FBI Unveils Shocking New Clues in DB Cooper Case Amid Release of 400 Classified Pages

On a chilly November day in 1971, a mysterious man—who’d soon be etched in American lore as DB Cooper—claimed he had a bomb mid-flight, demanded a cool $200,000, and requested not one but two parachutes. Clever, right? By handing over the ransom and leaping from the plane’s rear staircase, he vanished into thin air, leaving behind a puzzle that’s confounded investigators and conspiracy theorists alike for over five decades. Was he daring hero, a ghost in the wind, or just incredibly lucky? Even as the FBI recently dusted off old files and crossed off suspects from pilots to DJs, the Cooper conundrum remains gloriously unsolved. So, what’s next for this airborne enigma? Could a forgotten tie or a speck of old cash finally crack the case? Or is DB Cooper destined to be the greatest vanishing act in history?
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On 24 November, 1971, a man who came to be known as DB Cooper told an attendant on his flight that he was carrying a bomb, and submitted his ransom demands.

He asked for $200,000 in 1970s money (worth over a million today), and two sets of parachutes so the authorities would think he was planning on taking a hostage and wouldn’t supply him with faulty equipment.

The plane landed and the passengers were allowed to disembark while the mystery man got his money and parachutes, and once it took off again he opened the rear staircase and jumped out with his earnings.

He was never seen again and American folklore had a new figure to puzzle over as nobody was ever found, and only a small about of money was discovered in 1980.

The mystery of who DB Cooper was and where he ended up remains unsolved to this day, where he went has been a matter of some speculation, though there’s been no shortage of people who’ve claimed they know who he really is.

Over 50 years ago he jumped out of a plane with a huge amount of money, what happened next is anyone’s guess (Bettmann/Getty Images)

Or was, at this point. If he’s still alive the real DB Cooper would be very old by now, given that he was a grown adult back in 1971.

A new update in the case has come in the form of the FBI releasing formerly classified documents about the investigation into possible Cooper suspects.

Sadly there’s no smoking gun in there, as the documents only prove that investigators never even got close to finding the real DB Cooper.

Instead, they go through a slew of potential suspects until they reach the conclusion that this latest individual is not DB Cooper, with pilots, sky diving enthusiasts, military veterans, and even a radio DJ among those investigated.

Ultimately, each man either had an alibi for the DB Cooper heist or turned out to look nothing like the image of the hijacker that everyone knows about.

Only a small amount of DB Cooper’s money was ever recovered (Bettman/Getty Images)

At one point while investigating a tip, officers came across a man in a wheelchair, noting that he ‘did not hijack the plane in this case’.

Various images of suspects were put before witnesses who’d actually met Cooper, but time and time again they said ‘none of the photographs displayed were identical to the hijacker based on the photograph provided’.

Given the time that’s passed between the hijacking and today as well as the quite likely possibility that whomever DB Cooper was is dead now, it may be best to leave this case cold.

Perhaps the only hope to find the truth rests with items recovered from the hijacking, including a tie belonging to the mystery man.

A former FBI investigator suggested that the items might be investigated once again and point towards the true identity of the hijacker.