Part 106, page 101

Transcript

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Who was D. B. Cooper?

he identity of legendary skyjacker D. B. Cooper has baffled investigators for decades. But the FBI may finally have enough evidence to solve the mystery that dates back to November 1971, when a passenger on Northwest Airlines Flight 305 from Portland, Ore., to Seattle handed a flight attendant a note. The man claimed to have a bomb in his bag and threatened to detonate it unless he received $200,000 in cash and four parachutes. The FBI turned over the money and parachutes in Seattle, and the plane took off again-this time for Mexico.

At 10,000 feet, the hijacker walked down the rear stairs and parachuted into history.

He used the name "Dan Cooper" but later was mistakenly identified by a reporter as D. B. Cooper, and the name stuck. The FBI now sus- pects he may have been an ex-con named Duane Weber. On March 28, two agents fetched an electric razor, a pair of slippers, gloves, and other items from Weber's widow, Jo Weber, a Florida real estate agent. Their hope: to get DNA to compare with DNA left by the skyjacker on cigarette butts. Duane and Jo Weber were married for 17 years. On his deathbed, in 1995, Weber said he was Dan Coop- er. Jo learned a year later that was the name the hi- jacker had used. She took out a library book on the in- cident; her husband's penciled notes were inside. The FBI described D. B. Cooper as being in his 40s, 6 feet tall, 170 pounds, with black hair. He was a bourbon drinker and a chain smoker. At the time of the hijack- ing, Duane was 47, 6 feet, 1 inch, and weighed around 185 pounds. He had black hair, drank bourbon, and chain-smoked. He'd served time in McNeil Island penitentiary, 20 miles from the Seattle airport.

The FBI won't discuss its probe. But Ralph Him- melsbach, the original lead agent, says Weber re- mains a principal suspect. "One way or another," says Jo Weber, "I am looking for a final resolution to this case." -Douglas Pasternak

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TOP OF THE WEEK

women in areas of conflict are at high risk of sexual vio- lence and physical harm, trafficking and prostitution, emotional trauma, family separation, and abuse in refugee camps. Among the riskiest nations: Congo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Angola, and Burundi. • "For years, the United States has provided food, medical care, and shelter to civilians affected by war," says Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden. "But [it] has not done nearly enough to coordinate efforts to prevent and re- spond to violence against women and children."

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HEALTH

Worried sick

Looks like the Democrats are on to something. A new sur- vey shows Americans' No. 1 personal concern is how they'll pay for healthcare. More than one third (36 per- cent) of people polled by the Kaiser Family Foundation said they're worried about health and insurance costs. How worried? Nearly twice as much as they are about

paying their rent or mort- gage, losing money in the stock market, being attacked by a terrorist, or losing a job. • And what do they think Congress should do about it? Bingo: Provide coverage for 41 million uninsured Ameri- cans. Sound familiar?

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Northern exposure

Canadians breathed a sigh of relief last week when the World Health Organization lifted its week-old advisory against travel to Toronto, the North American city hardest hit by SARS. WHO also lifted its Hanoi travel ban, praising Vietnamese health officials' success in curbing the pneumonia- like disease. But Canada's not out of the woods. Late last week, two more health- care workers became infect- ed, proving again just how hard it is to halt infection in hospitals. And each day, China reported more infec- tions and deaths. • Everyone's hoping SARS is a seasonal ailment, like colds and the flu. A summer lull could help China and other countries shore up defenses for new fall outbreaks.

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CHARGED. Former Enron execs Dan Boyle, Kevin Hannon, Ben Glisan, and Scott Yeager are escorted into the fed- eral courthouse in Houston last week.

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BUSINESS

Conga line

Enron prosecutors think they've found their Bonnie and Clyde. Last week, they expanded the case against Chief Finan- cial Officer Andrew Fastow and leveled new charges against his wife, Lea, who was an assistant treasurer at the bankrupt Hous- ton energy firm. The couple engaged in ille- gal financial schemes and evaded federal taxes, says the indict- ment. Nine other for- mer execs were also charged. • Conspicuously ab- sent from the list:

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DB COOPER-4832

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2 U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, MAY 12, 2003

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STEVE CAMPBELL-HOUSTON CHRONICLE

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FROM TOP: COURTESY JO WEBER; FBI