Editing D. B. Cooper (section)

==={{anchor|Walter R. Reca}}Walter Reca===
Walter R. Reca (1933–2014) was a former military paratrooper and intelligence operative.<ref>{{cite news |last=Shapira |first=Ian |date=May 26, 2018 |title=Is This Man D. B. Cooper? Yet another suspect surfaces in 47-year old puzzle |work=[[The Ottawa Citizen]] |location=Ottawa }}</ref> He was proposed as a suspect by his friend Carl Laurin in 2018.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/05/17/a-new-d-b-cooper-suspect-yet-another-possible-identity-for-elusive-hijacker/ |title=A new 'D.B. Cooper' suspect? Yet another possible identity for the elusive hijacker |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en |access-date=July 19, 2018 |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720051814/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/05/17/a-new-d-b-cooper-suspect-yet-another-possible-identity-for-elusive-hijacker/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2008, Reca told Laurin via a recorded telephone call that he was the hijacker.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/book-claims-to-solve-db-cooper-mystery/1185777478 |title=Book claims to solve D.B. Cooper mystery |last=La Furgey |first=Joe |date=May 17, 2018 |publisher=Wood TV |access-date=July 19, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720025642/https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/book-claims-to-solve-db-cooper-mystery/1185777478 |url-status=live }}</ref> Reca gave Laurin permission in a notarized letter to share his story after his death. He also allowed Laurin to tape their telephone conversations about the crime during a six-week period in late 2008. In over three&nbsp;hours of recordings, Reca shared details about his version of the hijacking. He also confessed to his niece, Lisa Story.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2018/05/db_cooper_case_drops_another_s.html |title=D.B. Cooper case drops another surprising suspect into the spotlight |publisher=OregonLive.com |access-date=July 19, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720022605/https://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2018/05/db_cooper_case_drops_another_s.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

From Reca's description of the terrain on his way to the drop zone, Laurin concluded that he landed near [[Cle Elum, Washington|Cle&nbsp;Elum, Washington]]. After Reca described an encounter with a dump truck driver at a roadside cafe after he landed, Laurin located Jeff Osiadacz, who was driving his dump truck near Cle&nbsp;Elum the night of the hijacking and met a stranger at the Teanaway Junction Café just outside of town. The man asked Osiadacz to give his friend directions to the café by telephone, presumably to be picked up, and he complied.<ref name="mlive-reca">{{cite news |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2018/05/db_cooper_lived_and_died_in_mi.html |title=D.B. Cooper author unveils evidence he says identifies infamous skyjacker |publisher=MLive.com |access-date=July 19, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720022440/https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2018/05/db_cooper_lived_and_died_in_mi.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Laurin convinced Joe Koenig, a former member of the [[Michigan State Police]], of Reca's guilt.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.king5.com/video/news/forensic-investigator-explains-why-he-believes-walter-reca-is-db-cooper/281-8131681 |title=Forensic investigator explains why he believes Walter Reca is D.B. Cooper |publisher=KING |access-date=July 19, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720022400/https://www.king5.com/video/news/forensic-investigator-explains-why-he-believes-walter-reca-is-db-cooper/281-8131681 |url-status=live }}</ref> Koenig later published a book on Cooper, titled ''Getting The Truth: I Am D.B. Cooper''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://therealdbcooper.com/pages/about|title=Getting the Truth: I Am D.B. Cooper|year=2018|isbn=978-1614853268|oclc=1090800628|access-date=January 11, 2019|archive-date=January 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112044346/https://therealdbcooper.com/pages/about|url-status=dead|last1=Koenig|first1=Joe|publisher=Principia Media LLC }}</ref>

These claims have aroused skepticism. Cle&nbsp;Elum is well north and east of Flight 305's known flight path, more than {{convert|150|mi|km}} north of the drop zone assumed by most analysts, and even further from Tina Bar, where a portion of the ransom money was found. Reca was a military paratrooper and private skydiver with hundreds of jumps to his credit, in contradiction to the FBI's publicized profile of an amateur skydiver at best. Reca also did not resemble the composite portrait the FBI assembled, which Laurin and Osiadacz used to explain why Osiadacz's suspicions were not aroused at the time.<ref name="mlive-reca" /> In response to the allegations against Reca, the FBI said that it would be inappropriate to comment on specific tips provided to them, and that no evidence to date had proved the culpability of any suspect beyond a [[reasonable doubt]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Ingalls|first=Chris|url=https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/here-are-discrepancies-in-db-cooper-identity-story-from-publisher/281-552986652|title=Here are discrepancies in D.B. Cooper identity story from publisher|work=K5|access-date=March 22, 2021|archive-date=August 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828023515/https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/here-are-discrepancies-in-db-cooper-identity-story-from-publisher/281-552986652|url-status=live}}</ref>