Part 53, page 275

Transcript

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

THE EXPERT on Dan Cooper is Portland FBI agent [guess: Ralph] Himmelsbach, who has been with the case since its begin- ning. He has led bureau efforts which included flights in the same plane under the same conditions of Cooper's historic ride. The FBI pinpointed a 24 square mile area in Southwest Washington it feels is the drop zone, and some of it is rough enough country that many officials think Cooper killed himself trying to escape.

"My personal guess is that there is no better than a 50 percent chance he's still alive, and that's being very generous," Himmelsbach said. "In fact, the chances are very slim indeed."

There remains, however, the fact that all missing person reports in the country were checked in the days and weeks following Cooper's crime—none of them led FBI in- vestigators a step closer to Dan Cooper, leaving the belief among some that he must have escaped.

Leads in the case have dwindled, and just 12 months separates Dan Cooper (if he still lives) from possibly avoiding prosecution even if apprehended. Statute of limitations on the crime expires Nov. 24, 1976, and unless Cooper were found to have fled the area to avoid prosecution, he would be safe if he remains free beyond that date.

Charges such as possession of stolen money or income tax evasion could be leveled, however, and there would be possibility of civil suit from Globe Indemnity Corp. of New York, which had to pay $180,000 of the $200,000 ransom.

SEVERAL McMINNVILLE residents have told the News- Register they once believed a man formerly living here was skyjacker Dan Cooper. One woman, described to N-R reporters as one who possibly had the strongest reasons for suspecting the man, refused to answer any questions of reporters.

Two local men went as far as to conduct a lengthy, private investigation, hoping a $25,000 reward might be in the offing. Their efforts, however, never came to the FBI's attention. They thought the FBI was following up their investigation; the News-Register was told, but apparently an IRS agent they talked with never passed the information along.

Now, some of those suspicions have been presented to the KBI Himmelsbach, though pointing out that he feels little confidence that the former McMinnvillan actually is Dan Cooper, nevertheless admits the stories warrant further FBI investigation.

One man who investigated McMinnville's "suspect" told the News-Register things which had led him to believe he might be on the right trail. Among them were comments that the man bore resemblance to Dan Cooper, that his reported whereabouts that Thanksgiving weekend apparently were entirely unsupported by any witnesses and that he returned to McMinnville with an injured ankle.

A few have maintained belief that Dan Cooper really was living here, and four years later it appears the FBI finally will compile official investigative reports on their suspicions. That investigation most likely will end the way all Dan Cooper investigations have ended—another [guess: possible] suspect eliminated and continued frustration for the [illegible] whatever the result, whether or not anyone ever is [illegible] as the famous skyjacker, [illegible] [guess: will] [illegible] in [illegible] at age bandit who went [illegible] 71.

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FBI COA

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DB Cooper-22613