D.B. Cooper Suspect: FBI Investigating 'Credible Lead' In 40-Year-Old Airline Hijacking

SEATTLE -- The FBI says it has a "credible" lead in the D.B. Cooper case, which involved the 1971 hijacking of a passenger jet over Washington state and the suspect's legendary parachute escape.

FBI spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich tells The Seattle Times that a law enforcement member directed investigators to a person who might have helpful information on the suspect.

Dietrich says an item belonging to the man was sent to a lab in Quantico, Va., for forensic testing. She did not provide specifics about the item or the man's identity.

Federal investigators have checked more than 1,000 leads since a hijacker dubbed "D.B. Cooper" parachuted from a flight with $200,000 dollars in ransom.

His fate remains unknown, although the Seattle Post Intelligencer reports agents have previously said they believe he died the night he jumped.

Comments

[Kirk Dilworth]

10:18 PM on 09/03/2011

Here we go again, its all about this country,s common denominator , the God they trust in, the dollar bill. How bout we move on from something that happened years ago, and since we,re only talking about money, lets deal with some real unsolved cases like some, murders, missing persons, and other cases dealing with human beings, who are the only things in life that really matter any way.

[Denisehh3]

04:18 AM on 08/10/2011

V. B. is not a hero by any means.......he is a sinister character who thumbs his nose at the law.......his fingerprints will tie him to other past crimes as well.......as they are on file......thus the reason he is paronoid 24/7 and is careful not to leave them behind.......

[Denisehh3]

04:41 PM on 08/03/2011

prescription pills.....

[Denisehh3]

03:18 PM on 08/03/2011

V. B. does'nt play the guitar.......he is'nt musically inclined.......he's a loner..... .drinks Mc Naughtons whiskey and Vodka in a daily regiment along with his prescroiption pills.......

[Denisehh3]

03:06 PM on 08/03/2011

And he is Italian...........

[Denisehh3]

03:05 PM on 08/03/2011

His name was not Cooper.......that was an obvious alias.......

[Denisehh3]

03:04 PM on 08/03/2011

Considering the birth year 1929......that calculation makes V. B......82 years old currently.......and 42 years old at the time of the heist on November 24, 1971.......he is a dishonorably discharged military man.......a man with no military pension combined with the capabilities of an avid parachutist........highly capable of orchestrating a heist such as this.......he is constantly on the run......and he will rent yet another room in your private home until he is apprehended.......

[Denisehh3]

02:35 PM on 08/03/2011

Suggest they eventually check into all the information I have provided for the fast few years.......met an unusual individual back in November 2008....... anniversary month of the heist in Woodland, WA ........his birth year is 1929.......connecting the dots........he fits right into this scenario.......

[colliertng]

02:35 PM on 08/03/2011

News Story Link: http://abcnews.go.com/US/db-cooper-exclusive-niece-provide-key-evidence/story?id=14219052

[colliertng]

02:34 PM on 08/03/2011

Let's see if I got this right! Marla Cooper has been sitting on this Story for 40 Years & just now decides to "Come Forward" with her Story???? In any Court of Law, this would be considered "Hearsay" without collobrating Evidence! NO Proof has been provided except "Her Word!" I guess in 100 Years, someone is going to come out & say: "My Great-Grand Father was D.B. Cooper!" Now, if the F.B.I. can come up with "Matching Prints" on the Guitar Strap & match them with the "Partials" that they have, Fine! If not, then they're back where they started! "With Nothing!" How many People (Even if they were desparate for Money) would jump out from an fast moving Aircraft, WITHOUT ANY Formal Parachute Training with $200,000 in cash, at 10,000 Feet! I Wouldn't Why? Because I'm Not that Crazy or Desparate! I think that without further proof, Marla Cooper's is just that, "A STORY!" And a Flimsy One At That!

[DMure]

12:40 PM on 08/02/2011

always has been an intriguing story..Touche D.B. cooper
he's probably dead now though, my gut feeling

[mw21]

11:47 AM on 08/02/2011

The answers are all in the movie "Without a Paddle."

[Debbe Lewis]

11:47 AM on 08/02/2011

Isn't that Agent Smith from The Matrix???

[sekigahara]

10:31 PM on 08/02/2011

Actually, it appears to look a lot like Dr. Raoul Duke.

[4RealBill]

11:44 AM on 08/02/2011

I just heard the most believable story that I've heard as of yet about D B Cooper, It said that D B Cooper and Bigfoot meet in a little bar in the everglades occasionally and sit down over a beer and laugh and talk about how they've been able to fool everybody for so many years.

[Lindstr7]

11:38 AM on 08/02/2011

Not sure which is stranger.....finding a ufo in the ocean or finding DB Cooper.