FLYJACK

Gunther and the others he talked to thought the "Cooper" contact was a hoax.. it wasn't until "Clara" that he thought it might be legit. So, they really didn't have anything to go on at that point. That "Cooper" suddenly disappeared would support the hoax idea. For males, typing was taught in college and used in the military,, not for combat but "bureaucratic" personnel... lots of those. The FBI Cooper profile was some college and military.. Remember, Cooper was described as 45-50, intelligent and possibly some management.. lots of opportunity to learn to type. But, yes, the "Cooper" letter writer seemed to be a trained typist though poor spelling. Typewriter: I read it as newer condition not necessarily age.. newer age is obvious being 10 years later. The Cooper letter was done on a very worn out typewriter that needed repairs.. a piece of junk somebody had kicking around.

If Gunther typed the letter as an elaborate hoax and made an incriminating typo, why not just type another letter. That is not Do, it is a double strike x and o over the D, it is possible the typist began D B Cooper in error. Whoever made the error did not see at as incriminating in any way. The contacts Gunther noted are the ones he knew of.. there could have been others he didn't know. The tab set/indentation is different between the "Cooper" letter and "Clara" letter.. I think that is user set,, lots of places to access typewriters,, Hotels, Schools and Libraries.. Of course, Max examined the letters to determine if they were done on the same typewriter. When I was a little kid we had an old typewriter in the house.. rarely used. Keys always got stuck.. That Clara letter has a faded capital M... I need to check the letters in the FBI files..

yes. But I got it mixed up,, it is 371's not 317's... so it doesn't apply 3(71's)-684(*) I have been trying everything to figure our that code.. whether it was Cooper or a hoaxer.. One idea.. super long shot but cool. One of the Cooper bills is L 71717573 B The code on the Cooper letter is 717171684* shift cypher.. 71717 (shift -1) 684 = 71717573 another idea was that it was a MGRS code.. the code points to a spot near Eugene Oregon.. But it could be anything...

I found that the IRS in WA DC uses the numbers 317-684(x), I found many of them between 0-9.. The code 171717684* was in the Cooper letter,, = 3(17's)-684* BUT, and a big BUT... I can't tell if those numbers were used back in 1971,,

Remember, Gunther submitted his notes and the letters to the FBI for evaluation,, no way he would use a unique typewriter that ties a letter to himself. He was a successful writer, no reason to risk a criminal charge and his career for a mediocre book. Even Gunther admitted there is no proof it was Cooper and may be a hoax.

I don't think it is Do.. the o is half way over over the D not a regular spacing. It looks like a D then an x over it and a half space o with the x double struck. That suggests the x and o was typed to cover the D..

Not sure, what was the NCFund awareness in 1971-72 for NYTimes readers?? I don't really know anything about New York life circa 1972,,, It supports other evidence for "Cooper" being in New York.. Did the NYTimes have a personal message section? or were there any other New York publications with a personal message section other than Village Voice??

It does make sense if Cooper for some time wanted to leave his family and disappear.. another clue is that the letter was sent to Gunther's old address, suggesting perhaps the writer had written to Gunther in the past.. an avid reader of True Magazine. but I still believe if it was a hoax it wasn't Gunther but Cooper/Clara... It is really hard to figure this out since you can't take anything too literally.. all participants have a motive to deceive or embellish.

They are legit,, Ladies Home Journal Jan 1971, Gunther article based on the 1962 one but reversed for women to disappear. and True mag Jan 1962, Gunther article referred to in the letter “Do-It-Yourself Divorce for Fed-Up Males” I have them packed away somewhere... Gunther also wrote for Playboy..

Maybe the letter writer is just trying to sell his story to Gunther by emphasizing elements that he believed would appeal to Gunther's ego, it may not be true at all.. That would work for the real Cooper or a hoaxer..

The charity was a ruse to get attention, he admitted that he really wanted the money.. and the "Cooper" was local to New York.. as for the article in a Women's mag, maybe he saw it at a Dr or Dentist office.. I don't think there is anything there to discount it..

Do you have the date on that? As the years passed passed they became more aggressive claiming Cooper died.

At some point there was a shift and the FBI really tried to sell, the Cooper died narrative..

It appears he typed an "x" half space then an "o" then double over the "x"

Or perhaps he typed an "x" and an "o" to correct/hide the "D"

It is an "o" with a missing top... the "u" doesn't fit but the small "o" does..

Here, Cossey was called and asked for two front chutes and two backs,, he didn't know what they were for.. but he arranged for them to be picked up at Issaquah.. But before they were picked up the backs were obtained from Hayden.. Emrick who was first notified to get all four chutes then only supplied the two fronts.. So, Cossey initially believed all four chutes sent to Cooper were his from Issaquah.. He was called and told which chutes remained in the plane and he gave a description of the chute he believed Cooper used... he was wrong.. he must have figured out id error at some point but never corrected it and lied to cover it up. They were looking for the wrong chute...

That wasn't their motivation... The guy claiming to be Cooper wanted only money from the writers/publishers,, and the "Clara" wanted to publicize that Cooper died and was really a good guy.. The "Cooper" was to provide convincing info but disappeared and never did.. "Clara's" story is tougher as it seems to be a blend of facts and fiction. They wouldn't need to ID themselves, just providing info only Cooper would know would suffice.

The person claiming to be Cooper was trying to sell his story to several writer/publishers anonymously.. If he and Clara were actually legit they would not give info that could ID them..

Here is the Elsinore walk back.... "may be coincidental" and resembled Sketch "A"... IMO, Elsinore is a red herring..

If he did it for money and lost it,, selling his story would get him money.. It only makes sense if he lost the money..

It may be that Cooper lost the money in the jump and contacted several writer/publishers to sell his story anonymously... or a hoax..

plea deal..

Yes, I can confirm that the photo did not turn out..

I have never heard of Gunther writing about the first contact before,,, he does claim that he and the others contacted believed it was a hoax... suggesting his opinion was changed due to Clara's contact. But, as I tried to say. Elsinore was not mentioned in the Gunther book, a jump close to LA was. LA may have been made up to replace another location, a made up coincidence or something Gunther read. I know others use it to support the legitimacy of Gunther's book, I just don't think it is significant. Since we know some of the book is fabricated and from Gunther's research I try to evaluate it from the 10,000 foot level and not get too focussed on the small details. That will drive you crazy. One other note.. if "Cooper" contacted others, were they also asked to respond in the Village Voice somehow.. in a letter "he" acknowledged that "Dear group" .. "I hope to be in contact with all of you again", so we saw Max's response but there would have been responses from the others somewhere.. I have tried to find old issues of Village Voice online, there are a bunch on internetarchive but not in March '72.. This might be a way to confirm the Cooper part... if we can find other responses.