MarkBennett

You, yourself, say Geestman is a liar He might volunteer KC as the shooter of Abraham Lincoln. Why would you believe anything he says?

Maybe I'm not conveying this correctly. Like anyone else with a story, there are things Marla knows and there are things she could not know. Some of the things she says are speculation on her part. I don't believe she could know where the jumper landed. But, just because she says things she may not know does not mean everything she says is speculation. Jo knows where Duane told her before he died. Marla knows what she saw when she was 8 and what her father told her. Blevins knows KC was unaccounted for at the time of the jump and had more money afterward. Most everything else about the suspects is speculation.

We no longer have a snowmann in this forum, but there is no shortage of strawmen. Marla only has her memories of when she is 8 years old and information her father told her. Those memories, she recalled later. She would not know where her uncle landed -- it's likely she would not have heard that as an 8 year old and not something her father would have told her either. Anything she said was likely speculation. The point I was trying to make was not to compare her to a Pulitzer prize winner (I think everyone except Robert Blevins got that), but like many people she knew SOMETHING, but she wasn't sure what she knew. And, what she did know wasn't conclusive by any means --but not so "out there" for the FBI to dismiss it either. In the case of Marla's story (and this would be true of all of the other theories on here), we have no more information that would lead us to prove or disprove it than we had when it first came out. And, 377, you're an attorney, correct? If you interviewed Sheridan as your client, he could tell you his whole story and the condition that nothing be revealed until his death and under attorney-client privilege, you could not be compelled to reveal it before then, right?

I was fortunate enough to listen to a presentation by Eric Nalder, multiple time Pulitzer Prize winner. He said when investigating a public story often people would come to him with information. He said they knew they knew something, but they weren't sure what it was. He would have to talk to them and walk them through their story to figure out what it was. That is exactly what Marla was. She had memories from when she was a small child that were rekindled in talking to her father shortly before he died. She talked of asking if she could be hypnotized to help her bring those memories to the surface. She did not go public with her story at first, but first talked to a law enforcement officer and then to the FBI. The FBI is very good at finding out if someone is lying. They also can figure out if her memories were wildly inconsistent with the facts. Based on Dietrich's comments, they were not able to disqualify her. That doesn't mean her memories are perfect. A couple of years ago was the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's assassination. Like many people, I heard about it watching Monday Night Football. That was a very traumatic event that I would have insisted that I could remember almost word for word what Howard Cosell. They replayed it during a special at that time, and I was pretty darned close. But, I was off on a few items. That surprised me that I had forgot those parts. So, I think Marla was at the beginning of that road. Her memories were close enough that the FBI couldn't disqualify her, but couldn't confirm it either. There is no question in my mind this board ran her off -- trying to contact her children, writing how many husbands she had, who had custody of her children and other personal items. There is a lot of knowledge here that could have done what Eric Nalder does -- help draw our more of her story and tried to figure out things like how could her uncle jump in the dark in an unfamiliar spot, yet be found by his brother and make it to sisters by the next morning. But, that's not what happened. She was attacked personally. So, she's gone.

Maybe Lyle did not really believe his brother was DB Cooper. However, he did go to a great deal of time and expense to get that information to Nora Ephron. Lyle may not now believe his brother was DB Cooper -- but I think he might have then.

Re: Geestman According to IMDB, he would be 86 years old. Do you even know if he's still alive?

I totally down with that, Mr. Shutter. It's the FBI's stamp of credibility that leads me to give her the benefit of the doubt. Without that, I'd be more skeptical. I believe Marla heard what she says she heard and her father told her what she says she did. That, by itself, does not make a "promising lead". What else do they know that caused the FBI spokesperson to say that to the press?

Mr Shutter, I don't have any problem with the points you raise. I think Marla remembers what she remembers, but doesn't have the full story. For instance, I don't know how she'd where the landing spot is. I wouldn't expect to hear that kind of specificity in anything she overheard. I do think she remembers what she saw and what her father told her. But that is only small part of the story, but enough to get the attention of the FBI. I will say, though, if Marla lost her book deal it was because the publisher did not believe it would sell -- rather than any statement on the truth or falsity of the story.

Marla's story may be true or not, and I don't know the answers to the questions you've raised. However, I think Marla is basically a witness. She was eight years old and not an accomplice. Some of the details she's filled in were likely speculative on her part (where Cooper landed, how they got back to Sisters, etc). Boiled down, her case is this: 1) She heard conversations between her uncles before the hijacking. 2) She heard conversations after the hijacking 3) She observed her uncle injured 4) Her father told her at the time not to talk about the hijacking contemporaneously. 5) Near the time of his death, her father reminded her of it and told her to look into it. Because she can't fill in the rest of the story, she's a liar. The FBI must have filled in some details that we don't know. But, why should we expect Marla to have all the answers? It's fine to raise questions about whether her story adds up -- like the age of LD, how did LD jump, get his bearings and make it back to Sisters, OR within 12 hours, etc. But if Marla doesn't know where he landed or what happened to the money -- I mean, how could she? In a perfect world this board would have taken her story, checked it against the facts and weighed why it's possible or why it isn't. Instead, because she couldn't prove her whole case, she was attacked and run off.

Jo, It might seem that way, but.... It was YOU who started the predecessor to this thread. In the beginning it was YOU who kept it going. Eventually, it grow and attracted several sleuths and even the FBI special agent assigned to the case. You were able to talk to him directly. You may not have got everything you wanted, but you've really accomplished a lot. Best wishes to you on your surgery.

I do. At the end several of the presenters were on the stage and were asked who their favored suspect was. Carol said Marla. I don't recall the others -- I think there were a couple Christenson. Jerry said Mel Wilson (He'll correct me if I misstate).

Let's go to the video tape, shall we? This thread goes back a long way. The first post identifying Marla as the FBI's new lead was on page 1003, post 25069, August 3, 2011 4:22 a.m. Less than 16 hours later, Robert, you posted (page 1005, post 25121, August 3, 2011 8:11 p.m.) "There are more holes in the LD story than a five pound block of swiss cheese". You don't have to agree, and maybe her story won't check out. but don't try to say you ever approached Marla's story with an open mind.

Would it really be that embarassing to the FBI to admit the jumper survived if the evidence showed it? I wish Larry Carr was still posting on here and could respond to your post, Robert. That would be very helpful.

There is a third option....He could be messing with you.

Robert, You have a lot of facts there that lead one to believe SOMETHING happened around Thanksgiving 1971 with KC and Bernie. Both of them missing that weekend, KC suddenly coming into money and Bernie hiding his whereabouts means something. However, if we were to discover $200,000 were stolen from a bank that weekend and never reported, your story could also be used to point to that robbery. Still, that is circumstantial evidence that could point to KC being Cooper. If acting differently is circumstantial evidence, then you'd have to say the behavior of Marla's uncles was out of the normal and could indicate SOMETHING. One of them disappeared and moved out of the United States on short notice, cut themselves off from their families and didn't even return for their mother's funeral. Again, that doesn't mean they were involved in the hijacking -- but, like KC and Bernie -- their behavior was suspicious.

Ok, Robert, you're entitled to believe what you believe. I can't respond to your issues because, first, I don't know. Second, I think most of these issues happen because other people (reporters for instance) are attributing things to Marla which she may or may not have said, and I'd be doing the same thing. I don't have all of the "Marla Interviews" that you do, but some of your issues don't seem as significant to me. It does not strike me as odd that Marla's mother would not have gone into her brother-in-law's room and observed a comic book. But, a child might. As far as where the money was dropped, it would not be surprising where the money was dropped was always a guess on Marla's part. If LD was the hijacker and dropped it at some point -- even HE might not be sure where he dropped. Remember, not only was Marla only eight years old, she was also not an accomplice. I consider Marla's story as that of a witness rather than that of an investigator. I think it's unfortunate she was run off this board. I don't think it was because you or anyone else was asking questions about her story. She's been very open to responding. But, I think people harassing her son, her mother and ex-husband drove her off. Marla can take care of herself, but her family didn't sign up for this. Sometime this year (hopefully) her book will come out and we'll have a common document to critique.

Robert, I don't know why you keep going there. How many hours do you think Marla talked to the FBI? Her polygraph alone was over 5 hours, so 50 hours total seems like a reasonable guess. The FBI is trained to look for inconsistencies and discrepancies. They have direct interviews -- not the accounts of others. As far as big royalty checks go, you, as much as anyone, know DB Cooper books are not the way to riches.

https://sites.google.com/site/navilluspress/navillus-press/novels-mysteries/the-case-of-d-b-cooper-s-parachute Here is another author with his revelations....to be released this Summer 2012. Isn't that book fiction? Nobody ever makes any fictitious claims on here.

Interesting topic: Squeaky Fromme, another case almost 40 years old. I thought this was interesting: The DB Cooper case is 40 years old. If a group of people in 1972 were discussing a big 40 year old case, that would be the Lindbergh kidnapping case in 1932 -- which was a big topic of discussion for a long time because a suspect was not apprehended until 2 1/2 years later. And, if people in 1932 were discussing a big 40 year old case, that would be the Lizzie Borden hatchet murders in 1892. Also controversial because, like OJ Simpson, she was acquitted, although most believed she was guilty. What case will people be discussing 40 years from now?

Robert, Interesting, but.... You may be right that Geestman is hiding something. It is also possible that he and KC were involved in some criminal activity -- but you lack anything that ties KC to the hijacking. Also, for your story to be true, he has to get away safely with the money. If you want to make a more compelling case, go back to his brother Lyle. Why did Lyle believe that his brother, who no criminal history, would have pulled off such a risky crime? And, think of the FBI sketch. Maybe 50% of the public overall would see it, but I'll bet 90% of Northwest Orient employees would have -- several of whom would have seen Kenny. That would make it more likely somebody would say "Hey, I know that guy". It could have been Kenny. But, what ties him to THIS crime?

I live in Seattle, so I'm planning to attend. I'd like to meet others from this forum. Even Robert.

Robert, You're entitled to believe whatever you want to believe about Marla's story -- as is everyone else on this board -- so I won't keep rehashing it. I'll just finish by saying. You wrote a co-book about Christenson and your case is laid out in your own words. Marla does not yet have a book, nor a full length magazine article that could be reviewed and checked. What we have is Marla's story as others have heard it. There misunderstandings, misconceptions and sometimes just plain errors. She could have given the exact same interview to several reporters and there would be inconsistencies. As a result, I'm not ready to call "Gotcha!" every time something doesn't jibe.

Could someone post some more info on Braden? I google'd on him and found that he was special ops and might have jumped from a 727, but not much more. Was he interviewed by the FBI? Is he still alive? Does he have an alibi for Thanksgiving 1971? Other than possibly have 727 knowledge, is there anything else that would lead one to suspect him?

Good summary, Robert. One thing that stands out about the Christianson theory, as opposed to all the others, is that it assumes hijacker did get away with the money. If so, there might still be some bills in circulation somewhere. It's too bad nobody stamped wheresgeorge.com (or wheresandrew.com) on bills in 1971.

Jo, you may think you are not capable of presenting your case. But, you single-handedly got the attention of the FBI, got them to compare at least DNA (maybe fingerprints, too) and even had the cell phone number of the FBI agent on the case. That is what I would call presenting your case. Now the case is 40 years old and that might be as far as you're able to get with it. But, you've really done quite well.