Cooper could've been a member of the elite, all-Black paratrooper unit known as the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, based in Pendleton, Oregon, during World War Two. In addition, a correspondent from Tennessee, engaging in what the Feds correctly called "pure speculation,” suggested that D.B. Cooper as displaying “Mexican characteristics,” and at least one suspect was cleared by the Bureau because their complexion didn't fit the witness' description.Īcting upon this suspicion, the Bureau recommended that all divisions who had a “concentration of Mexican-American extremists, including Chicanos Brown Berets" should be on the lookout for activists who look like Cooper. Cooper’s race is listed as “White” or “Caucasian,” but it also noted that Cooper had an “olive" or "Latin complexion." This is probably why agents spent time looking into a Los Angeles parachute club called “Latin Sky-Divers,” whose members were “of Latin descent or background.” Several documents refer to D.B. When we look at the FBI poster or suspect sheet, we notice that D.B. It seems that race played an integral role in the federal investigation. Cooper should be given a medal” for his crime. Once the Feds showed up at the Sandy Hut, our suspect stated, “I am aware of the Federal statutes and will be filing a false arrest suit as a result of being questioned by FBI Agents.” He also mentioned that he couldn’t recall where he'd been on November 24 or 25 (Thanksgiving), unnecessarily adding that “D.B. He was also “in a state of extreme inebriation, uncooperative.” In conversation, it was revealed that the suspect was a private pilot, an experienced skydiver, and a Washington lawyer. So the presumably drunk Portland cop called the FBI. Cooper guy” was spending lots of money, and breaking four $100 bills-which for 1971 was a sizable amount of cash. as one does, right? An hour or two later, another man entered the bar who the cop thought resembled D.B. On December 29, 1971, an off-duty Portland Police officer went for a drink at the Sandy Hut… at 7:30 am. Cooper caught drinking at the Sandy Hut at 10 in the morning? Yes, that Sandy Hut! (And honestly, some of them are pretty good reading!) Coopers, a patchwork of vastly diverse suspects, along with varied paradigms and theories that contribute to the provenance of weirdness that comprise this legend. But what emerges from this pile of papers is a myriad of possible D.B. or, if you prefer, a lot of bullshit conjecture. But as you will see, there are still gems of substantiation to be unearthed by intrepid researchers. Note: Many of the documents you'll see are heavily redacted, as the release process must preserve the identity of many of the living suspects. To properly remember the 50th anniversary of the only unsolved skyjacking in US Aviation history (happening on Wednesday, November 24), I have reviewed every single document-all 22,277 pages-with my own eyes, and, for your enjoyment, have compiled the top ten weirdest, wildest revelations from the hunt for D.B.
Since closing the case, the FBI have released 22,277 pages of reports on their website covering most aspects of the investigation "between November 1971 and May 1992." The Feds had investigated over 1,000 suspects and came up with nothing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pursued the caper until July 2016, when after almost 45 years, they considered the case closed-ish.