Who would have thought a one-way trip to Seattle would result in one of the greatest mysteries in history?

True crime has always intrigued me. The elaborate schemes, unsolved mysteries and intensely detailed stories have always taken me for a whirl. Some make me think, “How did they get away with that?” while others have me wondering, “What is going on in this person’s mind?” From great thefts to world-wide manhunts, true crime has not only captivated my curiosity, but also that of millions around the world.

One of my favorite cases is that of a man who did something very odd, yet interesting. Through the use of fear tactics and power, he created an incredible state of fright and used it to pull off something incredibly extreme.

It was the afternoon of November 24, 1971: the day before Thanksgiving. The airports were flooded with passengers traveling to meet with family and friends across the world. At the Portland International Airport, 36 passengers were ready to board Flight 305 to Seattle, Washington. Once on the plane, one of these passengers--a well dressed, ordinary looking man--asked a flight attendant to speak with him. He then showed her that he possessed a suitcase carrying a bomb, and suggested to her that it might be in her best interest to sit next to him and do everything he requested.

Shaking in complete terror, the flight attendant did as she was told. The man then asked her to go to the captain of the plane and demand four parachutes, as well as $200,000 in twenties. The man then held the other 35 passengers as hostages on the plane until he received the ransom he wanted. When they landed in Seattle, he let the passengers off, but forced the airplane crew members to stay on the plane. Next stop: Mexico City. During the flight, the man threw on a parachute, grabbed the money and hopped out of the plane, to never be seen or heard from again.

Who was this man? What happened to him? What did he do with the money? Many questions arose from this case, and even though it has been 50 years since this happened, investigators are still trying to put the pieces together. They have gone through hundreds of suspects but they still haven't found who this man was. The biggest lead in the case was when a young boy found $5,800 with serial numbers that matched the money the man took, but they still were unable to track down the true identity of the suspect. What do you think happened?

This was the case of D.B Cooper: the unknown man who demanded the unimaginable, did the unthinkable and vanished without a trace.