Mystery remains unresolved
Almost 45 years ago, the fortysomething man who came to be known as D.B. Cooper leapt out of a Boeing 727 airplane into the darkness and into legend.
Cooper – his actual identity remains unknown – hijacked a Northwest Orient flight on Nov. 24, 1971, that was traveling from Portland, Ore., to Seattle. The skyjacking was one of many that occurred in the United States in those days of tumult and lax airport security. But what made this incident stand out is Cooper, after requesting four parachutes and $200,000, jumped out of the back of the plane somewhere between Seattle and Reno, Nev., and was never seen again.
Some people believe Cooper might well have been a trained paratrooper who landed safely and slipped back into anonymity, having pulled off an audacious crime. Others, including many of the trained investigators who scoured the landscape for Cooper, believe he couldn’t have survived, given the unsettled weather at the time of his jump and the unforgiving terrain below him.
In 1980, some rotting $20 bills believed to match those given to Cooper were found by the Columbia River, but, beyond that, there’s been virtually no trace of Cooper. As the years passed, chances of unraveling the mystery diminished, as witnesses died off and memories faded. Even if Cooper survived his tumble to Earth, and has not been claimed by the Grim Reaper in some other way, he would now probably be in his 90s.
So it makes sense the FBI is officially closing the book on the Cooper case after four decades. In an announcement this week, the bureau said it would make its evidence available for inspection online and take seriously any credible tips, but otherwise it was time to devote “investigative resources and manpower … (to) programs that more urgently need attention.”
As it should be. There are other, more pressing misdeeds that demand time and attention to scrutinize. The fate of D.B. Cooper will, more than likely, have to be left to amateur sleuths to ponder.