Part 54, page 111
Serials SE 164-81
Document date 21 November 1976
FBI 164-81, Vault Part 54 p. 111, News clipping, dated 21 Nov 1976 — cooper.theunsolved.net/parts/Cooper-Part-54/pages/111
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. Cooper still isn't out of the woods 5 years after skyjack
PORTLAND — (UPI) — D.B. Cooper, wherever you are, hear this:
The statute of limitations does not protect you or the $200,000 you ex- torted in the nation's only success- ful skyjacking for ransom.
Besides, if you do show up the In- ternal Revenue Service will be waiting with a tax bill for an amount greater than you extorted. This may all be academic, howev- er, since the Federal Bureau of In- vestigation thinks Cooper is dead somewhere in the blackberry bush- es of a remote Southwestern Wash- ington area where he will never be found.
Cooper, the name used on a pas- senger list, became a modern-day legend when he forced Northwest Airlines to hand over $200,000 by hi- jacking a Boeing 727 on Thanksgiv- ing Eve five years ago.
He extorted the money under threat of blowing up the plane after it had taken off from Seattle-Taco- ma-International Airport. Then he vanished by parachute.
The Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion has kept the case on the active file, giving the impression the skyjacking fell under the statute of limitations. In other words, if Coop- er was not caught and charged by this Thanksgiving Eve, he was le- gally free.
But United States Attorney Sid- ney Lezak said that since Cooper is considered a fugitive the statute of limitations does not go into effect until authorities are aware of where Cooper is and are able to start pros- ecution.
In addition, the I.R.S. has esti- mated Cooper would owe $217,523 in taxes and penalties — more than the original boodle — plus a possi- ble $60,000 in civil penalty.
Some feel Cooper did not live when he bailed out of the 727 near the Lewis River in Southwest Wash- ington. Agents said the blackberry bushes are so dense in the area where Cooper bailed out that it has been impossible to conduct an ef- fective search.
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(Indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.)
p.A4 Seattle Times Seattle, Wash.
Date: 11/21/76 Edition: Final Author: Editor: Jim King Title: NORJAK Character: or Classification: 164-81-[guess: Sub B] Submitting Office: Seattle
☐ Being Investigated
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COPY SENT TO BUREAU SEARCHED......... INDEXED........ SERIALIZED........ FILED........
NOV 30 1976
FBI — SEATTLE
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