Interview at Fresno Dodge re man encountered at church camp, SC 164-50
This copy: Part 72 pp. 205–209Also filed at Part 38 pp. 407–411 (primary)
This copy’s own title
Interview at Fresno Dodge re frightened man with cash encountered at church camp
Interviewed 29 November 1976Transcribed 30 November 1976
Another copy of this document is the primary, most legible copy: Part 38 pp. 407–411.
Copies may differ in what was redacted.
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Id: Cooper-Part-72:205-209
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-72:205-209 Document: FD-302 interview at Fresno Dodge re frightened man with cash encountered at church camp Id: Cooper-Part-72:205-209 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-72%3A205-209 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 72 pp. 205–209 (DB Cooper-31082–31086), FD-302 interview, interviewed 29 Nov 1976, serial 164-61-7552 (as read from the transcript) — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-72%3A205-209
FD-302 (REV. 11-27-70)
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date of transcription 11/30/76
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[REDACTED] was interviewed at his place of employment, the Fresno Dodge agency body shop, Fresno, California, by Special Agents [REDACTED] [REDACTED] identified himself with California Driver's License [REDACTED]. He is described as a white male, [REDACTED], 6', 190 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, residence address, [REDACTED] [REDACTED], California, telephone number [REDACTED].
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[REDACTED] advised that for the Thanksgiving holidays in 1971, [REDACTED], traveled from the Seattle area to a Methodist Church Camp, which is known as the Lazy F Ranch, and is located on the Menashtach (phonetic) Creek, 15 miles southest of Ellensburg, Washington. He stated that [REDACTED] stayed there several days during Thanksgiving in a large building known as the Trading Post, and the only other person in the area was [REDACTED].
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[REDACTED] advised that on Wednesday afternoon, Thanks- giving eve, 1971, he and two of his friends drove up the creek canyon road into the mountains as far as they could drive. They then walked until they were about eight miles from the church camp. They had gone into this area to hunt grouse, and during the trip they saw nothing to indicate any human presence whatsoever. He recalls they passed some mountain summer cabins, approximately one and one-half miles from the camp, which were boarded and closed.
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[REDACTED] stated that about 1:00 p.m. it began to snow, and by 9:30 p.m. that evening there was eight inches of fresh snow on the ground. At about 11:30 p.m., the group was preparing for bed, and one of his friends, [REDACTED], went out to shovel snow from the porch. He returned a moment later and announced there was a man outside the camp yelling for help. [REDACTED] stated that all of the men went out and encountered this individual at the perimeter of the camp, who was carrying a gallon wine bottle, which only appeared to have two inches of wine remaining. The
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Interviewed on 11/29/76 Fresno, California File # SC 164-50-[REDACTED] SA's [REDACTED] 11/30/76 by [REDACTED] Date dictated
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-31082
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b6 b7C SubQ 164-61-7552
SC 164-50
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man appeared to be very frightened and was very reluctant to come into the camp and particularly, into the building. He ran from them at least twice and had to be coaxed back. Finally, they were able to talk to the man and he immediately requested that he be taken to the main highway. [REDACTED] stated that he asked the man where he had come from, and what he was doing, and the man said that he had been hunting up in the canyon and that he had been staying in one of the summer cabins.
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[REDACTED] stated the man indicated he was hunting elk, and that this immediately arose his suspicions, as elk season had been over for two weeks. They asked where his hunting equipment was, and the man claimed that he had fallen in the creek and lost all his gear. However, he was unable to explain his dry clothing. Further, he never explained how he arrived in the area and there was no car visible around the camp, or on the road to the camp.
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[REDACTED] stated that he is very familiar with this area, having hunted elk and camped at the church camp numerous times, and stated that without driving a vehicle down the church camp road, a 35-mile hike would be involved to arrive at this location. [REDACTED] stated that further observation indicated to him that while the man appeared to be acting intoxicated, he was in reality quite sober, and appeared to be very frightened and very cold. He recalled that the temperature at that time was about 22 degrees.
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He described the individual as a white male, 28 to 35 years, 5'10", 185-195 pounds, muscular-solid build, light brown hair, slightly curly, slender face, reddish complexion, clean shaven, did not appear to be dirty or unkempt, as if he had been camping. The man was wearing a short-sleeved wool Pendleton shirt, brown, gold and green in color, and underneath it he was wearing a grey flannel sweat shirt. He was wearing Levi's and [REDACTED] could not recall his shoes.
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DB Cooper-31083
SC 164-50
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The man continued to insist upon being trans- ported to the highway and offered to pay any amount of money for transporation. When the men declined, he started walking down the road. At this point, the men restrained him and offered to discuss the situation further. They then woke up [REDACTED], at which time they asked the man for identification. [REDACTED] stated that when he asked the man if he had a wallet, he, [REDACTED], patted the man's shirt pocket and felt something. The man stated he had no wallet, and [REDACTED] withdrew a bottle of pills from the shirt pocket. The man indicated that the pills were a prescription.
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[REDACTED] stated he recalls the pill bottle bore a label from the University Village Pay and Save Store. He stated he could recall the label because he once sold Breck Hair Products and called on the same store, which he knows to be located in the University District near the football stadium in Seattle. He stated further, that he could recall something of the prescription number, the first three digits of which he believes were [REDACTED], and possibly ending with [REDACTED]. He stated he further recalls the doctor's name was a [REDACTED], or something similar. He stated he does not think the man's name was on the label or at least he has no recollection of it. He stated the man may have told them a name, but he could not recall that either.
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During this time the man continued to request to be taken to the highway and again offered to pay, at which time he produced a large roll of $20.00 bills, which also included some $100.00 bills, [REDACTED] believes. Payment was declined by [REDACTED] and three of the individuals then agreed to take the man to Ellensburg. He stated they left at about 1:30 a.m., and arrived in Ellensburg at about 3:00 a.m. The man again offered to pay them, which they declined, but agreed to let him buy them breakfast at a 24-hour cafe, located next to the Holiday Inn in Ellensburg. After ordering, the man excused himself to go to the restroom and when he did not return, the men went to the door and
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DB Cooper-31084
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b6 b7C
SC 164-50
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saw the man running west on Highway 10 towards Seattle.
[REDACTED] advised that he also recalled the man saying something about living in Seattle in the University District, possibly on Third Street near the east end of the Aurora Bridge.
[REDACTED] stated that the men returned to the .camp and the next morning he and possibly two of his friends, were suspicious of the man's story and followed his foot tracks back up the canyon to the summer cabins, where they found on of them had been burglarized, obviously by the same man. [REDACTED] speculated that that was possibly where the jug of wine was obtained. He stated that he followed the man's tracks approximately another mile up the canyon to a point where they went up a steep hillside.
[REDACTED] stated that at no time did he ever see any vehicle or vehicle tracks that could have been connected with this individual.
[REDACTED] stated that later that afternoon, [REDACTED] went out to the car radio to listen to the Oklahoma-Nebraska football game, and heard about the hijacking. He stated they briefly joked about whether the man they saw the previous night could have been the hijacker, but did not give it any serious consideration. He stated that he was further dissuaded from believing there was any connection after seeing the composite photograph of the hijacker and the flight path of the aircraft, which were published in the newspapers, as they did not fit this incident. He also later heard that several people knew the identity of COOPER, so he believed the case was solved. He then learned that these people were prosecuted for furnishing false information and did not want to get involved in a similar situation.
[REDACTED] stated however, that the composite photo- graph he saw during the Thanksgiving holidays, 1976, on television does appear to be similar to his recollection of this man.
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DB Cooper-31085
SC 164-50
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[REDACTED] furnished the identities of the following people, who were present with him at the camp:
[REDACTED] Sunnyvale, California Telephone [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] Richland, Washington
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED] General Telephone Company employee Bothell, Washington
[REDACTED] Bothell, Washington
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[REDACTED] stated that neither he, or to his knowledge, any of his friends, have ever reported this incident to any law enforcement authorities. He stated that he does not believe the burglary of the summer cabin was ever reported.
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[REDACTED] stated that he would be completely willing to assist in any way possible, including returning to the area or submitting to hypnosis to assist in this investigation, and regrets his delay in reporting this matter.
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DB Cooper-31086
Serials: 164-61-7552, SC 164-50