CooperNWO305

Robert. Now that the spammer is gone, is there any chance we can just talk about DB Cooper on this thread and not have personal attacks and defenses, or posts that have zero bearing on the case like trucks and camping? I bet if you ignore the Mountain News that they will stop posting about you.

Valid point. If she’s got legit info then best to get it in front of someone like yourself or 377. I figured Robert can tell her pretty quickly if a suspect is close to legit though, as could a number of us. I’m skeptical of new info, but then again that’s how you break into the case.

There are a few of us on Dropzone who are serious about the case, but most people are over at the DB Cooper Forum. I'd recommend you get on the DB Cooper thread and private message Robert Blevins with your info. I'll take a look at it too if you want. Heads up, most of us have seen hundreds of suspects through the years, so someone coming forward with info does not usually get any of the veterans excited. However, the case is still unsolved, so you never know.

The FBI followed up on a couple of the jump cards, maybe 8 or so. Those 302s are somewhere, I’d have to check my notes. They interviewed a few people. Max Gunther writes a section in his book that is so close to what is in the 302s, that he either had contacts at Elsinore, in the FBI, or he was talking to DB Cooper or someone who had inside info about Elsinore.

Flyjack. There is some info going around about the sketches. Any input on that?

Robert. I can see how it is possible that the John Doe warrant caused the money to show up at Tina Bar. But, that assumes that Cooper would have been free and clear after the statute of limitations was done. I don’t think he would have been free. The IRS could still get him, state police, other federal agencies, etc. Granted keeping the FBI investigation open definitely kept the heat on. Cooper would have had to come back and plant the money. That’s a big risk. Or throw it in the river, then hope someone found it. There are so many assumptions here. No one really knows. I’ve made the comment before that 10,000 bills left that plane, yet we get all wrapped up in the 300 that showed up on Tina Bar. We should be focused just as much on the other 9700. I really liked the concept that EU started with trying to find a $20. I think that still has some potential. 97 percent of the bills are still out there somewhere. Maybe ashes, but still.

Robert: You're purposely trying to stir the pot. The case has lulls. There is a lot going on in the country right now, and people are focused on many things. Just a couple of weeks ago there was a YouTube video on DB Cooper that has close to 3 million views. The hits on Wikipedia for DB Cooper are higher than even before COVID. There will be new topics or discussion on current topics. This is not the world vs The Cooper Forum or vs Bruce Smith's Mountain News.

Letters fake. Ha ha ha fake. Money plant theory highly unlikely. Just because we don’t know how the money got there does not mean it was planted. Good to see you have some ideas. Keep the thoughts coming.

This is a very interesting approach that I have not seen before. It goes to show that having many ideas and perspectives can be a good thing. The reality is that most of the crew interaction would have been seeing Cooper from the side or above, yet the only drawings we have are from the front. A side view might have been helpful. Here is McCoy for reference showing how different a side and front view are. Good out of the box thinking.

Good info Flyjack. There is also info in the latest documents about comparing fingerprints to suspects. One note in the middle of a page says “This guy is a nut” referring to someone who contacted the FBI. That gave me a laugh. These files are from the 1980s. I wonder if any of the agents on there are still alive.

Fly. Any idea what happened to the chute after? Maybe someone who lived there at the time took it home.

Regardless of who wrote the letter, the so called “codes” saying it’s Rackstraw are a bunch of BS. If I had to make a guess the numbers on the lower left next to the newspapers are the only codes on there, and those are for the perp to communicate with the newspaper or government or vice versa. They could publish the letter and cut off the bottom part and then when someone wanted to have follow on communication, they would have a series of numbers to reference so the newspaper or the FBI knew they were talking to the same guy who wrote the letter. If it was Cooper, then I’d bet he’s lying about the toupee and putty.

Robert. From my perspective this $25,000 Reward is a great idea. There are many possibilities here. This is good for the DB Cooper case.

When did I say he jumped near Ariel? I don't think he jumped near Ariel. I believe he jumped between Battle Ground and Orchards. Coincidentally this is very flat terrain too. The evidence/information I use are the flight transcripts and the FBI map. Again, there are many theories as to how the money got to Tena Bar. It looks like you're on the forum now. Take a look at the money find threads. Flyjack has some theories too that I personally don't rule out. It's good to have ideas and theories. We were all newcomers to this case at one point too. Some common newcomer beliefs that often change are: He landed in the Columbia. He died. He landed near Lake Merwin. He didn't spend the money. He was CIA. He was Rackstraw. The crew was in on it. It was freezing cold that night. There are many misconceptions too.

10,000 bills. About 300 were found at Tina Bar. If that means Cooper was in the water, then where is the rest of the money? All 300 bills were found together too. Most of the money was not likely in the water, so with that logic, Cooper was not in the water. The case is deep, take a look at some of the theories, you'll find that there are many, and many have nothing to do with Cooper landing in the Columbia. I'll defer to an aviation expert, but my understanding is that Portland's elevation is about at sea level (50 feet), Seattle is around 150-175 feet. A man jumping from 10,000 feet at a target around 50 feet, will fall close to 10,000 feet. If they were over a mountain, then it would be different.

People have said Cooper died and have used the missing person argument like Dick Lepsy to explain who he was. The logic is that the reason no one claimed Cooper is because he was a missing person and therefore already missing.

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This is a 9 mile by 3 mile box. Just for visual representation. Cooper would have had to jump over the widest part of the Columbia to even have a chance of landing in the river. The river is about 1,000 meters wide at its widest. I may be off by a little there. Based off the pressure bump, he was likely out of the plane before the river, probably over Battle Ground. I used this approach when explaining how he likely did not land in Lake Merwin, and modified it for the Columbia. Landing in the river is a fallacy. A missing person not accounted for at that specific day and time in 1971? That’s another fallacy.

Robert: I generally agree with you on the search area size. 3 minutes of flight time, and a drift of about a mile either way, gives us around 18 square miles. For anyone who thinks he went into the Columbia, I would suggest making a box of 18 square miles, center it on the flight path, and then center it over whatever drop zone you choose (even center it on the widest part of the Columbia) and then see how much of that 18 square miles covers water and how much covers land. The answer is that there is much more land in the drop zone than there is water. You could drop a parachutist out of a plane 100 times, and maybe hit the Columbia a few times. Imagine a small island in the middle of the ocean, and a parachutist. What would be more likely, landing in water or landing on land? The answer is water, not land. That is the same set up as the Columbia, except in reverse. Also, even if Cooper landed in the Columbia, that does not mean he landed smack dab in the middle. He could have landed just a few feet from shore. Bottom line is that there is a much higher probability that he landed on land than water.

Welcome to the case. When I saw Zodiac mentioned, my first thought was that you are wasting your time trying to get on the DB Cooper Forum, but then you let us know that you don't think Zodiac and DB Cooper are the same guy, so all good. I think Shutter sees most of the posts here (he runs the Cooper Forum). It's up to him to approve people. You'll actually get some good discussion here, but definitely try to get on the DB Cooper Forum too. The problem here is that it can go sideways quickly with spam, or incessant back and forth about personal disputes. As for the Columbia River theory. A question for you: What size area do you think the dropzone consisted of? The plane is flying about 3 miles a minute, the winds are anywhere from zero to 20 (depending on who you talk to, or what altitude he was at), and he could have opened up at 10,000 feet or 1,000 feet. Given that, what would a realistic search area be in square miles? And where would that be centered around? Ariel, Battle Ground, Vancouver, etc.

What is the purpose of the maps? Or is he just asking for maps for the pilots thinking they will need them. Seems like an odd request. We know he got the money and the parachutes. What happened to the maps?

Dudeman-Did you ever jump near Sacramento in the 70's? Or would you know if there were any jump centers near there in 1971? I found a family connection to a suspect and want to see if I can find out if that family member jumped. It's a long shot, but I'm curious.

It's a good video. I personally liked the graphics, not just for the quality, but for the visual representation of where he sat, and how the flight attendant was strapped in a seat behind him. I'd love to see someone do a video of the whole caper in that format, from walking into the airport in Portland, to walking down the aft stairs, including ordering the drinks, etc.

The DB Cooper thread has become a cesspool. One spammer keeps posting porn. That thread has become an embarrassment to skydivers. Posters on there can post other places on the web, they don't need the DZ anymore if it is going to be how it is now. If the spammers can't be controlled, then it should be shut down and archived.