Portland re press conference on recovery of Cooper ransom money on Columbia River

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PDO004 0432343· FEB 12 3 52 M '80 OO SE LA SD SF SC SU DN LV MP DE PD O 122300Z FEB 80 FM PORTLAND (164-41) P TO SEATTLE (164-81) IMMEDIATE LOS ANGELES IMMEDIATE DENVER IMMEDIATE SAN FRANCISCO IMMEDIATE LAS VEGAS IMMEDIATE SACRAMENTO IMMEDIATE SALT LAKE CITY IMMEDIATE SAN DIEGO IMMEDIATE MINNEAPOLIS IMMEDIATE BT UNCLAS NORJAK; OO:SEATTLE.

FOR INFO RECEIVING OFFICES, AT 3:00 PM, PST, TODAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1980, PRESS CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD IN PORTLAND OFFICE WHICH WILL ANNOUNCE THE FOLLOWING:

ARHTUR G. BARGER, SPCIAL AGENT IN CHARGE OF THE FBI FOR OREGON, HAS ANNOUNCED A DEVELOPMENT IN A CRIME WHICH BEGAN ON THE NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 24, 1971, AT PORTLAND INTER- NATIONAL AIRPORT, PORTLAND, OREGON, AND HAS BECOME WIDELY KNOWN SINCE THAT TIME AS THE D. B. COOPER HIJACKING CASE.

ON THE NIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING, 1971, U MAN WHO GAVE

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164-497-1000 SEARCHED _____ INDEXED _____ SERIALIZED _____ FILED ____ 3 FEB 12 1980 FBI - LOS ANGELES

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DB Cooper-25892

PAGE TWO PD 164-41 UNCLAS THE NAME DAN COOPER BOUGHT A ONE-WAY TICKET ON NORTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT 305 FROM PORTLAND, OREGON, TO SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. UPON DEPARTING PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, COOPER NOTIFIED A STEWARDESS THAT HE WAS HIJACKING THE AIRCRAFT AND DISPLAYED TO HER WHAT HE SAID WAS A BOMB IN HIS BRIEFCASE. THE FLIGHT PROCEEDED TO SEATTLE, WHERE AFTER MAINTAINING A HOLDING PATTERN FOR SEVERAL HOURS, IT WAS PERMITTED TO LAND AND REFUEL. AFTER $200,000 AND FOUR PARACHUTES DEMANDED BY THE HIJACKER WERE BROUGHT ON BOARD, HE RELEASED ALL OF THE PASSENGERS AND ALL BUT FOUR MEMBERS OF THE CREW. THE FLIGHT THEN TOOK OFF AND PROCEEDED SOUTH THROUGH WASHINGTON TOWARD RENO, NEVADA. THE HIJACKER INSTRUCTED THAT THE FLAPS AND GEAR REMAIN LOWERED AND THE REAR STAIR DOOR OPEN. AS THE AIRCRAFT PASSED OVER LACENTER, WASHINGTON, CABIN PRESSURE FLUCTUATION WAS OBSERVED, WHICH WAS LATER DETERMINED TO INDICATE HIS DEPARTURE FROM THE AIRCRAFT THROUGH THE REAR STAIRWELL DOOR. SINCE THAT TIME NO TRACE OF THE HIJACKER, THE PARACHUTES, OR THE MONEY HAS BEEN FOUND UNTIL SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1980.

ON THAT DATE WHILE ON AN OUTING [REDACTED]

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DB Cooper-25893

PAGE THREE PD 164-41 UNCLAS

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[REDACTED] WASHINGTON, DISCOVERED A SUM OF MONEY PARTIALLY BURIED BY SAND IN THE NORTH RIVER BANK OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER, UPPROXIMATELY FIVE MILES DOWN RIVER FROM THE U.S. INTERSTATE 5 BRIDGE CROSSING BETWEEN PORTLAND AND VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON. [REDACTED] THE FBI AND AN EXAMINATION OF THE BADLY DECOMPOSED $20 BILLS REVEALS THAT THEY BEAR SERIAL NUMBERS IDENTICAL TO A PORTION OF THOSE GIVEN TO THE HIJACKER. BECAUSE OF THE DECOMPOSED NATURE OF THE BILLS, AN EXACT ESTIMATE OF THE RECOVERED MONEY IS NOT POSSIBLE PENDING A LABORATORY EXAMINATION, HOWEVER, IT APPEARS TO BE SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS. THE PACKAGING AND THE NUMBERED SEQUENCE INDICATE THAT THE BILLS HAVE NOT BEEN SEPARATED AND ARE IN MUCH THE SAME ORDER AS WHEN GIVEN TO THE HIJACKER. THE BILLS WILL BE SENT IMMEDIATELY TO THE FBI LABORATORY FOR ADDITIONAL EXAMINATION.

IT APPEARS LOGICAL THAT THE PACKAGE OF BILLS COULD HAVE BEEN CARRIED DOWNSTREAM ON ONE OF THE WASHINGTON TRIBUTARIES OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER TO THE SITE WHERE THEY WERE FOUND.

SPECIAL AGENTS OF THE FBI FROM OREGON AND WASHINGTON HAVE SECURED THE AREA AND COMMENCED AN INTENSIVE SEARCH.

BT

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DB Cooper-25894

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