BruceSmith

whats the 'motivation' for anyone posting here? Dang I like you Bruce Smith. You're kinda of out there with some stuff, but I think you basically put forth a genuine, honest article. Even when they close the door on you, you always manage to come up with something to write about anyway. I love to read your stuff..so keep it coming. And btw, I will be looking forward to my percentage of the lotto winnings. 7 27.

whats the 'motivation' for anyone posting here? Quote I prefer to think of myself as a conduit for information, and some mighty fine tidbits come from Galen, so I share. As for Galen posting directly, he got bounced out of the forum a few years back for indiscretions of which I have long forgotten the details. I think he chided Larry Carr excessively over some DZ post. '08? '09? When the planets align and the tide is in, Galen calls and we talk. Some times I write it all down, and after that sometimes I post.

This is my first T-Day post-MI, that's myocardial infarction for the inititiated, and my kitchen plans this year call for making hummus from scratch, without Tahini, as it adds too much saturated fat and oils. So, thanks to all for conjuring up old memories of cornbread, southern cookin' and such. Once Upon a Time when I worked in the horse racin' biz and traveled extensively in Dixie, I used to have a map that told me where all the good BBQ places were. I'd map my routes south outta NYC to those great eatin' spots. Loved that pulled pork and Carolina-style cole slaw, all washed down with Sweet Tea. Sigh. Wonder what Danny Boy ate 41 years ago?

Happy Anniversary Everyone! I was talking with Jo earlier in the evening and we chatted about the "Night before Thanksgiving..." and the subject of "Cooper numbers" came up and how they might have a little extra juice tonight that might work for a Lottery ticket. I need six numbers, and have four: 1. 41, for the anniverary 2. 11, for November 3. 24, for the date 4. 18, for the seat number So I need two more for Washington's Lotto. Any suggestions???? The winnings'll be 1.9 million, and I'll divvy up the loot acording to the numbers you give me. - a sixth, a third, etc. -20, for the denomination of the bills? - 1, for being a solo job? Any way, join the DB Cooper Lotto Fun, and if you go on your own let me know what you play - it'll get you in Chapter 26, The Vortex. And it might make you some money, too!

Is this a flare chute or a pilot chute, Robert?

Wow. Tosaw spent some really serious money on his Cooper dive ops. THREE hard hat divers? Your average Joe Scuba doesn't have hard hat gear. Pro divers do and they don't come cheap. I hadn't realized Galen was so close to Tosaw. Maybe it was a law brotherhood thing, like a shark bond. Quote Galen has shared some remarkable stories about Richard Tosaw. I hadn't made the connection until Galen mentioned it that they both were lawyers. In addition, they both busted the chops of the FBI, with Galen suing them over the DB Cooper files in 2004 or so, while Tosaw was able to yank the Ingram money out of their grasp. They must have been quite a team at T-bar, tromping around in the mud. Bring in Al Fazio on the side and I sure wish I was there. Add a little tequila and red wine and you have one hell of a campfire time, if you catch my drift. ...and don't forget the mutilated cattle, too.... In the meantime, it's me and Galen at Fishtale Pub in Oly-WA, swapping stories about Marla, Tina, Jo, and any other woman that catches our imagination... Sigh.

Three seven-seven, can you tell us what the difference is between a pilot chute and flare chute? What do they look like? And how can you tell that the pix I saw a few pages back of Coss holding some filmy babric was a flare chute? Thanks.

Come on, Bruce. 'Monumentous' my eye. Don't you use Google? I read your article. That find was all over the newspapers in 1988. ***** etc. There is much truth to your statement, Robert. Yes, the pliot chute find was distributed widely at the time in the media, and I remember seeing a YouTube clip about it a couple of years ago. Funny, I never connected it when Galen was telling me his story, as I recalled the video characterizing the find as an inconsequential piece of parachute fabric. Galen's analysis casts the find in a wholly new light, in my judgement. Hence, the Oh Wow! quality of my writing, which I gather you are enjoying more and more!!! Perhaps you might say that the most newsworthy bit of my piece is that Galen never knew about the pilot chute until he read about it in Tosaw's note books 20-plus years later and received Georger's newspaper clip. I find it a hoot that Galen worked with Tosaw for years and was kept so much in the dark. Proves that not all DB Cooper crazies live solely on the DZ, eh?

The following was posted on the Mountain News today by Galen Cook, and addresses some of the current questions regarding the search at Tina's bar and the finding of the pilot chute. ********* Once again, a bit of personal commentary to help disgorge the log-jam of information. I've spent considerable time, probably between 100 and 150 hours at T-Bar, both on the shoreline and in boats between the wingdam of Caterpillar Island and the northern reaches of Tina's Bar. Tosaw and I were on his chartered expedition in 05' and again in 08'. In 05' Tosaw used a dive barge, crew of three hardhat divers, underwater camera, and some sounding devices. It was a pretty elaborate operation. Tosaw died in 09' after considerable illness. In 09', 10', 11' and 2012, I began my own research at T-Bar, and that included teaming up with a very competent scientist who has terminal degrees, is a part-time professor, and has his own consulting business with a laboratory in Portland. Our experiments lasted three years and the results will be released at a time of our own choosing. This latest piece of information, the finding of a pilot-chute, was first brought to my attention by "Georger." I regard "Georger" as an acquaintence who has excellent credentials and some skin in the D.B. Cooper game. "Georger" and I do not agree on everything, but we are civil and professional in our exchanges. I consider "Georger" a dedicated researcher of fact. Tosaw did not mention to me his 1988 find of the pilot-chute. Tosaw did not mention to me his 1985 interview with "Janet." He kept this for himself because of his personal needs to try and solve the D.B. Cooper case. I have interviewed Earl Cossey on numerous occasions. He always returns my calls. SA Larry Carr does not believe D.B. Cooper survived his jump. SA Curtis Eng believes he did survive. The list of theories and speculations by qualified investigators is long. The latest bits of information presented in Bruce Smith's news journal are fodder for the individuals with impartialed minds ( the persons who can add constructively to the fact-building of this mysterious case). There is an opening into the big-tent of D.B. Cooper sleuths. "Georger" and Bruce Smith are both well aware and do a good job. The price of admission isn't necessarily cheap, as some have learned, and it appears that some never get admitted. G. Cook

Galen has made another momentous announcement - this time telling us about a discovery of a pilot chute in 1988 by Richard Tosaw. The information had been lost in the investigatory shuffle, but a number of ciurcumstances have brought it forward now, with added weight. I've written about it at the Mountain News: http://themountainnewswa.net/2012/11/19/the-hunt-for-db-cooper-disclosure-of-parachute-find-at-tinas-bar-fuels-interest-in-baffling-case/

Greetings, Many have read my positng at the Mountain News about Galen Cook's uncovering a couple of men who as teenagesrs in 1980 say they found money shards at Tina's Bar the month prior to Brian Ingram. Many have questioned Galen about it, and he's given a comprehensive response, so I thought I'd post it here to further the conversation on these pages. - Bruce Here is Galen's commentary: 1 Just a few comments to clear up some possible misunderstandings. My investigation into the D.B. Cooper mystery branches out into many areas of inquiry. Tina’s Bar is just part of my overall probe into the case, however it does hold some fascinating clues if one wants to conduct a deeper examination. Back in 2009, SA Larry Carr and I discussed the issue of the Brian Ingram find, particularily as it pertained to the decomposition of the $20 bills. Later that year, I associated with a particularily experienced scientist from Portland who agreed to come on board and work with me at the Tina Bar discovery site. We basically mapped the entire area into a scientific grid. We had the full support of the Fazio’s and unlimited access to their beachfront via their private drive. Our experiments apparently caught the interest of the FBI. The Supervisory Agent in Seattle put me in direct contact with SA Curtis Eng. Then, the FBI released the “Palmer Report” to me. That report cited a most likely “arrival time” of the $20 packets at between 9 months and 12 months prior to discovery. Palmer’s specialization was “shoreline process,” which would allow a scientific examination of sedimentary deposits and the strata of the beach soils. A packet of bills found at a particular strata on the shoreline can be correlated to a specific period of time in which they “arrived.” My goal was to try and simulate the money find, including the decomposition process, using various controls. We conducted our experiments both at Tina’s Bar and in the lab, and then replicated them more than twice in order to gain confidence in our experiments. The results of the experiments will be published at a later date. I found it odd that there were never reports of others finding pieces of Cooper’s money at Tina’s Bar. Richard Tosaw and I had discussed this issue many times while we worked together on the Columbia River during 2005 and 2008. [there were reports that the FBI had found "shards" back in February 1980, but this matter was never verified, nor was there an indication of it when SA Curtis Eng allowed me to inspect the Cooper money at the Seattle Field Office]. In late summer of 2012, I spent a rather long period of time at Tina’s Bar and got to know the fishermen who fish the area. I also learned why Tina’s is such a popular location for fishermen. Fishermen are a bit like goldminers, in that they tend to be evasive as to what they know about the area, particularily when non-fishermen are asking the questions. But after a discussion with a lone fisherman, he casually told me that Ingram’s find was not the only discovery of Cooper’s money. Through some coaxing, I received enough information to locate the two individuals who had made the earlier discovery. Both grew up in Vancouver, WA and fished at Tina’s Bar since childhood. Bruce’s narrative is pretty accurate about what happened next. The men, now in their 40′s, but age 12 and 14 at the time, found the shards at Tina’s Bar approximately 4 weeks prior to Ingram’s find. I went to some length to corroborate their story, which checked out. I asked them why they never notified the authorities and they told me that they had no idea whose money shards they found (before 2/10/80). It wasn’t until the Ingram find came out in the newspaper that they understood what they had found. It didn’t make any sense to notify authorities at that point because the media was giving full attention to Ingram, and, the two boys didn’t keep the shards anyway. [this story was checked-out through the parents, who also saw the shards on the beach on that day of discovery]. The shards standing alone means nothing to an investigator. What I needed to know is (1) “where” the shard were found; (2) “what condition” the shards were in; and (3) “how many” shards were viewed? I received the answers. These fellows took me to a location that was very important to myself and the scientist who works with me. That location, the depth, the condition, the number of shards, as well as the location downriver where a few more were found, is what matters most. It would have been nice if they had kept the shards, but what would a couple of youngsters do with small corner tips of $20′s? These kids were just fishing with their parents and hanging out at their favorite fishing site. After 32 years, no one else has ever come out with a story about finding more Cooper money at Tina’s Bar. There is nothing to gain by this kind of story, well after the fact, unless of course, the specific information can be related back to other known information and can be fitted into a scientific model that will assist in further experimentation and investigation. This 32 year-old information, which has very slowly worked its way out, tells a great deal about the complexities of the Tina Bar mystery, at least from a scientist’s perspective. All it took was some willingness to get to know the true nature of fishermen, and get them to finally talk. That took some time, but it was worth it. Galen G. Cook Attorney at Law [Galen repsonse triggered more comments from MN readers, and he gave us an expanded view, offered below:] Comments to your responders above. You have to put all of the material factors of beach erosion into play. Natural flow, freshets, tidal forces, wakes from passing ships or smaller vessels. There is a tendency towards continuing beach erosion. We took decisive measurements of this from 2009 to 2012. The only evidence of accretion was from the dredging operations, which occured just south of Tina’s Bar, or near the wingdams, which are erected as pilings into the main river current. Thus, it would be almost impossible for the money to arrive by natural means from upstream and then be covered and buried at a substantial depth by natural beach build-up at an area downriver from dredge stacking, or, at an even greater distance downstream from the wingdams. Apparently, the depth of the discovery sites and the various types of sand stratas were the only relevant factors for Dr. Palmer in 1980, as that allowed him the proper shoreline process analysis in which to determine an arrival date. My understanding is that the FBI is not in disagreement with his conclusion. What Dr. Palmer does not do is create a scientific theory as to how the money arrived at TB. So, the question of “how” the money got there is still in play. As to the shards: It seems that too many corner pieces of $20s were found to account for the missing $120 (six bills) from one of the packets. Three packets were found together, but the shards were found in a separate discovery hole. Why is the money separated into two discovery sites, and why is the money found in two distinct forms (bundled; sharded)? It seems that there was probably more than $6000, but far less than $200,000 at TB. As to the shard discovery by the kids: they were young teens, and their parents had no reason to get involved. Shards of bills are not worth anything. Back in 1980, everyone reading the news in that area just figured that Cooper must have died and this was some of the evidence left behind. The FBI and the Fazios closed the entire area down for weeks after the Ingrams find and the fishing ceased for a time. These are fishermen, not scientists or sleuths. They prefer to be left alone and fish. I doubt any of them read the DZ, or sit around and try to establish the latest preferred theory. Most of the fishermen I talked to could care less about D.B. Cooper. Anyway, good questions nevertheless. Galen Cook

Greetings everyone, Galen Cook annnounced this week that he has spoken with two men who claimed to have discovered money shards at Tina's Bar prior to Brian Ingram's find in Feb 1980. The details are up at the Mountain News. http://themountainnewswa.net/2012/11/16/the-hunt-for-db-cooper-new-evidence-on-money-find-sheds-harsh-light-on-fbi-investigation-but-excites-citizen-sleuths/#more-6158

I'll be going to Ariel. Anyone else? I'd love to know who. Please let me know. Thanks. brucesmith@rainierconnect.com.

Greetings Everyone- Thanks to all who have sought me out, concerned about my prolonged absence from these pages. I was in New York for five weeks, lounging on the beaches of Long Island, in part to recouperate from my heart attack of last February. Now, I'm back, and the work continues.

What certifies that any of these letters came from Dan Cooper the hijacker. Is there a vital clue in them ONLY the FBi would know about, and what is that clue? Otherwise, the letters could have come from anyone, even the FBI itself; as ploys trying to get Cooper (or anyone with knowledge of the case) to respond in some fashion. The FBI could have decided to ressurect the technique, just to see what comes out of the bushes now, from gullible 'researchers'? Without further knowledge its probably another media event and dead end. This case is so full of crap it has become self- generating. Alas, you may be correct, G. The decoding seems to be accurate, but what does it mean? It doesn't prove the skyjacker sent the letters. Nor does it tell us who Al Di is, or what his motives are.

Looking for Al Di, an update. Mr. Di has not responded to my email inquiries, including for permission to publish his work. Galen and I had a long chat about Al Di today, and here is a synopsis of what he told me. Galen has had over 60 emails from the individual calling himself Al Di. Despite numerous requests, Al Di has never identified himself to Galen. The emails cover a range of DB Cooper topics, but most are inquiries by Al Di to learn more about what Galen knows about the case. That said, Galen characterizes Al Di's knowledge of the case as "superior," and Galen believes that Mr. Di is part of the FBI investigation in some fashion. Galen has not heard from Al Di in the past two weeks or so, not since Galen challenged him on his decoding process, in particular the colorization of the black and white picture from the web posting Al Di has claimed is his source of Letter #3. Galen thinks Al Di has -or had - access to the original color version of the letter "DB Cooper" sent to the Oregonian. Snowmman has also weighed-in for the search, but so far none of his leads have panned out.

Greetings All, My latest findings about Letter #3 are posted at the Mountain News. http://themountainnewswa.net/2012/06/18/the-hunt-for-db-cooper-letter-sent-by-db-cooper-in-1971-is-now-causing-a-flap/

Galen in the past was well known for using posters in the DZ to generate interactions to benefit his agenda. Galen has asked me to announce that he has received numerous phone calls from Jo, begging for answers to her questions, but that he does not respond to her calls. He feels this statement will help add some clarity to Jo's pronouncements here.

I recommend we focus our attention more keenly on the letters that “DB Cooper” sent to the media in the days and weeks after the skyjacking. In particular, I find Letter # 3 to be most fascinating. Letter # 3 is the first of two “cut and past” letters that “DB Cooper” sent to a newspaper. Number 3 reads: “Am alive and well in hometown P.O. The system that beat the system. DB Cooper” According to journalist John Craig, the letter has been analyzed by an “Al Di,” so now we have an additional mystery, Who is Al Di? Further, why won’t Al Di identify himself? http://voices.yahoo.com/1971-db-cooper-letters-linked-suspect-7516448.html?cat=37 Nevertheless, here is what we know about Letter #3: It is the first of two cut-and-paste jobs that “DB Cooper” sent to media. It was mailed in Oregon from a “970” zip code, but not a Portland one. It was mailed to the Oregonian newspaper, but apparently never published nor made public. I understand that Larry Carr made the presence known of this letter during his time as the Cooper case officer, but the Al Di web site says that the presence of the letter was not revealed until August 2011. Also from Craig, we are reminded that the DZ got wind of the analysis in a posting from a “DB Cooper decoded” on September 8, 2011, and I remember the posting. The “decoding” video is superb and can be seen at: http://dbcooperdecoded.com/messages1.html Further, the envelop was hand-written, and addressed: “Editor – Oregonian 1320 SW Broadway 97201” Craig says that Galen told him that he saw the envelop in Seattle in May 2011, and that the handwriting appeared to be very similar to that of William Gossett. In the body of letter #3, some of the “tells” that “DB Cooper used according to Al Di, are very interesting. Perhaps the most fascinating is the presence of an article in one of the Playboy magazines on the Mai Lai massacre by freelance journalist Jesse Frank Frosch, who earlier had been a US Army intelligence officer in Vietnam, which is how he gained his information. However, he was also assassinated later in Cambodia during an ambush when he was working as a reporter for the UPI. The associations to Petey are obvious. Other tells come from the advertisements in which the text was cut, and they included tobacco, martini and cigarette lighter ads. The manner in which Al Di describes DB Cooper is also interesting. Al Di describes DB Cooper as a “sky pirate” and one that is “brash, highly calculating” and who “coolly executed” the hijacking. He characterizes the skyjacking as “akin…to a James Bond movie.” These are not the words or perspectives that I usually associate with the typical views of the FBI or agents involved in the case. Al Di says he is not a “professional researcher” but just an “average Joe” who is fascinated by the DB Cooper case. Lastly, Al Di claims to be the first to decode letter #3. Who else decoded it? Sailshaw and I are going to have a lunch soon at the Seattle Yacht Club and talk to more of our FBI contacts. It's time to find out a bit more of what is going on inside the Bureau's offices in Seattle. I suspect that someone is stirring the pot and Letter #3 is on the menu.

Perhaps you mean, "Without a Propeller?" RE: Nat Geo, "The Skyjacker who Got Away."

AND THE DATE? ONLY SAILSHAW MAY KNOW - THANK YOU. Perhaps I can help here. Bob Sailshaw has told me that Sheridan "Dan" Peterson lived in his home in November, 1961 for one month. Dan "rented" a room in the basement, but was asked to leave at the end of the month because he didn't pay the rent. Bob says that he and Dan talked nearly every day, and that is when Bob learned about Dan's life as a smokejumper in the 1950s in Montana. Bob has said that those 30 days in 1961 was also the time when Dan suggested that Bob team up with him to develop the "system to beat the system." Bob also met Dan about six months later in the spring of 1962 at the Seattle World's Fair, where Dan was working as the Bubbleator operator. Bob says that Dan also got a job at Boeing, presumably around the summer of 1962, but Bob and Dan apparently never met during that time. Overlapping his time at Boeing apparently, Dan also started working full-time at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, WA as an English teacher in the fall of 1962, as I understand the story-line. Sheridan has refused to confirm, deny or clarify any of this information in the many emails I have sent him. In the one phone call I made to Sheridan, the elderly male voice who answered denied that he was Sheridan Peterson, and also refused to tell me who he was. Nevertheless, the phone number I called was registered to the address of a Sheridan Peterson, living in the Santa Rosa, California area. Mr. Peterson no longer lives at that address, as I learned when I went to visit him there this past January. Also, the de-coding of the "system to beat the system letter," the so-called "Playboy Magazine letter" because Playboy magazines are the source of the all the text in the letter, is utterly remarkable. How the letter was decoded, and the precision in the video is stunning. I would love to know more about this de-coding, who did it, and how it was done. Either the de-coder composed the original letter, or was informed directly by the author. Either way, this is one Playboy I want to read, if you catch my drift....

You must remember that I am just reviewing other people's writing here, such as Geoffrey and Tosaw, sprinkled with my observations of what is posted here, and my few interviews with principals. The gist of what I have read is that Nyrop set the tone of cooperation in the early stages by insisting on cooperation with the skyjacker, paying the ransom, and not challenging Cooper. However, the nitty-gritty of complying with Cooper and flying him where he wanted to go was up to Soderlind, who seems to have been a major player in the background.

Thanks to all who have offered suggestions and support. Here's Chapter 3, The Jump http://themountainnewswa.net/2012/06/12/the-hunt-for-db-cooper-the-resurgent-investigation-into-americas-only-unsolved-skyjacking-chapter-3-the-jump/

Chapter 2: Basic facts of the skyjacking For your reading pleasure at the Mountain News: http://themountainnewswa.net/2012/06/10/the-hunt-for-db-cooper-the-resurgent-investigation-into-americans-only-unsolved-skyjacking-chapter-2-basic-facts-the-skyjacking/

Really Bruce. ? " Along with DNA and the abovementioned dynamics of inquiry, other forensic tools are coming into play, especially remote viewing – one of the primary tool of the military’s psychic spying program, such as their Stargate Program – making the DB Cooper investigation truly resurgent." Give us an example of where and by who, remote viewing, is being used as a tool of science, in the DB Cooper case? Inquiring astral projectoristas and other hombres wanna know! Where on the Electromagnet Spectrum is remote viewing to be found as a 'forensic tool', or, 'forensic fool'? Well, at least you're not asking about forensic drool! But your question is a valid one, G, and I need to inquire more deeply into the remote viewing world as to whether anyone is looking at Nov 24, 1971. As of this moment, the only remote viewing efforts in the DB C case that I know of are my own and they are suspect, frankly. BTW: I believe the preferred term is "Astral Projectionistas."