Editing D. B. Cooper (section)

==Investigation==
In addition to sixty-six [[Fingerprint|latent fingerprints]] aboard the plane,<ref name=Pasternak2000/> FBI agents recovered Cooper's black clip-on tie, tie clip and two of the four parachutes,{{efn|name=parachutes}} one of which had been opened and had three [[shroud line]]s cut from the canopy.<ref>{{cite news| title = F.B.I. reheats cold case | work = [[National Post]] | last = Cowan | first = James | date = January 3, 2008 | url = https://nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=211616 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20080121231748/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=211616 | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 21, 2008 | access-date = January 9, 2008 }}</ref> FBI agents interviewed eyewitnesses in Portland, Seattle and Reno, and developed a series of [[composite sketch]]es.<ref name=FBIVault7>{{Cite web|url=https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D-B-Cooper-Part-7-of-7/view|publisher= FBI |work=FBI Records: The Vault |title= D.B. Cooper part 07 of 67|access-date=December 1, 2016|archive-date=December 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214215519/https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D-B-Cooper-Part-7-of-7/view|url-status=live}}</ref>

Local police and FBI agents immediately began questioning possible suspects.<ref name="fbi_famous"/> In a rush to meet a deadline, reporter James Long of ''[[The Oregon Journal]]'' recorded the name "Dan Cooper" as "D. B. Cooper".<ref>{{cite web |date=July 28, 2016 |title=Reporter who added some swagger to the D.B. Cooper legacy comes clean |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-db-cooper-confession-20160726-snap-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=September 23, 2024 |archive-date=July 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727132749/https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-db-cooper-confession-20160726-snap-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Browning, W. (July 22, 2016). One mystery solved in 'D.B. Cooper' skyjacking fiasco. [https://www.cjr.org/the_feature/db_cooper_mystery_solved.php ''Columbia Journalism Review''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930040433/https://www.cjr.org/the_feature/db_cooper_mystery_solved.php |date=September 30, 2020 }}, retrieved July 29, 2016.</ref> [[United Press International]] [[wire service]] reporter Clyde Jabin republished Long's error,<ref>Guzman, Monica (November 27, 2007). Update: Everyone wants a piece of the D. B. Cooper legend. [http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2007/11/27/update-everyone-wants-a-piece-of-the-d-b-cooper-legend/ Seattle ''Post-Intelligencer'' archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195334/http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2007/11/27/update-everyone-wants-a-piece-of-the-d-b-cooper-legend/ |date=March 3, 2016 }} Retrieved February 25, 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cjr.org/the_feature/db_cooper_unsolved_hijacking_mystery.php|title=A reporter's role in the notorious unsolved mystery of 'D.B. Cooper'|last=Browning|first=William|date=July 18, 2016|newspaper=[[Columbia Journalism Review]]|location=New York|access-date=July 19, 2016|archive-date=July 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721103728/http://www.cjr.org/the_feature/db_cooper_unsolved_hijacking_mystery.php|url-status=live}}</ref> and as other media sources repeated the error,<ref>Contemporary stories from the AP and the UPI using the name "D. B. Cooper":<br />* {{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vuVNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6384%2C3320413 |work=Free Lance-Star |location=(Fredericksburg, Virginia) |agency=Associated Press |last=Grossweiler |first=Ed |title=Hijacker bails out with loot |date=November 26, 1971 |page=1 |access-date=September 22, 2018 |archive-date=February 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203230246/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vuVNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6384%2C3320413 |url-status=live }}<br />* {{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bTQVAAAAIBAJ&pg=1933%2C1906592 |work=The Bulletin |location=(Bend, Oregon) |agency=UPI |title=Wilderness area combed for parachute skyjacker |date=November 26, 1971 |page=1 |access-date=September 22, 2018 |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206125112/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bTQVAAAAIBAJ&pg=1933%2C1906592 |url-status=live }}</ref> the hijacker's pseudonym became "D. B. Cooper".{{sfn|Bragg|2005|p=4}} Acting on the possibility the hijacker may have used his real name (or the same [[Pseudonym|alias]] in a previous crime), Portland police discovered and interviewed a Portland citizen named D. B. Cooper. The Portland Cooper had a minor police record, but was quickly eliminated as a suspect.

[[File:727db.gif|thumb|An animation of the [[Boeing 727|727]]'s rear airstair deploying in flight, with Cooper jumping off: The gravity-operated apparatus remained open until the aircraft landed.]]
Due to the number of variables and parameters, precisely defining the area to search was difficult. The jet's airspeed estimates varied, the environmental conditions along the flight path varied with the aircraft's location and altitude,{{r|vault_64||page=300}} and only Cooper knew how long he remained in [[Free fall|free-fall]] before pulling his ripcord.<ref name=Caldwell1971/> The F-106 pilots neither saw anyone jumping from the airliner, nor did their radar detect a deployed parachute. A black-clad man jumping into the moonless night would be difficult to see, especially given the limited visibility, cloud cover and lack of ground lighting.<ref>{{cite news| title = D.B. Cooper legend still up in air 25&nbsp;years after leap, hijackers prompts strong feelings | work = [[San Francisco Chronicle]] | last = Taylor | first = Michael | date = November 24, 1996 }}</ref> The T-33 pilots did not make visual contact with the 727.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=47}}

On December 6, 1971, {{Time interval|November 24 1971|December 6 1971}} after the incident, [[Director of the FBI|FBI Director]] [[J. Edgar Hoover]] approved the use of an Air Force [[Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird|SR-71 Blackbird]] to retrace and photograph Flight 305's flightpath,<ref>{{cite report |date= December 6, 1971 |title= J. Edgar Hoover authorization for SR-71 use |url= https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D.B.%20Cooper%20Part%2014/view |publisher= Federal Bureau of Investigation |page= 348 |access-date= August 18, 2022 |archive-date= August 18, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220818013610/https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D.B.%20Cooper%20Part%2014/view |url-status= live }}</ref> and attempt to locate the items Cooper carried during his jump.{{r|vault_60|page= 340 |quote= "Beale Air Force Base, California, had offered, free of charge to the Bureau, use of an SR-71 aircraft to photograph terrain over which the hijacked airplane had flown on its trip to Reno"}} The SR-71 made five flights to retrace Flight 305's route, but due to poor visibility, the photography attempts were unsuccessful.{{r|vault_60|page= 340 |quote= "photographic over-flights using SR-71 aircraft were conducted on five separate occasions with no photographs_obtained due to limited visibility from very high altitude."}}

In an experimental recreation, flying the same aircraft used in the hijacking in the same flight configuration, FBI agents pushed a {{convert|200|lb|adj=on}} sled out of the open airstair and were able to reproduce the upward motion of the tail section and brief change in cabin pressure described by the flight crew at 8:13&nbsp;pm.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=80–81}}<ref>{{cite report |date= January 14, 1972|title= Seattle SAC Letter to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover |quote= "The reaction was instantaneous and was described by REDACTED as being the same reaction that they had in the airplane when they believe that the hijacker jumped." |url= https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/d.b.-cooper-part-19/view |publisher= Federal Bureau of Investigation |page= 19}}</ref> Initial extrapolations placed Cooper's landing zone within an area on the southernmost outreach of [[Mount St. Helens]], a few miles southeast of [[Ariel, Washington]], near [[Lake Merwin]], an [[artificial lake]] formed by a dam on the [[Lewis River (Washington)|Lewis River]].<ref>{{cite news| title = 30 years ago, D.B. Cooper's night leap began a legend | work = [[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] | last = Skolnik | first = Sam | date = November 22, 2001 | url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-80264926.html | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120906132812/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-80264926.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = September 6, 2012 | access-date = January 9, 2008}} {{Subscription required}}</ref> Search efforts concentrated on [[Clark County, Washington|Clark]] and [[Cowlitz County, Washington|Cowlitz]] counties, encompassing the terrain immediately south and north of the Lewis River in southwest Washington.<ref>[http://n467us.com/Data%20Files/Seamless%20Hot%20Zone%20North.jpg Topographic map, northern half of primary search area] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714145420/http://n467us.com/Data%20Files/Seamless%20Hot%20Zone%20North.jpg |date=July 14, 2011 }} Retrieved February 25, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://n467us.com/Data%20Files/Seamless%20Hot%20Zone%20South.jpg Topographic map, southern half of primary search area] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714145442/http://n467us.com/Data%20Files/Seamless%20Hot%20Zone%20South.jpg |date=July 14, 2011 }} Retrieved February 25, 2011.</ref> FBI agents and sheriff's deputies searched large areas of the largely forested terrain on foot and by helicopter. Door-to-door searches of local farmhouses were also performed. Other search parties ran patrol boats along Lake Merwin and [[Yale Lake]], the reservoir immediately to its east.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=67–68}} Neither Cooper nor any of the equipment he presumably carried was found.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=67–68}}

Using fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters from the [[Oregon Army National Guard]], the FBI coordinated an aerial search along the entire flight path (known as [[Victor airways|Victor 23]] in U.S. aviation terminology,<ref>{{cite web|title=Aeronautical Information Manual |publisher=Federal Aviation Administration |url=http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim/chap5/aim0503.html |access-date=August 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721041334/http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim/Chap5/aim0503.html |archive-date=July 21, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and as "Vector 23" in most Cooper {{Nowrap|literature)<ref name=Pasternak2000/><ref name=Gray2007/>}} from Seattle to Reno. Although numerous broken treetops and several pieces of plastic and other objects resembling parachute canopies were sighted and investigated, nothing relevant to the hijacking was found.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=70–71}}

Soon after the spring thaw in early 1972, teams of FBI agents aided by some 200 [[United States Army|soldiers]] from [[Fort Lewis (Washington)|Fort Lewis]], along with [[United States Air Force]] personnel, National Guardsmen, and civilian volunteers, conducted another thorough ground search of Clark and Cowlitz Counties for 18 days in March, and then another 18 days in April.{{sfn|Olson|2010|p=34}} Electronic Explorations Company, a marine-salvage firm, used a [[submarine]] to search the {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=on}} depths of Lake Merwin.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=101–104}} Two local women stumbled upon a skeleton in an abandoned structure in Clark County; it was later identified as the remains of Barbara Ann Derry, a teenaged girl who had been abducted and murdered several weeks before.{{r|vault_53|page=79}}<ref>{{Cite web|last=Red|first=Rose|date=February 16, 2008|title=Murder at Old Cedar Creek Grist Mill, Woodland, Washington – Infamous Crime Scenes|url=https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM35ZN_Murder_at_Old_Cedar_Creek_Grist_Mill_Woodland_Washington|access-date=September 27, 2020|website=Waymarking|archive-date=January 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117005255/https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM35ZN_Murder_at_Old_Cedar_Creek_Grist_Mill_Woodland_Washington|url-status=live}}</ref> Ultimately, the extensive search and recovery operation uncovered no significant material evidence related to the hijacking.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=87–89}}

Based on early computer projections produced for the FBI, Cooper's drop zone was first estimated to be between Ariel dam to the north and the town of [[Battle Ground, Washington]], to the south.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=67}} In March 1972, after a joint investigation with Northwest Orient Airlines and the Air Force, the FBI determined Cooper probably jumped over the town of [[La Center, Washington]].<ref>{{cite report |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/d.b.-cooper-part-74/view |title=Investigate Report sent to J. Edgar Hoover, Director, FBI |date=March 9, 1971 |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |page=122 |access-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905015702/https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/d.b.-cooper-part-74/view |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=February 14, 1980 |title=Hijack Probe Expands |publisher=Associated Press |agency=Spokane Chronicle |quote=... in the area near LaCenter, into which Cooper apparently parachuted.}}</ref>

In 2019, the FBI released a report detailing the burglary of a grocery store, about three hours after Cooper jumped, near [[Heisson, Washington]]. Heisson, an [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated community]], was within the calculated drop zone Northwest Airlines presented to the FBI.{{sfn|Edwards|2021|pp=140}} In the report, the FBI noted the burglar took only survival items, such as beef jerky and gloves. However, the report notes that the burglar wore "military type boots with a corregated {{sic}} sole", while Cooper was described as wearing slip-on shoes.{{r|vault_65|page= 124|quote= "At about 11:30 pm, there was a burglary of a grocery store located roughly 10 miles south of the Dam. Survival rations were taken including beef jerky, cigarettes, gloves, etc."}}{{r|vault_65|page=69 |quote=Hijacker wore non-lace type shoes of ankle length.}}

===Search for ransom money===
A month after the hijacking, the FBI distributed lists of the ransom serial numbers to financial institutions, [[casino]]s, racetracks, businesses with routine transactions involving large amounts of cash, and to law-enforcement agencies around the world. Northwest Orient offered a reward of 15% of the recovered money, to a maximum of $25,000. In early 1972, U.S. Attorney General [[John N. Mitchell]] released the serial numbers to the general public.<ref name=nymagtimeline/> Two men used counterfeit $20 bills printed with Cooper serial numbers to swindle $30,000 from a ''[[Newsweek]]'' reporter named Karl Fleming in exchange for an interview with a man they falsely claimed was the hijacker.<ref>[https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D-B-Cooper-Part-1-of-7/view FBI files on Fleming case, released via Freedom of Information Act] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214214008/https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/D-B-Cooper-Part-1-of-7/view |date=December 14, 2016 }} Retrieved February 15, 2011.</ref><ref name=Everett1972>{{cite news |last=Holles |first=Everett R. |date=November 26, 1972 |title=$200,000 hijacking by 'D. B. Cooper' is still a mystery |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/11/26/archives/200000-hijacking-by-d-b-cooper-is-still-a-mystery.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110131455/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/11/26/archives/200000-hijacking-by-d-b-cooper-is-still-a-mystery.html |archive-date=November 10, 2020}}</ref>

In early 1973, with the ransom money still missing, ''[[The Oregon Journal]]'' republished the serial numbers and offered $1,000 ({{Inflation|US|1000|1973|fmt=eq}}) to the first person to turn in a ransom bill to the newspaper or any FBI field office. In Seattle, the ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer|Post-Intelligencer]]'' made a similar offer with a $5,000 reward. The offers remained in effect until Thanksgiving 1974, and though several near matches were reported, no genuine bills were found.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=95}} In 1975, Northwest Orient's insurer, Global Indemnity Co., complied with an order from the [[Supreme Court of Minnesota|Minnesota Supreme Court]] and paid the airline's $180,000 ({{Inflation|US|180000|1975|fmt=eq|r=-5}}) claim on the ransom money.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Globe Indem. Co.|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/minnesota/supreme-court/1975/44904-1.html|access-date=January 14, 2022|website=Justia Law|language=en|archive-date=January 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114004953/https://law.justia.com/cases/minnesota/supreme-court/1975/44904-1.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Later developments===
Analysis of the flight data indicated the first estimated location of Cooper's landing zone was inaccurate. Captain Scott—who was flying the aircraft manually because of Cooper's speed and altitude demands—determined the flight path was farther east than initially reported.<ref name=Seven1996/> Additional data provided by [[Continental Airlines]] pilot Tom Bohan—who was flying four minutes behind Flight 305—led the FBI to recalculate their estimates for Cooper's drop zone. Bohan noted the FBI's calculations for Cooper's drop zone were based on incorrectly-recorded wind direction, and therefore the FBI's estimates were inaccurate.{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=111–113}}

Based on Bohan's data and subsequent recalculations of the flight path, the FBI determined Cooper's drop zone was probably over the [[Washougal River]] [[Watershed (rivers)|watershed]].{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|pp=114–116}} In 1986, FBI Agent Ralph Himmelsbach wrote, "I have to confess, if I were going to look for Cooper... I would head for the Washougal."{{sfn|Himmelsbach|Worcester|1986|p=115}} The Washougal Valley and the surrounding areas have been repeatedly searched but no discoveries traceable to the hijacking have been reported,<ref name=Seven1996/> and the FBI believes any remaining physical clues were probably destroyed in the [[1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens]].<ref>Connolly, P. (November 24, 1981). D.B. Cooper: A stupid rascal. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19811124&id=IfpNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6868,4075230 ''The Free Lance-Star''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929072126/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19811124&id=IfpNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6868,4075230 |date=September 29, 2020 }}, retrieved June 29, 2016.</ref>

===Investigation suspended===
On July 8, 2016, when Cooper was assumed to be at least 85 years old if alive, the FBI announced active investigation of the Cooper case was suspended, citing the need to deploy investigative resources and manpower on issues of greater and more urgent priority. Local field offices would continue to accept any legitimate physical evidence, related specifically to the parachutes or to the ransom money. The 66-volume case file compiled during the 45-year course of the investigation would be preserved for historical purposes at [[FBI headquarters]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], and on the FBI website. All of the evidence is open to the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20|title=DB Cooper Vault|work=FBI |publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]|access-date=July 26, 2018|archive-date=July 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727084915/https://vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper%20/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=July 12, 2016 |title=Update on Investigation of 1971 Hijacking by D.B. Cooper |url=https://www.fbi.gov/seattle/press-releases/2016/update-on-investigation-of-1971-hijacking-by-d.b.-cooper |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712215844/https://www.fbi.gov/seattle/press-releases/2016/update-on-investigation-of-1971-hijacking-by-d.b.-cooper |archive-date=July 12, 2016 |access-date=July 12, 2016 |publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]}}</ref> The crime remains the only documented unsolved case of [[air piracy]] in commercial aviation history.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gulliver |first=Katrina |author-link=Katrina Gulliver |date=December 22, 2021 |title=D.B. Cooper's skyjacking continues to fascinate Americans half a century later |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/12/22/db-coopers-skyjacking-continues-fascinate-americans-half-century-later/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=February 3, 2022 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222153021/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/12/22/db-coopers-skyjacking-continues-fascinate-americans-half-century-later/ |url-status=live }}</ref>