Interview of Los Altos, California man re meeting suspect and February 1972 Seattle trip
Interviewed 21 April 1972Dictated 27 April 1972Transcribed 1 May 1972
Also filed at: Part 59 pp. 111–113
Copies may differ in what was redacted.
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Id: Cooper-Part-59:173-177
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-59:173-177 Document: FD-302 interview of Los Altos, California man re meeting suspect and February 1972 Seattle trip Id: Cooper-Part-59:173-177 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-59%3A173-177 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 59 pp. 173–177 (DB Cooper-24316–24320), FD-302 interview, interviewed 21 Apr 1972 — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-59%3A173-177
FD-302 (Rev. 11-27-70)
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date of transcription 5/1/72
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[REDACTED], Los Altos, California, telephone number [REDACTED] was inter- viewed at the Office of the FBI. The Agents identified themselves and explained the purpose of the interview.
[REDACTED] advised that he first met [REDACTED] in early February 1972. He related that friends of his, knowing that he, [REDACTED] and in need of work, learned that [REDACTED] of his talent. They secured [REDACTED] telephone number and had [REDACTED] contact him concerning possible work.
After making telephonic contact with [REDACTED] [REDACTED] determined that it would be necessary to have a [REDACTED] in connection with a forthcoming [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] was advised he was to know as little as possible to prevent his involvement in any future legal problems. Based on this, the fact that [REDACTED] was to be in Seattle, Washington, and recent news coverage concerning the hijacking in the Pacific Northwest, [REDACTED] assumed [REDACTED] D. B. COOPER.
[REDACTED] advised that because he and [REDACTED] had been classmates at UCLA, they frequently exchanged job information and worked together whenever possible. For this reason, he in turn contacted [REDACTED]
In early February, exact date not recalled, [REDACTED] received a phone call at his Los Altos, California, residence from [REDACTED] who was at the San Francisco Airport. [REDACTED] proceeded to the airport where he met [REDACTED] and received two airline tickets to be utilized by [REDACTED] in a future trip to Seattle, Washington. [REDACTED] related that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were to purchase the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and travel from Los Angeles to Seattle on February 22, 1972. They were to take [REDACTED]
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Interviewed on 4/21/72 at Los Angeles, California File # Los Angeles 164-497
SA's [REDACTED] and by [REDACTED] /JET/jah Date dictated 4/27/72
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This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
DB Cooper-24316
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b6 b7C
2 LA 164-497
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and [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Upon arrival in Seattle, they were to travel by cab to a specific motel where additional arrangements for [REDACTED] [REDACTED] would be made. At this time, [REDACTED] pointed to a blue flight bag which he had with him and stated, -"There's [REDACTED] in that bag as [REDACTED]
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[REDACTED] and [REDACTED] In addition, [REDACTED] agreed to furnish [REDACTED] cash to be used towards necessary expenses related to the trip and [REDACTED] On the afternoon of February 22, 1972, after securing the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] they departed Los Angeles for Seattle via Western Airlines arriving in Seattle on the evening of that same day. After de- planing, they received a telephone page from [REDACTED] advising them to take a taxi to the Edgewater Inn where [REDACTED] was already residing.
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After checking into the motel, they determined that [REDACTED] had an adjoining room to theirs. [REDACTED] outlined two plans for the proposed [REDACTED] [REDACTED] His first plan was to [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Because of an inability to [REDACTED] this plan was discarded. As a result, it was decided to use the alternate plan which was to [REDACTED] at a nearby beach area the following day.
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[REDACTED] had dinner together that evening and retired near midnight. In the morning after having breakfast and [REDACTED] came into [REDACTED] [REDACTED] room. He introduced a man known only as [REDACTED] who was to serve as a driver and guide. [REDACTED] described [REDACTED] as a white male approximately [REDACTED] years of age, 5'10", 175 pounds, with dark brown hair, a well-trimmed full beard and wearing average sports clothes. When [REDACTED] was not present, [REDACTED] referred to him as [REDACTED]
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[REDACTED], driving a late-model yellow sedan, further des- cription unknown, drove [REDACTED] to a nearby [REDACTED] Here, [REDACTED] rented a white Ford with red interior and then fol- lowed [REDACTED] back to the motel.
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- 34 - DB Cooper-24317
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b6 b7C
3 LA 164-497
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[REDACTED] was placed in the white Ford b6 and [REDACTED], who acted as driver, departed b7C for a pre-arranged beach site, known only to [REDACTED]. When they departed, [REDACTED] was still at the motel. [REDACTED] proceeded in a northerly direction from the Edgewater Inn via the freeway and traveled approximately 30 minutes to a roadside park on Puget Sound. Upon arrival at this location, the vehicle was parked in a general parking area and [REDACTED] All three men, lead by [REDACTED] to a designated spot on the beach. The path they followed necessitated using an elevated walkway over a series of railroad tracks. [REDACTED] recalls that a park maintenance man was painting a green fence nearby and to the best of his recollection, there were no boats docked in the area such as would be seen in a marina.
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About 10:00 a.m. and approximately 15 minutes after their arrival, [REDACTED] and another individual appeared on the b6 beach. [REDACTED] recalled that [REDACTED] had stationed himself midway b7C between the beach area and parking lot and probably acted as a lookout. When [REDACTED] and the unknown individual approached, he came from the parking lot area but [REDACTED] was unable to de- termine, due to the terrain, how they arrived or if there was a particular car involved.
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Just prior to the arrival of [REDACTED] and the unknown b6 individual, [REDACTED] were instructed by [REDACTED] to b7C [REDACTED] which they had previously purchased [REDACTED] [REDACTED] because of this and the fact that [REDACTED]
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Midway through [REDACTED] the unknown individual b6 [REDACTED] b7C
and the unknown individual [REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
Near the conclusion of [REDACTED] b6 [REDACTED] and the unknown individual [REDACTED] b7C
[REDACTED] the unknown individual and [REDACTED] departed in the same direction that they had arrived.
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DB Cooper-24318
4 LA 164-497
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The unknown individual was described as a white male in his 40's, approximately 5'10", 165 pounds, average build, wearing a dark overcoat, green shirt, dark pants and an oversized beret having alternate white and dark triangular sections. He also wore a pair of dark plastic wraparound sun glasses; [REDACTED] recalled that upon first glance, he noticed the resemblance be- tween this person and the artist's conception of D. B. COOPER which appeared in the local newspapers. [REDACTED] felt it was somewhat doubtful if he could identify this person again unless he was wearing the same clothing. He again emphasized that he had [REDACTED]
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At the conclusion of [REDACTED] to the white Ford and [REDACTED] drove them back to the Edgewater Inn. Upon arrival at the motel they observed [REDACTED] and the unknown individual standing beside [REDACTED] yellow car in the parking lot. The Ford was parked two spaces away and [REDACTED] walked to the yellow car. [REDACTED] and the unknown individual then drove away in the yellow car and that was the last time [REDACTED] had any contact with [REDACTED] or the unknown individual.
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[REDACTED] made arrangements for a return flight to Los Angeles and following a lunch in Seattle, at an unrecalled restaurant, they flew back to California.
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Upon arrival in Los Angeles, [REDACTED] drove in KAPLAN's car to an unrecalled address in Santa Monica where they had previously been instructed to [REDACTED] [REDACTED] He remembers that they took [REDACTED] to a very large house located on [REDACTED] and that the specific address included a series of [REDACTED]
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On April 11, 1972, after repeated attempts to secure payment for this above described assignment, [REDACTED] telephonically contacted [REDACTED] in Los Angeles. He determined that [REDACTED] had taken the [REDACTED] in Los Angeles and a [REDACTED] under the same conditions which allowed only [REDACTED]
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[REDACTED] located on Hollywood Boulevard, telephone number
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- 36 - DB Cooper-24319
5 LA 164-497
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[REDACTED] and the [REDACTED] near the intersection of Highland and Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. He assumed that [REDACTED] continued to [REDACTED] but could furnish no additional information.
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- 37 - DB Cooper-24320
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b6 b7C
Serials: LA 164-497