Part 53, page 257

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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Cooper indicted by jury in case

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Dan Cooper, who got a $200,000 air piracy ransom five years ago but may not have successfully parachuted from the plane with the cash, has been indicted just in case he's "out there" alive.

Authorities said they sought the indictment, handed down Wednesday by a federal grand jury here, because of fear that Cooper might go free if a five-year statute of limitations expired.

The indictment, which named a fictitious "John Doe, also known as Dan Cooper," contained a second count accusing him of interstate commerce by extortion.

On Thanksgiving Eve in 1971, a hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper jumped from a Northwest Airlines 727 jet that had traveled from here to Seattle. Neither he nor the money, which was strapped to his chest beneath his business suit, has been found.

Jack Collins, first assistant U.S. attorney in Portland, said the indictment was sought "out of an abundance of caution. We have no present knowledge of his (Cooper's) whereabouts."

Orders to obtain the indictment came from Deputy Atty. Gen Richard Thornburg, head of the criminal division of the Justice Department, Collins said.

The department has taken the position that there is no statute of limitations on capital crimes, and that what Cooper did was punishable by death at the time.

But a spokesman in Washington said the department wanted to avoid repetition of what occurred earlier this year when a judge threw out attempts to prosecute New Jersey Teamster leader Anthony Provenzano in a 1961 kidnap-slaying case on grounds that the statute of limitations had expired.

First reports of the skyjacking referred to the man as D.B. Cooper, but the name on his ticket read Dan Cooper.

Cooper boarded the flight Nov. 24, 1971, clutching a paper bag. Soon after takeoff, he told stewardesses he had a bomb and that he wanted $200,000 in cash and four parachutes.

After other passengers got off in Seattle, the airline met Cooper's demands and the plane departed for Reno on his orders. Cooper bailed out somewhere over southwest Washington, officials said.

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[Indicate newspaper, city and state.]

P. [illegible] 1 VANG [guess: VANC] [illegible] [guess: COUVER]

Date: 11-25-76 Edition: Author: Editor: Jack R. C[guess: omp]bell Title:

Character: or Classification: b6 [guess: Point]: Office: b7C [illegible] Investigated [illegible]

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DB Cooper-22595 // 37