Closing In On Cooper?
Children playing in southwest Washington state found what appears to be a parachute buried in the ground in an area that the FBI once considered a likely area for hijacker "Dan Cooper" to have jumped near. The FBI has recovered the parachute and is asking the public for help in determining whether it is of the same type as Cooper is known to have been using when he jumped from the hijacked aircraft.
SEATTLE - The FBI is analyzing a torn, tangled parachute found buried by children in southwest Washington to determine whether it might have been used by famed plane hijacker D.B. Cooper, the agency said.
Children playing outside their home near Amboy found the chute's fabric sticking up from the ground in an area where their father had been grading a road, agent Larry Carr said Tuesday. They pulled it out as far as they could, then cut the parachute's ropes with scissors.The children had seen recent media coverage of the case — the FBI launched a publicity campaign last fall, hoping to generate tips to solve the 36-year-old mystery — and they urged their dad to call the agency.
"When we went to the public, the whole idea was that the public is going to bring the answers to us," Carr said. "This is exactly what we were hoping for."
It seemed a bit odd when the FBI reopened the old case, dating from 1971, but this is an unusual find. One cannot think of too many reasons why a parachute would be buried for legitimate reasons. This may be important or just another dead end. But something has turned up after all these years. Interesting.
By Anthony (Los Angeles), Wednesday, 26 March , 2008 @ 7:43 am
A buried parachute, if indeed Coopers, would be a strong indication he survived.
By martian, Wednesday, 26 March , 2008 @ 1:41 pm
Exactly, Anthony. The FBI theory, for years, has been that he died in the jump from the plane. If he was alive enough on the ground to bury his shoot, he very likely survived a lot longer than has been theorized.
By martian, Wednesday, 26 March , 2008 @ 1:42 pm
Man, I must be tired. Change that spelling from "shoot" to "chute" please?