Part 53, page 248
Document date 5 December 1976
FBI 164-81, Vault Part 53 p. 248 (DB Cooper-22586), News clipping, dated 5 Dec 1976 — cooper.theunsolved.net/parts/Cooper-Part-53/pages/248
Transcript
The scan is the source; the transcript is machine-generated from it.
FD-350 (Rev. 7-16-63)
(Mount Clipping in Space Below)
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D.B.'s pants? 'Unlikely'
By DAVID KERN Columbian Staff Writer
ARIEL — It is "highly unlikely" that the tattered slacks found by hunter William Lynch on Green Mountain near here could have been worn by famed skyjacker Dan Cooper, according to a highly informed law enforcement source.
"It is generally felt from looking at the crime laboratory report that the pants are not five years old," said the official, who asked that his name not be used.
"We're not any closer to catching Cooper than we've ever been," he added.
Seven FB agents spent 3½ hours on Nov. 24 searching around the area where Lynch spotted the pants. The blue-gray continental-style slacks were about 25 feet above the ground in a tree when Lynch spied them while hunting.
The source said it was generally felt that the pants would have been too large for Cooper. The slacks had about a 36-inch waist and 33-inch inseam. Cooper was described as about 5-foot-10 and weighing about 170 pounds.
About 200 persons celebrated the fifth anniversary of Cooper's jump at the Ariel Store on Nov. 27. And although the slacks sparked a new interest in the case, the law enforcement official said, 'We still don't have one good lead.'
John Reed, agent in charge of the FBI's Seattle office, declined Saturday to discuss the laboratory tests. He said it is against Justice Department rules to discuss evidence in criminal cases.
"I figured they had been there some time — three years, maybe five years," Lynch, a logger, said Saturday. "I still think they came out of an airplane because of the way they were hanging."
Lynch said he is convinced the pants could have been in the tree for a long time because "of nature's signs" — fir needles and green moss stains. And he said the pants looked like the kind a businessman would wear, and "most woodsmen wear overalls and suspenders."
Many think Cooper might have landed near Lynch's home. Does Lynch think Cooper survived?
"It does seem something concrete would have come up," Lynch said. "But it's a big country to cover inch by inch."
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(Indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.)
P 3 - 4
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN PORTLAND, OREGON
Date: 12-5-76 Edition: Author: Editor: J.Richard [guess: Nokes] Title:
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b6 b7C
DB Cooper-22586