Part 47, page 132

Transcript

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

Pursuit of D.B. Cooper leads — maybe — to class reunion By DOUGLAS K. HABERLAND Regional Editor

CELINA, Ohio — An innocent prank took a bizarre twist last month when the Celina Senior High School Class of 1968 gathered for its 15-year reunion.

Kip Wright, local probation officer and court bailiff and a co-chairman of the reunion, started the whole thing in October 1982, with an advertisement in the local newspaper to locate missing classmates. In addition to the real Class of '68, Wright added the name D.B. Cooper, just for fun.

D.B. Cooper was not a member of the Class of '68. Cooper, whose first name of Dan was reported erroneously as D.B., allegedly hijacked a Boeing 727 bound from Portland, Ore., to Seattle on Thanksgiving Eve, 1971. He said he had a bomb in a briefcase and demanded $200,000 and three parachutes when the plane reached Seattle.

His demands were met, and he ordered the jet flown to Reno, Nev. En route, Cooper parachuted out the rear door and into the wilderness north of Portland. Cooper's true identity remains a mystery, and though investigators suspect he is dead, the case is still open, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman Lane Bonner.

But to Wright's surprise, a middle-aged man showed up at the reunion and identified himself as D.B. Cooper. The mystery guest, who has not been seen or heard from since, mingled with graduates during the night, conversing on a wide range of topics while dodging any specifics about his actual identity.

His arrival was followed by a series of postcards to Wright from across the country. His departure was quiet, unnoticed by the graduates of '68.

A month after the ad for classmates, Wright received a postcard addressed to him at the courthouse. Postmarked Nov. 5 in northern Virginia and Nov. 6 in Cincinnati, it read: "Why don't you mind your own business. I was perfectly happy living in [obscure] in Mendon (Ohio). Now I'm on the move again. D.B. Cooper." [illegible]

Other postcards followed: Nov. 8 from Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Nov. 15 from Tampa, Fla.; Nov. 23 from Denver; and Dec. 18 from Eureka, Calif.

A sixth postcard, without a postmark, arrived in February. The signer wrote of fleeing California for Alaska and that, "Life was good in Mendon. I even miss the phone booth"

See COOPER, Page 2A

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[largely illegible due to rotation and small text size — appears to be continuation of the Cooper newspaper article, dated August 28, 1983]

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Here's a copy of my story on D.B. Cooper, just in case you're interested. The composites arrived too late for publication, but have been filed. I appreciate your assistance and interest. Enclosed you'll find a copy of the class picture.

Respectfully, Douglas K. Haberland

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b6 b7C

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DB Cooper-19434