BruceSmith

Nonsense. He was not the PIO of the dig! He wasnt at Tina Bar for more than part of a day! He was however one of the first to arrive at Tina Bar, called about 11:00am and asked to pick up and help organise others being sent to Tina Bar because other agents were tied up. So in a weak sense I suppose he was in charge for a couple of hours until others arrived. It was a very fluid situation with people of all sorts arriving and leaving, some coming back, some not. He went back to his regular assignment (robbery duty) the next day and never did return to Tina Bar. The agent who had jurisdiction who was technically in charge was the Vancouver head agent, whose name Im not going to give - he is deceased in any event. Quote You may be correct, G; all I can share is what Schroeder told me. Not only did he say he was the PIO, given the job at the last minute as you describe, but also that he became the overall PIO for the Portland office afterwards. It sounds like you have quite a bit of information about the nature of the FBI dig. Why not share it, in toto?

... Damn, that name Anderson cropped up again. I wonder where that guy got off to? And... why would no one want to talk to the #1 on Flt 305 (Alice (Peg) Hancock). She should have a lot of answers... After all, she was in charge of the Cabin Attendents (Stewardesses in the day). Quote If you locate them, Slug, please share what you discuss. Even better, please ask them if you can pass on their contact information. I have tried vigorously to locate both Andy Anderson and Alice and have been unsuccessful. However, I have met one individual who has talked with both, and he says that they are very circumspect and don't wish to have unbridled contact about the case. It is my understanding that both individuals are still alive.

I saw a recent post on this thread claiming that there were many pieces of the found currency scattered about the banks of the Columbia back in 1980. I would like to see some verification on this claim. Quote This information comes from two main sources, as far as I know. First is Himmelsbach, in his book, where he says that shards of money were found, some as deep as three feet down. The more intruiging source is Dorwin Schroeder, who was the feds' PIO during the Tina Beach dig. He told me and other investigators that there were thousands of shards found over a thirty-yard area, and that they were collected in plastic baggies. However, I have never seen a photo of any shard baggie despite the many times Larry and the loot has been on TV or photographed, which makes me suspect that a lot of shards were ever collected.

... From the first witness I interviewed ('Dawn J') who identified the tie tac before she even knew why I was asking, ... Quote I find this piece of evidence very interesting Robert. Richard McCoy's family is reported to have made the same claim about Cooper's tie pin being the one they knew Richard owned and wore. If the DB Cooper case is a group project, the tie pin might be a "tell." Also, do you or Skipp have any ideas why the tie and pin were entered into the evidentiary collection four days after the skyjacking, and that according to Calame and Rhodes none of the FBI's collection team remember seeing the tie aboard the plane when they searched it in Reno. Any thoughts?

Me too. Funny thing, I hooked up an old rotary dial phone a few months back and the system still supports roatry dialing!!! That MUST be some proof of a government telco conspiracy.... advance knowledge that a catastrophic EMP event will fry every PN jucntion in the US taking phones, radios and the Internet down for the count. We'll be back to make and break dialing and carbon microphones. The racks of telco electromech stepper relays and crossbar switches must have been scrapped, so somwhere there are backup ESS switches heavily shielded. BTW Lockheed never gave EEStor any money, just signed some agreements. Still, mega stupid and it gave considerable credibility to EEStor. I have a very nicely produced book on Japanese experiments that were basically trying to create the electrical version of perpetual motion machines using toroidal inductors that could tap some sort of universal energy field, something Shirley McClain knows all about. Quote It's not just Shirley, 377, quite a few other folks do, too. The universal field that you referrence is often called the Zero Point Energy Field because this strange type of energy still is energetic at zero degrees Kelvin. I did a bit of research on the ZPEF for a magazine article I did on "field-effect" propulsion systems, aka anti-gravity. ZPE fluxes in a kind of constant electromagnetic flow - neg-pos-neg and so forth. The effects are very small locally, but since the "field" is infinite, it has quite a bit of total energy. Hal Putoff, of remote viewing fame and discussed here before, has a lot to say about ZPE in an excellent book on ZPE called, "The Field," written by a very sharp author by the name of Lynn McTaggart. As for toroidal inductors, Nick Cook, in his seminal book on field-effect propulsion, titled: The Hunt for Zero Point - Inside the Classified World of Antigravity - clearly indicates that current research suggests that toroidal devices can create antigravitic effects. Nick is no slouchin' latte drinkin' tree-huggin' wacko either; he's the aviation editor for Jane's Defence Weekly. I suspect that the UW in Seattle is deep into this stuff. One of their profs- Dr. John Cramer - got a grant from NASA to work-up an a-g gizmo based on harnessing centrifigal forces, but he "ran out of money before he could perfect it....." But across campus the Aeronautics and Astrophysics building has a toroidal thingy on the third floor that is very cool looking. Profs up there say it's a project for the Dept of Energy and is supposed to create electricity by heating heavy water somehow, but maybe it's for something else...remember Boeing's Phantom Works is just down the street in Renton.

I don't get the can of clamato. My eyeballs are still spinning, too...

Quote Here's what I've been able to dig up, with the help of the San Mateo, California Sheriff's Dept and Smokin99, who's a good little digger. Don Burnworth was arrested on contempt of court charges at the San Francisco airport shortly after his arrival from Germany in August 1972. He was questioned by the FBI during the arrest process regarding his similarity to DB Cooper and the fact that his ex-wife "Burn"-Ice was squawking to the feds that he was Danny. Within hours, the FBI released Donny B back to the Sheriff's department and he was incarcerated for 8 days in San Mateo because he would not reveal where the three kids were. Eventually he relented and was released. The contempt charges had to do with Don breaching his visitation rights with his kids, which was one month per year, and the prior year, during his legitimate time with the kids, he absconded with them to Germany. The ex, Bernice Bruno Burnworth, now, (1972) Bernice B. B. King, filed charges and Don got nabbed in Frisco. Petey, on the other hand, has never been arrested by the feds, and currently lives a bit upstream in Marin County regions, specifically in Windsor, California. He has been investigated twice by the feddies, most recently about two or three years ago, when Special Agent Mary Jane What's-her-name took a mouth swab for a DNA test. She told me that Petey was the most interesting suspect she's ever conversed with. 377 is beatin' the bushes with me to head down to Petey's and check him out more thoroughly. Since the Dispatch terminated me yesterday in a ruckus over pay (zippo since August), I might have the time. Just gotta get the jack to go, now. Time and money - it's like oil and water.... Plus, Petey is dodging me big time, or is medically unable to fully respond to my journalistic charms. Regardless, Sheridan Peterson is a tough, uphill slog at this point. I really like Petey, and would love to chat with him about his life. However, I don't think he's DB. More likely, he might be some kind of CIA guy and leery of guys like me. (His poppa was an operative of some kind in China before WWII....) Or Petey is really one-way-out-there character who just floated into the scene when the bullets were flying in Tianamin Square. Either way, I'm eager to listen and learn.

Hi Everyone, Here's a magazine pitch I'm making to the AAA's "Journeys" magazine. The editor says she is looking for "off beat" stuff. Wish me luck, all. Besides it's my birthday!!! ****** Greetings N.- I met you at last week's SPJ freelancing workshop, and I'm offering a piece titled, "Road Trip through DB Cooper County," a story derived from my research into the DB Cooper skyjacking case, the only unsolved crime of its kind in the United States. “Cooper County” is a tour of the investigatory landmarks that uniquely pepper the I-5 corridor of Washington and Oregon. In 1971, DB Cooper parachuted shortly after take-off from Sea-Tac airport with $200,000 tied to his waist and he has never been seen since, nor is his identity known. Cooper's status in the annals of true crime is beyond legendary, and the Discovery Channel is currently filming the latest documentary on the guy. Well, we think it's a guy even though one of the most compelling confessions of the 900 folks who have claimed to be Cooper is a Pierce County Airport pilot named Barb Dayton, now deceased, but who had a sex change operation in 1969 and reverted to her male persona two years later to prove she still had the balls to jump out of a plane at night, in November, in the rain and wearing loafers. Besides seeing where Barb parked her Cessna 140 and chatting with slews of pilots who knew her and believed her confession, travelers can drive two hours south and have a beer at the Ariel Tavern, the gin joint ten miles west of Woodland, Washington near which the FBI figured Cooper landed. A perfect time to visit would be the Saturday after Thanksgiving when hundreds of locals, Cooper aficionados, and at least one FBI agent celebrate “Cooper Days.” Shortly after Cooper jumped, hundreds of Ft. Lewis soldiers set up camp in Ariel at the Merwin Dam and tromped through the woods for 16 days looking for Cooper, or his remains. "But we didn't even find his belt buckle," reported one federal agent, although they did find two bodies from other homicides. Continuing south, the journey stops next on the banks of the Columbia River at Frenchman's Bar, the Clark County park that is just upstream from where an 8 year-old boy in 1980 found $5,800 of Cooper's ransom money buried in the sand. To date, this is the only verifiable, material clue to the case, and adds to the mystery - how did the money get there? The FBI thinks it washed down the Washougal River 20 miles upstream - further east than the original Ariel-Merwin Dam reckoning - and that the cache spent the intervening nine years traversing the two rivers. So, our next tour would be through the very scenic and rugged Washougal Mountains north of Camas, Washington. But we shan't tarry too long because by now road warriors are seriously catching the scent of DB Cooper and would want to see the Carmelite Monastery in Eugene, Oregon where the flight stewardess who attended to Cooper during the crime, Tina Mucklow, stayed for twelve years after the skyjacking. Considered a hero by her flight crew for keeping Cooper calm, Mucklow nevertheless has lived as a reclusive since the incident and hasn't spoken to anyone - cops or reporters - in over twenty-five years. On the way back to Seattle, travelers can make a quick pass through the hazelnut groves along I-5 in Woodburn, Oregon where Barb says she landed and planted the money in an irrigation cistern. Just a few miles away, ironically, is the retirement home of the FBI agent who headed up the investigation to collar DB Cooper, "The Skyjacker Who Got Away," which is the title of yet another documentary - this one done in 2008 by National Geographic Magazine cable TV.

Hey Smokin99 and G. Welcome aboard Flight 305-A, smokin! I like your questions and hopefully you'll be getting some answers with meat on the bone. Already you've caught a whiff of the inconsistencies in the transcripts and pronouncements by officials and others. Trying to make sense of all that is what we do here, mostly, such as by gathering facts and sharing them - although on some days that mission is clearly abandoned. I don't have any answers for your specific questions, but if you want to PM me, I'll send you a magazine article I wrote that presents my persecptive on the case. BTW: G and S99, the receptionist at Richard Tosaw's law office in California referred to the gentleman as Mr. Two-Saw. So does Galen, if I recall. Also, everyone calls him Tosaw, strangely. I've never heard anyone refer to RT as Richard, Dick or Rick, etc, as folks often refer to Himmelsbach as Ralph, or even me as Cousin Brucie!

Yeah, 377, I love Petey, too, and you make one heckava case for Mr. Sheridan to be DBC. But in my gut I say no. I talked with the FBI agent who interviewed him the second time; she seemed quite straightforward, and she says no. But she didn't do the actual DNA analysis, just a chat, a swab and then she waited for a lab report. She made a point with me to say that she didn't even get a call from anyone in the Bureau about Petey, which makes me wonder who gave her the orders to go find Pete in the first place. I'm also uncomfortable with the fact that Petey refused to acknowledge his identity to me when I got him at home on the phone, (I think). Why would he hide. His infrequent emails to me were most indirect and he never plainly said, "No, I am not DB Cooper," even though I asked him, (begged!) him to do so. However, his brother feels strongly that Petey is not DB Cooper. Bro' is angry at Petey and mostly estranged, but he knows him pretty well and he says no, too.

ly] Thanks, 377. I'll add Reese's to the list. BTW: I've been to the Ape Caves. Wonderful. Unlike anything else I've ever seen, although it reminds me of what the NY City subway system might look like in a post-apocalyptic era.

I don't understand your hostility, Robert. I thought I had fully disclosed my journalistic intentions - Yes, I wanted to interview you for an article in the Pierce County Dispatch, but that was contingent on you making an appearance in its coverage area, which has not happened as far as I know. I thought I had also told you that I have been conducting a broad inquiry into the Cooper case for a possible book and/or magazine article. To whit: I remember specifically asking you for the contact information of the main characters in "Blast" so that I could interview them. Regardless, I am not in the habit of telling my interviewees of every pitch, publication and blog post in which my writing finds a home. That is unprofessional in your view? Now, as one journalist to another, to aire one's dirty laundry in a public forum like this - now that's unprofessional in my view. If you've got a beef with me, buddy, you should have discussed it with me personally before taking it to the "net. I'm angry at what you've just posted, and I felt a response in this forum was necessary and I wanted all to know where I stand. But, I 'm done. Any further discussion about your feelings towards my professional conduct, or vice-versa, I will persue with you privately. As for why I made a few DZ posts directed towards you, I felt the forum called for it since you've made a goodly number of postings in the past few weeks and have made a few assertions that are highly questionable. Hence, I addressed them with information that I had with the intention of enhancing the overall pursuit of DB Cooper.

Quote Ah, Robert, I think you paint the terrain of SW WA with a bit of a too broad a brush. If DB was a no-pull, he could have cratered 20 feet from the back door of the Ariel Tavern and still be hidden back there. Yes, you are correct that the heavy mountains are further east, but there is still plenty of rough terrain just ten miles east of I-5.

Why keep it simple, Robert? Let's hear the whole story - the whole analysis of the DNA samples the FBI has. Larry Carr told me that they were using epithelial cells found on the clasp of the tie. I assume that means the sample was from Cooper's neck skin or finger tips. Carr also stated that the FBI only had a partial DNA sample and that it could not be conclusively determined if it was Cooper's for the reasons you have stated above. By any chance, do you have any more information on the missing cigarette butts, or the charges from Russ Calame and Bernie Rhodes that the tie entered the FBI evidentiary collection in Seattle four days after the skyjacking, and after the first pieces of evidence had been received by Seattle. BTW, I've asked Robbie for assistance in clarifying these issues, but she has entered the cone of silence on the subject.

Robert, Here are some thoughts about Earl Cossey, Cooper's chute, and the one found in Amboy that I would like you to know. Notes, Earl Cossey, (impromptu, off the top of my head, August 24, 2010) My recollection of my interview over the phone with Coss in 2009 was that he empathically stated that the parachute found a year or two ago in the Amboy, WA area was not the one Cooper used. Coss also told me that Cooper’s chute was his own personal parachute for skydiving, and that he had modified it to suit his own tastes. Hence, I figure Coss should know Cooper’s chute precisely when he sees it. Also, Coss acknowledged that when he made his conclusions about the Amboy chute and told the FBI, they in turn asked him to keep that information “quiet for a few days.” I consider that a major red flag about the FBI's investigation. Coss is a bit cranky, and he refused to meet with me. However, he was generous with his time when we spoke and seemed authentic and genuine. He was also a little difficult to get a hold of, but his family was quite gracious during that process. In addition, Coss is a bit of a games player. He told me that the parachute that Cooper did not use was a “Paradise,” not a Para Commander. I double-checked with him on that point and he insisted it was as he stated. Hence, I wrote that in my magazine article until folks at the DZ convinced me otherwise. Coss also goofs on the FBI and further, he did a real number on a reporter, from the Oregonian, I believe, when he told the journalist that the Amboy chute was Cooper’s. The reporter ran with the story and really got schmeared because of it. Coss just seemed to think of it as a trivial joke. Folks that I know who also know Coss tell me that he is an honest guy, and they accept his Cooper accounts as factual. However, I think Coss knows more than he is telling, and certainly more than he told me. I practically begged him to meet with me so that I could discuss what it was like dealing with the FBI back in 1971, especially regarding who ran the case, how it was managed, and what the culture of the investigation was like. He refused to discuss this angle, and that is a huge red flag to me.

attached - Georger, Could you please explain the attachments in the post you've just made. Are the inserts of a 20 dollar bill some kind of inversion of the bills purportedly under a log as shown by autodetailpro? Thanks

If anyone knows how to get in touch with "autodetailpro" who posted the YouTube video on the alledged new money find, plese let me know. I'd like to speak with him. I've endeavored to post a comment on his video site, but have been unsuccessful. Thanks.

Quote Thank you, Robert for your fine work and clear presentation. Exceptional analysis. I am grateful.

All of you so called Braden "chasers" need to check this out at the above site. Could this be the Braden suggested by Waugh before you guys went every which way. Quote As a Braden chaser, I feel I have to respond. Here's what I know of Ted Braden, and how it might weave with your Braden's coming and goings. The Ted Braden I know was a combat vet in the Korean War. His whereabouts are unknown after that for a period of years. So, did he then change his name to Eugene Brading and earn a living as a gigaloo? Hmmm. Maybe. But, by the early 1960s Eugene changed his name back to Ted Braden and joined the Army, got stationed in Germany and jumped with the Golden Arrows parachute team, earning a feature spot in Stars and Stripes magazine. Then, he went directly to Vietnam and did his "Nam thing with the Special Forces and 'Yards. But if your scenario is correct, along the way Ted took a few days off, changed his name to Jim Braden, went to Dallas and helped shoot the Prez. After looking for a phone in the Dal-Tex building and getting frisked by local fuzz, he then went back to Germany or "Nam, I'm a little hazy on time-lines here, and returned to fighting commies and earning $800 bucks a month. After that, we all know the Braden scenario. Is that what you are suggesting, Jo? On a personal level, I take some umbrage with the notion that our research of Ted Braden, my lengthy interviews with numerous vets, and lots of time with Google and the White Pages looking for Teddy post-1971, can be characterized as "going every which way." To me, our effort was a methodical, professional and effective piece of investigative inquiry, one that I enjoyed immensely. It was arguably as substantive as the one you and your team are conducting currently.

Bruce, how did you link up wth Marianne and become aware of her story? Quote Notes, Marianne Scott Lincoln, First Meetings, June 8, 2010 I have known Marianne for about 3-4 years, ever since I became a newspaper reporter. When I met her, she was a long-time volunteer assistant to the long-time State Senator Marilyn Rasmussen. Further, Marianne was the secretary-treasurer for the Democratic Party in the 2nd Legislative District in Washington state, which I cover. This time last year, Marianne launched her own political career and successfully ran for the school board in the Bethel School District, which I cover heavily. In fact, in 2009, I wrote 56 stories on the BSD. During her campaign, the issue of residency came up, for she was using her family's old address at Shady Acres, which is now owned by a sibling and Marianne had been storing stuff there as she sorted out her divorce and personal relocation. As a result, Shady Acres, the Scott residence, who lives there and for how long, became part of the public commentary in the BSD Board contest. In the midst of all of the hullabaloo, I sat down with Marianne for an in-depth interview on her education platform. We talked for at least an hour in the Dem’s local office and in the course of events she told me the story of her father's death as he was descending into a private airport in Lacey, WA. As I remember it, she mentioned that her father was named William Scott, and I responded with a "you've-got-to-be-kidding" type of thing and I told her about the other pilot named William Scott that I was researching - our Scotty. That introduced the topic of DB Cooper. By now, other Democratic Party folks had joined us and some didn't know the story of DB Cooper, so I launched into my spiel. When I mentioned that Cooper asked for $200,000 in ransom, Marianne quickly interjected: "No he didn't." I was taken back and unsure exactly what Marianne was talking about, so we switched gears and started talking about Marianne's remembrances of the skyjacking, which were lengthy. I later followed up by phone and had a second DB Cooper interview with her. As for when she started listening to the transmissions and for how long, I can’t find my file on her, which is very frustrating, plus my electronic files are lost to me for the moment - actually two days now – as Kaspersky and other computer glitches do their thing. I have not been able to reach Marianne in the past couple of days due to the above, and my schedule, but I will clarify the prevailing issues with her at my first opportunity. ************************** Along these lines, I had a conversation with a member of the Graham (WA) Land Use Advisory Commission tonight, and again the topic of DB Cooper came up serendipitously, and he mentioned - out of the blue - that his "elders" discussion group at church has a member who has told the group that he listened to the DBC tranmissions on Ham radio. I'll be following up on that lead, too.

Notes, Burnworth, arrest report; June 6, 2010 I have just received a packet of information from Lt. Ray Lunny, the acting PIO for the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department in California. The documents concern the arrest of Donald O. Burnworth at the San Francisco International Airport on August 24, 1972. Burnworth was arrested by Sgt Ken Frank of the SMC Sheriff’s Department in the United Airlines administrative facilities. Apparently, the arrest was quite involved, and Frank says that Burnworth had eluded the police in the central terminal and in United’s medical area. Frank had arrived to assist another cop named Wright and to coordinate the effort of United’s security detail to finally capture Burnworth. The police were serving a Civil Bench Warrant that was being held by “airport Deputies.” While at the airport, Frank states that he received a message from the FBI that they wanted to interview Burnworth. An FBI official named Collopy conducted the interview in the office of a Mr. Cottel. Frank states in his report that the subject of the interview was Burnworth’s whereabouts on Thanksgiving. Burnworth was held in San Mateo County jail, without bail, until September 1, when he was released. When arrested, Burnworth was in the company of a female companion. At the time of booking, Burnworth was listed as a male Caucasian 5’11” in height, 175 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eye color. His complexion was described as fair, with a medium build. He was charged with a “Contempt of Court - Civil” violation. During his incarceration, Burnworth appeared in court four times, but details of the proceedings were not part of the packet. However, the court order releasing Burnworth from custody specifies that the charges stemmed from court actions involving his wife, Bernice, and from Burnworth’s statements to me I assume it had to do with child custody. In addition, Burnworth’s attorney, Ramon Lalli, authorized a reporter from the Redwood City Tribune to interview Don while in jail. Further, while incarcerated the jail staff had special orders to keep Burnworth isolated; apparently because he was a “civil prisoner.” Lt. Lunney also sent me Don's booking photographs. I will try to post here. ************************************* Also, X is blogging about Don and this report. He has the photographs posted on his site, along with the initial sketch of DBC from the FBI. The similarity is remarkable, in my view. http://greygooseadventures.blogspot.com/2009/11/db-cooper-where-are-you.html

M's story sounds like they were listening to 305 while it was still in the air (after C's note had been read and the cockpit was passing ransom demands along to seatac) - befoe 305 had landed. So what I want to know is when did M first hear about the hijacking that she walked in and turned the radio on ? M says: " The DB Cooper skyjacking was underway as she got home from school. When Marianne got home that day she went straight to her father’s workshop in the hangar and turned on his VHF radio. She called family friends at the Thun Field Tower (Pierce County Airport, now) and got the radio frequency for the Sea-Tac Tower. She tuned in and listened for the next four hours. " How did M already know about the hijacking that she went straight to and turned on the VHF radio to listen to the HJ events? Had the HJacking already been announced on the news that she heard it at school? Is the time sequence factually possible? Did Bruce supply the: "went straight to " ? Is this what M said, without any elaboration? This has come up before and it is important in guaging any of these firsthand reports. When did news break in WA/OR on the 305 Hijacking? Had news stations broken the story before 305 even landed at SEATAC, or when? M's report is given 38 years after the fact. She was 14 years old at the time. Her report involves a lot of technical details. *** "Straight to the radio" is what I recall Marianne saying. I don't know when the news of the hijacking was first broadcast, but that is a good question and I'll seek an answer. Marianne says that she knew about the hijacking while she was riding the school bus home. That would have been about 2:30 pm. I'll double-check with M. and my notes.

Interview with Robert Blevins, author of: “Into the Blast, The True Story of DB Cooper” I spoke with Robert Blevins for about 20-30 minutes on the Memorial Day Weekend, 2010. Robert seemed to be guarded, initially. His first words to me were: “It’s okay with me if you tape this.” That mind-set had been revealed earlier when I read his web site and learned of his efforts to achieve absolute security when he conducted his interviews and wrote his book. He was afraid that the FBI would take all of his notes and shut down his project. However, over time, my conversation with Robert warmed up, but the initial stages were filled with many pauses. Overall, Robert Blevins has only a modest understanding of the DB Cooper case. In fact, he has very little knowledge of much of what is in the book, and as a result he is unable to expand or explain in greater detail many elements of the book. Frequently, when I asked a question, Robert would say, “Oh, Skipp Porteous knows that – he did the interview.” In reality, Robert was more like an editor of Porteous’ transcripts than a writer in the customary sense of the word. However, he did conduct a few interviews on his own, primarily with the Mike, Dawn and Katie characters, and the current owners of the former Christianson property in Bonney Lake, WA. Apparently, Porteous, a private investigator in New York City, did copious amounts of investigatory work to find all these people and their addresses, and to verify corroborative information, such as determining the various owners of the Christianson property in Bonney Lake and obtaining the details regarding the bag of $2,000 in 20s found in a stump pile. When I asked if I could interview these individuals, Robert gave a curious answer. He told me that the characters had indicated to him that they would be open to the idea of speaking with other researchers and journalists, but he said that he wanted to protect them and would not release their contact information. He said he wanted to spare them the “onslaught” or words to that effect. Nevertheless, I asked him to pass on my contact information to them along with my invitation to call me, and he said he would. Robert also said that he and Porteous did not speak directly with Tina Mucklow, and only communicated with a “family intermediary.” He said that Tina was unable to speak with journalists and researchers because it would be “too upsetting.” Nevertheless, he characterized Tina’s health and well-being as “fine.” He also said that she “has a normal life – family and kids and all that.” Indicative of Robert’s paucity of knowledge in the DB Cooper case, Robert was surprised to learn that Tina had been in a convent for 12 years. He had thought the stories of Tina being a nun were false. Robert also does not seem to have any substantive knowledge of the works of Calame, Tosaw or Himmelsbach, and seemed unfamiliar with information provided by Captain Bohan on the wind speed and direction, and other similar details pertaining to the flight path and jump. Robert also seemed very comfortable with what he considers the FBI’s officially stated metrics on weather, wind speed and direction, and does not appear eager to entertain conflicting information, even if it comes from a former FBI official. However, Robert is very familiar with Richard McCoy’s age of 29 in 1971, and spoke with incredulity about how the FBI could consider a suspect so wildly out of the reported age range of “mid-to-late forties.” As for the book’s statement that Captain Scott left the cockpit and sat next to Cooper to ascertain the reality of the bomb, Robert said that he got that from Porteous, who got it from Bill Rataczak in a taped phone conversation. Robert has not visited or communicated with Florence Schaffner, nor has Skipp, apparently, yet, although Robert said Porteous would in the future. Robert says they are comfortable with the information provided by Geoff Gray in his New York Magazine piece, where Florence says the picture Gray showed her of Christianson is the closest she has seen, yet, of DB Cooper. Robert does not have a DNA profile of Kenny Christianson. In addition, he claimed that the FBI doesn’t have any viable DNA samples of DB Cooper, stating that the Bourbon cup and the cigarette butts were mis-handled too severely to provide a viable sample of genetic material. Robert said he got this information from Skipp. When asked why the FBI ruled out Christianson, Robert said it was because of disparities in the height and eye color. Robert told me that Kenny’s driver’s license says that KC was 5’8” and 170 pounds, with hazel eyes, “whatever color that is,” added Robert. Later, though, Robert characterized Kenny as “lying” on his driver’s license, adding, “I don’t know why he would lie.” Robert said that Kenny was taller than 5’8” and probably closer to six-foot tall, based on two pictures. One, taken with his father, Kenny stands an inch taller than his 5’11” dad. Also, in the picture of Kenny walking in the doorway of his home a few days after the skyjacking with a briefcase and paper sack, Robert says the measurements of the door frame and the placement of Kenny in the picture show him to be “about six-feet tall.” Robert says he has verified this by measuring the actual door frame. Robert also provided some original and interesting information. He said that Kenny Christianson worked for Northwest Orient Airlines, part-time, until 1993. Further, the Christianson family seems circumspect about the possibility of Kenny being DB Cooper. “Some don’t care, others are embarrassed,” said Robert. Robert also said the free PDF version of “Into the Blast” will be “around for awhile.” He spoke convincingly that his work is about finding the truth. “It’s not about the money at all. It’s about the truth.”

QuoteAll, I got an e-mail today from Robert Blevins (below in green) pointing me to his response to Galen Cook’s “Janet" Article. Oh well, if things get boring here at DZ.com, we can always spend our time keeping up with the “Cooper Author Soap Opera.” The real kicker is… after I sprung $12.99 + shipping for the book, and before I had the time to write a review in my blog, he has made the book available for FREE as a .PDF file. Gee whizz! Quote On behalf of starving artists and authors everyhwere, Slugs, thanks for the 12.99 contribution.....

Quote Sigh, yes, Jerry, there is truth in what you are saying. I assure you, though, my goal as a journalist is to cast some illumination upon this case, and not add to the shimmer of the shadows. I say trust good hearts, strong coffee and a steady hand. Along these lines, I had a brief conversation with Lt. Ray Luney of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Department today, and he told me a packet of court documents is on its way to me. He confirmed that Burnworth had been arrested, but "not for anything having to do with airplanes." The arrest was for a contempt of court citation, and I presume it has to do with taking his kids out of the country. When I get the details, I'll post a comprehensive view of what happened with Donny B. Although this appears to be a dead-end, I don't regret a moment spent on the Burnworth angle. I have a better understanding of the moth-to-flame syndrome, and also I have a broader feel for the actual investigation of the 1971-1972 era. Remember, Ralph and Larry, and several other federal agents, choose not to talk with me, so I have to look at the case from a different perspective than you and many others.