DB Cooper Mystery After 53 Years - New Clues May Solve Case.
A groundbreaking new clue might finally unlock the long-standing mystery of the DB Cooper case, which has puzzled investigators for over 53 years.
On November 24, 1971, a man using the alias Dan "DB" Cooper hijacked Northwestern Flight 305 over Portland, demanding a ransom of $200,000. After receiving the money, he parachuted out of the aircraft and vanished without a trace. Recently, on the 53rd anniversary of the hijacking, a parachute believed to belong to Cooper may have been discovered.
This is the plane ticket hijacker D.B. Cooper bought under the name Dan Cooper for the flight to Seattle. Credit: FBI
The children of Richard Floyd McCoy II, a suspect in the case, have stepped forward with intriguing information. Chante and Richard III 'Rick' McCoy reached out to YouTuber Dan Gryder, who has been delving into the case for years, inviting him to their home in 2022. Gryder, who had previously contacted the siblings, shared with Cowboy State Daily that a modified military parachute found in the McCoy garage could potentially be the one used by Cooper.
He remarked, "That rig is literally one in a billion." The McCoy siblings concur with Gryder's assessment but chose to wait until after their mother's passing to share their thoughts, as they believed she may have been involved in their father's actions.
Many people suspect that McCoy is the notorious hijacker who leaped from a United Airlines flight over Utah in 1972 with $500,000 in cash. Gryder mentioned that the FBI reached out to him after he shared details of his investigation on YouTube. The amateur sleuth stated that in 2023, FBI agents met with him and Rick to collect the harness and parachute as evidence, along with a logbook that Chante discovered, which was relevant to the hijacking case.
Dan "DB" Cooper is the name used by the criminal who took control of Northwestern Flight 305 on November 24, 1971, while it was flying over Portland.
After this handover, an FBI agent contacted Rick a month later to request permission to search the family property. Rick reported that FBI agents, assisted by local authorities, conducted a thorough search of “every nook and cranny.” He remarked, "It’s a positive indication that they’re taking this matter seriously." The FBI has not yet returned the evidence, which leads Gryder to believe their theories about the parachute being linked to the Cooper hijacking. Rick has also submitted DNA samples to the FBI, but the agency has not provided any updates to the McCoy family regarding the case's progress.
One of the unused parachutes requested but never used in the FBI's so-called NORJAK case. Credit: FBI
Earlier this year, an independent investigator managed to obtain the DNA of the elusive criminal. Cooper made a bold leap, taking all his belongings with him, but leaving behind only a black clip-on tie from JCPenney in his seat. This tie has long been regarded as the key piece of evidence that could finally solve the mystery.
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.
Eric Ulis, who has dedicated the last 13 years to investigating Cooper, recently said that the criminal's time in the shadows is coming to an end. Ulis met with Tom Kaye, a scientist who analyzed DB Cooper's tie in 2009 and 2011 using a specialized device designed to capture particulates in a filter. Initially, Kaye's tests aimed to detect traces of specific metals, chemicals, and pollen on the tie.
However, they recently discovered that the device can also capture DNA, a breakthrough realization for both Ulis and Kaye. According to the duo, Kaye's filter, which has been sealed for the past 13 years, contains Cooper's DNA with "100% certainty." They now intend to send the filter to a cutting-edge lab for metagenomic DNA analysis, a sophisticated method that allows scientists to isolate individual DNA strands.
Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 on November 24, 1971, during a brief flight from Portland to Seattle. Shortly after takeoff, Cooper handed a note to a flight attendant seated behind him, revealing that he had a bomb in his briefcase. In exchange for the safety of the 36 passengers and six crew members on board, the calm hijacker demanded $200,000 in $20 bills and four parachutes.
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. Credit: FBI
When the flight landed in Seattle, the cash and parachutes were handed over in exchange for the release of all passengers and some crew members. Following Cooper's instructions, the Boeing 727 was refueled and took off again, this time heading toward Mexico City. However, around 8 PM, somewhere over southwest Washington, a light on the cockpit instrument panel indicated that the rear exit door had been opened. With that, Cooper vanished.
Money recovered in 1980 that matched the ransom money serial numbers. Credit: FBI
The FBI looked into over 800 potential suspects in the years following the heist, but none were found to be a strong match. To this day, the incident stands as the only unresolved skyjacking in U.S. history.
Who is D.B. Cooper?Richard McCoy II is not the sole suspect in the D.B. Cooper case. The Bureau officially wrapped up its investigation into D.B. Cooper in 2016, leaving the hijacking of Northwest Flight 305 as the only unsolved crime of its nature in the United States.
While more than 800 individuals were examined in the aftermath, none were considered a convincing match, and no arrests were made. Currently, investigator Ulis is focusing on Vince Petersen as the main suspect in his inquiry. Petersen, a metallurgist who passed away in 2002, would have been 52 during the skyjacking and bore several physical resemblances to eyewitness accounts of Cooper. A significant piece of evidence that led Ulis to Petersen was a collection of chemicals found on Cooper's tie, which matched rare specialty metals used in the aerospace industry.
Many people believed that Cooper, dressed in a business suit, trench coat, and loafers, likely did not make it. The winds at that height were over 200 miles (322 km) per hour, and his parachute was not steerable. Moreover, he would have landed in a rough, densely forested region.
After years of chasing unproductive leads, investigators caught a break in 1980 when a young boy discovered a deteriorating package containing $5,800. This package was buried along the Columbia River, north of Portland, about 20 miles (32 km) from Ariel. The serial numbers on the money, all $20 bills, matched those of the ransom.
However, despite a thorough search, no additional evidence was found. Although the FBI continued to receive tips, the agency officially closed the case in 2016, stating that its resources would be better allocated to other investigations. The unresolved case captivated the nation, turning D.B. Cooper into a sort of folk hero and inspiring a variety of songs, books, and films.
