D.B. Cooper

Rick Hunter

Celestial
So, anybody a fan of the D.B. Cooper airline hijacking? I've been binging this story and all the theories and suspects for awhile now. Here is the FBI synopsis:


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HISTORY

D.B. Cooper Hijacking
**July 12, 2016 Update: The FBI has redirected resources allocated to the D.B. Cooper case to focus on other investigative priorities. Details

high

FBI artist rendering of so-called D.B. Cooper, who hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 out of Portland (Oregon), demanded and received ransom money upon landing in Seattle, then parachuted into the woods and was never found again.

On the afternoon of November 24, 1971, a nondescript man calling himself Dan Cooper approached the counter of Northwest Orient Airlines in Portland, Oregon.

He used cash to buy a one-way ticket on Flight #305, bound for Seattle, Washington.

Thus began one of the great unsolved mysteries in FBI history.

Cooper was a quiet man who appeared to be in his mid-40s, wearing a business suit with a black tie and white shirt.

He ordered a drink—bourbon and soda—while the flight was waiting to take off.

A short time after 3:00 p.m., he handed the stewardess a note indicating that he had a bomb in his briefcase and wanted her to sit with him.

The stunned stewardess did as she was told. Opening a cheap attaché case, Cooper showed her a glimpse of a mass of wires and red colored sticks and demanded that she write down what he told her.

Soon, she was walking a new note to the captain of the plane that demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in twenty-dollar bills.

large

During the hijacking, Cooper was wearing this black J.C. Penney tie, which he removed before jumping; it later provided us with a DNA sample.

high

Money recovered in 1980 that matched the ransom money serial numbers.

When the flight landed in Seattle, the hijacker exchanged the flight’s 36 passengers for the money and parachutes. Cooper kept several crew members, and the plane took off again, ordered to set a course for Mexico City.

Somewhere between Seattle and Reno, a little after 8:00 p.m., the hijacker did the incredible: He jumped out of the back of the plane with a parachute and the ransom money. The pilots landed safely, but Cooper had disappeared into the night and his ultimate fate remains a mystery to this day.

The FBI learned of the crime in-flight and immediately opened an extensive investigation that lasted many years. Calling it NORJAK, for Northwest Hijacking, we interviewed hundreds of people, tracked leads across the nation, and scoured the aircraft for evidence. By the five-year anniversary of the hijacking, we’d considered more than 800 suspects and eliminated all but two dozen from consideration.

The canvas bag that contained one of the parachutes given to D.B. Cooper in 1971. Cooper asked for four chutes in all; he jumped with two (including one that was used for instruction and had been sewn shut). He used the cord from one of the remaining parachutes to tie the stolen money bag shut.

high

One of the unused parachutes requested but never used in the FBI's so-called NORJAK case.

One person from our list, Richard Floyd McCoy, is still a favorite suspect among many. We tracked down and arrested McCoy for a similar airplane hijacking and escape by parachute less than five months after Cooper’s flight. But McCoy was later ruled out because he didn’t match the nearly identical physical descriptions of Cooper provided by two flight attendants and for other reasons.

Perhaps Cooper didn’t survive his jump from the plane. After all, the parachute he used couldn’t be steered, his clothing and footwear were unsuitable for a rough landing, and he had jumped into a wooded area at night—a dangerous proposition for a seasoned pro, which evidence suggests Cooper was not. This theory was given an added boost in 1980 when a young boy found a rotting package full of twenty-dollar bills ($5,800 in all) that matched the ransom money serial numbers.

Where did “D.B.” come from? It was apparently a myth created by the press. We did question a man with the initials “D.B.” but he wasn’t the hijacker.

The daring hijack and disappearance remain an intriguing mystery—for law enforcement and amateur sleuths alike.

Additional InformationMarch 2009: New Developments in the Unsolved Case

[paste:font size="6"]FBI

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
FBI.gov Contact Center


Search FBI

Contents
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
Biggest problem I see with the Cooper case is that there is really nothing special about the suspect that could reasonably narrow him down:

A. He looks like Mr. Average Middle Age Guy for the time period. Nobody said they had seen him before, so he probably was not a frequent flyer on that route.

B. Cooper did an A+ job of not attracting unnecessary attention or standing out as anyone out of the ordinary. His fellow passengers didn't even realize a hijacking was happening until they exited the plane.

C. He made sure to take back each note he used to communicate with the flight crew, this eliminating a source of fingerprints. It's rather baffling that he still left behind his cigarette butts and drinking glass, of course the FBI failed to take full advantage of these potential clues. The glass was never collected and the cigarettes were lost.

D. Cooper demanded that the airliner fly with landing gear down, below 10,000 feet, airspeed below 200 knots the entire time after the plane was refueled. After the stewardess instructed him on how to lower the aft stairs, Cooper demanded that the flight crew stay in the cockpit. Therefore, it is impossible to know when and where Cooper made his jump. It wasn't even clear he had actually jumped until the plane was searched after landing.

E. Cooper jumped in a densely wooded area on a cold and rainy evening. I think it is safe to say the FBI was not eager to start searching, and in fact a few days went by before an actual boots on the ground search was undertaken. If Cooper survived the jump, he had more than enough time to get rid of the parachutes and make a clean getaway.

F. None of the money ever turned up in circulation. Assuming Cooper survived, I think he sat on the money for a good long time knowing that an effort would be made to trace the bills. Or, he could have exchanged it with someone for a lesser amount of "clean" money. Since USA currency is valued and used throughout the world, it probably wouldnt be very difficult at all to find someone willing to do this.
 
Last edited:

1963

Noble
So, anybody a fan of the D.B. Cooper airline hijacking? I've been binging this story and all the theories and suspects for awhile now. Here is the FBI synopsis:


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FBI
HISTORY

D.B. Cooper Hijacking
**July 12, 2016 Update: The FBI has redirected resources allocated to the D.B. Cooper case to focus on other investigative priorities. Details

high

FBI artist rendering of so-called D.B. Cooper, who hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 out of Portland (Oregon), demanded and received ransom money upon landing in Seattle, then parachuted into the woods and was never found again.

On the afternoon of November 24, 1971, a nondescript man calling himself Dan Cooper approached the counter of Northwest Orient Airlines in Portland, Oregon.

He used cash to buy a one-way ticket on Flight #305, bound for Seattle, Washington.

Thus began one of the great unsolved mysteries in FBI history.

Cooper was a quiet man who appeared to be in his mid-40s, wearing a business suit with a black tie and white shirt.

He ordered a drink—bourbon and soda—while the flight was waiting to take off.

A short time after 3:00 p.m., he handed the stewardess a note indicating that he had a bomb in his briefcase and wanted her to sit with him.

The stunned stewardess did as she was told. Opening a cheap attaché case, Cooper showed her a glimpse of a mass of wires and red colored sticks and demanded that she write down what he told her.

Soon, she was walking a new note to the captain of the plane that demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in twenty-dollar bills.

large

During the hijacking, Cooper was wearing this black J.C. Penney tie, which he removed before jumping; it later provided us with a DNA sample.

high

Money recovered in 1980 that matched the ransom money serial numbers.

When the flight landed in Seattle, the hijacker exchanged the flight’s 36 passengers for the money and parachutes. Cooper kept several crew members, and the plane took off again, ordered to set a course for Mexico City.

Somewhere between Seattle and Reno, a little after 8:00 p.m., the hijacker did the incredible: He jumped out of the back of the plane with a parachute and the ransom money. The pilots landed safely, but Cooper had disappeared into the night and his ultimate fate remains a mystery to this day.

The FBI learned of the crime in-flight and immediately opened an extensive investigation that lasted many years. Calling it NORJAK, for Northwest Hijacking, we interviewed hundreds of people, tracked leads across the nation, and scoured the aircraft for evidence. By the five-year anniversary of the hijacking, we’d considered more than 800 suspects and eliminated all but two dozen from consideration.

The canvas bag that contained one of the parachutes given to D.B. Cooper in 1971. Cooper asked for four chutes in all; he jumped with two (including one that was used for instruction and had been sewn shut). He used the cord from one of the remaining parachutes to tie the stolen money bag shut.

high

One of the unused parachutes requested but never used in the FBI's so-called NORJAK case.

One person from our list, Richard Floyd McCoy, is still a favorite suspect among many. We tracked down and arrested McCoy for a similar airplane hijacking and escape by parachute less than five months after Cooper’s flight. But McCoy was later ruled out because he didn’t match the nearly identical physical descriptions of Cooper provided by two flight attendants and for other reasons.

Perhaps Cooper didn’t survive his jump from the plane. After all, the parachute he used couldn’t be steered, his clothing and footwear were unsuitable for a rough landing, and he had jumped into a wooded area at night—a dangerous proposition for a seasoned pro, which evidence suggests Cooper was not. This theory was given an added boost in 1980 when a young boy found a rotting package full of twenty-dollar bills ($5,800 in all) that matched the ransom money serial numbers.

Where did “D.B.” come from? It was apparently a myth created by the press. We did question a man with the initials “D.B.” but he wasn’t the hijacker.

The daring hijack and disappearance remain an intriguing mystery—for law enforcement and amateur sleuths alike.

Additional InformationMarch 2009: New Developments in the Unsolved Case

[paste:font size="6"]FBI

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
FBI.gov Contact Center


Search FBI

Contents

Hi Rick, hope you're doing well my friend. :Thumbsup: ... Just popped in to say that yeah! I too love the great D B Cooper mystery and have imagined all kinds of scenarios over the years. I first heard about this great 'robbery/escape' story years ago when I was nowt-but-a-lad and loved to imagine that one day I would somehow find the rest of that $200,000 in that Washington forest! [strange how boys minds work... i've never been closer than about 5000 miles from there lol] ... anyway, I remember reading an article or a book in which the author just about convinced me that anyone could be Cooper. lol ... and then there's the 1981 film with Treat Williams being the skyjacker which was a rather reasonable effort at a scenario... but after all these years of switching suspects after each new article, I have to say I really don't know who D B Cooper was, or what happened to him? ... but my current front runner has been for a while ... Kenneth Christiansen ...
In 2003, Lyle Christiansen was watching a documentary on D.B. Cooper when he had an epiphany. This, Lyle believed, wasn’t just a story about some stranger. This was a story about his brother Kenneth.

Kenneth had been a paratrooper in World War II. After it ended, he had worked as a flight attendant on Northwest Orient. Kenneth had never been particularly wealthy—until 1972, when he suddenly had enough to buy a new house with cash.

Dying of cancer in 1994, Kenneth called his brother over and said, “There is something you should know, but I cannot tell you.” Lyle didn’t press him. But after Kenneth died, Lyle found out that his brother had over $200,000 in his bank account and a collection of gold coins.

He also had a folder full of Northwest Orient news clippings from dates until the day of the hijacking—and then it stopped. For some reason, Kenneth didn’t take any clippings of the D.B. Cooper incident, despite it being the biggest Northwest Orient news story there was.

When Florence Schaffner, the flight attendant who spoke to Cooper the most during the hijacking, saw a picture of Kenneth Christiansen, she said he was the best fit she’d seen yet. After looking at the picture, Schaffner said, “I think you might be onto something here.”

Cheers Buddy.
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
Unless new physical evidence is found, I think the best anyone will ever be able to do is find someone who fits the profile and doesn't have a solid alibi. Of course, there are thousands of people out there who could fit that criteria.
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
One thing that bothers me is how the FBI seemed to just take the alibi of Richard McCoy at face value. The only people who could vouch for him during the Cooper hijacking were his wife, sister in law, and children. McCoy, of course, went on to do a copycat hijacking of his own in 1972 and was promptly caught.

Interestingly, in 2020 McCoy's children came out and publicly stated that their father did the Cooper hijacking but lost the money in the jump. They waited to come forward until their mother died, as she was apparently complicit in both hijackings. McCoy isn't my top suspect, but I don't consider him to be cleared by any means either.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
I don't recall the names of all the suspects, but wasn't there a Special Operations of CIA (or both) connection to all this? The way the plane flew low slow with it's rear stairs extended was a technique developed only recently (at the time) in SE Asia.

They did find some of the money on a small beach. Somebody lost the cigarette butts he left and there were metallic fragments in his tie that suggested an aircraft manufacturing connection. Also, from the witnesses description this man is either ancient or already pushing up daisies.

Curious that the FBI still maintains any interest in this, but the FBI and 'the government' are not monolithic entities. There were clashes between different field offices and agents over jurisdiction, methods and just plain old personalities muddying the waters. Likely some degree of bureaucratic stupidity and/or incompetence. Then you have the fakers and hangers on, the supposed confessions. Wasn't there some sort of classified military radar in use that added to the drama?

Great sauce for conspiracy theory. I also think that personal interest within the FBI is at least partly responsible for keeping the story alive despite the passage of time. This has all the hallmarks of a UFO case, it just isn't about UFOs.
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
Suspect Ted Braden was definitely involved with under the radar stuff in Vietnam, which of course the CIA had their fingers into. Part of this involved using 727's to drop personnel and supplies from the rear stairs while in flight. The suspect was apparently quite familiar with the 727, but had to ask the stewardess how to open the rear stairs. I read somewhere that the military version of the plane had the controls for the stairs located in the cockpit, so someone who was jumping out or dropping supplies from the rear of the plane would not have operated the stairway.
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
The past few months I've been reading about the various suspects, and McCoy seems to be the most likely of any of them. My reasons are:

1. McCoy, to my eyes, looks the closest to the witness sketch out of any of them. McCoy was 28 at the time of the hijacking but looked older than he really was, which would explain why the witnesses described Cooper as being in his 40's. Cooper was described as being 5'9 tall, unlike McCoy who was over 6 feet. However, most witnesses only saw Cooper sitting down, which would make judging his height difficult. In pictures of McCoy I have seen, he appears to have long legs which means his torso could appear to be that of shorter person when he was sitting.

dx57c2b2b6.jpg


2. McCoy was a military pilot who served two tours in Vietnam and an avid skydiver. He would definitely have the expertise to pull off such an operation, and be familiar with the 727 aircraft which had been used by the military in that conflict. This would also explain why Cooper chose the military parachute instead of the sport parachute, as it was a more rugged design that he had probably used during his service. Cooper instructed the 727 pilots to fly near the stall speed of the aircraft, around 115 MPH. This was near the maximum speed which a sport parachute could be used, and the military parachute would be a better choice.

3. Cooper smoked and drank bourbon on the flight, and many have suggested that McCoy, a devout Mormon, would have never done this. Of course, devout Mormons don't go around hijacking airliners and escaping prison either, which McCoy most certainly did after the Cooper heist. I think its highly likely that McCoy indulged in alcohol and tobacco during his military service when he was away from family and church, and would have done so during the heist as a means of steadying his nerves. Smoking and drinking would also give the impression that Cooper was not a Mormon or member of another group which prohibited such things. Interestingly, when McCoy hijacked the second airliner in 1972, he was observed to not smoke or drink and was a bundle of nerves unlike Cooper, who was described by all the witnesses as very calm and collected.

4. Cooper smoked Raleigh cigarettes. This brand was uncommon on the west coast but was included in military rations of the time, so McCoy could have developed a taste for them. Interestingly McCoy's hometown was Raleigh, NC, same as the cigarette brand. Perhaps leaving the Raleigh cigarette butts behind was McCoy's idea of a calling card or taunt.

5. As mentioned before, McCoy's alibi for the time of the hijacking is based on the word of his two children and sister in law. This is not much better than no alibi at all. McCoy was also known to have spent time in Las Vegas before and after the Cooper hijacking. Why would a Mormon Sunday school teacher be spending so much time in the City of Sin around the time of the holidays? Las Vegas was controlled by the mob at the time, and it seems quite reasonable to me that McCoy was trying to arrange a way to launder the hijacking money, something the mob would have been quite happy to help with.

6. In 1980, some $5800.00 of the ransom money was found buried in mud next to the Columbia River not far from the area where Cooper is presumed to have jumped. I think the most likely explanation for the money found is that Cooper dropped it while jumping. If McCoy lost all or most of the money in the jump, this would be a strong incentive to perform a second hijacking.

7. As mentioned before, McCoy's son and daughter came forward with the claim that their father was Cooper after their mother had died. As far as I know, they haven't tried to profit from this story in any way, and it would make sense that they would not want to expose their mother to prosecution while she was alive. The McCoy children are now in their 50's and have kept a low profile otherwise.

So anyway, these are my thoughts right now!
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
A new Cooper suspect has emerged: a machinist named Vince Peterson who worked with the same titanium alloys found on the Cooper tie and is known to have travelled to the Northwest for work purposes. According to well known Cooper researcher Eric Ulis, Peterson just might be the best possible suspect. This is quite intriguing, and if nothing else it shows there is a pretty high likelihood that at least the tie recovered came from the specific company which worked with the patented titanium alloys. Which means, even if the perp was not Peterson, there must be some kind of connection between Cooper and that particular company. I would be interested to know if Peterson smoked and/or drank bourbon, also did he have any history of skydiving. Peterson served in the Merchant Marine during WWII, and it seems safe to assume he did not receive any parachute training during that service. Of course, he could have simply read books about skydiving and maybe paid to take a few jumps with any instructor to get some basic knowledge about it. Peterson not being an experienced skydiver could explain why he failed to notice that one of the parachutes was an inert unit for classroom use.

Or, the tie could have zilch to do with DB Cooper and he could have simply found it in a thrift store because he didn't normally wear ties and used it to disguise his usual style of dress. This would mean that Richard McCoy is still not off the hook. Hopefully more info about Peterson will be forthcoming soon.


View: https://youtu.be/n87XGcOsFck
 

nivek

As Above So Below

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zI83L-6mzU

D.B. Cooper Researcher Sues FBI for Access to Skyjacker's Necktie

A diligent D.B. Cooper researcher has filed a lawsuit against the FBI in the hopes of gaining access to what he believes could be a breakthrough piece of evidence on the skyjacker's necktie. The intriguing legal action was reportedly launched today by Eric Ulis, who has doggedly investigated the legendary mystery for over decade. At the center of the lawsuit is an adjustable metal spindle attached to the necktie worn by the skyjacker during the infamous caper. Ulis claims to have been told by FBI agents that the moveable nature of the piece had gone unnoticed by authorities and, as such, he argues that it could contain a critical clue that had previously been overlooked or unattainable.

Given the adjustable nature of the spindle, it stands to reason that the skyjacker would have handled it at some point when he got dressed that fateful day back in November of 1972. Therefore, Ulis theorizes, it may still have DNA that came directly from Cooper. To that end, he noted that a partial genetic profile of the skyjacker was procured from that piece of evidence back in 2001, but that "they probably pulled something off of the front of the tie from the fibers." With over two decade of technological advancement, Ultis observed that investigators now have "the ability to pull the smallest amounts of DNA off of metal" pieces such as the spindle.

However, Ulis has been unable to put his theory to the test as an attempt to get his hands on the necktie by way of a Freedom of Information Act request proved futile, which he finds to be particularly frustrating. "They’ve given access to the tie two separate times before to private scientists, private individuals, once in 2009 and once in 2011," the researcher explained, while positing that his avenue of investigation "could actually solve the case." Left with no other option, Ulis filed the lawsuit which asks that the FBI provide him and a DNA specialist with the necktie so that they can try to pull a genetic profile of the skyjacker from the small metal piece. Should that prove successful, the independent investigator believes genetic genealogy could eventually lead to the Cooper's identity.

.
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
Would be nice if that came to be true. Of course, it could also show that McCoy was Cooper all along. : embarrassed:
 

max

Adept
i think that he died in river that evening who was db cooper we dont know lot of money foun in river serial numbers
 

nivek

As Above So Below

New evidence discovered in DB Cooper skyjacking case

A microscopic metal fragment found on the tie of infamous plane hijacker D.B. Cooper could help reveal his true identity. Private investigator and researcher Eric Ulis is ringing in the new year with new breadcrumbs to share. "I would not be surprised at all if 2024 was the year we figure out who this guy was," said Ulis. This particle is part stainless steel, part titanium. Ulis believes the itsy-bitsy discovery can be traced to a sophisticated metal-fabric shop.

A microscopic view of the metal fragment found on D. B. Cooper's tie.

A microscopic view of the metal fragment found on D. B. Cooper's tie.

According to Ulis, after his legendary disappearance 52 years ago, the man known as D.B. Cooper left behind a critical clue: a clip-on tie. After the money and the man vanished without a trace, this possession was spotted on Cooper’s seat on the back row of the plane, 18-E to be exact. Ulis said the tie was purchased at a J.C. Penny around Christmas 1964 for $1.49. The evidence is currently under federal lock and key, but scientists who examined it were able to pull more than 100,000 particles from it. "He applied these sticky stubs, they’re like little carbon circles that he could apply to portions of the tie and then when you pull them off, you’re pulling off some of the particles from the tie," explained Ulis. "You apply modern state-of-the-art technology to it, things they didn’t have back in 1971 when this occurred. It tells a story."

D.B. Cooper tie

Tie worn by D.B. Cooper.

Eighteen months ago, Ulis used U.S. patents to trace three of these fragments from the tie to a specific plant in Pennsylvania called Crucible Steel. "Headquartered in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, a significant subcontractor all throughout the 1960s," said Ulis. "It supplied the lion's share of titanium and stainless steel for Boeing's aircraft." Ulis claimed evidence points to Cooper having in-depth knowledge of the 727 he hijacked, and of the Seattle area. Workers at Crucible Steel were known to travel and visit their contractor, Boeing.

"This is also the time, 1971, when Boeing had this significant downturn, the big depression, with ‘The last person leaving Seattle, please turn out the lights‘ [billboard sign]," said Ulis. "It’s reasonable to deduce that D.B. Cooper may well have been part of that downturn." Ulis admits his findings are not yet concrete. He’s not crossing any suspects off the list. However, he believes from what he’s seen, all roads lead to titanium research engineer Vince Peterson from Pittsburgh. Seen side-by-side with an artist’s rendering of Cooper, Peterson passed away in 2002. "I can put him in Seattle, I can put him at Boeing," said Ulis. "He’s a compelling person of interest. He’s definitely someone I’m going to continue to dig into."


Locations where Cooper was originally thought to have landed and where some of the ransom money was later found

Locations where Cooper was originally thought to have landed and where some of the ransom money was later found.


Side-by-side view, with an FBI sketch of the suspect on the left.

Side-by-side view, with an FBI sketch of the suspect on the left.

.
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
The metal fragments are as good as circumstantial evidence can possibly get. I have to wonder if he had any flight training or ever served in the military? Or if his whereabouts during the time of the hijacking can be pinned down? Recently listened to a new podcast where the guest (I think it was Ulis) stated that the family that found the money reported that it was buried in a neat stack on the beach, not scattered around. If this is true, then it's practically certain that Cooper did survive the landing and buried the money. The soft sand of the beach would be an ideal place to do it, as it would be easy to dig and to find later. A parachute was in fact found by a hunter some years after the hijacking. It was consistent with, but not proven to be, Cooper's parachute. I think there is an extremely high probability it was his based on the fact that the dense woods with a river nearby would be a very poor choice of landing zone for sport parachutists or military training.

I'm still not willing to rule out McCoy entirely, as there are too many questionable things about him and he clearly proved he was capable of pulling this off. The fact that both of his children have gone on the record stating he was Cooper is damning, even if not actual proof.
 

nivek

As Above So Below

Daughter of D.B. Cooper Suspect Calls on FBI to Release Necktie to Clear His Name

The daughter of a man suspected of being D.B. Cooper has called upon the FBI to provide access to the skyjacker's necktie in the hopes that new DNA analysis of the evidence will clear her father's name. The surprising development reportedly came about after researcher Eric Ulis made headlines earlier this month with his theory that microscopic metallic particles found on the object could help identify the mysterious individual behind the legendary cold case. He specifically pointed the finger at an individual named Vince Petersen, who worked as an engineer at the only facility that produced the alloy at the time of the skyjacking. As one might imagine, the man's daughter was not too thrilled when she saw the news that her late father had somehow become a suspect in the Cooper case.

Explaining that she was surprised and dismayed by Ulis' bold assertion, Julie Dunbar reached out to the researcher to express her considerable skepticism over his hypothesis. "I spoke to Eric about this clip-on tie," she recalled, "as far as I know, my dad didn't have one in his wardrobe." While Dunbar conceded that "anything is possible" and that perhaps "it was something that he kept at work" that was subsequently borrowed by the skyjacker, she flatly dismissed the possibility that her father had anything to do with the 1971 caper. "As far as my dad being DB Cooper himself," she declared, definitely not."

Dunbar went on to observe that the incident taking place on the day before Thanksgiving made her particularly skeptical that her father had some role in the event as "my mom would've been furious if he wasn't home and my dad wouldn't have left on a holiday like that unless it was absolutely mandatory for work." She also posited that Peterson pulling off such an audacious scheme would have been completely out of character for the man as he would have found the caper to be rather foolish. "He'd call DB Cooper stupid and ask what that person was thinking," Dunbar said, musing that her late father would be "flabbergasted" by his name being connected to the legendary case.

Despite Dunbar's understandable misgivings about Ulis' theory, the two have now formed a rather unlikely alliance as, in the hopes of clearing her father's name, she has joined him in requesting that the FBI provide access to the necktie so that he can extract touch DNA from a spindle on the piece. Ulis had previously filed a lawsuit in the hope of forcing the government to hand over the precious piece of evidence, but the case was dismissed by a judge back in December. Given the legal reasoning for that decision, it seems unlikely that the FBI will loosen its grip on the necktie even with Dunbar on board with the effort.

.
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
Given Peterson's employment, I would think he did in fact wear a clip-on tie. Working around machinery, a regular tie can be very dangerous due to moving parts. He may have left it at work or in his car and didn't care if it got full of metal chips, presumably he had to wear it because of company dress code. As an aside, I wish they would create clip-on ties that looked like a regular one, complete with straps that go under the collar and around the neck. I hate wearing ties. I'm tall, and if I don't tie them just right they are too short. Because I don't like wearing them I'm too cheap to buy long ones.
 
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