AirtelSAC Milwaukee to Director re continued NORJAK investigation of Merlin Cooper16 August 1988page 2 of 3
fbi_formLegibility: medium

Part 49, page 128

DB Cooper-20232Serials MI 164-36

Document date 16 August 1988

Open in FBI Vault (Part 49, page 128 of the PDF)

FBI 164-81, Vault Part 49 p. 128 (DB Cooper-20232), Airtel, dated 16 Aug 1988, serial SE 164-81-8923 (as read from the transcript) — cooper.theunsolved.net/parts/Cooper-Part-49/pages/128

Transcript

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

MI 164A-36

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Chicago, Illinois, and at Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin. He stated that in about 1956 or 1957, [REDACTED] was arrested for writing bad checks and served some time in Waupun State Penitentiary, Waupun, Wisconsin. He stated that in approximately [REDACTED] became divorced from his wife, [REDACTED] who now lives in the La Crosse, Wisconsin, area, and [REDACTED] moved from Wisconsin, and he had no contact whatsoever with [REDACTED] [REDACTED] for approximately 10 years. He stated that, subsequent to about 1959, he never did see [REDACTED] again before he died, but he did periodically correspond with [REDACTED] by letter and telephone from about 1969 until [REDACTED] death in 1973. He stated that [REDACTED] called him two days before he died and said that he did not have much longer to live, but that [REDACTED] did not elaborate on that statement.

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He stated that he never heard [REDACTED] use the name D.B. COOPER, and [REDACTED] never mentioned the D.B. COOPER hijacking in his letters or telephone conversations. He further advised that, although [REDACTED] was very knowledgeable about airplanes from his Air Force and air traffic controller experience, he has never known [REDACTED] to have any knowledge of or experience in parachutes or sky diving.

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He stated that he is not aware of any leg injuries which [REDACTED] might have sustained in 1971 or prior to that time, but he believes that [REDACTED] did sustain some arm injuries at about that time when [REDACTED] was apparently injured in a truck accident in Oregon. He further advised that [REDACTED] was quite a good artist and painted a picture for him on one occasion, but he no longer has this painting and cannot remember if or how the painting was signed. He stated that [REDACTED] [REDACTED] ORPHA COOPER, may presently have this painting and probably has some other paintings by MERLIN COOPER, and he advised that ORPHA COOPER also keeps a diary and may have documented her contacts with MERLIN COOPER over the years.

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He stated that the address of [REDACTED] ORPHA COOPER, is 353 Tyrell Court, Delavan, Wisconsin, telephone number 414/728-2844, and he stated that he believes [REDACTED] is in relatively good health. He further advised that the only [REDACTED] [REDACTED] but he does not have her address or telephone number. He stated that he believed [REDACTED] [REDACTED] would have the address and telephone number.

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[REDACTED] advised that he could furnish no further information in this matter.

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DB Cooper-20232

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