BruceSmith

QuoteBefore you decide to read the Marla Interview at Newsvine, a warning: Quote Thanks, Robert, for doing the work to move the ball a few more yards down the field.

My new report of Marla and her family is now up on the Mountain News: http://themountainnewswa.net/2011/12/12/db-cooper-marla-cooper-and-her-uncle-ld-an-update/ I have interviewed Marla's mother, Grace Hailey, Dewey's widow, Janet Cooper; Dale Miller, the pastor who befriended LD at the end; and Arden Dorney, the cop who assisted Marla. I also offer some commentary about the new face of Marla Cooper as her story becomes more complex.

No, there is no verification that I know of that the FBI spoke with the family in the time shortly after the skyjacking. That seems to be the Marla Magic - few facts, fewer details, and little or no corroborations. Just Story and Smiles. I understand that the SoL is up for the family. But if they are viewed as participating in a criminal conspiracy, that may change everything in terms of image. What happens to the Book Deal? And who is going to sit next to whom at Christmas? I received an immunization shot by telling Grace that I had tried called her grandson, Marla's kid. Then Grace told Marla. Miss M went ballistic. "Not even Inside Editon did that!" Miss M told me, releasing her fangs....

I'm working up a report on the latest developments in the Marla Cooper story, for in the wake of the FBI's silence, Miss M is now the story. Is she lying? Is she nuts? Is she woelfully mis-informed? Or is she telling the truth? In the past week I have spoken with Marla's mother, Dewey's widow, Dale Miller - who ran the ministry in Eugene where LD died in 1999, and Arden Dorney, the cop who assisted Marla get her story to the FBI. Plus, I have had a dozen phone calls and emails, and some lengthy chats with Miss M - and some lengthy silences as well. A couple big dynamics have emerged. One, Miss Marla is letting her Inner Cougar have free run. She has threatened me with a law suit, promises to write about me in her upcoming book (which was supposed to be another threat, I think, but she sounded stunned when I said, Thanks, Marla, I appreciate that.), hung up on me, and announced that she was "done talking to you." She has also not returned phone calls, or followed through on promises to provide access to principals in the story. It appears that Miss M is not too happy losing control of her narrative to pesky investigative journalists. One big problem has emerged for Marla and her family. If her story is true, then many in the family may have participated in criminal activity because they may have allegedly aided and abetted a felon and they might have covered up the skyjacking for 38 years. And who knows what was said - or not said - when the FBI interviewed them shortly after the skyjacking - so I'm asking. What started as perhaps a charming mental exercise to solve the DB Cooper case and tell a cute tale about a vanished uncle once upon a time, has now turned profoundly serious. If Marla's story is true, the ca-ca is about to fly big time. I don't think anyone in the Cooper clan ever reckoned how this story would rock their world. I should have this inital report up on the Mountain News tomorrow, Monday, in the evening. Until then, Via Con Dios, mi amigos.

Blevins has a good point about the rest of Marla's family and their recollections of that fateful night. Where are their corroborating stories? 377 I'm working it. Status report in a few days.

She runs a wholesale coffee distribution company. "Honey, I can explain everything. The price was really good and we'll go through 2000 lbs of Arabica beans in no time."

I like a woman with a lot of "affect," G. You prove my point. Thanks for more pin-up material. On a related topic. What do you think is going through the mind of Curtis Eng's boss these days....

I trust your major test went well, today, Jo?

I will be traveling to San Francisco on December 30 and spending a few days in Marin County endeavoring to speak with Sheridan Peterson and dynamic duo of SA Mary Jane Fryar and Long-Tall-Drink-of-Water-SA Nicole Deveraux, who swabbed him and listened to two hours of mud hut stories. Back to Cooper County HQ on the 3rd.

Marla, update, toothbrush, and Arden, 12.4.11 I spoke with Marla Cooper today; in addition, yesterday, I spoke with Arden Dorney, the cop who helped get her story to the FBI. Here is a brief update on some bits and piece floating around. Marla confirmed that the FBI obtained a toothbrush of LD’s and they are examining it for fingerprints. She said that the Bureau got the toothbrush independently of her. She said that the only item of LD’s that she has is the guitar strap that belongs to her mother. She also said that Dewey’s family had a suitcase of memorabilia from LD, mostly filled with pictures. I queried her extensively on the timing of the release of Geoffrey Gray’s book and the news leak from the FBI about her case and calling it a “most promising lead.” Marla adamantly denied that there was any collusion or coordination of these events, although she readily acknowledged that it did look suspicious. “It must have looked shocking to you,” is how she phrased it. She said that she had never heard of Geoffrey until he was appearing widely in media during this flap, and she had no prior knowledge that he was writing a book about DB Cooper. In fact, Marla said she had no idea that the FBI had discussed her claims with any journalists and said that she called Curtis Eng to chastise him for not giving her any warning. When I questioned her further and asked if she perceived any orchestration of events in the Cooper case, she immediately replied, “I feel there is Divine Orchestration.” Marla then commenced in a short soliloquy, describing how she has “faith in God’s timing, and his plan to get this story out (to the world).” She added that she feels she is the “one to tell it,” and that God “wants her to tell this story.” Along those lines, she said that she has been traveling around and visiting a lot of relatives, and her goals is to learn the truth of LD and this event, and to bring some closure to her family. Marla indicated that she feels very strong ties to family, and also to the roots of her family. The first period of her life was spent in the Pacific Northwest, and her current road trip to Seattle and the Portland symposium is her first time back since she was nine years old, when her family relocated to New Mexico. “I cried when I got to the Oregon border,” she told me at the symposium. “I feel like I am home.” Those sentiments continue, and today she told me that she feels her family moved away from these ancestral lands in order to protect his family from LD’s crime of skyjacking Flight 305. “It was hideous to me that we left (Oregon), and moved to New Mexico. Not seeing my grandmother – my two grandmothers was a big loss.” Marla told me that her father, Don Cooper, had four brothers: The oldest was Willy Clyde, then LD, Dewey and the youngest was Wendell. The family moved to Oregon when the boys were young, and originally lived in Missouri in the towns of Cassville and Shell Knob, located in the southwestern portion of the state. Marla was unable to give me any specifics on LD’s physical aspects. She said his eyes were like his grandmother's –“almost black.” She said she couldn’t even guess his height, although she said that LD was taller than her father and Don was about 5’8” or 5’9”. She also stated that LD had dark skin, and looked “almost ethnic.” She also said that LD always wore black clothing and that the family jokingly called him “Johnny Cash.” In addition, he had near-black, slicked-back hair that appeared greasy. In terms of media coverage of her news about Curtis being convinced that LD is DB and thus closing the case, she said she has been talking to lots of media, including Canadian stations, and that the story has a fair amount of traction nationally, although she acknowledged that it hasn’t made the front page of the New York Times. Arden Dorney I spoke with Arden on Saturday. Marla was kind enough to give me his phone number when we spoke at the symposium Arden is 69 and retired for the past ten years. We had a lengthy and amicable chat. Arden gave me some vital inforamtion and clarified many points. First, he was not an Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer. Rather, he was a detective in the Elk City Police Department for many years; then became associated with the state Drug Task Force. Elk City is half-way between Oklahoma City and Amarillo, Texas, directly on I-40, and is also a former way-station on Route 66. Elk City had a population of about 40,000 when Arden was active, and it currently has a police force of 19 officers and 3 detectives. Arden said that he met Marla when she was a part-time housing designer, and in tones similar to Marla, he too, describes the encounter as a result of “divine intervention.” “We just bonded,” he said, adding, “It all just fit together,” referring to how he and Marla exchanged information and how the pieces of LD story seemed to dove-tail. However, he acknowledged that he has not a single piece of solid, concrete evidence – no money, no chute, no briefcase, no flares and no bomb. Nevertheless, he is convinced LD is DB. “The case is solved,” he declared. “As a former investigator, there is no doubt in my mind that Marla is the niece of DB Cooper.” Arden told me that he made the initial discovery of LD’s whereabouts – not the FBI – and that he found LD in Sparks, Nevada. About this time Arden’s cell phone began to fade, but not before he readily agreed to a follow-up conversation. Before he left, Arden told me that the second law enforcement officer who joined him in developing Marla’s case was a former FBI agent with whom he had extensive professional dealings. “He got action on the case,” Arden said, adding that when he and Marla tried to interest Curtis Eng in the lead he turned a deaf ear. “But, the FBI always respects their own.” I’ll have more on Arden once we resume our interview.

A couple of things. I'm surprised by the toothbrush being identified as a source of fingerprints. I wouldn't think that a toothbrush would be such a great object to retain prints - uneven surface, moisture, multiple usage and smudgings. But more telling is that Marla told us she was sworn to secrecy to not reveal where the new fingerprints were coming from. Of course, Dale was standing right next to her when she said that, and he had just been identified as LD's "good friend." Plus, he was the guy running the residential ministry where LD lived for the last four years of his life, so we all assumed that the fingerprints were coming from stuff that LD had left at Dale's place when he died. We told her that, and she laughed with that luscious southern belle, throaty and good-natured country laugh of hers and we didn't pursue it. Further, when you try to imagine Marla's magnetism in person - and certainly in Portland talking to the mostly male Cooper sleuths - think Dolly Parton. Dolly owned Nashville for a time, and Marla owned Portland last Saturday, at least a good bit of downtown. She is a powerful woman in many ways. When she was speaking, she totally outted Curtis and the FBI. Her presentation at the symposium was as much an exposé of the FBI's investigation as it was an accounting of her experiences as the Cooper Family Historian and Truth-Teller. Another factor to keep in mind is that Marla is profoundly well-connected to the media. Her list of media contacts was extensive and far beyond what I could rustle up for a media blitz. In fact, if I wanted to get a story out I'd be well-served to call Marla. So what is their role here? Looking a little more deeply, last Saturday Marla seemed to come from out of nowhere - I thought her story was dead when the feds said "no match" last August, so the question is, how did she get on the list of presenters? Did her media contacts align with Geoff’s publishing house? Coupled with that, who funded the symposium? Geoff? That's hard to believe, but it may be true. At first, I had assumed that it was his publisher, Crown, and they were looking for a Cooper-tie in with the symposium, and hoping to sell a few hundred books and bump their revenues a bit. I had also wondered if the feds were underwriting the conference as a way to get the case shut down since Geoff had been telling the media that Cooper is dead, get over it. I questioned Geoff on the funding all through dinner Friday night and he said it was his ticket. I had no choice but to accept his explanation. I next turned to the incredible synchronicity of the FBI’s "most-promising" news leak the first week of August with the release of Geoff's book. I pushed Geoff like heck and he swore it was all a co-incidence as we walked over half of Portland. Again, I shrugged and said, "okay." Bottom Line, I felt respected by Geoff by the end of the symposium, and I felt some real rapport between him and me and the other folks in the gathering. It truly was sweet, and I am very grateful for Geoff's efforts. It all felt real to me. Now, we have the Marla Carnivalé cranking up to full steam. So, what is going on? Somehow, I feel the Puppet Master has come to the fore, and I am nervous as the case may be shut down and I don’t want it to be. It is painful to think that LD Cooper may be anointed DB Cooper by people in power. The feds may be joining forces with Marla for whatever reasons and slam-dunking LD at the buzzer. So, what about us? Well, as others have said, "stay calm, wait and see." I think that is excellent advice. Soon, though, we may have to take action, and the good news is that I think we have already begun moving in the direction of taking control of the DB Cooper investigation. We certainly regained the narrative from the FBI last Saturday with the masterful presentations from 377 and Tom Kaye. They reversed 40 years of federal gibberish. The other presentations reflected admirably on the intelligence and diligence of many, and I am proud to be associated with all who took the stage or sat in the seats. If the FBI shuts down the case, we may have to sue to gain access to the evidence and files. After all, why should the Bureau keep taxpayers away from info we purchased when the FBI doesn’t need it any more. Regardless, whatever Curtis, Marla and the players in the unseen realms do in the coming days, weeks and months, I think many of us are going to hang tough and continue our investigations, posting our findings here and writing where the opportunities avail themselves. It's really about justice, and we've got our foot in the door, leaving a crack open to let in some light. To paraphrase Bogie from a long time ago, "We'll always have the DropZone."

My piece on Marla's announcement that Curtis Eng is shutting down the case and is convinced that LD Cooper is DB is up at the Mountain News: http://themountainnewswa.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/db-cooper-marla-cooper-says-fbi-case-agent-convinced-her-uncle-is-skyjacker-claims-fbi-will-close-case-shortly/ I just spoke with Marla, and she's cranking up a big media blitz on this news. She's well connected with media.

Just finished the rough draft. I'll finish tomorrow, Friday by mid-afternnoon, PST. It wil be posted on the Mountain News with a link here. Marla confirmed to me that Curtis Eng told her he is convinced LD Cooper is DB Cooper and that he intends to shut down the case. PIO, Ayn Dietrich has not confirmed this, and gives me pap boilerplate. All shall be revealed in the new light of day.

Strange. Fazios told Bruce and others - no money shards, anywhere. Quote A correction is required. I have posted here many times that Al Fazio told me that he saw money shards along the high-tide line. Richard Fazio never confirmed that, as far as I know. Al Fazio adamantly told me numerous times that the FBI never found a single shard buried in the sand at any depth, anywhere on the beach. Further, Al is convinced the three bundles washed-up via natural means, and that the shards found on the tide line came from the three bundles and were roughed-up in wave action as they got buried/uncovered in the sand. However, Al was late to the party, and his time-line or recall - or my understanding of what he said - is mixed up and certainly needs clarifying. Nevertheless, Al told me that he had no knowledge of the Ingram money find when it happened, and he went off to a cattle auction. By the time he came back the feds had already ringed his property with yellow tape, and agents blocked his pick-up truck and cattle trailer from entering. It took a little doing to get clearence for Al to drive onto his property, and after he did he went to the beach, was asked to procure back-hoes and such, and did so. Soon after he started digging. That said, I distinctly recall Al telling me that the cattle auction was on a Sunday, which was the day that Brian found the money. I'm not sure exactly what day the feds showed up on the beach and roped off the area - Monday or Tues - but certainly they were digging by Wednesday. So, there are some gaps here, and any clarification anyone can provide is appreciated.

Has anyone ever found out what happened to Sluggo? There have been NO changes to his site and he has made no posts in months. Quote Yes, Sluggo's absence from the symposium was quite striking. His and Galen's absence were some of the most notable weight and substance missing from the gathering. I hope they participate next year.

Quote The Vortex swept up Sheridan in its etherial folds today. My sister just bought me a plane tix to NYC for Christmas but I fly back to Sea-Tac via San Francisco on the return leg, December 30th. Initially, I was not happy (at all) until I realized I could hop off the plane and go visit Petey. Hence, that plan is now being concocted, with fairy dust and witches' potion being brewed to conjure my ground transportaiton and lodging. 377 is lending a hand, as well, stirring the pot big time. But, does anyone know how I can convince American Airlines not to charge me full price on a one-way tix back to Sea-Tac after bailing in SF? Ug. ($327) Then Geoff Gray calls me! He's heading to California sometime in December, too, and asked for Petey's particulars, which I shared. (I got them from Snow, anyway...) GG is going out on another story, but Cooper is too good to let go of, although he says, "I'm NOT going to write another book!" So, Mr. Petes might get two visits from Cooper sleuths - or one big one knowing the Vortex, as it loves drama and whimsy. The way this is working I might even meet Marla on the flight.... Plus, I called the administration desk of the senior apartments that Petey is supposedly residing in. They gave me boilerplate BS about needing to protect the confidentiality of the residents, but they finally assured me that Petey is "doing okay." Thus his residency has been confirmed along with his health. California, Ho! Now, what was the name of that FBI agent downtown who swabbed Petey? She was a "long, cool drink of water,"....Ah, yes, Nicole Deveraux, I think it was...hmmmm. Duty callls. BTW, 377, You didn't include Sheridan's alibii - living in a mud hut in Nepal!

Quote That's not my understanding, D Dan. It has been widely reported that the Cooper money had been assembled some time before the skyjacking as part of a nation-wide plan of preparing ransom monies at many FBI field offices so that a hijacking or extortion plot would not impede the Bureau's options if the event took place when the banks were closed. At the Symposium, I believe, it was stated that the $200,000 was gathered from a pre-existing $250,000 pile in Seattle. It has also been reported that each bundle had a few bills added or subtracted so that they would appear uneven - thus providing an image that they had been hastily assembled and not recorded. I have never heard or read about your scenario of five mega-packets containing 20 mini packets as how the Cooper loot was delivered. Also, I don't understand your "This also provides a clear and obvious explanation for why it was there, where the missing twenties went." I don't undertand that sentence at all. Please explain further. Thanks.

Now Brian is telling Bruce that the money was grabbed by the FBI and separated then put into envelopes without mention of the rubber bands or existing artifacts. Is this fact about the rubber bands in fact a statement from someone and nothing more? If there were three bundles which I assume (assume) were banded at least individually, there would be some rubber band ‘bones’ stuck between the stacks the FBI separated. I mean there are fragments of titanium being found in neckties but no chunks of rubber bands? Is this more ‘You know what I mean’ type stuff being slammed around like paratroopers jumping off aft stairs in Viet Nam? Its a another miracle. Just a few years ago Brian Ingram knew almost nothing about 'that day'. But after extensive therapy following the Abracadabra Diet, Brian Ingram now knows everything about 'that day'. Its a bloody miracle eh? Previously the boy had to rely on his mother and Jerry Thomas for everything. Now Brian is an independent contractor, hallelulya! See what therapy can do!? Quote At the Symposium, Brian told me that the rubber bands broke off the bundles as he picked them up. He said the bands were brittle. However, he also said that his mother had told him that the interior of the rubber bands were "gooey." He didn't seem to be exactly sure how that could happen, and the circumstances didn't allow for me to continue. Later, I forgot to pursue the matter. But that's what I got. Further, I think it is very plausible to expect an eight-year old kid to remember if he saw money shards washed up along the tide line. I think the Ingram family would find such pieces very readily once they'd found the six-grand and went searching for more.

Photos of the Symposium, Part One, and the shin dig at Ariel are now posted at the Mountain News as a segment of the earlier piece on the gatherings: http://themountainnewswa.net/2011/11/29/db-cooper-symposium-delivers-solid-information-and-analysis/#comment-1677 Jerry Thomas, Hangdiver, Razz, Mooshy, Tom Kaye, Carol Abra, Brian in multiple poses including his wife and baby, the NB 8, the auctioned twenty and the fingers of the new owner(s)....the Formans, Rena, Kenny C's nephew and wife, Karen Truitt - whose father was on 305, Mr. Gray, plus much of the gang down at Ariel including Dona. Tomorrow: MARLA!

Greetings All, I have a healthy report on the Symposium, with Part One on the Mountain News: http://themountainnewswa.net/2011/11/29/db-cooper-symposium-delivers-solid-information-and-analysis/ It gives a substantive account of 377's superb analysis of the parachutes, Brian's conversations with me about the money and what he didn't find on Tina's Bar, along with extra perspectives from Tom Kaye and Carol Abracadabra. Plus the Formans' delivered their account of Barb Dayton, which continues to resonate for many and at the very least may result in Barb being canonized by all the cross-dressing, gender-variable folks in the world. Ron and Pat have already asked me to accompany them on their forays into the Gay Pride Day march circuit of the PNW. My prior efforts to support my Lesbian step-daughter at a NYC Gay Pride march in the 1980s has obviously qualified me in their eyes.

Greetings Everyone, The following is the gist of an email I sent to 377 today, and since so much of it is about marla, I thought I'd post it here: "Yeah, Marla is a force to be reckoned with - and that is the proper analogy. She is like a force of nature. Utterly sweeping. Not even Curtis Eng seems to be immune. I gotta take Marla at her word that Curt sent one of his boys down to Tina with a pix of LD - although if he was smart he'd send Ayn Dietrich. Marla's description of Tina's words sounded a lot like the words attributed to Florence Shaffner about Kenny Christiansen, ie: "of all the pictures you've showed me, this one is the closest, " etc. Still no match, though. I'm waiting for the OH MY GAWD!!!!!! picture, if you know what I mean. When someone shows Tina a pic and she says, "I'm gonna have to kill that motherfucker after all, aren't I," then I know we're getting someplace. When Tina reaches under the mattress and pulls out a 12-guage, puts a box of Winchester shells in her purse, grabs her car keys and takes one last swig of Chablis, then I know we're gonna see some closure. And when Farflung gets a PM from her that reads: "Nun left standing" - I'll know the DBC case is finally closed. So, I'm taking the pix report with a bit o' salt. The LD angle has got a ton of holes in it that you can drive a truck through - Marla was a little kid who only saw her uncle every now and then, after '72 never saw her uncle again, but she had one traumatic incident with him at T-Day when she was eight, which she forgets until mom and dad start talking about it in 1995. Now, we have two guys from the Oklahoma HP - one is a bit Alzheimer-y and the other is so deep undercover that even Marla doesn't even know his name. Plus, no one has ever seen LD in a parachute; plus Dewey is a violent, deviant, crook with a 5-watt walkie-talkie hoping his bro can triangulate Mt St Helens with Mt Rainier's summit at night at 10,000 feet in November and land near Ariel so he can pick him up before the feds do. Yeah, right. Okay, so now we need someone to go check on the FBI file of their interview with Dewey that launched the road trip to British Columbia with the kids in the back of a pick-up truck. The whole family sounds alcoholic, so does anyone in Marla World think LD could sober up long enough so that Tina or Florence wouldn't smell the booze coming out of his pores? Plus, keep his hands steady, and act like the perfect gentleman bandit? And never, ever talk about it ever again. And Dewey, too? Whew, that's asking a lot for a couple of brawling, drunk yahoos if I got the family description right. I love Marla and I love her story, but I doubt LD is DB. It feels like a whacky family story to cover another crime. Did LD kill somebody that night, get beat up, and the family needed a great cover story so that they wouldn't kill him on their own? And when did Dewey throw the T-Day turkey on the kitchen floor and challenge everyone one to eat it from there? Great family memories, eh? And Marla's been in 44 schools! Let's hear it for stability in a child's life, eh? This could be one gigantic psychiatric mess. Add in MKULTRA anyone? (just kidding...but they love these kids, supposedly....) And what is so great about a report from two Oklahoma State Highway Patrol guys? What did they find? How did they find it? George Nuttall is CHIPS and he didn't find anything substantive, although he is utterly convinced that he did. OHP has undercover guys? Why? To partner with Ted Braden on I-65/55/45 to bring coke up from Branson for the black ops folks at DoD, CIA, NIS, etc? Oy.....so little time, so many angles. What I love about Marla most is what she tells us about Curtis. So sweet. Thank you God for sending us Marla! She's like walking in warm, gentle rain on a hot, muggy day. Ya still get wet, but it feels so good.

The Symposium, Nov 26, 2011 Sunday afternoon: Just got home to Eatonville, WA, from the Symposium. A quick overview: Cast of Characters: 1. 377 and his lovely wife. They look so compatible. Thoughtful, substantive and eager to avoid the limelight. “Please don’t publish that picture.” Mark’s presentation on DBC’s parachute, C-9 canopies, 10,000 pages of Boeing’s field testing on using the 727 as a jump platform – it was all outstanding. He even brought an NB 8 for us to try on. After the auction, 377 and Mrs. 377 now own a Cooper $20. In exchange they are giving the Gifford Pinchot National Forrest Task Force, $3,100. A number of us pushed him about “Who is Snowmman?” but 377 never cracked. He did say that Snowmman is a really nice guy, however, and if you met Snow you’d never know the other side of his personality. 2. Jerry Thomas and Shelly were there, and Jerry got plenty of media attention. Ralph was scheduled to attend, but canceled due to ill health. He’s 86, remember. JT was “the man in black,” and carried the torch for the Cooper is dead/FBI perspective. 3. Hangdiver and his honey bun were there and at Ariel. Never got her full name – only the goof: “Raspberry Moon…” 4. Geoffrey and his entourage of helpers, Steve and Ben. Great gathering and I am glad that it will continue in the years to come, as Geoff has “passed the tie” to Doug Kenck-Crispin, of Oregon History. Geoff was a wonderful host – caring, considerate and most hospitable. I put his feet to the fire about the timing of his book’s release with the Marla-FBI flap, but he went to the wall saying it was all a co-incidence. Hmmm. Nevertheless, I felt truly respected by Geoff, and at the end of the symposium he said from the podium that he hopes I “never stop digging and asking the tough questions,” as I recall…. 5. Tom Kaye and Carol Abracadabra – she didn’t seem to mind my streamlining her name, and she is Lithuanian heritage, same as me. My mother’s side of the family came over on the boat: “Zizinckas.” Tom fooled me and didn’t talk about Titanium, but rather the Flight Path. Excellent presentation. It seems Tom has virtually re-examined and re-invented his entire perspective on the case. From Washougal to propellers to “Bubba.” Cooper lives. More to come in a separate report. Major information and analysis. BTW: Tom is an excellent auctioneer. BTW II: The CST didn’t find Ti sponge, but rather the metallic form. 6. Carol is one sharp cookie, and I loved the Cooper Comix Show, but a voice in my head kept saying. WTF does it all mean???? By the way, Carol, I had an aunt who lived in Belgium and she pronounced the little village where Dan Cooper comics author A. Weinberg lived, as “Lee – Ehge,” not Leeghe. (Liege.) 7. Alan Stone accompanied them, and the trio was wholly professional and gracious all through the weekend. 8. Brian Ingram looks exactly like his pictures and everybody loves him. He is a down-to-earth kind of guy, and was always available to talk with anyone at anytime, from pesky reporters on an elevator ride down from the 17th Floor at the Hilton to the main stage at the Ariel Tavern. I loved meeting Brian, and I learned lots. I’ll have a full report shortly, as his information on what he found, and didn’t find is essential and powerful. Brian brought his new bride along and their 6-week old baby girl, Rebecca. Kid slept most of the way through the symposium, as far as I could tell. 9. Musika Farnsworth was enchanting even though she busted my chops all through lunch, claiming that DBC cratered and hit so hard in the wet muck of Cascadia that he penetrated deeply into the soil and buried himself. Musika loves tidy packages such this; after lunch she went off to Nordstrom’s for Christmas shopping. Her name is pronounced Moosh-i-ka. Hungarian. She’s really cute, too. Her piece on Cooper is the most read, most-requested, and most commentated piece by far at Parachutist Magazine. Mooshy gave me the distinct feeling that she feels I am critically deficient somehow because I don't go skydiving. Next time, I'll let her knock first on Tina's door.... 10. Barb Dayton’s daughter, Rena Ruddell, and Barb’s buddies Ron and Pat Forman were there and delivered a lengthy interview with NBC for the Today show before going on stage at the Symposium. They were very nervous and deliberate, but they conveyed their story. They gave me a ride down and back from Eatonville, and we had a great time. 11. Karen Truitt was ever-present. Karen’s father was a passenger on 305, and Karen feels her dad wanted to apologize to Tina for some reason, and she asked for my assistance in contacting Ms. Mucklow. I suggested she explore other options, so she’s gonna call Jo…. 12. Marla. Everybody I know fell in love with Marla. She was smart, funny, cute, vivacious, and owned the stage. Big smile. Big hair. Big red lips! Later, 377 pulled me aside at the Ariel Tavern and said, “Bruce, you really need to get yourself a good-looking blonde to be your intern, and …., well I didn’t hear too much after that because, well the band was pretty loud and I began envisioning future possibilities. But regarding Marla, the LE who put the LD Cooper dossier on top of the pile at Curtis’ desk were two guys from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. They worked over a year putting together the evidence and the FBI has been investigating LD Cooper for about a year or so. They have a fresh set of prints to compare and will have a status report on Lynn Doyle by spring, according to Marla. The FBI clearly loves Marla and her uncles, as she described a significant amount of contact with the Bureau – lots of phone calls, emails and questions. Curtis even sent an agent down to Tina’s with a pix of LD. Marla says that Curtis says that Tina says that their LD pix is the best pix yet. LD and Marla certainly have all the good Cooper vortex credentials as LD died in 1999 just a few miles down the road from Tina. Plus, LD had been living with a minister named Dale, who has been working as a professional Santa Claus since LD helped him buy a used red suit back when. It is clear that Marla believes her story, loves her story, and is jazzed by it all. Yes, a couple little problems still remain, such as no one knows if LD ever went skydiving, but the story elements – particularly the family drama of drinking, violence and disappearance, and Marla’s coping and recovery - are fantastic. I’ll have a report on Marla and her story, particularly looking more into the activity of the LE guys. I’ve got one name, and the other guy is an undercover operative so deep that Marla says she doesn’t even know who it is. ***************** Overall, the symposium was a substantive and professional presentation. Lots of information and fertile discussion. It was superb, and in my opinion the FBI made a serious error in not participating. It felt like the momentum in the DB Cooper investigation has switched to private hands rather than being an FBI-led affair. Yes, they have all the evidence, but Tom Kaye told me a couple times that he feels that more information has been gathered by private means in the past couple years than all the efforts put forth by the FBI in the early days of the case. Further, I feel that many current investigators have rejected many aspects of the FBI perspectives – the choice of chute, the meaning of the money find, did Cooper live, meaning of no body or chute find, etc. The FBI has lost the narrative arc – the first time I have seen that happen at any level of public safety in my five years of journalism. Thank you, Geoffrey Gray, for gathering us together. Truly. This weekend was so exciting I have barely slept in days due to excitement. It has been like being a kid on Christmas Eve for three days. Geoff apparently funded it all, as the symposium was free and included lunch. A remarkable gift to us all. Again, thank you, Geoff. Lastly, thanks, Farflung, for the opportunity to read your poem, “Nun of the Above.” It was an honor and a great joy.

Tonight's the night. Happy Anniversary, everyone. Current weather conditions in Cooper County: 38 degrees at 600-foot elevation. Rain and fog. Winds are calm. Snow levels expected to drop to 2500 feet tonight, and rising through the next few days to about 6500 feet by Saturday or so. Over the past three days it's been raining "cats and dogs and elelphants," as one person put it today. I never heard that term before, but it's accurate. The ground is so soggy that we lost power in Eatonville twice last night as trees fell over.

May I carry this to Portland and read it for you?

You've just produced my first DZ laugh! Thanks, Farf.