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AMBOY, Wash. - There could be a major break in the biggest crime mystery in Northwest history.
An old parachute - the same type used by D.B. Cooper when he jumped from an airliner with a briefcase full of cash - has been found buried in a Clark County field. Moreover, according to F.B.I. Agent Larry Carr, it's right in the center of the jump zone where it's believed Cooper landed. That zone had originally been identified by searchers. After they didn't find the chute there, they moved on to other areas. Meanwhile, some of Cooper's ransom cash was found nearby.
Then, just a couple of weeks ago - and more than 36 years after Cooper's fabled jump - a man was plowing the ground on his Northern Clark County property. The plow blade unearthed something. He didn't notice it at first, but a bit later his children were playing there and saw some cloth sticking above the earth. They pulled on it, and more cloth came out. They kept pulling, until the chute's shroud lines remained stuck in the ground. The next step was to notify the authorities.
The FBI now has the bulk of the parachute, but other parts remain buried in that Clark County field, so C.S.I. investigators will go back to unearth more. Investigators are curious about what still lies underground there, attached to those remaining shroud lines. Meanwhile, the parts that have been taken to the FBI Crime Lab will be closely examined, and compared to a reserve chute the skyjacker left behind in the plane.
Agent Carr also showed KOIN News 6 some other evidence items that, like the parachute, have never been made public before; they include Cooper's clip-on tie and clasp, from which FBI forensics experts were able to extract the hijacker's DNA.
3/24/2008
An old parachute - the same type used by D.B. Cooper when he jumped from an airliner with a briefcase full of cash - has been found buried in a Clark County field. Moreover, according to F.B.I. Agent Larry Carr, it's right in the center of the jump zone where it's believed Cooper landed. That zone had originally been identified by searchers. After they didn't find the chute there, they moved on to other areas. Meanwhile, some of Cooper's ransom cash was found nearby.
Then, just a couple of weeks ago - and more than 36 years after Cooper's fabled jump - a man was plowing the ground on his Northern Clark County property. The plow blade unearthed something. He didn't notice it at first, but a bit later his children were playing there and saw some cloth sticking above the earth. They pulled on it, and more cloth came out. They kept pulling, until the chute's shroud lines remained stuck in the ground. The next step was to notify the authorities.
The FBI now has the bulk of the parachute, but other parts remain buried in that Clark County field, so C.S.I. investigators will go back to unearth more. Investigators are curious about what still lies underground there, attached to those remaining shroud lines. Meanwhile, the parts that have been taken to the FBI Crime Lab will be closely examined, and compared to a reserve chute the skyjacker left behind in the plane.
Agent Carr also showed KOIN News 6 some other evidence items that, like the parachute, have never been made public before; they include Cooper's clip-on tie and clasp, from which FBI forensics experts were able to extract the hijacker's DNA.
3/24/2008
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