The FBI’s Seattle field office on Tuesday said it would no longer actively investigate the DB Cooper case after conducting “one of the longest and most exhaustive investigations in our history”.
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In 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper hijacked an airplane full of passengers in OR, stole $200,000 and then parachuted out of the plane never to be seen again by authorities.
When the flight landed in Seattle, Cooper let 36 passengers go in exchange for the ransom money and parachutes.
The decision on the case of D.B. Cooper, a moniker given to the skyjacker by the media after he vanished, ensures the saga will likely endure as one of America’s great unsolved mysteries.
Evidence collected after the November 1971 hijack will be retained for “historical purposes”, the Federal Bureau of Investigation says, and it is advising anyone uncovering specific physical evidence – particularly about the hijacker’s parachute or the ransom money – to contact local Federal Bureau of Investigation offices.
Still, many possible suspects have been postulated in the 45 years since the jump.
Cooper parachuted out of the plane, with his money, at some point between Seattle and Reno, Nevada, opening the aft stairs himself.
The FBI describes Cooper as a quiet man who appeared to be in his mid-40s at the time.
Nine years later, a boy digging on a beach discovered three bundles of damaged $20 bills worth US$6,000 which matched the serial numbers of the cash given to Cooper. Then, at 10,000ft, at night somewhere over the rugged backwoods of Washington state, he opened the rear door and jumped.
“The fascination with Cooper has survived not because of the FBI investigation, but because he was able to do something that not only captured the public imagination, but also maintained a sense of mystery in the world”, Gray said.
Initially, investigators believed Cooper must have been an experienced skydiver.
Numerous leads have surfaced over the years. While publicly brainstorming, he said he was hoping a clever hydrologist using satellite technology might find a way to trace the Cooper cash found on the Columbia River in 1980 back to the creek in which it originated.
The FBI reportedly said that after looking at all credible leads, “Enough is enough”. “The tips have conveyed plausible theories, descriptive information about individuals potentially matching the hijacker, and anecdotes-to include accounts of sudden, unexplained wealth”.
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In addition, Gray – author of “Skyjack: The Hunt for D. B. Cooper”, published by Broadway – says a quirk in the statute of limitations laws means that “in theory, if Cooper were to walk out of the woods today, he could theoretically be charged with a crime”.
