BruceSmith

Ube, thanks for the shout-out, so to speak. The flight path as presented on Sluggo's site is in dispute. What the FBI says it was and what other principals claim do not jive. As a result, the FBI is increasingly coming under a dark cloud of suspicion. Seemingly unrelated issues are stockpiling under this pale, ie: flight path, missing evidence, incomplete ground searches, etc, and I think it behooves all responsible investigators to more closely examine the actions of the Bureau. Call it what you want - mistakes, lies, compromise, conspiracy, deceit, cover-ups, whatever; the bottom line is we need to look. Afterwards, when we know more about the FBI's conduct of its Norjak investigation we can then more accurately select what words we ought to use to describe the Bureau. In the meantime, we look at the evidence through "cultural goggles" as Sluggo said, which shapes our perceptions. Some people simply can't live with any doubt of their beloved FBI. Others can, and they will lead the way in this aspect of the investigation.

"...As far as deliberate lying by the FBI, I have seen no evidence of that, neither in the search, or even the Amboy chute. Mistakes? Of course. Conspiracy, no...." Quote Robert, as an investigator how do you distinguish between a "deliberate" lie and "mistakes?" Always willing to compare techniques with you. (smile).

Rataczak TOLD you he thought 305 was east of the flight path? There is no radar data you say? The whole thing was a cover up to conceal the REAL search elsewhere? Army troops were ordered in for a search under false pretenses? Funny thing, but that's what Galen Cook claimed in his Janet Fable. And it's nothing but wishful thinking. ***'Cook believes the mysterious man was an FBI agent warning Janet not to go to the press because the FBI and other law enforcement agencies were expending considerable resources looking for Cooper near Lake Merwin, 35 miles north of Vancouver. "This would have splintered the FBI's progress and maybe prevented them from capturing D.B. Cooper," he said.' Excuse me, but when the Feds and the US Army combine to go looking for somebody, I've never heard of them doing something crazy as you suggest, simply to throw off possible 'looky-loos'. Oh, sure. They would REALLY spend all that money, all their resources to catch the hijacker right after it happened by throwing most of it away on a stunt, instead of trying to bring him to justice. That makes a lot of sense. Or maybe not. Check-in Time at the Reality Hotel: They will go into any house they wish, search anywhere they want to find their perp. And anyone who gets in their way will be hauled off for obstruction. You want to seriously present that theory? How about a little proof? The FBI went through a thousand suspects and beat the bushes from 1971 to 1980 trying to catch Cooper. After the money at Tena Bar was discovered, they may have cut the budget and backed off a bit. The reality is, they just couldn't find any trace of him. You are forwarding nothing except a conspiracy theory with no hard evidence to support it. You even have people 'scrubbing the public records' to boot, which insinuates other criminal acts related to the hijacking. By whom? And more importantly: WHY would they do that? Just don't tell me it was an airline safety improvement thing or related to LSD tests. I couldn't handle that. What kind of hard evidence would satisfy you, Robert? The evidence I have provided above is certainly more hefty than the circumstantial stuff you have presented about Kenny. Let me turn the tables. So, what does the lack of radar data mean to you? What does the failure to examine 11 square miles of LZ out of 12 sq. miles mean to you? Why did Gary Tallis spend two weeks zooming over the Washougal? Why did Rataczak say he was east of V-23. What signifance do you attach to these pieces? Please ignore whatever motivation you think I have for suspecting a compromised investigation. Rather, I'd love to hear your analysis of the above-mentioned facts. Lastly, as the author of Cooperland, what's your assessment of the need in people to believe in their FBI? How strong is that need in you? Comparable? How will you feel if you learn your Federal Bureau of Investigation has been lying to you about Cooper? Where in Cooperland will you place this dynamic?

Yeah, where is the follow up ?? At the very least it shows where the FBI thought the plane was west of PDX.. Put yourself in their shoes.. they had a command post at PDX Airport. They would have had a man or two in the tower. What would you do if you were H? I would want minute by minute positioning data on Coopers plane, especially when they know he is about to jump right?? How about this: FBI says drop zone is E of I-5 & N of Battleground because they don't want people searching in the correct location. ?? I am just trying to put myself in their shoes *** Greetings Ube, I discuss some of these very subjects in my book: "Sky Thief - A Report on the DB Cooper Skyjacking." Would you like a free digital copy? If so, just email me at brucesmith@rainierconnect.com. In the meantime, Himmelsbach was freelancing during the hijacking. Remember, he wasn't in charge, Julius Mattson was. According to Himms in his book, he first went to PDX to check in with Mattson, then took off with another agent in a Chinook and attempted unsuccessfully to intercept Flight 305. The next two days he conducted an aerial search of the stated LZ by air. Sunday, he flew to Reno in his own plane along the V-23 air corridor. Further, an FBI agent by the name of Gary Tallis attended the 2011 DB Cooper symposium and told the assembled audience that he flew shotgun in a helo for two weeks in the areas east of V-23, out over the Washougal and the foothills of the Cascades. At the same time, local LE was in charge of conducting the ground search in the Ariel- Amboy area. I spoke with the Under Sheriff's of Clark County who ran the operation and he said he and his men covered about one sqaure mile before the FBI called them off, after only four days of searching. That left at least another 11 square miles at a minimum that wasn't searched on the ground, and a maximum of 23 square miles that was left unexamined. The Big Ground Search with hundereds of soldiers took place five months later, and local residents told me that the operation seemed to them to be a joke. I spoke to one woman who said a helo full of G-men landed in her pasture and asked her for directions. They didn't even have a map or know where they were despite having five months to plan their operation. Similarly, I spoke to an FBI agent who was on the ground in the spring 1972 search, and he said he followed behind local LE and the soldiers- that they did all the heavy lifting. Those kinds of assignments, ie: locals tromping through the brush while the feddie-teddies stayed in the rear eating donuts, was confirmed by the Under Sheriff. To me, it suggests that the Ariel - Amboy LZ was a decoy, and that the real LZ was further east. One can easily assume that the feds wanted the locals out of their hair, and to keep the actual crime scene pristine and free of looky-loos from town. This scenario is further suggested by Rataczak. When I first spoke with him he said he didn't know where 305 was when Cooper jumped. Then, later in the converation, about 70 minutes in, he let it slip that he thought 305 was east of V-23. Additionally, the lack of any radar data revealing Cooper's whereabouts during his jump - Seattle Center, McChord, SAGE, either F-106 or the T-33 tailing Flight 305 - further suggests that this evidence has been scrubbed from the public record.

Are you kidding? In Cooperland? Not a frickin' chance in hell. Only a very few people are aware, and I'm not naming any of them. Besides, I thought you weren't interested anyway. You have said that. Not interested? Me? On the subject of documentaries, Galen sent me an announcement about a Travel Channel docu on Cooper that was filmed several months ago, and will be broadcast in early November. Here's his commentary: "...And while we are on the search for verification of upcoming shows.........here's one that is REAL, if you care to pass along................ Travel Channel, new series called "AMERICA DECLASSIFIED." DB Cooper investigation segment runs on Sunday evening, November 10th, 10:00 pm EST. Host is Mr. Mike Baker, retired CIA officer. Appearances by Jerry Thomas (yep, that one), Galen Cook, Phil Scoles (scientist from Portland), and a guest parachutist who is going to make a hard jump into the southern Washington forest near Ariel."

Are you kidding? In Cooperland? Not a frickin' chance in hell. Only a very few people are aware, and I'm not naming any of them. Besides, I thought you weren't interested anyway. You have said that. Not interested? Me?

Greetings Robert B, I had an interesting email exchange today with a buddy at NPR, an executive producer at "All Things Considered." I mentioned that I had heard the NPR was doing a docu on DB Cooper and he was surprised. He said he had never heard of such a project and asked me if I knew who's producing it. I said I didn't know, but would ask. So, is your NPR person willing to come forward? Can you name him / her?

******************************** In reply: 1. Creepy or not, Marla placed her family into her claims, and as such they are fair game for inquiry, corroboration and review. In addition, if Marla is correct and her uncle LD was DB Cooper, then her family may be accomplices in the skyjacking, either by helping in the planning, the getaway, and the subsequent cover-up. For journalists to not explore those possibilities would be irresponsible. Remember, my job is not to make friends, but rather to tell stories as truthfully as I can, with a modicum of sensitivity and grace. Thus, it is not surprising that three indivudals who have posted here have threatened to sue me, and an additional individual has threatened to sue me if I didn't write what I knew about Marla. 2. Mark, you make some factual assertions about what the FBI did and when, but my information is different. Here it is: In general, Marla's value to me is not necessarily what she says about LD, but rather what she can tell us about the FBI, thus uncovering what the FBI did with her information and when they took action. The FBI is the real prize here, not Marla's family. Arden Dorney told me that he learned of Marla's story in 2009. He then commenced his investigation. Apparently by 2010 he had sent his initial dossier on LD to Curtis Eng, when it languished for months, perhaps close to a year. Arden was not speciifc. Not hearing a word from the Seattle FO, Dorney contacted his FBI buddy from Oklahoma, who is still unknown to me, and according to Marla, she doesn't know his identity, either, which is the norm for Marla. As I understand from Arden, even with his FBI associate, nothing moved in Seattle. The two LE buddies then threatened Curtis that they were going to CNN with the story of his inaction. Then, Eng got his ass in gear, according to Dorney. Exactly what the FBI did is not clear, but they were rolling by May, 2011 at least, when Marla says they gave her a lie-detector test and interviewed her for five hours. By June, 2011, the FBI had made the determination that LD Cooper was the "most promising" suspect, and Ayn Dietrich, the PIO in the Seattle FO, gave that information to Alex Hannaford in his interview with her on DB Cooper. Hannaford's story broke in London on July 30, 2011, I believe, and the Seattle press picked it up immediately, and it went world-wide within a day or two. After the big splash, the FBI again shocked us by revealing that they didn't have any hard evidence on LD, and seemingly did not have any DNA samples or fingerprints to compare. That issue is now in some dispute, as Marla and others have said in late 2011 that the FBI had LD's fingerpints in the spring of 2011 or earlier. As we all know, Geoff's book came out a few days after the "most promising" kafuffle and we had the trifecta of front-page coverage: Geoffrey, Twisty Butt, and the Bureau. Lastly, I am convinced that Marla is smart enough to know that she needs to keep her eyes and ears open now that Coss is dead. I'm sure she appreciates the reality that anyone who gets into bed with the Bureau and plays dirty can end up looking at a lot of Blue Skies.

I emailed Marla last weekend asking her if she'd consider posting again here when I thought Robert was leaving for awhile. She hasn't responded yet. Actually, I don't think Robert was the only person who drove her from the board. I think it was also people contacting her ex-husband, children and siblings. But, since a couple of years have passed, that might not be case any more. Even though the FBI mentioned L.D. specifically other than a few interviews, we know less about him than most of the other suspects and would have been interesting. Quote Sadly Mark, Marla knows very little about her uncle. She doesn't even know how tall he was, or much of LD's personal data. What Marla knows is Marla. She also knows, maybe, a bit more about the FBI and Geoff, too, and why the three of them got so entangled in August 2011. Now, that would be interesting to discuss. But unfortunately, Marla has chosen not to engage that conversation, and only throws a temper tantrum about her family's privacy, etc, when we ask and Curtis lets her off the hook with his inscrutible silence. I think the real value of LD Cooper as a suspect is the light it shines on the FBI, starting with how they named him the "most promising suspect" before they had any DNA or fingerprints. Now, that's interesting! Plus, how the LD dossier got onto Curtis' desk after languishing in the Bureau's ethers for a year after it left Okalhoma. That too, would be very interesting. Wouldn't you like to know about the water cooler conversations at the Seattle FO about Marla and her family, and her two dectectives in OK, and how the "most promising" concept got cooked up? Now, that is something I really want to know! Thinking that Marla left the DZ because of our bad manners is misleading. Marla left, in my judgement because we no longer served her purposes, and we had begun asking too many questions that put a light in too many shadowy places that she wanted to keep hidden. Heck, that gal was even talking about her sex life before she went, so she's not that bashful. Truth-seeking questions can do that to people. Makes them find safety in sex talk. Funny, eh? Speaking of which, if any DZ readers would like a free copy of my book "Sky Thief - A Report on the DB Cooper Skyjacking," send me an email and I'll gladly send you a digital copy. I made this offer a few months ago, and it's still good. But I see that we have a few new readers here, so I wanted to make sure they knew of the offer. In the book I detail quite a bit about Marla and her family, including interviews with her main investigator, Arden Dorney, her monther, LD's sister-in-law, and other principals. Even "Santa Claus!" (smile). brucesmith@rainierconnect.com Along those lines, I'm happy to report that a publisher in NYC has enough interest in my work to ask me for a full manuscript. As for my need for more sun and warmth, I intend to relocate to LA after the first of the year to get Sky Thief made into a TV mini-series, and dry out from 23 years soaking in Cooper Country. Whew.

Tsk, tsk, Sail.. Chronic boredom is not my only reason for wanting more precise information on Sheridan, and my lack of "wow" when I see his pix compared to Composte A or B. Enjoy da sun in Cabo. I'm looking to warm up and dry out too, soon.

Also, Robb Heady is defintely coming to the Ariel gathering. He will also be in Tacoma for Geoff's presentation on Friday and the symposium on Saturday morning at the Washington State Historical Museum. Not sure who's talking as I haven't seen any list of speakers. I haven't been invited to present, but the WSHM did revise their signage, and I got a direct accreditation for the pix they used from the Mountain News.

Quote Yup, I talked with Tina a few days ago. She really does sound like a nun. Meek and soft spoken. But when I told her I had written a book about her and Flight 305 I could feel the energy switch off and she hung up on me. But she said three more words to me: "I'm not interested," as I offerd to send her my book. So, I'm up to eight words from Ms. Mucklow.

My recommendations are, in this order: 1) Skyjack - by Geoffrey Gray. 2) D.B. Cooper - Dead or Alive? by Richard Tosaw. 3) Norjack - The Investigation of D.B. Cooper by Ralph Himmelsbach. There's this other book that puts forward the idea that Cooper might have been an actual employee of the airline, but you can get that one free just by contacting the author. I had another poster recommend Skyjack to me in a pm. I'll think I'll start there. I'm not really interested in possible suspects at this time. I need to get basic case facts down first. But if you want to send me a copy, I'll eventually get to it. Thanks. Other Cooper resources. http://n467us.com/ http://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20 Oops beat me to it, Vicki. I was just going to suggest Sluggo's site as well. To me, that is still probably the best Cooper site on the internet.Quote Reply: What about the Mountain News? http://themountainnewswa.net/category/db-cooper/

When frustrated by lack of progress we invent boogie men to blame. Jo blames the FBI. Bruce suspects a puppet master. I think DB Cooper will prove to be an ordinary person who planned and executed an innovative crime, not a govt operative on a covert mission. Occam agrees. 377 Okay, Three-Seven-Seven, what does Occam says about the DB C list of odd stuff: The DB Cooper list of red flags – Top Twenty: 1. Missing cigarette butts. 2. Missing DNA profile from the cigs that was developed and released to the media in 2002. 3. Where is Jeremy Blauser? 4. Where is the stuff the Forman’s gave to the FBI to test for Barb’s DNA? 5. Why did Calame and Rhodes write that the fingerprint retrieval was botched in Reno? 6. Why did Rhodes feel that the FBI agents he talked with that were on security detail the night of the skyjacking seemed to be under the influence of a post-hypnotic suggestion when he talked with them in the mid-1980s? 7. Why won’t Rhodes answer his phone or read his mail? 8. Why aren’t there any of the money shards that Himms and his crew found in the evidence box at Seattle? 9. Why did Cossey lie about owning the parachutes? 10. Why did Cossey spend so much time telling the world that Cooper was a bogus sky diver who died in his jump? Why did the FBI buy that assumption? How come they don’t believe your assessment of jumping with an NB-8? 11. Why did Cossey do so much weird stuff – like say he provided the parachutes, modified the rip cord on the NB-8, vacillated for 40 years on whether it was an NB-6 or an NB-8, etc? 12. Why won’t the cops talk about how Cossey died? 13. Why haven’t the cops talked with Cossey’s poker players? Why won’t they tell us what they found on the credit cards and gambling chit that was mailed back to the family? 14. What’s the connection between Tina living in Gresham at the time of the money find ten miles away at Tina’s Bar? Why did her FBI brother in law then whisk her away to a convent shortly thereafter? Why did she stay there for twelve years even though the Mother Superior says she never really fit in there? Why is she currently a raging recluse? 15. Why does the FBI and most of the DZ insist on calling the location of the money find at the Columbia River beach, “TENA BAR,” when the sign on the gate clearly says “TINA BAR” and I have repeatedly posted pix of it? 16. How come no one from the FBI showed up for the 2011 Symposium in Portland? What did that achieve? 17. Why did the FBI say they were looking for Cooper in the Ariel LZ when the local cops told me they left 80% of it unexplored when the feds shut down the ground search after four days? Why did the FBI spend two weeks flying over the Washougal watershed looking for a parachute? 18. Why did my computer files get hacked? Why did something steal emails between Galen and me and send them to the FBI in NYC? 19. Why are my correspondences with literary agents repeatedly stripped of the word doc attachments I include that deal with my book? 20. Why did a supervisor at the WA DSHS spend twenty minutes on the phone with me yesterday trying to convince me that I didn’t qualify for medical benefits – and never had – even though I have been on Medicaid for 18 months and have successfully passed through three major case reviews, spoken directly to about six DSHS officials about my case, and even had an in-depth, in-person interview with a DSHS official, and most recently had been assured by three workers over the phone that my case was being re-instated and that any denial of benefits was caused by some computer glitch? Tell Occam I'm all ears. I'll even buy the beer.

Greetings Everyone, Today is an historic day for our country as the government shuts down as Obamacare gets started via mandatory funding that superceeds the budgetary impasse. I wrote two stories about the mutual events, and I invite you to read the Mountain News. For some, you might learn important information that will get you medical coverage. The Obamacare piece has a DB Cooper tie-in. My current Medicaid coverage was cancelled September 1 despite my repeated phone calls and their assurances that my medical benefits would be re-instated. The kafuffle lasted so long and was so bizarre that I began to wonder if the Cooper puppet master was over-riding the computers at the WA DSHS offices to mess with me and my book. I began to dig into this dynamic today and also develop a straightforward story on Obamacare. After a few hours of calling state offices I received a call from a DSHS worker that I had never contacted assuring me that my Medicaid benefits were being fully restored. Was I being paid -off to spin a Obamacare story to a happy conclusion? Ot was the DBC puppet master nervous over the possibility of being exposed? Yes, I know that many of you will roll your eye balls over this, particulary Snowmman, who thinks I'm one brick shy of a lost cause, so to speak, if I can mix my metaphors. Anyway, here's the link to the MN: http://themountainnewswa.net/2013/10/01/obamacare-gets-started-as-government-shuts-down/

Greetings Everyone, The Washington State Historical Museum exhibit on Cooper says that there were 13 copycat hijackings in 1972 alone, but they did not elaborate in the signage. Hence, I asked for a list. They emailed me today with a list that has 18 names on it, with some acknoweldged to be political hijackings and not strickly "copycats." I define a Cooper copycat to be a skyjacker that steals an airplane, and demanded money and a parachute. The WSHM has given me four new names. Here are four of them: 1. Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 On July 5, 1972, Michael Azimanoff, 28, a Bulgarian refugee, and one accomplice, Dimitr Alexiev, brandished pistols and hijacked a 727 in Sacramento, CA, bound for LA. They diverted the plane to San Francisco and demanded $800,000 and navigational charts. In addition, they demanded to be flown to Siberia. However, the craft did not have a qualified international pilot, and the plane sat on the runway for four hours. The FBI sent in an agent disguised as a pilot, and other agents snuck into the forward section of the plane as the new pilot entered the cockpit. A gun battle erupted and Alexiev was killed. Azmanoff was in the rear of the plane and launched a gun battle with the FBI. He was eventually killed, but one passenger was also fatally injured. Two other passengers were also injured. The feds later arrested a third accomplice, Lubimir Peichev, who was to rendezvous with eh hijackers in a second plane and they were to fly to Mexico. Peichev was sentenced to a life in prison. Info courtesy of “The Skies Belong to Us.” 2. Pacific Southwest Airlines, Flight 389 The next day, July 6, 21 year old Francis Goodell hijacked PSA Flight 389, Oakland to Sacramento. He diverted the aircraft to San Diego and demanded a parachute and $455,000. Released the 57 passengers in San Diego and demanded to be flown back to Oakland and to have a helicopter waiting for him. Upon arriving in Oakland, he surrendered to FBI without incident. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Info courtesy of “The Skies Belong to Us.” 3. American Airlines Flight 633 One week later, July 12, 1972, Melvin Martin Fisher hijacked American Airlines Flight 633 in Oklahoma City, where we was facing criminal charges for fraud. The plane was enroute to San Diego from New York. Fisher demanded $500,000 and a parachute. However, the airlines only offered 200K, which he accepted and released the passengers. He instructed the pilots to take off and fly around the city. They did so, but for unknown reasons Fisher then instructed them to land and he surrendered to the FBI in OKC. He was sentenced to a life in prison. Info courtesy of “The Skies Belong to Us.” 4. Hughes Air West Flight 775 On June 30, 1972, Daniel Bernard Carre, 25. boarded Hughes Air West Flight 775 in Seattle, bound for PDX. One report claims that he brandished a knife in front of a flight attendant even though he had been searched prior to boarding because he fit a hijacker’s profile in both physical demeanor and behavior. He demanded $50,000, but was apprehended upon landing in Portland. However, “The Skies Belong to Us” offers a more detailed account. The authors state that Flight 775 was bound for Salt Lake City, with a scheduled stop in Portland. After take off, Carre announced to a FA that he wanted to “jump out over Pocatello (Idaho)” and also wanted $50,000 and a parachute. He made no mention of a weapon of any kind. The pilot landed at PDX and ordered all the passengers off the plane. Carre then surrendered to the feds without incident. He was remanded to a mental institution. His subsequent life is indeterminable. Note: Two hijackings I haven't been able to gather any information: National Airlines, Flight 67 on March 7, 1972, and Delta, Flight 952 on April 17.

Reply. Ahem, Mark. Gee I wonder who you are referring to. In case my adorable, smiling face comes up, I'd like to set the record straight on where I stand on gravity, time and mortality. To begin, I don't doubt any of these issues, especially mortality. Remember, I almost died with a heart attack 18 months ago. But I do grant you that I actively pursue means to overcome the inherent limitations of time and gravity. Personally, I figure I should work first on my time travel and interview Mr. Cooper in 1971. Then after that I'll move on to levitation, if for no other reason than to beat the traffic into Seattle. Immortality can come after that, I figure. Oh, yeah. gotta win lotto somewhere, too. Sigh, so many extraordinary manifestations, so little time.... what's a mystic to do, eh?

Addendum: I received this email today, Friday, Septemeber 20, 2013: Bruce, Thanks for your response. Yes, we found both photographs on the same panel in the exhibit. Fred removed the panel to have it reprinted with the correct photo credits and then will replace it in the exhibit. Our apologies, and thanks for your understanding as we correct the error. Have a great weekend, and thanks for coming to see the exhibit. Let me know if you have any other concerns. Regards, Kim Kimberly Ketcham Marketing & Communications Director Washington State Historical Society 1911 Pacific Avenue Tacoma, WA 98402 Hence, I'm happy.

Greetings Everyone- Meyer Louie and I went to the DB Cooper exhibit at the Washington State Historical Museum today, and here is my report. In general, I found the exhibit to be a solid and reasonable presentation of the Norjak saga, with one proviso – it is a very narrow perspective and ignores or minimizes very important aspects of the case, such as the recent investigations into the titanium, DNA testing, and the presence of Al Di even though the DB Cooper letters are mentioned. In addition, plenty of juicy aspects of the case are avoided. There is no mention of any of the confessions or any discussion of the suspects. There is no Marla, no Jo Weber, and no Barb Dayton. Nor are any of the controversies discussed, such as Earl Cossey’s claim to own the parachutes, or his murder. What the exhibit does have is the rock-solid evidence from the early days, especially the time-line. I found that very informative, particularly that DB Cooper spent 16 minutes in the lavatory, from 5:43 to 5:59 pm. However, there are a few inaccuracies that need to be corrected or clarified. The mock-up section of the rear of N467US is incorrect. In the row of seats central to the hijacking, Row 18 is incomplete. A life-sized Cooper is sitting in his proper seat of 18E, but seats across the aisle, 18 A, B, and C, which was occupied by Bill Mitchell - a major witness to the skyjacking - is not presented although Rows 17 and 16 are. Also, the briefcase/bomb in seat 18 F is not correct. It is a naugahyde gym bag and not a cloth or soft leather attaché case. Plus, there is no paper sack or burlap bag that Cooper hand-carried aboard Flight 305. Along those lines, the audio presentations are not effective. In the above section of the exhibit there is a ten minute re-enactment of the cockpit transmissions to Seattle Center and they are hard to follow. Not only is the over-arching context missing, the volume is inadequate to hear easily and most visitors pass through this section quickly. Similarly, the volume is too low at other stations giving glimpses of the media coverage the day of the skyjacking. Of course it was good to see Norman’s parachute again, and Boy! was I surprised to see two of my Mountain News photographs – one, the manufacturing label of the Pioneer, and the other of the packing card signed by Coss - presented without any authorization from me nor any accreditation. Besides being illegal and unprofessional, it’s pretty tacky since the WSHM doesn’t return any of my phone calls or emails. However, they did give me a credit for assistance on the last section of the exhibit. I also saw hints of my book, Sky Thief, in certain places. The exploration of the DB Cooper letters and the overview of the parachutes seemed to be lifted out of the book, and I had a sense that whoever shaped the themes of the exhibit had read my book closely. The section on the FBI and NWO officials was top-notch, with a healthy round of who’s who replete with pix and descriptions of their roles in the case. Mark’s twenty is on display, but the WSHM's piece on the money find is surprisingly weak. There is very little information shared about what was found and where, and no speculations were offered on how the money got there as far as I could tell. Nor was there any hint of Mark’s insightful contributions on the nature of the parachutes or how to exit a 727 safely. In a separate section there was a short section of the Nat Geo documentary featuring Tom Kaye and it showed much of his thoughts on the money falling into the Lewis River, but it failed to mention the Propeller Theory at all and did not offer any explanation on how the money went upstream from the confluence of the Lewis and Columbia. Next to the looping NG docu was a brief discussion of the Citizen Sleuths and the only mention that I saw of Larry Carr. With only a handful of sentences it described his effort to involve the public. Also,the role of the DropZone in current exploration of Norjak was mentioned. More troubling, the exhibit seemed to lose its focus at this point and it offered very disjointed information on current air safety issues, such as the development of the TSA. I found these elements to be incongruous and poorly developed. The exhibit should have focused strictly on DB Cooper and leave the secondary issue of safety in the air travel industry to another exhibit at another time. However, the working model of a Cooper Vane was wonderful. Nevertheless, it needed better signage, as it took me about five minutes to explain to Meyer how it worked. Similarly, the effort of the exhibit to portray the nature of air travel in the early 1970s was a dud. The models of airport construction and accompanying pix and signage were meaningless. Along those lines, the mannequins adorned with 70s’ era uniforms of a flight captain and a flight attendant were uninspiring. If the docents and museum staff wore vintage costumes of the 1970s - now that would have been interesting. Further, the staff were impressively uninformed about Norjak, but they were exceptionally friendly. To their credit, they delighted in hearing the many stories from Meyer and me throughout our afternoon visit. In fact, we took them on separate tours throughout the exhibit to show them the many aspects of Norjak that were missing. One docent, Barbara, was stunned to hear that Earl Cossey was murdered just last April, and she seemed to be quite shocked realizing that her museum failed to appreciate that occurrence. Another failure of the exhibit is to develop dynamic lectures or presentation from experts in the case. The WSHM posted a flyer announcing that there are six Cooper-tie ins, but only two are specific to Norjak – Geoff’s personal presentation on Friday, November 29, and a “Cooper Symposium” the following day, November 30. Also, the poster that WSHM uses to advertise their Cooper exhibit has a major flaw: their pix of DB Cooper has him hanging from his parachute harness wearing a black tie. However, the docents cheerfully revealed the mistake to Meyer and me. Despite the gaffs and missing elements, I loved the exhibit and recommend it to both researchers and the general public. It is a worthy effort, even if it does seem to foster the FBI’s perspective on the story.

Forget Blevins' bluster! Rataczak is/was a company guy. That carries with it certain legal stipulations, by contract. Some say these are lifetime restrictions. Never mind there is also a criminal case involved! That is the first-fact about Bill Rataczak, and all the other crew members. How long that stays in force, I dont know. For Blevins to spout: " ...I don't see any motivation for Rataczak to lie... " is just another instance of Blevins being totally obtuse to keep te impossible alive at SciFi Books of Seattle Central to Blevins' arguement is: 'I and Porteous were so important Rataczak had to pay attention to us'. And cows fly over the Moon. Quote This expands the question- why would NWA want to keep the lid on Norjak? Nevertheless, I agree with your assessment that NWA was a tight-lipped outfit and the crew followed company policy. Scotty's comments after the debriefly in Reno are quite telling - he was bascially saying, 'I ain't talking to nobody about nuttin'.'

...I don't see any motivation for Rataczak to lie... Reply: I do, Robert, and so should you. Truth it seems, is like a like a helium balloon. When something like Norjak happens we see the balloon take on new shapes - distortions even - and we can be sure that some other forces are at work besides honesty and truth. We may not always know the exact nature of those forces, but we can see their effects. It is like Dark Matter and Dark Energy, the huge, vast forces of the univese that are mysterious to us. We can't see 'em and we don't know exactly what the phenomena are. But we can see their effects, such as iinexplictable gravitational forces that speed up the expansion of the universe. Such is happening with Norjak. Do you really believe that the guy flying the plane still doesn't know where he was 40 years after Cooper jumped? Do you really think that Bill Rataczak lacks sufficient intellectual curiosity to find the answer to that question or lacks the resources to ascertain one?

Reply: Thanks for the sad news, Mark. Yes, I knew Karen and corresponded with her in the weeks following the Symposium. My condolences, too, to her family, especially the bass player from Tacoma that she was hanging out with at the Symposium.

...Shutter: If you make the call and he calls you back, take notes. And if you say Rataczak says this or that...I will believe that is what he said. Believe it or not, I do trust your word that anything you quote from Rataczak would be accurate. Reply- Robert, why do you have so much confidence that Mr. Rataczak will tell Mr. Shutter the truth? Rataczak's public comments suggest otherwise. Bill told me directly that he didn't know where 305 was that night; yet, Himmelsbach told me that Bill told him that the plane was over the Washougal. Further, retired SA Gary Tallis told me and the 2011 DB Cooper symposium that he spent a great part of his two week surveillance effort in an FBI heliocpter over the Washougal watershed area, which supports Himmelsbach's contention of a fly-over in that area. In light of the modest ground serach in the Ariel LZ on the Thanksgiving Day weekend following the skyjacking, it also suggests that the promotion of an Ariel LZ was a deception to keep the public out of the real LZ further east. Yet, Jo says that Rataczak told her that 305 was closer to V-23 and saw the lights of Portland and Vancouver coming up as he approached the WA-OR border. As a result, we have at least three different perspectives from Rataczak - 1. I don't know. 2. Washougal 3. V-23 So, when, and to whom, does Bill Rataczak tell the truth and when does he obfuscate? Or are Jo and Himms misquoting Bill? If so, why didn't he tell me whatever it was that he told them. "I don't know," is pretty hard to miscontrue into Washougal or Portland/Vancouver. Lastly, why do you think Bill Rataczak doesn't return any of my phone calls or emails? Because he doesn't like me? Or, are my questions simply too challenging? When did "being nice" become a prerequisite for truth telling?

My name has come up in a few posts over the past few weeks, so I thought I'd state my perspective on a few subjects. 1. I have never seen Kenny Christiansen's death certificate, nor do I know exactly how he died other than the general sense that he had cancer, as has been stated in many places. I have never written anything to suggest that I know any more than that. However, I did have a phone conversation two weeks ago with Galen about Kenny's demise, while I was sitting on a park bench outside Skippy's former apartment in NYC. Galen asked me about the cancers associated with male AIDS sufferers and I mentioned Kaposi's sarcoma, the disease that results in dark discoloration of the skin in tell-tale spots and blotches. From the KS, many patients ultimately died from pneumonia. That's all I said, and any further conclusions or speculations about Kenny's death come from others. 2. I stand by my statement in my book that "Kenny was probably gay and had troubling relationships with runaway boys," or words to that effect. I developed that perspective directly from Geoff's writing and his description of Kenny taking runaway male teens to restaurants and treating them to exotic gifts from the Orient upon his return from his NWA duties. To me, such behavior by an adult man with at-risk youth is very troubling. These actions can be construed as "grooming" the kids for later sexual activity. I'm not saying that Kenny had sex with teenage kids, but he was involved in some dicey behavior in my opinion. Geoff clearly states that his interview with one of the boys reveals that no sex occured between him and KC, but I wonder about the other kids. Further, I think Blevs and Skippy are remise for not exploring these issues. Threatening me with a law suit is not a useful approach to this matter, in my view. Rather, I think KC's activities in Tokyo should be investigated further, and I have suggested to Robert that he do so. I suspect that KC's money came from his ventures there, not by hijacking 305. 3. I have had numerous emails from Lyle Christiansen that reveal him to be a forceful proponent in championing his brother as DB Cooper. He is much more than a guy just spouting a good idea for a movie; he actively stokes the fire. Further, Lyle has also asked me for my contacts in the movie industry in Hollywood as he has spied a young lassie in his home town that he feels will be the Next Big Thing. He wants to buddy-up with any producers who want to get in on the ground floor of a celebrity gravy train getting ready to pull out of the station. I informed Lyle that I have no such connections.