News clippingFD-350 clipping: FBI geologist favors Washougal River as Cooper landing site, The Columbian15 February 19801 page
newspaper_clippingLegibility: medium

Part 66, page 322

DB Cooper-28185Serials SE 164-81

Document date 15 February 1980

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FBI 164-81, Vault Part 66 p. 322 (DB Cooper-28185), News clipping, dated 15 Feb 1980 — cooper.theunsolved.net/parts/Cooper-Part-66/pages/322

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(Indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.) po. 15, The Columbian Vancouver, Wa. Date: 2/15/80 Edition:

Title:

Character: 164-81 or Classification: Submitting Office: SE

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FBI geologist favors Washougal River landing for D.B. /SUBS: B,E,4,M,

By MYRON STRUCK States News Service WASHINGTON -- Did D.B. Cooper land in, or near, the Washougal River rather than the Lewis River?

In the personal opinion of the chief FBI geologist who worked on the case, D.B. Cooper may have landed in the Washougal River, not near the Lewis River where it had been presumed that he came to earth --

among the bills and his discussions with federal geologists in the field. He has concluded that the range of sand particles found among the bills is similar to sediment along the Columbia River and a number of its tributaries.

Fiedler's opinion has been disavowed firmly by his mineralogy division section chief.

"He could have landed in the

before about $5,800 in compressed, wet and eroded money was found along the banks of the Columbia River in February upstream from the Lewis.

The Washougal River scenario is the private view of geologist Chris Fiedler, who handled the soil analysis on the money, and not part of the agency's official report to the Seattle field office coordinating the

Columbia River," Fiedler said. "Or he could have come down in the Washougal. The latter is where my training, and instincts, tell me is more likely, based on the data I have available."

The sand tests involve little in the way of complicated equipment -- only a simple microscope and some geological reference material that discuses the characteristics of sand

investigation.

Still, it seems to be the only clue -- that might help the investigation the FBI was able to glean from a recent analysis of the bills in its Washington, D.C., research area known as The Laboratory.

The official report says little was found on the wad of money. The basis for the new information is Fielder's research of the sand particles found

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SEARCHED___INDEXED___ SERIALIZED___FILED___ [illegible] 1980 FBI - SEATTLE

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SUB 9 164-81 b6 b7C

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DB Cooper-28185