D.B. Cooper Mystery
By: Lauren Martindale and Alice Musselwhite
5-15-23
It was November 24, 1971. There was A mysterious man with a parachute, A plane hijacking, and $200,000 gone. Add it all together and you have the FBI’s greatest mystery. 50 years later it is still unsolved.
On the 24th of November 1971, a man came to the counter at the Portland airport identifying himself as Dan Cooper. He later got the name D.B. Cooper. It was a myth created by the press. That is how he then later became known as "D. B. Cooper." D.B. Cooper bought a one way ticket for Seattle, Washington on Flight #305 out of Portland, Oregon. On the plane A little after 3:00 p.m. he handed the flight attendant a note that said he had a bomb in his briefcase. It also read that he wanted her to sit with him. The frightened flight attendant did as she was told. He then showed her a glimpse of the bomb. He told her to write exactly what he said. Again she did as she was told and thefbfbn took the note that she had written to the captain. The note said the Copper wanted 4 parachutes and $200,000. But the note explained that he said that he wanted the $200,000 in 20 dollar bills. That is how D.B. Cooper got himself $200,000.
This is some of the money recovered in 1980.
This is the tie Cooper was wearing. It is a black J.C. Penney tie.
Later that night the flight landed in Seattle. Cooper then exchanged the flight’s 36 passengers for the money and parachutes. He kept some of the crew members and ordered the flight to Mexico City. Somewhere around Reno, Nevada after 8:00 p.m. Cooper jumped out of the plane into the night with the $200,000 and was never seen again. The last person who saw D.B. Cooper was the flight attendant who was on board the plane. She was the person who saw the bomb. Her name is Tina Mucklow. Also the only thing they ever found from the mystery was the tie he took off before parachuting out.
Later some of the cash was found Feb. 12, 1980, where it was announced that several thousand dollars was found 5 miles northwest of Vancouver, Wash. A guy named Howard and Patricia Ingram and their 8-year-old son Brian on Feb. 10. Found some money in a plastic bag. The couple's son found the money while on a family picnic. On the shore of a lake in the sand.
The detectives have inspected over 800 suspects throughout the years but one was never identified as the one that committed the hijacking. Some think he died in the act but others think he might have survived by this time though the suspect is most definitely gone by now. We may never know.
This is a map of where the expected the things to happen.
The plane hijacking can be considered one of the best crimes because no one was ever arrested. It is also still one of the FBI’s greatest mysteries. We may never know who took the rest of the $200,000 that was not found and the parachute in the middle of the night. We hope that one day we will solve this great mystery.
Contributor Bio
Lauren Martindale is a sixth grader who loves to run, hang out with her friends and family, and cook.
Alice Musselwhite is a sixth grader who loves to swim, run, play basketball, and hang out with friends and family