NY author Geoff Gray, who in 2012 published “Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper” based on his review of the bureau’s file, said he is “not so convinced that the investigation is dead or this story is over by any stretch”.
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The case began on the afternoon of November 24, 1971, when a man described as being in his mid-40s wearing a suit, raincoat, and dark sunglasses boarded a flight from Portland, Ore., to Seattle. He claimed to have a bomb, and demanded $200,000 – more than $1million in today’s figures. His demands were granted at Sea-Tac, where he released the 36 passengers and two of the flight attendants.
A hijacked Northwest Airlines jetliner is seen in this Nov. 25, 1971 file photo as it sits on a runway for refueling at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Nov. 25, 1971, Seattle. Then, at 10,000ft, at night somewhere over the rugged backwoods of Washington state, he opened the rear door and jumped.
“Although the FBI will no longer actively investigate this case, should specific physical evidence emerge-related specifically to the parachutes or the money taken by the hijacker-individuals with those materials are asked to contact their local FBI field office”, said the bureau in a statement.
The case generated myriad tips but they went nowhere.
The F.B.I. closed the investigation Wednesday, citing that it has gathered and investigated all available information and followed a large amount of leads, but nothing that has resulted in identifying the hijacker.
“If it [a new lead] comes in, we’ve got to follow up with it”, Eng said. “But at the same time, after 45 years we just don’t think that that’s likely”, Montoya said. “Where there’s problems and crimes now”. His tale captured America’s imagination, not exclusively because he vanished seemingly without a trace, but because he did something bold and renegade in an era when the country felt like doing the same.
The famed police sketch showed a bespectacled man of average height, wearing a sport jacket and thin tie, fashion very much of the iconic, buttoned-up era in 1950’s and 60’s business.
Really, not much at all is clear about this case, which is why it’s puzzled authorities for almost half a century, and why the Federal Bureau of Investigation chose to throw in the towel and move on to more solvable mysteries.
Originally, FBI investigators thought Cooper must be have been an experienced skydiver, possibly with military experience, in order to potentially survive the jump, the Washington Post reports.
Still, many possible suspects have been postulated in the 45 years since the jump.
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Nothing was heard from the well-dressed, middle-aged man ever again.
