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Modern Mysteries

New clue emerges in DB Cooper hijacking case

By T.K. Randall
January 22, 2017 · Comment icon 15 comments

Cooper's tie has yielded an important new clue. Image Credit: PD / US Government
An independent investigation in to the long-running mystery has managed to dig up an important new clue.
The infamous hijacking occurred in 1971 when a mysterious man, who at the time went by the name Dan Cooper, boarded Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 to travel from Portland to Seattle.

During the trip, Cooper called over one of the flight attendants and asked them to write out a note declaring that he had a bomb in his briefcase and that the plane was being hijacked.

When the aircraft stopped at Tacoma International Airport he allowed the passengers to leave in exchange for four parachutes and the sum of $200,000 in cash.

After the plane had taken off again, Cooper strapped the bag of money to himself, put on one of the parachutes and jumped out somewhere between Seattle and Reno. No trace of him was ever found.

Now though, a team of scientists working for Citizen Sleuths - a group that has been attempting to solve the case for years - may have finally determined where Cooper used to work.
One of the few pieces of physical evidence left behind by Cooper was a black tie that was found sitting on his airplane seat. By using modern forensic techniques, the team was able to identify traces of "rare earth elements" on the tie including a surprising amount of titanium.

Because this metal was very rare back in 1971, the presence of it on Cooper's formal clothes significantly narrowed down the number of places where he was likely to have worked.

The investigators ultimately determined that he was most likely to have worked at Boeing - the company responsible for building the airplane in which the hijacking took place.

"The tie went with him into these manufacturing environments, for sure, so he was not one of the people running these [manufacturing machines]," said lead researcher Tom Kaye.

"He was either an engineer or a manager in one of the plants."

Source: News.com.au | Comments (15)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #6 Posted by cerberusxp 7 years ago
He did get away with it. I happen to know where he was for a while. He was in San Quentin prison for possession of 1 ounce of heroin. He is more than likely dead by now though.
Comment icon #7 Posted by cerberusxp 7 years ago
How about missile component production in Portland ,OR..
Comment icon #8 Posted by Hawkin 7 years ago
He took $200,000. In today's money that's over $1,000,000.
Comment icon #9 Posted by Summerin1905 7 years ago
didn't a family at one point though db cooper was their father? i saw a video about this. Edit i think this might be it?! http://abcnews.go.com/US/db-cooper-mystery-marla-coopers-mom-forward-brother/story?id=14228244
Comment icon #10 Posted by The Narcisse 7 years ago
Plot twist: There was no DB Cooper. It was a false flag!
Comment icon #11 Posted by Hammerclaw 7 years ago
The sketch of him aged bears a remarkable resemblance to Harry Reid.    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/05/08/the-most-interesting-thing-harry-reid-told-chuck-todd/?utm_term=.c58e7da25df3   
Comment icon #12 Posted by Glockornothing 7 years ago
Maybe that's why his brother punched him in the eye, for not sharing the loot.
Comment icon #13 Posted by timewarrior 7 years ago
Thank the lord for Josh Gates!  May that man never be forced to stay in one place. 
Comment icon #14 Posted by mesuma 7 years ago
What if this was a set up or an inside job? What if he was never supposed to or be in any danger of getting caught? If it was a training op or some kind of insurance scam done by not just Cooper but a group? Maybe to test hijackings or protocol. A wet run of sorts. I'm not calling conspiracy, just the fact that he vanished for a reason. Pat on the back and on to the next job.
Comment icon #15 Posted by little_dreamer 7 years ago
I think this news story is compelling but the DNA evidence on the necktie did not match DNA from L.D. Cooper's personal items.  http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/db-cooper-suspect-was-surveyor-brother-worked-for-boeing/ "Lynn Doyle Cooper, who has been linked by his niece to the 1971 skyjacking, worked as an engineering surveyor, according to an Oregon death certificate.    His brother, Dewey Max Cooper, who also has been implicated by the niece in the skyjacking, once worked at Boeing, his former sister-in-law, Grace Hailey, said Thursday. He also is deceased, Hailey said."


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