Part 9, page 78

Transcript

The scan is the source; the transcript is machine-generated from it.

FD-350 (Rev. 11-11-75)

(Mount Clipping in Space Below)

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

Date: Edition: Author: Editor: Title:

Character: or Classification: Submitting Office: □ Being Investigated

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Loggers who work in the area agree that coyotes or wild dogs would make quick work of a body. After five years, they say you might find a scrap of bone or two, if that. Nevertheless, for a while Cooper was a folk hero of sorts: He was macho. He was daring. He didn't hurt anybody, but he ripped off a big corporation. And he beat the fuzz... There were Cooper T-shirts and Cooper bumper stickers. There were songs about Cooper. Two men were arrested for trying to bilk Newsweek magazine of $30,000 for an interview with "Cooper." And there were imitators. Around the world, there were more than a dozen skyjacking attempts patterned after Cooper's. Cooper is the only one not known to have failed. With increased airport security and modification of the Boeing 727 so the rear door wouldn't open in flight, the fad stopped.

The flow of clues, hints, and tips from the public about Dan Cooper has slowed to a trickle now. After checking out more than 1,000 suspects, the FBI says it knows little more about Cooper than it did on that stormy night when he leapt into history. What kind of a man would do what Cooper did? An ex-convict with no ties to people outside prison? A drifter who wouldn't be missed if he dropped from sight? A man with ties to family or friends who says, "I'm going to Libya to drill for oil, I won't write but you'll hear from me eventually?" An expatriate? A nut? All every possible, says Himmelsbach. "Our society is so open, with its rights to come and go. It's so uncontrolled that it is possible for somebody to leave or drop out and nobody would think anything about it."

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For a time it appeared a light plane may have been waiting for Cooper and whisked him from the drop zone that night. This assumes Cooper knew where he was jumping, an idea the FBI rules out.

A small plane did leave the area that night, but the pilot has been cleared.

A theory that the crew was part of the plot also has been scrapped. Himmelsbach said the whole thing probably was put together with minimal planning and that the bomb was a bundle of relatively harmless highway flares. The bomb was red. Dynamite, isn't it...If the crew members had realized that, they might have called his bluff at the time, Himmelsbach said: "He's lucky he got as far as he did with a plan like that."

Cooper's face, drawn by artists, is not a memorable one: It could be your neighbor or a fellow bus rider. "I'm sure a few dingalings will come along after the five years are up and say, 'Hey! I did it,'" Himmelsbach chuckled.

But even if the statute holds up, Cooper will have problems. The Internal Revenue Service computes his tax debt, including penalties and interest, at about $198,000. And the Globe Indemnity Co., which had to pay $180,000 to the airline, may want to talk to him. So now, what? "We have to accept the possibility that we may never know," Himmelsbach said. "I guess we can live with that if we have to."

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DB Cooper-780