The FBI recently closed the books on one of the greatest mysteries of all time, but not in the way you’d think. The agency released their latest finding about the man known only as D.B. Cooper, who stole an impressive $200,000 and then disappeared into thin air…literally.
The story of D.B. Cooper begins on November 24, 1971.
On that day a man named Cooper walked into Portland International Airport and bought himself a one-way ticket to Seattle. Once aboard the aircraft, Cooper passed a note to a flight attendant informing her that he had a bomb inside his suitcase. He showed it to her to prove his point, she later recalled.
In exchange for sparing the lives of those onboard, Cooper demanded $200,000, four parachutes, and a fuel truck standing by in Seattle to refuel the plane when it landed.
Around 5:30 p.m., Cooper was informed that his demands had been met. He then ordered the plane to land. Once Cooper had his money and his parachutes, he ordered the passengers and most of the crew off the plane. He then outlined his flight plan with the remaining crew: flying at maximum altitude with the landing gear deployed to Mexico with a refueling stop in Reno, Nevada.
At about 7:40 p.m., after refueling, the plane took off. Once in the air, Cooper ordered the remaining crew members to the cockpit while he stayed in back. Around 8 p.m., a warning light flashed in the cockpit indicating that the aft door had been opened.
About 15 minutes later there was a sudden upward motion that caused the crew to course-correct the plane. When the plane landed in Reno around 10 p.m., Cooper was nowhere to be found.
It’s presumed that Cooper jumped out of the plane somewhere over Washington state and parachuted away with the money.
Following Cooper’s disappearance, the FBI launched a massive manhunt. When it began, there appeared to be some promising leads, but the trail quickly went cold.
In 1980, a family vacationing in the wilderness found several packets of cash that matched the serial numbers of the bills given to Cooper. An extensive search of the area turned up no new clues.
Sadly, with no new leads, this month, the FBI took the unprecedented step of officially declaring the mystery of D.B. Cooper unsolved and closed the case.
(via Unexplained Mysteries)
Well, that’s another mystery for the books.
What do YOU think happened to D.B. and all that money?
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