Part 63, page 163

Transcript

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

, D. B. COOPER Continued from Page 38 thorough. Still the possibility re[illegible]s that the body, the money and all are still there either in a tree or in the lake. Clark County deputys who were questioned about this theory won't discount it completely. Even though this area is crossed by state route 503 and is walked over by hunters and timber men, they say that the undergrowth is dense in places and that a body might be missed. The shores of the lake were searched carefully for any sign of the man, the money or the chutes and no traces were found. But the FBI has given up searching, so they must feel this is no longer a reasonable possibility.

Theory number three therefore seems more plausible than one or two. Perhaps he didn't jump when the Captain thought he did, but stayed out there on the extended stairs until a later time. Perhaps he did wait for the flatlands of the Williamette Valley before he took his leave.

But if he did, and if he survived, what happened to him after he landed. He still had no way to know exactly where he was. Therefore when he came down he would have to leave his parachutes and either walk or hitchhike to a town where he could obtain transportation. According to the FBI, authorities all along the route of flight were alerted that night and it wasn't until the next day that it became general knowledge that the search was being concentrated in the Lake Merwin area. And if he left the parachutes, isn't it reasonable to think that they or their remains would have been discovered by now?

Another factor that supports the theory that Cooper did not survive is the fact that none of the money has ever turned up. The numbers of the 10,000 twenty-dollar bills were circulated to banks in a 34 page booklet and have been widely publicized by the Portland Newspapers, the Oregon Journal and the Oregonian. They have a reward offer which still stands of $1,000 for the first twenty-dollar bill on the list to turn up.

This brings us to theory number four. Could he have bailed out somewhere other than the Lake Merwin area and not survived?

Some months ago when a weathered human skull was found by a hiker in the Mt. Hood National Forest east of the town of Estacada, it was thought this might be the remains of Cooper. But the FBI ruled this out. First the spot where the skull was found was too far from the flight path of the aircraft that night and second, experts think the skull belonged to a man younger than Cooper is thought to have been. Detective Worth of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said that the skull had been in the woods for at least one year and possibly as long as ten. He believed it was closer to ten due to the amount of moss that had overgrown it. While the fact that a parachute was lodged in a tree not too far from the skull gave credence to the theory that this might be Cooper, Worth stated that there were several roads between the two spots and while they have not gotten the parachute out of the tree, it looks like the type used for weather instruments. The two parachutes Cooper used were both white, while the third one that he cut up, probably to tie the money bag to him, was pink.

Still, this theory that he jumped elsewhere and did not survive is the only theory that will fit all the known facts unless one allows for a tremendous amount of luck on Cooper's part. No traces of him, the chutes, or the money have surfaced. They could still be there, somewhere along the path of flight 305 that night, south of the Lewis River, but north of Reno, hanging in a tree or covered by undergrowth, waiting to be found by some hunter or logger.

Cooper May Have Been Reported as a Missing Person

But if this is the case, why hasn't Cooper turned up somewhere as a Missing Person? He gave the appearance of a very intelligent, educated man. This type of person cannot usually go missing indefinitely without being missed, and reported Missing.

Cooper was described as being between forty and fifty years of age, with an olive complexion and dark black hair. He was very relaxed and courteous according to the crew. They think he was about six feet tall, with a slim build and weighing about 170 pounds. He was well dressed in a dark suite, dark grey coat and dark glasses. It is assumed that he was an experienced parachutist and had some knowledge of aircraft, possibly being a pilot himself. Does this description fit anyone you know or used to know?

So, we come full circle and wonder if any of our theories can fit the facts. Maybe the answer lies in a missing persons file in some small county Sheriff's Office or in some overworked big city Police Department.

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