.

A few have maintained belief that Dan Cooper really was living here, and four years later it appears the FBI finally will compile official investigative reports on their suspicions. That investigation most likely will end the way all Dan Cooper investigations have ended—another [guess: possible] suspect eliminated and continued frustration for the [illegible] whatever the result, whether or not anyone ever is [illegible] as the famous skyjacker, [illegible] [guess: will] [illegible] in [illegible] at age bandit who went [illegible] 71.

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FBI COA

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