Any DB Cooper case news.

[Herlock Sholmes]

I just started this thread for any news on the case after seeing this…

https://www.yahoo.com/news/secret-parachute-fbi-possession-may-201700706.html

[Lewis C]

It looks to me like there's a good chance that the mystery has been solved. However, I'll wait to see what the FBI says before I can feel confident about that.

If it turns out that it is solved, an implication that it would have for the Ripper case is that the man was 27 at the time, and Cooper was thought to be about 40. It's an example of how far off witness estimates of ages can be.

[FISHY1118]

There's a good chance McCoy is the man, wouldn't be to many people jumping out of planes with parachutes and substantial amount of cash every other day.

[rjpalmer]

It looks to me like there's a good chance that the mystery has been solved. However, I'll wait to see what the FBI says before I can feel confident about that.

I'm not particularly confident.

It was already known that McCoy was a skyjacker. That's why he became a suspect.

So how does finding another parachute among his belongings improve the case against him? Skyjackers own parachutes.

It's like finding a knife in Thomas Cutbush's outhouse. Does that make him the Ripper?

Maybe, but the logic escapes me because we already knew Cutbush used knives to stab girls and young women, so owning another knife doesn't help link him to the Whitechapel Murders.

[rjpalmer]

There's a good chance McCoy is the man, wouldn't be to many people jumping out of planes with parachutes and substantial amount of cash every other day.

It's called the "copycat effect," and yes, despite what one reads on these message boards, it's real. Crime--particularly well publicized crime--leads to imitators.

[c.d.]

Yeah, I'm with R.J. on this one. I think Cooper perished in the attempt. But even if somehow he did manage to pull it off he took an incredible risk and dodged a bullet big time. He would have netted over one and a half million dollars in today's money for his efforts. Would he have been so foolish as to try it again a few months later?
Hard to say. I want to see if further evidence comes forth.

c.d.

[cobalt]

Indeed. The links between McCoy upon his arrest and the DB Cooper hijack must have been exhaustively chased down by the FBI at the time and drawn a blank. If the FBI could have made a case against McCoy at the time then they surely would have, given the similarities between the crimes were blindingly obvious.

It would be interesting to know who provided the 'tip off' that led the FBI to McCoy a few days after his hijack. Could this tipster not also have helped to establish whether McCoy was actually DB Cooper?

If McCoy was DB Cooper it was remiss of him to leave a fingerprint on the hijack note during his second crime; normally criminals become more efficient as they proceed in their endeavours.

DNA retrieved from DB Cooper's clip-on tie should be able to establish the case for or against McCoy.

Family members who claim a relative as a major criminal are rarely reliable sources of the truth. There is a financial advantage to do so, and in the case of DB Cooper the thrill of being connected to a modern day outlaw.

[c.d.]

The links between McCoy upon his arrest and the DB Cooper hijack must have been exhaustively chased down by the FBI at the time and drawn a blank. If the FBI could have made a case against McCoy at the time then they surely would have, given the similarities between the crimes were blindingly obvious.

Very good point.

c.d.

[Lewis C]

I'm not particularly confident.

It was already known that McCoy was a skyjacker. That's why he became a suspect.

So how does finding another parachute among his belongings improve the case against him? Skyjackers own parachutes.

It's like finding a knife in Thomas Cutbush's outhouse. Does that make him the Ripper?

Maybe, but the logic escapes me because we already knew Cutbush used knives to stab girls and young women, so owning another knife doesn't help link him to the Whitechapel Murders.

My understanding was that there was something unique about the particular parachutes that Cooper was given, and it is being claimed that the parachute that Cooper's children supplied is said to match those unique features. I could be mistaken though.

[Abby Normal]

at least four witnesses who saw cooper say it wasnt mccoy. and apparently he has an alibi. the fbi would have nailed him by now and dosnt think it was him. it wasnt him.

[FISHY1118]

It's called the "copycat effect," and yes, despite what one reads on these message boards, it's real. Crime--particularly well publicized crime--leads to imitators.

Possibly, but if the parachute rig matches up with what the FBI know , it could be difficult to then rule McCoy out as DB Coooer.

[cobalt]

That would mean that the FBI had missed the parachute rig at the time of their investigation into the two hijacks. Skyjacking was a major fear at the time, a reasonably new type of crime, so the FBI would not have been short of resources to tackle it.

[OneRound]

My understanding was that there was something unique about the particular parachutes that Cooper was given, and it is being claimed that the parachute that Cooper's children supplied is said to match those unique features. I could be mistaken though.

Hi folks,

If there was something unique about the particular parachute, would Cooper really have kept it? And would the FBI have missed it, when they first investigated McCoy?

Best regards,
OneRound

[cobalt]

DB Cooper has inspired around a dozen copycat hijackings of which McCoy's is the best known, but it is possible that Cooper himself was spurred into action by a failed hijacking that occurred a mere 11 days earlier.

Paul Cini, a 27 year old Calgary truck driver, hijacked a flight between Vancouver and Toronto armed with a shotgun and some sticks of dynamite. Cini, who appears to have been psychologically disturbed, posed as an IRA terrorist and was fobbed off with a rather measly ransom of $50,000- much less than his initial demand. His hijack failed when, in an inebriated condition, he was overpowered by attendants.

What is interesting though was Cini's plan to parachute out into the Alberta wilderness to escape capture: until then hijackers had generally been politically motivated and forced the plane to land in a country they thought would be sympathetic to their cause. So Cini appears to have been the first to consider using a parachute. He had even packed camping equipment for this purpose although he later admitted to being terrified of heights. There is no evidence Cini had ever used a parachute before so being overpowered probably saved his life. When overpowered attempting to fit his parachute he was actually flying over a populated rural area.

The Cini case would presumably have been well reported on at the time and Cini's shortcomings as a hijacker clearly exposed. But DB Cooper was no psychological basket case, did not pour alcohol down his throat and certainly seemed familiar with parachutes and flight plans.

[Lewis C]

Hi folks,

If there was something unique about the particular parachute, would Cooper really have kept it? And would the FBI have missed it, when they first investigated McCoy?

Best regards,
OneRound

Hi OneRound,

He might have kept it as a souvenir. However, I tend to agree with your point in your second question: I would think that if the FBI had conducted a competent investigation, they wouldn't have missed something as large as a parachute. It's interesting though that when the parachute was turned over to the FBI, they didn't respond by saying, "Yes, we know about that parachute. It isn't Cooper's."