By William M. Welch, and Kevin Johnson
Updated
In the 40 years since he jumped out of the back of a hijacked jetliner over the Pacific Northwest with a parachute and a bundle of cash, "D.B. Cooper" has been an enigma, an object of recurring speculation driven by one question:
2008 AP photo by LM Otero
Brian Ingram displays a $20 bill that D.B. Cooper was carrying when he parachuted with his ransom in 1971.
Did he get away with it?
Spurring a revival of interest in the mystery figure, the FBI says it is pursuing an "interesting" lead that, if it pans out, suggests he may well have survived and lived another three decades after that 1971 leap.
FBI spokesman Frederick Gutt said the lead came to the bureau about a year ago in the form of a name of a person, now dead, who had never before surfaced in the investigation. The FBI has been seeking the man known as Cooper ever since he hijacked a Northwest Orient Boeing 727 bound for Seattle on Nov. 24, 1971, the day before Thanksgiving, after demanding and receiving a $200,000 ransom.
It was a time far removed from today's security-conscious world of commercial air travel. He was able to buy his ticket for $20 cash in Portland, Ore., giving his name as Dan Cooper. He carried his bag on board, ordered a whiskey and lit a cigarette before making his move.
Once aloft, he passed a note to the crew saying he had a bomb in his bag, showing wires and cylinders to a flight attendant. He said he was hijacking the plane.
The flight landed in Seattle, where passengers were exchanged for parachutes and the cash, all in $20 bills. It took off again with only Cooper and the crew aboard and about half an hour later, Cooper bailed out into the night through the plane's rear stairway, which he lowered himself.
The FBI has pursued many leads in four decades, but so far no one has found the man or even determined whether he survived his jump. The trail has grown as cold as the air Cooper leaped into at 10,000 feet.
In the latest tip, which the FBI is regarding as serious, Gutt said, a name was passed to a former police officer by an associate of the possible suspect. The former officer then gave the name to the FBI.
"The associate generally believed the person was the hijacker," Gutt said.
He declined to elaborate on the tipster or say where the suspect lived before dying 10 years ago.
Investigators have not confirmed or ruled out that the person actually was the hijacker known as Cooper.
Gutt said it could be months before authorities are able to complete forensic testing on evidence linked to the potential suspect.
The newest lead was first reported by The Telegraph newspaper in London.
The Seattle Times, quoting an FBI spokeswoman, Ayn Dietrich, said an item belonging to the man was sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Va., to determine whether fingerprints can be extracted from it. If so, they will try to match it with partial prints on a magazine left behind on the plane and on parts of the airliner, she said.
Even Cooper's name is a mystery. While identifying himself as Dan Cooper, FBI agents immediately checked out a Portland man with the name "D.B. Cooper" and cleared him, TheSeattle Times reports. But the name stuck.
The hijacker was described as wearing a dark suit, white shirt and tie with a tie tack. He had short dark hair and stood about 6 feet tall. He was presumed to be familiar enough with aviation to know how to use the jet's rear exit to bail out.
No body was ever found. Some $20 bills, identified as part of the ransom money, were recovered in 1980 by a child digging on the banks of the Columbia River.
Experts estimated Cooper would have landed near Ariel, Wash. Residents there have a party every fall to commemorate the unsolved hijacking.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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