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Jo wrote It might very well be prints or reliable Cooper DNA. We don't know and the FBI won't say. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote (emphasis added) That's a pretty big leap Jo, from a hand scar to a chute. Care to fill in the missing links? If you can put Duane in a chute you will find a lot of new interest. So far, you havent even come close. Didn't you say that you did not provide the FBI with possibly the best source of Duane's DNA: his wristwatch? It's a bit hypocritical to complain about the FBI if you failed to give them everything you had which might be relevant. Even now, if you came up with something probative I'll bet the FBI would pay attention. But you dont have probative evidence. EVERY bit of evidence you have is ambiguous. The alleged good stuff has all disappeared (parking stub, airline ticket, money in the van, bank bag, parachute hardware etc). I do hope you find some closure on your quest Jo, but doubt if you will. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Blevins wrote It's very generous of you to literally "give away the store" Robert. What is your reasoning? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Blevins wrote Luckier than Arthur Miller? Perhaps. Depends if you prefer champions of sport or literature. We will have to speculate on the wedding night competition. Elton John arguably had the best relationship with MM. She deceased, he gay, no hearts broken. The person who had the most enduring relationship with MM was Eunice Murray, her longtime housekeeper. Mrs. Murray was a confidant but never cashed in with a tell-all book. Interestingly she was the mother of Bruce Murray, a Cal Tech professor considered to be the father of the Mars exploration program and JPL spokesman for it. Jo, knowing "in your heart" that Duane was part of Norjack may satisfy you but don't blame others for not accepting emotion as a substitute for probative evidence. The FBI took considerable interest in Duane. You had your chance to present your evidence. You've hinted at times that you withheld certain items and information from the FBI, not trusting them. If that's true then don't complain about their inadequate investigation of Duane as a Norjack suspect. I'd love it if Duane were proven to be DBC. It would be a wildly exciting end to the case. If Peterson or Mayfield or Braden or McCoy were proven to be DBC I'd yawn and say, yeah... he had the right stuff. If Duane were DBC I would be truly astonished, amazed, perplexed. A surprise ending always trumps a predictable one. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Does anyone remember what Marla said about LD taking skydiving lessons? Was that claim ever verified? Robert, I read her Facebook posts and yes, some are a bit snarky and perhaps self absorbed. That still doesn't prove she was consciously lieing about things such as the Dan Cooper comics. I don't think LD was DBC. I just wonder if Marla had a sincere belief that he was. The tie-tanium could be a very significant clue. Why does it get so little attention? Sailshaw says Tom Kaye is wrong about only alloyed Ti being used on aircraft. Sailshaw says pure titanium was flame sprayed onto the leading edges of high speed aircraft wings and fins. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Bruce wrote Bruce, You refer to an "interphone" radio. The interphone isn't a radio. It's a wired intercom connecting the cabin to the cockpit. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Where has Farflung gone? I miss the guy. He moderates my "gotta be a jumper" prejudice about DBC. Georger, why throw stones unecessarily? We were all getting along pretty well. You don't have to call my posts crap. I never characterize yours in that way. How about nicing it up a bit? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

How would the crew have known this? Did Cooper inform them? Hard to imagine that they would voluntarily swallow anything Cooper gave them. Lets assume for the sake of argument that the bennies story is true. Benzedrine has been used by military aircrews since WW2 to fight fatigue. It is still going on but has become very controversial. Farf, did the USAF give you bennies? http://books.google.com/books?ei=VxcRUaTlEePmiwLiv4Bo&output=html_text&q=benzedrine+and+military+pilots&btnG= Could this be another clue that Cooper had been involved in military aviation? Does it contradict the theory that he planned to exit very shortly after takeoff? Why would he be expecting serious crew fatigue? If he was expecting a long night in the plane why would he be drinking alcohol? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Blevins wrote I think there is a good chance that Marla wasn't consciously lying. She was trying to revive childhood memories, read dropzone posts and other published Cooper info and had an interest in proving LDC was DBC. Its easy to see how wishful thinking may have induced false memories about the comics. She just didn't impress me as a cynical liar. Obviously you have a different opinion. Did she really get a "fat advance" from a publisher? How much would be typical? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote The right price for Duane's watches is market price. If you can prove Duane was Cooper and can prove you have the watch worn during the skyjack it is worth a LOT. Don't sell too soon Jo. Look how much some idiots pay for a decayed Cooper twenty. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Kinda ironic that the USSR supplied a critical material for the SR 71 which was used to spy on it from waaaay up going waaaay fast. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Bruce wrote: If true then is it cigarette DNA that they use to rule out suspects? I was not aware that they analysed the cigarette butts for DNA. If they did, I assume they would have compared it to the tie DNA to shore up their conclusion that the tie was Cooper's. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Hi Vicki, welcome back! I am sorry but I do not know the answer to your question about when and where the cig butts disappeared. The FBI seems to have high confidence in their ability to rule out suspects using (alleged) Cooper DNA, so I just have a hunch that they have something besides the tie, something less likely to have been contaminated with the DNA of others. The loss or destruction of evidence can ruin the chances of a successful prosecution. Defense counsel can argue that the lost evidence would have proved that his client was NOT the person who committted the crime. The loss of potentially exculpatory evidence often results in a dismissal because it deprives the defendant of a right to a fair trial. If there is other evidence that indisputably proves the defendant's guilt then the loss of other evidence may be considered "harmless error" and a conviction will be upheld on appeal. The cigarette butts probably had DBC's DNA and would have been the best evidence available. Their loss could blow any chance of a successful prosecution. The FBI bungles sometimes but they are generally pretty careful about preserving evidence. They know that a failure has dire legal consequences. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Smokin99 wrote The FBI has been amazingly cavalier about the handling of physical evidence. It's not normal practice. As a defense lawyer, when I had my experts examine physical evidence or run lab tests the prosecution enforced strict protocols so that the custody chain was unbroken and fully documented and that contamination or alteration of evidence was prevented. Even in minor cases this was how things were handled. I represented a ghetto bar owner who the cops hated. He was arrested for serving alcohol to a minor. It was a major hassle just to get a sample of the drink which was preserved. My lab had to sign for the sample and document it's handling at every step. The prosecution wisely only gave my lab a portion of the sample so that they had a control if my findings were later to be disputed. My client got really lucky. My lab tested zero alcohol. When the police lab repeated their test they found the same thing. Case dismissed. It might be that the FBI has some undisclosed evidence that has been very carefully handled and that is highly probative in identifying Cooper, enough so that a conviction could be secured without any other evidence. Cigarette butts might fit this description. It just makes no sense that they would be "lost". Peterson, a highly qualified suspect, was ruled out on DNA. Maybe it wasn't tie DNA but cigarette DNA which would be more confidently linked to DB Cooper. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote That's not the reason Jo. The reason is evidence. Peterson may not be DBC but he is superbly qualified. You have been unable to show any evidence that similarly qualifies Duane. As for excitement it would be FAR more exciting to have Weber be DBC than Peterson. Everyone concedes that Peterson could have done it skills wise. NOBODY but you (and perhaps Farf) think Duane could have done the job skills wise. Farf doesn't think it takes any skill So if Duane did pull it off it would be incredibly exciting. It would be a Walter Mitty fantasy come true. It would be the underdog story of the 20th century. I'd have to eat a crow but it would be worth it. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Georger raises all sorts of intellectual property issues. Copyright questions indeed abound. My son tells me that file sharing and piracy will never be effectively controlled. That train has left the station. Movie studios, theaters and major print publishers have to play by the copyright rules but for the masses it's optional now. I don't care much. It's nice to see authors and performers get paid for their works but thanks to intense Disney lobbying the duration of a copyright has become absurdly long. Works that were headed for the public domain were snatched back. Patents are only good for 20 years. Why should copyrights endure for terms that can approach and even exceed a CENTURY? If an indigent patent owner complains to the govt about patent infringement he will be told that no enforcement assistance is available. If a copyright owner makes the same complaint, FBI and DHS can get involved, make raids and arrest infringers. Does that seem balanced or in the public interest? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Look at how real planes are still used in movies. Big hassle and expense. I guess computer graphics doesn't solve every problem and in some cases might be more expensive. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Think about if the movie declares Barb Dayton to be DBC. Will the LBGT community celebrate a new hero? I don't think Weber, Dayton or Gosset was DBC but I'd like to correctly predict the movie ending. Which DBC candidate gives the movie the highest box office ratings push? It might be Dayton. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Then there is a chance that Hollywood will declare that Duane Weber was DBC. He's got to be one of the three candidates. The movie sounds so different from the book that I wonder why they paid for movie rights? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

One Ckret statement that always puzzled me was something like airline employees were too honest to have done Norjack. Certainly he knew better. Airline employees have been caught many times smuggling drugs, stealing baggage, flying drunk, lieing about cockpit actions preceding a crash, etc. Wonder why he said it? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

The movie blurb says That's not the book I read, but Hollywood makes 'facts' every day. So are the three Weber, Gosset and Dayton? Will Jo get to see Duane portrayed on the big screen? I understand Georger being pissed off that Gray disclosed his real name. The excuse Gray gave was so convoluted and self justified that it stunk. If you agree to keep something confidential you should keep your word, period, not construct excuses to violate trust. It's not like Gray had the info subpoenaed. Enough said. I still hope the movie succeeds. Any DBC publicity renews and initiates interest in the case which is a positive thing. It enhances the chance that somebody somewhere will find some evidence and realize its relevance to the case. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I am stunned that the new movie will be an adventure-comedy. COMEDY? Does anyone think this Cooper case is funny??? Hey, Geoff is a savvy NY crime reporter. He knows when to do the soft sell Columbo "aw shucks" approach and when to pull a knife. If you doubt his effectiveness ask yourself who else got the warm welcome from the FBI and wide access to their files? I can't even get a peek at the Amboy chute. I wish Geoff the best. He put on a first rate event in Portland that was a blast. I was so impressed that he hosted and warmly welcomed Marla. Her timing really harpooned his book, but he didn't let that get in the way of presenting every angle of Norjack that he could. I am looking forward to the movie. When the credits roll I can say, hey I know that guy. That's only happened once before. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Maybe Geoff Gray will actually make a buck and break the real Cooper curse. http://m.deadline.com/2012/06/cbs-films-acquires-skyjack-the-hunt-for-d-b-cooper-for-will-gluck-to-direct/ 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Looks like an airliner boneyard. Lotsa derelict and stored acft. I think it's the old George AFB. Wonder who is making the movie and what the story will be? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Heard through the grapevine that a new DB Cooper movie is in the works. I'm not involved. Anyone live near Victorville CA? A 727 at that location will be used in the production. Maybe someone can use Google Earth to get a shot of the plane. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.