Part 52, page 61
Document date 22 November 2001
FBI 164-81, Vault Part 52 p. 61 (DB Cooper-21667), News clipping, dated 22 Nov 2001 — cooper.theunsolved.net/parts/Cooper-Part-52/pages/61
Transcript
The scan is the source; the transcript is machine-generated from it.
he Seattle Times: D.B. Cooper puzzle: The legend turns 30 A leap into history
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On Nov. 24, 1971, a tall, dark-complexioned passenger identifying himself as Dan Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 on a stormy Thanksgiving Eve, demanded and got $200,000 and parachutes, then jumped from the rear of the plane into history.
In recent weeks, as the anniversary has approached, television crews from around the world have descended on Thomas, a self- appointed Cooper expert, for his stories and a walk through the woods where Cooper is believed to have landed. Maybe, just maybe, Thomas would find a scrap of parachute, a human bone, a waterlogged $20 bill.
Officially, the case remains open.
"The fact it's the only unsolved hijacking keeps it high-profile," said FBI Agent Ralph Hope of Seattle, the latest in a list of agents in charge of the case. "It will remain that way until we know the individual could not be alive."
Though the FBI conducted major searches in 1971 and 1980, collected 1,200 files and checked out countless leads, no hard evidence ever turned up. Agents still receive a half-dozen inquiries a month; most are simply filed away.
"There's a number of incidents where people looked very, very good, but no direct evidence was located," Hope said. "Many will read articles or books and call in with information, much of it inaccurate. You can almost tell what books they read."
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'I have a bomb'
Agents knew little about the skyjacker except that he smoked Raleigh cigarettes, drank whiskey, was familiar with aerodynamics and paid $20 cash for a one-way flight from Portland to Seattle.
He wore a dark suit and tie, white shirt and pearl tie tack, and had short, dark hair. He carried a briefcase and dark raincoat, and took seat 18C on Flight 305, having the row to himself.
The jet was barely in the air before he passed a note to a flight attendant, who slipped it unopened into a pocket. Cooper leaned closer: "Miss, you'd better look at that note. I have a bomb." He opened his briefcase to reveal several red cylinders and a nest of wires.
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FBI HANDOUT Hijacker D.B. Cooper, in FBI sketches from 1971 and showing how he might look today.
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DB Cooper-21667