D.B. Cooper
A man who bought a ticket as Dan Cooper hijacked a flight in 1971, collected $200,000 in ransom, and disappeared. Years later, a boy found part of the ransom on the banks of the Columbia River.
The man boarded Northwest Orient Flight 305 in Portland on November 24, 1971. During the flight he gave a flight attendant a note and claimed to have a bomb. The airline delivered the ransom in Seattle, where he released the passengers. He disappeared after the plane took off again.
The ticket said Dan Cooper. Early news accounts called the hijacker D.B. Cooper, and that name stuck. The FBI interviewed hundreds of people and followed leads across the country.
In 1980, eight-year-old Brian Ingram found $5,800 in deteriorating bills along the Columbia River. Their serial numbers matched the ransom. The discovery gave investigators a confirmed piece of evidence, while Cooper’s identity and fate remained unknown. In 2016 the FBI redirected resources from the case to other investigations.
Another entry in this category is NORAD Stand-Down Theory.
Bibliography:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2016, July 12). D.B. Cooper hijacking. FBI case history.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2009, March 17). In search of D.B. Cooper.