Private investigator's follow-up report re Seattle and Bremerton investigation of Cooper suspect

Office of [REDACTED] Los Angeles, California [REDACTED]

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[REDACTED]

Westwood, California [REDACTED]

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Re: David B. Cooper

Dear Karl:

I will first start off with a personal resume of the two principals in this matter so that you can get an idea about their background.

[REDACTED] He is [REDACTED] years of age and his date of birth was [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and he is married to a wife of [REDACTED]. At the time of his arrest and also at the time of my visit to Bremerton, he was residing in what is known as the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Bremerton. Tel. No. ES 3-8500. The [REDACTED] is an apartment styled hotel and is in the [REDACTED] of Bremerton and although modest, is very neat and clean.

His driver's license for the State of Washington is [REDACTED] He is described as having blue eyes, 5ft. 10", 160 pounds.

At the time of his arrest he was doing business at [REDACTED] [REDACTED] just outside of Bremerton. He was doing business as [REDACTED]

I learned that he had a prior address of [REDACTED] Silverdale, Washington [REDACTED] Silverdale is just a few miles outside of Bremerton.

I learned that his wife's full name is [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and her date of birth was [REDACTED] and she was born in [REDACTED] She apparently moved back to Washington in 1967 and presently works at the Bangor Ammunition Depot outside of Bremerton.

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DB Cooper-24793

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[REDACTED] Page 2.

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There is a current listing for her in the Bremerton Telephone Directory under the listing of [REDACTED] in [REDACTED] Tel. No. MY 2-2191.

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[REDACTED] and his wife were married on [REDACTED] [REDACTED] in Anchorage, Alaska and they have [REDACTED] children as a result of this marriage. Those children are [REDACTED]

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On a [REDACTED] that [REDACTED] had received on [REDACTED] [REDACTED] he gave a residence address as [REDACTED] Silverdale, Washington. From various sources I have learned that [REDACTED] has had a string of Post Office Box type addresses since living in the Bremerton area.

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I will review the court suits against [REDACTED] [REDACTED] later in this report.

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He is now age [REDACTED] and his date of birth was [REDACTED] He also has another aka. of [REDACTED]. He lives at [REDACTED] near Seabeck and has a telephone number of [REDACTED]. He has a wife [REDACTED].

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He had been one time [REDACTED] in Bremerton for several months in 1970 and had to leave because he was not able to pass the Civil Service examination. He had offices at the time of his arrest at [REDACTED] [REDACTED] infact his offices were directly next door to those of [REDACTED] [REDACTED].

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He was also [REDACTED] at [REDACTED] in Bremerton. He apparently is in partnership with his father at the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] according to sources in Bremerton. His father is [REDACTED] of Seabeck and the [REDACTED] name [REDACTED] [REDACTED] of Bremerton. Apparently the family has been in the area almost [REDACTED]. He is also a [REDACTED] Bremerton.

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DB Cooper-24794

[REDACTED] Page 3.

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He had worked at the Grand Canyon as a [REDACTED]

He had a prior residence address of [REDACTED] in Port Angeles, Washington which is a few miles to the north of Bremerton.

He had also been employed by the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Washington and this was a logging company [REDACTED] [REDACTED] was also involved in that family business, known as [REDACTED] The address in Port Angeles was for about the period of time in 1968 and he somewhat later gave a residence address as [REDACTED] Bremerton.

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On October 3, 1970 he registered to vote and gave apparently the present residence address of [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Seabeck, Washington.

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On [REDACTED] while doing business as [REDACTED] near Port Angeles, Washington. The contents of the [REDACTED] action is contained within a separate report.

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Two different [REDACTED] criminal charges were filed against [REDACTED] in Clallum County, Washington on [REDACTED] One of those charges was dismissed on [REDACTED] and another account or charge was dismissed on [REDACTED] Complete account of those arrests will be enclosed later in the report.

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[REDACTED] was employed [REDACTED] on the Pipe-Line Project at the Grand Canyon by Halverson-Lents Trans Canyon Pipe Line Company.

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FEDERAL COURT FILE I reviewed and obtained photocopies of almost the entire court file entitled United States of America vs. [REDACTED]

This was a complaint for violation of [REDACTED] The Case No. is [REDACTED] [REDACTED] was charged with [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and was arrested on [REDACTED] by the FBI. Bail was set at [REDACTED] and he was on bail as of [REDACTED]

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DB Cooper-24795

[REDACTED] Page 4.

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[REDACTED] was charged with [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and was arrested [REDACTED] by the FBI and bail was set at [REDACTED] and was on bail as of [REDACTED]

I obtained a photocopy of the complaint which was eight pages in length and one exhibit attached to the complaint, which was a copy of the consent to a pre-trial delay showing that [REDACTED] is represented by a [REDACTED]

There is a consent to a pre-trial delay for [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and signed by his [REDACTED]

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I also photocopied an order modifying bail conditions for [REDACTED] where he was allowed to leave the United States of America for a period not exceeding seven days commencing on the [REDACTED], to travel to the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It is noted that the bail surety consented to the above order and they were [REDACTED] the mother and father of [REDACTED] the co-defendant.

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I also obtained a copy of the information which was six pages in length. I also obtained a copy for the Order for Appearance of Bail Bond or Personal Recognizance for [REDACTED] It is interesting to note on this document that his father, [REDACTED] claims to have a net worth of [REDACTED]

There is also a Search Warrant for [REDACTED] offices and also for his home. There is also a return on one of the Search Warrants.

There was also an Affidavit for the Search Warrant which gives additional information.

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As you know, the U. S. Attorney who was originally handling the case, Stan Pitkin was not in town at the time of my visit but I spoke to the U. S. Attorney that is going to carry the case to trial a [REDACTED].

I learned that [REDACTED] was a passenger aboard the skyjacked Northwest Airways plane. He said to the best of his recollection the skyjacker D. B. Cooper was sitting in the last row on the left side in the back of the plane in the Second Class Cabin. He, [REDACTED] was sitting also in the

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DB Cooper-24796

[REDACTED] Page 5.

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Second Class Cabin on the right side in the front seat. He said that he understood that at some time D. B. Cooper came forward and showed something to someone but he said that he didn't think he saw him at any time during the flight. He said that when everyone boarded the plane that it had just started raining quite heavily and that he, [REDACTED] had gotten drenched on his way out to the plane. He said there was not one of the automatic boarding ramps used at this particular boarding and everyone simply had to run from the terminal across the asphalt and to the plane in order to board.

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He said that the flight was uneventful but that normally the flight coming in to Seatac, the combined airport for Seattle and Tacoma, the flight would pass by the airport somewhat and would pass over Seattle and would land in a southerly direction at Seatac. He said that the plane went clearly past Seattle and he simply assumed that the pilot was waiting for clearance to land and was simply killing time. He said that the plane then went somewhat to the west of Seattle and started circling and then later went to the east of Seattle and again was circling. He said that they were suppose to land at about 3:00 P.M. He said that at one time one of the stewardesses walked by and said to another stewardess to keep the curtains open between the Second Class Cabin and the First Class Cabin. [REDACTED] indicated that at the time it didn't mean much to him but he said that he later understood that this was one of the orders that was given by D. B. Cooper, apparently so he could see everyone in both the First and Second Class Cabins.

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At about 3:20 or 3:30 P.M. the pilot said that they would be landing in about 10 minutes.

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At the time [REDACTED] was coincidentally reading a magazine about the starting of Northwest Orient Airlines and one of the early plane crashes that Northwest Orient Airlines had had.

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At one point the pilot said to stay in your seats because of rough flying. He indicated that there was some turbulence. He said that they finally landed at about 6:00 P.M.

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Just after they landed another gentleman came up to sit alongside of [REDACTED] and told him that the Stewardess- had told him to leave his seat which was in the rear of

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DB Cooper-24797

[REDACTED] Page 6.

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the plane. Again [REDACTED] did not thing anything par- ticularly unusual happened. He said that when they landed that the runway lights were dark and that they were on a distant part of the runway. He said that a gas truck came up on the right-hand side of the plane and [REDACTED] jokingly remarked to his new companion sitting alongside that maybe they were going to refuel and go back up. This joke was simply reference to the long time that they were circling from 3:00 P.M. until 6:00 P.M. and still [REDACTED] did not have any inkling that a skyjacking was taking place. He said that they were finally told to deplane and told to stand nearby the plane. They were then asked to move 30 or 40 feet away and were then asked to move about 100 feet away from the plane. He said that they may have been asked one or two more times to move a 100 feet in addition or additional increments of 100 feet. He said that about the second or third place that they moved to after departing from the plane an automobile with a lone driver who said he was the chief pilot stopped near their grouping. This driver opened the trunk and [REDACTED] saw parachutes and bags which appeared to be money bags or appeared to contain money. He said that he and everyone else then realized that they were in the midst of a skyjacking. At that time someone in their group said that it must have been the guy in the rear seat. To the best of his recollection he said one of the stewardesses walked back and forth picking up the parachutes and the money and he thinks that the lone automobile driver who undoubtedly was an FBI agent but claimed to be the chief pilot, perhaps accompanied her to the plane but did not at any time board the plane. Later the man claiming to be the chief pilot came back to the group and the stewardess got on. At that time the man claiming to be the chief pilot said something to the effect, "I'm out of it but that girl has got to get back on that plane with that mad man".

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[REDACTED] said that he had read the article in the Seattle Flag and said that he had three following comments to make. He said that the Flag article has the money coming on board before the passengers are released and he also believes that the Flag article had the wrong seat for Cooper.

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DB Cooper-24798

[REDACTED] Page 7.

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Another point is that there was a very obnoxious drunk on the plane and that anyone that had been on the flight would probably have mentioned this point.

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At the time of my conversation with [REDACTED] he asked me who [REDACTED] was and I said that I did not know. [REDACTED] was very cooperative and said that he would answer questions concerning the case but that at that time he did not have the file in front of him as Pitkin had taken it with him to a conference.

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[REDACTED] also asked for any information I might develop about the financial standing of either [REDACTED] He said that it could be shown that either one of the men needed money at the time of the [REDACTED] that this would add more credence to the government's case. I indicated that I would forward any information to him that I developed and with your premission, I will be writing a letter to him after you have had time to peruse this report and give your permission for me writing such a letter.

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In reading through [REDACTED] version of the skyjacking and the transcript of the account given by [REDACTED] they both agree that D. B. Cooper took a seat to the rear of the plane and in a left-hand seat. [REDACTED] claims that the pilot had given mechanical trouble as the reason for not landing. [REDACTED] did not give reason for the delay in his account and when I'm in touch with him I will question him on this point.

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[REDACTED] claims that the employee from the airline bringing money and parachutes came out in one of those little buses that they use at the airports. [REDACTED] account has the airline representative coming out in an automobile. It is really not enough description by either [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] for this particular time span to develop glaring inconsistencies or exact collaboration of stories.

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As you will recall, the trial was set for [REDACTED] [REDACTED] in Seattle.

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DB Cooper-24799

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VARIOUS COURTS SUITS In checking the Superior Court Civil records in Kitsap County, which covers the general area of Port Orchard, Bremerton, Silverdale, Seabeck, etc. The County Seat is in Port Orchard. I located a Superior Court action [REDACTED] This was a [REDACTED] action which was filed on [REDACTED] The Superior Court Case No. was [REDACTED] The suite disclosed that they were married in Anchorage, Alaska on [REDACTED] Also it indicates that the Plaintiff has been in Washington for more than one year and resides in Kitsap County. There were [REDACTED] [REDACTED] There was also community property, apparently real property in an area known as [REDACTED] There were also household goods in storage in Seattle and a [REDACTED] and a [REDACTED] Also listed that there were separate checking accounts and also listed as community property was the [REDACTED] as well as the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] I have learned from other sources that [REDACTED] had been a [REDACTED] [REDACTED] probably before coming to the Bremerton, Washington area. The suit says that they were separated on July 13, 1969 and that the Plaintiff's [REDACTED] [REDACTED] of Bremerton, Washington. The suit alleged that the Defendant had been [REDACTED] [REDACTED] There was [REDACTED]

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It was also learned from the complaint that the Plaintiff had [REDACTED] from a prior marriage and that she worked at that time at the Bangor Ammunition Depot.

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The Defendant was served at the Arista Restaurant on Wheaton Way by a [REDACTED] who lived at [REDACTED] [REDACTED] in Bremerton and had a telephone number of ES 7-6139. I later talked with [REDACTED] and learned a considerable amount of information from him. I will cover that later in the report.

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Another address for the Defendant that was given on October 16, 1969 was [REDACTED] in Silverdale.

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DB Cooper-24800

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This [REDACTED] action was finally terminated on [REDACTED] [REDACTED] by the Plaintiff filing a Motion saying that they were reconciled and the [REDACTED] action was dismissed that same date. Interestingly enough [REDACTED] again filed suit on [REDACTED] and this Suit No. was [REDACTED] This time community property was listed as a Plat, apparently a lot, an area known as [REDACTED] in Kitsap County. They now had community property of a leased [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Evidently [REDACTED] could not make up her mind because on [REDACTED] [REDACTED] she filed another Motion indicating a reconciliation and this suit was dismissed that same date.

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Almost getting repetitious [REDACTED] again filed a [REDACTED] action on [REDACTED] The Superior Court File No. is [REDACTED] In all of these [REDACTED] actions she always alleged [REDACTED] This time the Defendant finally answered one of the [REDACTED] complaints and was represented by a [REDACTED] who I believe is repre- senting the Defendant at this time. Again, [REDACTED] served [REDACTED] and served him on [REDACTED] at an address or street known as [REDACTED] in Bremerton.

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At this time the suit was dismissed for lack of prosecution within one year and the suit was dismissed on [REDACTED] just a few days before I looked at the [REDACTED] action.

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I then located the Superior Court Action in which [REDACTED] [REDACTED] was the Plaintiff and the Defendant was a [REDACTED] and this action was filed on [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and the Superior Court No. was [REDACTED] The suit alleged that [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Plaintiff's [REDACTED] in his action was [REDACTED] in Bremerton. Eventually the Defendant had his wages garnisheed at the Olympic Restaurant in Bremerton and that address was 515 Sixth Street in Bremerton. I later found that [REDACTED] was presently working at a business called Motor Parts Service in Bremerton on Fifth Street and when I inquired at that business for further information about [REDACTED] I found that [REDACTED] was on vacation that week.

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DB Cooper-24801

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Another Superior Court Action, again in Kitsap County, was entitled [REDACTED] vs. [REDACTED] Superior Court Case No. [REDACTED] This was a dispute over real property and it appears from a cursory reading of the suit that the [REDACTED] were foreclosing against the [REDACTED] A photocopy was obtained of the judgment because of extremely long legal description of the property.

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Again in Kitsap County a Municipal Court Action was found entitled The City of Bremerton vs. [REDACTED] and the Case No. was [REDACTED] had been involved in a accident on March 13, 1970 in Bremerton and had been charged with [REDACTED] He appealed the action but it was not successful and he was finally [REDACTED] because of this matter. A photo- copy of the dockett along with the [REDACTED] that he received from the [REDACTED] is enclosed with this report.

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There was another action entitled The City of Bremerton vs. [REDACTED] and this was Case No. [REDACTED] and this also arose out [REDACTED] and this time he was charged with of the [REDACTED] A copy of the dockett is again enclosed along with a photocopy of the [REDACTED] He was issued this [REDACTED] on April 15, 1970 and gave a residence address of [REDACTED] Silverdale, Washington.

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While in Port Orchard, the County Seat for Kitsap County, I also checked the Register of Voters Record and found a registration for [REDACTED] who indicated that she was a [REDACTED] on October 3, 1970 when she registered and this time she gave a [REDACTED] in Silverdale, still another address for the [REDACTED] She gave a date of birth of [REDACTED] Washington and said that she had been a resident for three years in the State and three years in the County. Probably means that the [REDACTED] moved to Washington in 1967.

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I did not find a registration in the Register of Voters for [REDACTED] but I did find one for [REDACTED] who registered on October 3, 1970, again the same date as [REDACTED] He gave his address as [REDACTED]

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DB Cooper-24802

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[REDACTED] in Seabeck and indicated at that time that he was a [REDACTED] for Bremerton. He indicated that he was born on [REDACTED] in Bremerton and said that he had resided in the State for 29 years, 4 months and 18 days. He also said that he resided in the County for 29 years, 6 months and 12 days and had been in the voting precinct for the last four years. He said that he had never been convicted of a criminal charge.

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Also in checking public records in Port Orchard it was noted that there was a [REDACTED] filed against [REDACTED] File No. [REDACTED] and this was filed on [REDACTED]

There were also a number of [REDACTED] The earliest of which occurred on December 12, 1967 and they probably all are related to the [REDACTED] that [REDACTED] was involved in.

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I note that the [REDACTED] for the [REDACTED] charge on [REDACTED] was a [REDACTED] and he is located on the first floor of the Courthouse in Bremerton. He was very cooperative in opening up his records and I learned that the [REDACTED] for the appeal on the [REDACTED] was a [REDACTED]

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THE CREDIT BUREAU OF BREMERTON - 920 Park, Bremerton After considerable discussion with various employees at the Credit Bureau of Bremerton I was finally able to learn that the suit by a bank against [REDACTED] [REDACTED] was supposed to have taken place by the Kitsap County Bank out of the Port Orchard Branch. I spoke to a [REDACTED] at that branch and learned that their [REDACTED] was supposed to have filed the Superior Court Action on [REDACTED] but he was not certain if their [REDACTED] had actually filed the suit. At the time [REDACTED] had a checking account at the Seattle First National Bank in Bremerton and the Kitsap County Bank in Port Orchard was handling a collection on a [REDACTED] had given a check and he wrote the check on the National Bank of Commerce in Bremerton. It was for [REDACTED] and the bank was never able to collect on the check. It first came back

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DB Cooper-24803

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marked insufficient funds and later when the bank tried to run the check through again the account was closed. The check was written for the purchase of real property from their customer [REDACTED] who had a [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Rochester, Washington, [REDACTED] They gave me a telephone number of [REDACTED] but when I called that number it was disconnected. The property was located on [REDACTED] and apparently was a house.

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[REDACTED] was to become quite upset when we later spoke in the restaurant and bar about this particular check incident until I actually confronted him with all of the details and then he backed down.

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It should be mentioned that while checking the court records in Port Orchard that the Municipal Court and Superior Court Civil actions against the various members of the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] I did not find any criminal actions in Port Orchard against [REDACTED]

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DB Cooper-24804

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THE SEATTLE FLAG NEWSPAPER, 1415 Dexter North, Seattle, Washington, Tel. No. AT-42245 I visited the offices of The Seattle Flag and obtained two copies of their article concerning D. B. Cooper. I did not discuss the article with any of the staff members or reporters but I did learn that it was their hottest selling issue yet.

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GENERAL INVESTIGATION IN SEATTLE In addition to checking court records in Civil Bankruptcy and Criminal Courts or the Federal Courts for both [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] I also checked criminal and civil records in Seattle for the county surrounding the Seattle area. These inquiries met with negative results.

I also attempted getting information from the Boeing Employ- ment Office in Seattle but they indicated that their records on current and former employees are confidential.

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GENERAL INVESTIGATION IN BREMERTON I contacted [REDACTED] who was the [REDACTED] who served [REDACTED] a number of times. [REDACTED] has a business address which is a [REDACTED] [REDACTED] in Bremerton and this is the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Tel. No. is ES 3-5838 or ES 3-5839. His residence address is [REDACTED] in Bremerton and his telephone number is ES 7-6139. I first contacted [REDACTED] by telephone and simply indicated that I was doing some [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and that I could tell from court records that he had [REDACTED] him a number of times. I attempted to gain further information about [REDACTED] and learned that he had lived at a variety of addresses and most of the time [REDACTED] simply gave a post office box number. [REDACTED] said that he had [REDACTED] him on a number of other occasions other than the court suits that I had mentioned; almost all of which involved [REDACTED] [REDACTED] I later called [REDACTED] again and arranged for an appointment and by the time I met with [REDACTED] later that evening he confronted me and told me that I was not a [REDACTED] or person doing a [REDACTED] but in fact that I was a [REDACTED] from Los Angeles and that I was representing you, [REDACTED] By this time I had checked almost all of the courts in the Bremerton and Port Orchard area and [REDACTED] on the [REDACTED] I did on certain occasions identify

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DB Cooper-24805

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myself as a [REDACTED] and in one instance showed my identification indicating that I was from Los Angeles. At no time however did I indicate I was representing you, but I presume that [REDACTED] simply made this as an educated guess.

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I learned that [REDACTED] had once [REDACTED] on a street known as [REDACTED] just outside of Silverdale and that he was living there with another [REDACTED]. He claimed that [REDACTED] does not have a permanent address since he has been separated from his wife. He also indicated that he had [REDACTED] on either the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] in Bremerton. He described [REDACTED] as being a [REDACTED]

[REDACTED] He said that [REDACTED] and his father, [REDACTED] [REDACTED] in Bremerton which is diagonally across the street from the [REDACTED] lived at the time of his arrest and where [REDACTED] was living at the time of my visit to the Bremerton area.

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He also said that he had understood that [REDACTED] had been in Alaska prior to coming to the Bremerton, Washington area and had been involved in [REDACTED] [REDACTED] in Alaska. He said that the use of the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and the father and son [REDACTED] combination, got so bad that the management of the [REDACTED] had to take out the dial phone from the end of the bar because [REDACTED] was always using it as his own phone. He said that they finally put in a phone without a dial so that phone calls could be received at that phone but no calls could be originated from that phone. He said that [REDACTED] went on the wagon about one year ago and has not had a drink since. At the time that I met [REDACTED] he said that he received information that [REDACTED] had just returned to town from Portland that afternoon and was going to leave right away for Portland again.

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I met with [REDACTED] in the late evening hours of Tuesday, July 25, 1972. Between my call to [REDACTED] to make the appointment and the time that I actually saw him, I placed a call to [REDACTED] residence which is in or on

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DB Cooper-24806

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[REDACTED] and her telephone number was MY 2-2191. I placed the call at 7:00 P.M. that evening and reached [REDACTED] and spoke with her briefly. I said that I understood that she was separated from her husband and she said that was the case but that she did not feel that she should discuss her husband or the case in any way. She asked if I would call back in about an hour which would have been 8:00 P.M. and I indicated that I would do so. At 8:45 P.M. I again called [REDACTED] residence and [REDACTED] answered the tele- phone. I am quite certain that it was the same voice that I had heard on the [REDACTED] that you provided me. I indicated that I was wanting to contact his wife and that I understood that they were separated and he became some- what upset that I would make a direct contact with his wife. He indicated that they were not-separated and at that point I simply stated that it would probably be in- appropriate to discuss the matter in any further detail insofar as his trial was coming up in the fall and we both agreed that this was probably the better course to follow.

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I later spoke in person with both [REDACTED] at about 5:30 P.M. on July 27, 1972 at the Melody Lane Cocktail Lounge.

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[REDACTED] offered up the possibility or stated that we should not rule out the possibility that [REDACTED] in fact had done the skyjacking. He stated this hypothesis on the following facts, that [REDACTED] currently was on the wagon and therefore capable of committing the act. He was also separated from his wife and had no permanent address and was paying child support. He was also being [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and therefore needed the money. He also indi- cated that [REDACTED] was gone from Bremerton for about two weeks during the time of the skyjacking. He said that people in the Melody Lane Cocktail Lounge and in other cocktail lounges in the city, started putting two and two together after [REDACTED] were arrested because [REDACTED] had been out of town for two weeks and had been somewhat mysterious about his whereabouts during that period of time when he returned to town. This is the hypothesis that was conceived of in and around the bar stools of the Melody

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DB Cooper-24807

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Lane Cocktail Lounge and other cocktail lounges within Bremerton. He also stated that [REDACTED] was extremely intelligent and that he was quite capable of figuring out all the nuances and actually executing such a skyjacking. [REDACTED] said that he in fact had discussed the matter with the resident FBI agent and that the resident FBI agent did not consider it entirely unprobable. [REDACTED] had been on the Bremerton Police Department as well as being on the [REDACTED] at the ship yards in Bremerton and therefore claims to know most of the police officers in the area as well as the FBI agents. [REDACTED] also pointed out a rather interesting coincidence. He said that not only is there a [REDACTED] in the telephone directory in Seattle as the news media has amply pointed out, but there is also a [REDACTED] with the Sheriff Department in the Bremerton area. His name is actually [REDACTED] He did not know [REDACTED] address but he said he did live in the telephone prefix area of MY 2. Apparently [REDACTED] has been the brunt of a number of jokes and has taken a lot of ribbing and kidding since the skyjacking.

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[REDACTED] also points out that some people said that [REDACTED] was either in Reno or possibly Anchorage during the two weeks to one month, that he was gone during the time right around the skyjacking. He claimed [REDACTED] did not tell any- body about the Reno or Anchorage location after he returned but must have mentioned it before he left. [REDACTED] also stated that he thought [REDACTED] had been in the armed services but was not sure at this point.

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[REDACTED] says that he has met both [REDACTED] and said [REDACTED] is not too bright but that [REDACTED] is quite an engaging, intelligent, crafty individual. He said that he has had business dealings with both men apparently involving around [REDACTED].

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At the present time [REDACTED] indicates that he is a [REDACTED] in the Sheriff Department in the area which probably compares with our [REDACTED] status in Los Angeles County. [REDACTED] did show me a badge and I pre- sume that he was telling me the truth when he said that he is a [REDACTED] for that County which is Kitsap County.

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DB Cooper-24808

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County.

[REDACTED] indicated that he would be willing to do [REDACTED] [REDACTED] on the case in the Bremerton area at a rate of [REDACTED] That if we had anything for him to do on the case, that I would write a letter outlining the request and [REDACTED]

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INTERVIEW WITH [REDACTED] On July 27, 1972 at 5:30 P.M. I was eating dinner in the bar area of the Melody Lane Cocktail Lounge and Restaurant. Two men came in matching the general description of [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and a man walked over to me identifying himself as [REDACTED] and introduced himself. He invited me to bring my dinner into the restaurant portion of the Melody Lane Cocktail Lounge. [REDACTED] was slim, balding and was wearing a flowered sport shirt. He had a

[REDACTED] was wearing a white shirt with tie and no jacket. He was taller than [REDACTED] somewhat and was wearing a full beard that was short. He said that they understood that I was looking for them all over town and I said that I was simply asking questions. They indicated that they had enough publicity about the matter already and that my asking questions around town was ruining their reputations. I then reminded [REDACTED] that in fact he had gone to the Bremerton Sun after he had spoken with you. [REDACTED] was somewhat flustered by that comment and then turned toward [REDACTED] and said that [REDACTED] was certainly not looking for any publicity. [REDACTED] put on a great show of appearing hurt and having his ego damaged. They were quite upset about my asking questions about them around town and they said that [REDACTED] [REDACTED] said that he would see what he could do about stopping me from [REDACTED] and he said that he would do this by asking his attorney what could be done. It should be noted that [REDACTED] was served coffee at the bar and that the waitress who is known as [REDACTED] said to [REDACTED] when he came in I'll get you your coffee. [REDACTED] was served a drink. I asked both [REDACTED] about what happened and I was simply trying to find out what had happened in regards to the whole affair. They indicated that they had expected to hear from you since May 2, 1972 and I believe that this is the date that they were both arrested. He said that if you were being watched or felt that you were

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being watched, he felt that you could have certainly sent someone else in your place to speak with them. I told them that we had contemplated this move but figured that it would not pay off insofar as they were both charged with criminal counts and would not discuss anything with us. They did state, however, that if I would have simply contacted them. when I arrived in town that they would have told me every- thing if I simply would have contacted them first. I then pointed out to [REDACTED] that there were many inconsistencies in [REDACTED] that he had given to you. He said that you had gotten [REDACTED] and I said that I could prove that his background did not match the [REDACTED] comment was, "so what".

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[REDACTED] then suggested that I should read the July issue of "Moneysworth Magazine" written by Ginsberg. He said there was an article in there about honesty and then went on relating something to the fact that every time a police- man makes an arrest we all feel more honest. He evidently was trying to make some sort of philosophical comment about honesty and lying but I'm sure that [REDACTED] could take his own advice.

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[REDACTED] said that his reputation was at stake and that his family had been in the area for [REDACTED]

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They also said that I was going around town saying things. [REDACTED] claimed that I said that I was [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and I said that was not the case. I said that I had stated that I was [REDACTED] and that I had made inquiries about [REDACTED] in the [REDACTED] [REDACTED] I also told [REDACTED] that I had gotten all of my information from the man at the bank who [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and who [REDACTED] At that point [REDACTED] asked, [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] said, "Oh, you know that [REDACTED] asked if I knew that the case was being litigated, I said yes, that I understood that it was suppose to be in liti- gation at the present time.

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They said that they had numerous reports on where I had been and what I had been doing. They said they knew that I was talking with the [REDACTED] that I had been

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at the Court House and in fact they knew that I was standing waiting for a cab that afternoon.

They asked me where I was staying and I gave them the name of the motel and phone number in Seattle.

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[REDACTED] said that the FBI in Bremerton knows both of them by first-name basis. [REDACTED] also complained that the FBI took his sunglasses and dug up his backyard. [REDACTED] said that he had been getting extortion notes and threats and threatening phone calls to kill him.

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On a couple of occasions [REDACTED] told [REDACTED] to keep quiet. [REDACTED] asked if I was principally doing a dossier on him and I said that I was doing one on both of them but the emphasis was certainly on him. I believe that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were tipped off to my presence which had been principally my plan; by a cocktail waitress by the name of [REDACTED]. Her first name was [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] is simply a nickname. She claims to be a [REDACTED].

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The dinner waitress who served us in the restaurant portion of the cocktail lounge was a [REDACTED] and she was the [REDACTED] left at about 6:00 P.M. after they said there was really nothing further to talk about and that I was simply trying to get information on them and I would probably hold everything against them.

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ARREST RECORDS ON [REDACTED] IN CLALLUM COUNTY I called officials in the County Seat of Port Angeles in Clallum County, which is just north of Bremerton. I previously had found a receipt for bail for [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and this receipt was dated [REDACTED]. The receipt was for bail in Clallum County. I checked with officials there and found that [REDACTED] had charges filed against him on [REDACTED] for two separate counts. One of those counts was [REDACTED] and the other was [REDACTED]. The first count [REDACTED] was dismissed on [REDACTED] and the second count was dismissed on [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] These charges were for [REDACTED] and the second count was for [REDACTED] and the date of this offense was given as [REDACTED]. The allegation stated that he had [REDACTED] and that [REDACTED] The first count charged that

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[REDACTED] had represented himself as [REDACTED] [REDACTED] to a Howard Equipment Center. Apparently the allegations said that he was trying to obtain financial gain by representing himself as a [REDACTED] I believe that his father, [REDACTED] actually had been a [REDACTED] This was said to have taken place on September 15, 1966 and he allegedly had made these representations to obtain machinery.

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The bail receipt that I previously mentioned was Receipt No. [REDACTED] and was dated [REDACTED] and was received from [REDACTED] This amount was [REDACTED] listed as bail for [REDACTED] from the Sequin Police Department. Sequin is in Clallum County. The [REDACTED] listed on the receipt was a [REDACTED] [REDACTED] in Sequin Washington and her telephone number was [REDACTED] I found this bill receipt in the [REDACTED] file for [REDACTED]

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COMMENTS: I should also point out that I noted in the current criminal file on the [REDACTED] that the judge made notes for [REDACTED] that he had lived in Kitsap County his whole life and his father and mother also lived in that county. The judge also made notes that his wife and children were living in Bremerton and that his children were ages [REDACTED] [REDACTED] also claimed to have business interest in three cor- porations and have [REDACTED] in his own home. He also claim to have [REDACTED] and another [REDACTED] in the area. His parents and his wife signed for the [REDACTED] own recognizance bond.

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I am also enclosing maps as well as two newspaper articles I obtained while in the Bremerton and Seattle area.

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It is respectfully suggested that I write to the present U. S. Attorney handling the case relaying the financial information that I have received on [REDACTED] He had requested this information if I was able to obtain any financial information on either one of the parties.

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I also suggest calling the U. S. Attorney and gaining further information about the case including the reports about the altered serial numbers as well as obtaining arrest histories for both of the parties and prior background information especially on [REDACTED] I will be discussing this case in further detail with you in person.

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Respectfully submitted,

[REDACTED]

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