FLYJACK

He wasn't Cooper, not even close.. "steel blue eyes" was never mentioned by Nicky B..

Hancock.. "an excellent likeness" but suggested some changes.. This was an early iteration she was commenting on, not the final.

They tweaked over many months with input from witnesses.

FBI files say right hand.

It is. They started with sketch B and incorporated witness input, tweaked the hair and mouth area etc... I created this from sketch B.. FBI files admit sketch B was based on KK5-1 because it is.

Himmelsbach book says... cig stains on fingers.. (FBI files say on right hand) "Page 54 Tina’s answers were relayed to waiting agents in Portland and Seattle, who now knew that what they had hoped to be a quick-closing case had turned dramatically in favor of Cooper. A profile of the skyjacker, based on the information furnished by witnesses, described a “middle-aged” Caucasian of dark complexion; dark piercing eyes; dark brown hair, of medium length — a businessman’s cut; about 6 feet tall, with a wiry, athletic build; a heavy smoker, who held the cigarette enough so that his fingers were stained; no obvious marks, scars or tatoos. Cooper was dressed in a dark business suit, with a white shirt." "Page 123 One of those boys, the woman said, later went into military service, and after his discharge went through several marriages. She described him as the kind of man who took advantage of women: faithless, he would live off women, use them. His language was coarse, and he was a smoker, a heavy smoker, whose fingers were stained from the curling vapors. He had slender facial features, brown hair, a dark complexion, nearly black, piercing eyes." "Page 14 cigarettes, looking out the window while waiting for Northwest Airlines Flight 305 to arrive. The flight had originated on the east coast, with stops including Minneapolis and Spokane. It was one of the flights referred to by crews as a milk run. Now it was a bit late getting into Portland. Cooper checked his watch frequently, and felt increasing impatience that boarding might be delayed. Once more he went to the pocket of his white shirt and the pack of Raleigh filter tips. He removed the pack from his pocket, and with slight, jerking motions, flipped a butt far enough out of the pack to grasp it with his lips. The match reflected in the large sunglasses as he touched it to the tip of the cigarette." "Page 48 Flight 305 turned southeast at Red Bluff, California, for the final leg of the flight in to Reno. Pilots Scott and Radaczak had flown the airplane by hand the entire trip from Seattle, not wanting to put the craft on automatic pilot. Now, with less than an hour remaining before landing at Reno, they tried once again to make contact with the hijacker." "Page 102 “T still believe, and will ‘till my dying day, that his wife was involved with him. I lived that guy. I did years of research about the case before investing my time and money. I believe you have to give the guy credit for some intelligence. You don’t just go down and hijack an airplane, bail out near a freeway without some coordinates lined up — a drop point, so that you can get out of the airplane at a certain point. You’ve got to expect that someone was waiting for him. I believe he was planning to land near Lake Merwin. In fact, I believe he planned to land at Speelyai Bay, where we used to launch the submarine, but the pilot didn’t fly the course that Cooper wanted him to fly. The pilot was hedging on the course, and flying close to the freeway, so that if the thing did go haywire he could get help if he had to crash the airplane."

I really don't understand why Edwards keeps getting this wrong.. Sketch B was not a single sketch, it was a process with witness input that started with KK5-1 and ended with the final sketch B. Tina rejected the first iteration but agreed with the final one with everybody else.. Edwards completely rejects sketch B based on two errors. Tina rejected the first iteration vs sketch A but did accept the final iteration of sketch B. (Tina also misled and said she didn't see Cooper face) KK5-1 was and is the basis for sketch B, it is stated in the FBI files and I have done extensive analysis building a sketch from KK5-1 that closely matches the final sketch B.. Sketch B is based on KK5-1.

Must have been published, it is cited in 1980 by the Seattle Times,, maybe the date is wrong.

It is in the FBI files part 43 p 172 also talk about here..

There was the famous Quantas bomb hoax in Australia... May 1971.. it is in the FBI files as well.. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-23/qantas-bomb-hoax-1971-the-great-plane-robbery-australia/10807510 These things may not be exact copies but a logical advancement... Cini..

The very thing that has frustrated the Cooper investigation for 50+ years also attracts people to this mystery.. That is, we have very few 100% facts, try listing them. This case is the ultimate bayesian example. We take a few facts, some conflicting and lots of inferential info and try to reconstruct the crime, it is a fascinating intellectual challenge where we as individuals utilize our own unique experiences, history, education, logic and reason. The Cooper case is the ultimate intellectual puzzle challenge.. a test of our own minds.. The problem is there may not be a 100% provable conclusion.. without forensics.. so, we do the best we can with what we have and that includes consistently re-examining the evidence and exploring new theories that fit within the information we have. It is like having a 10,000 piece picture puzzle with 300 confirmed pieces and only 1,000 more pieces that may or may not even belong to that puzzle.. We try to put enough pieces together to establish the full picture... lots of pieces fit that may not even belong..

Yes, it is a single data point.. If I remember the case, not all the money was passed. But, what is interesting is that it wasn't caught on the first transaction by the extortionist... If bills get initially passed they still circulate over and over for years.. The Cooper bill serial numbers were entered into the NCIC database..

This is interesting, there was an airplane extortion for $25,000 claiming a bomb would go off if a plane dropped below 10,000 ft. The plane was Seattle bound and the extortion in $20's was paid in Anchorage. The guy got caught in Portland when a bill showed up in a bank. That bill was tracked back to a German mechanic in Portland.. I had researched this case before and know that the rest of the money was not recovered. but, it is a case of a marked bill being caught by a bank.. within 5 weeks of the ransom and found in Portland while paid in Anchorage..

anybody ever find this,, first big spread on Cooper LA Times West Magazine March 19, 1972

No it isn't, they are trying to depict a slightly pouty protruding lower lip in the sketches, very tough to do, heavier than the top lip but not heavy or fat.

Flo noted "thin lips" in Gray interview. I just took exception with the "fat lip" description.

yes, thicker in the middle, the first Cooper description said thin lips,,,

I know.. everybody has that same reaction.

I am not saying it isn't.. I just couldn't match the cover text to any version of the cover I could find online..

Great episode and good job both of you,, wow 3 hours.. and you didn't cover everything. Darren, you should do another panel show with 2 or 3 guests.. those are good too... I agree with almost all of it.. it may have been recorded before some of the discussions here.. I also believe the bomb may have been real, we don't know either way but Cooper saying he won't be taken alive,, the electric fuse radio comment and the vulnerability of somebody not accepting the bomb as real.. he could have been shot dead. Plus, there is red dynamite. There is no evidence indicating it was fake. So, it is possible it was real. The evidence strongly suggests Cooper was right handed, not left. Try carrying a flat case to the "restroom" unlatch the door and turn on the tap.. you will carry it in your non dominant hand. Plus, cig stains on right hand and Mitchell. My theory is that the dummy chute was tossed because it didn't have a seal or card and would have appeared to be tampered with. The other three had seals and cards. Cooper wasn't stupid. TBAR, no way somebody buries money next to the river. There are so many better places to bury money if needed. I have some good TBAR theories but it will never be solved.. One of my theories is actionable. Rataczak said "American currency" and Tina said Cooper told her "U. S. currency", so we have two instances.. For both to say this supports Cooper actually using a unique descriptor for the currency. Forget about the uncirculated part that is not the issue. Tina said she didn't see his face straight on but she had input on the sketches and screening suspect images.. She is being evasive/dishonest for some reason. Lips were not "fat", they were thin with a protruding lower. I also believe Cooper had dyed his hair.. or had some black greasy/slick product in it. Hahneman, you make the same classic error everyone else has, but that is OK, you are in good company and no I can't elaborate now. Gag order. Witness's ability to ID Cooper is unreliable. Check. Himmelsbach and the FBI developed a strong bias within a year to push the Cooper died in the jump narrative.. they needed to explain why they failed and needed a public narrative against hijacking. Tom Kaye told me 14 partial DNA profiles on the tie,, so yes, tie DNA is a crapshoot.. Cooper's DNA may be contaminated or not even be one of them. Tom Kaye's DNA was on the vacuum filter that was tested not the tie. Fingerprints are also a problem, FBI files say "no good" or "no value" they are not confident any are Cooper. BTW, Club moss (lycopodium clavatum) powder is yellowish tan and was used for latex gloves but was eliminated for the medical industry due to reactions,, In videos Larry Carr is handling the tie with yellowish tan gloves, he or earlier FBI agents agents may have contaminated the tie with those gloves.. I believe the tie belonged to Cooper since about 1964/5.. but I do have an alternate source,, both strongly match the tie particle environment. Heisson store.. one thing that gets overlooked is that the Heisson store is not actually named in the FBI files, we assume that was the store based on the area identified and it probably is but it isn't 100%.. Wikipedia,, I hate Wikipedia, it is riddled with misinformation, political bias and ideological cults, some subjects more than others and trying to correct misinformation sounds worse than waterboarding torture. Christiansen,, a joke all around. The Seinfeld suspect,, a suspect case about nothing. Reca,, an even bigger joke, they got everything wrong. Cooper spoke intelligently, Reca not so much.. complete waste of time. McCoy,, eliminated, does not fit the evidence. Calame and Rhodes lied about the tie clip. Peterson,, not even close, even Ulis has dropped him as a suspect. RIP Petey. Braden,, overqualified badass, easily recognizable, unique look, Cooper was not a badass. Barb Dayton,, stop, no way, just no... LD Cooper, no, no evidence just a childhood story, Sorry Marla.. a smile and a pretty face only gets you so far in the Vortex. Weber,, no way, not even close. How do we even know he claimed he was Cooper, Jo lied about everything.. IMO, Dwayne was the victim in that relationship. Rackstraw,, nope, everything is out about him now. Lots of speculation, no evidence. Gossett was always a good suspect and there are others who we just don't have enough evidence to evaluate.... But, we will never get this solved beyond circumstantial without new forensics and that may be impossible now..

How do you know it is the Book of Mormon,, that would interesting but when I google images of the book I can't find a version that matches the one in the pic.. Is it part of an article?

Don't see Gunther replicating the letter with typos and spelling errors, he would also have to replicate the group letter with the matching typewriter.. too risky. If it was Cooper he was probably an avid reader of True and Playboy and the article resonated with Cooper's real life.. he could have had a stack of mags in his basement. Since he mailed the letter to Gunther's old address he may have even written to Gunther previously. If it was a hoaxer he just researched Gunther and padded the letter with flattery..

NO way Gunther would take the risk.. He wasn't your average struggling writer. He had a legit career for decades including Business Week and Time magazine, he wrote many books. The Cooper book didn't solve anything so what was he really accomplishing.. most readers thought it was a hoax or fiction. He didn't even claim it to be Cooper, though he believed it was. The book did nothing for his career and was outside his lane. But, when you think about it, Gunther replied to the letter in the Village Voice in 1972, spoke to and named others that were contacted and gave info to the FBI when contacted by Clara.. that is some foresight and time lag to create a hoax book in 1985.. not to mention the risk to his reputation if caught/charged. I just don't see Gunther committing a hoax here. IMO, he was contacted by Cooper/Clara. Now, were they hoaxing him,, possibly.. that is what we are trying to determine. IMO, the question is,, was he contacted by the real Cooper or hoaxers. Who would do a hoax like this,,, originally asking for money, disappearing for 10 years then not asking for money. It is bizarre even for hoaxers. IMO, initially somebody wanted money then 10 years later somebody wanted Cooper to be dead..

The Cooper letter and Clara letter were typed on different models,, the numbers are different, specifically the 5. So, the Cooper typewriter wasn't repaired.

But the o is over the D not after.. Do wasn't typed. This will never get solved.. IMO, it was far too risky for Gunther to perpetuate a hoax and take it to the FBI... if there was a hoax it was Cooper/Carla but why didn't Carla also ask for money... the agenda was to say Cooper was really a nice guy and he was dead.. Who gains from that.. the real Cooper or the FBI or ???? The "Cooper" motivation for a hoax is possible,,, money But what hoax motivation is there for "Clara"??