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[suspenseful music playing]
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So the FBI's
official story is...
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Wrong.
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That's a bombshell.
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Who do you think D.B. Cooper is?
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I know who D.B. Cooper is.
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It's this young man.
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[metal detector beeps]
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Hey, Josh. I think I
got something here.
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I think it could be a serial
number off a parachute.
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Oh! Look at this!
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I know the precise spot
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where the money was buried.
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There he goes.
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Careful, careful, careful, whoa!
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[bleep]
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Eric! Look at this!
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That looks like
it's off a briefcase.
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There aren't many cold cases
that could still captivate a nation
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after half a century.
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But then again. D.B. Cooper
has always been one of a kind.
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A daring criminal who hijacked
a domestic flight in 1971.
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He grabbed hundreds of
thousands of dollars in ransom,
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before parachuting
into the realm of legend.
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Despite a massive FBI man hunt,
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Cooper's whereabouts
and identity
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are a hotly-debated mystery.
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And it remains the only
unsolved skyjacking
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in American history.
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Perhaps, the perfect crime.
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A few years ago, I decided
to enter what experts call
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the Cooper vortex.
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A virtual blackhole, swirling
with theories pursued,
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by obsessive citizen sleuths.
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Hell, I became one myself.
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- [man 1] To D.B. Cooper.
- [man 2] To D.B. Cooper.
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- Yeah!
- Hear! Hear!
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[Josh] I searched low,
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and high.
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Oh my God!
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And helped uncover some of the
most momentous evidence in decades.
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The discovery of
rare element particles
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on Cooper's necktie.
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And now, the case is
churning hot yet again.
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Recently uncovered
audio recordings
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are revealing a new suspect
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and an unexplored search area.
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Meanwhile, a high-tech
discovery is re-writing the story
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of the missing ransom money.
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And one resolute investigator
with FBI documents
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believes he's honed in
on the true location
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of Cooper's daring jump.
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So grab a parachute
and join me if you dare
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as we dive back into the vortex
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in pursuit of
the real D.B. Cooper.
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My name is Josh Gates.
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Hello!
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Explorer, adventurer...
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This is sick.
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Help!
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...and a guy who ends up in
some very strange situations.
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- [exclaims]
- [bleep]
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Whoo! That was exciting.
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With a degree in archaeology
and a passion for the unexplained...
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[exclaims]
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I travel to the ends
of the earth,
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investigating the greatest
legends in history.
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Okay, let's punch it.
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This is Expedition Unknown.
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Thanksgiving eve, 1971.
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A mysterious figure
behind dark sunglasses
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carries a briefcase
aboard North-West Orient
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flight 305.
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A domestic hop from
Portland, Oregon to here,
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Seattle, Washington.
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Home of Boeing, and the
inspiring museum of flight.
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The name on his ticket:
Dan Cooper.
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An unassuming looking man
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later described as
in his mid-40s.
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And about 5 foot 10 inches tall.
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He takes his seat in 18E.
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Upon takeoff, he informs
the flight attendant
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his briefcase contains a bomb.
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Once back on
the ground in Seattle,
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Cooper agrees to
release the passengers
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in exchange for $200,000,
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four parachutes,
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and promise of
safe passage to Mexico.
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Back in the air,
the pilots informed Cooper
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they'll need to stop
in Reno to refuel.
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But before they can get there,
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a light goes off in the cockpit
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indicating that
a door has been opened.
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You see, D.B. Cooper chose
the Boeing 727 for a reason.
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It's unique aft staircase.
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Jumping from the side door
of a commercial jet
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could kill a skydiver.
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But Cooper simply had to
walk out the back.
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Outside, a storm is raging.
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And somewhere in the darkness
above the Pacific north-west,
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Cooper jumps.
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And that's where
the mystery deepens.
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Because by the time
the plane lands in Reno,
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both the hijacker and
the money have vanished.
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Who are you?
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Over the years, there have
been countless suspects
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fitted for Cooper's shades.
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Marvel fans even saw
Tom Hiddleston's Loki
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take credit for the crime.
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Today though, I'm trying to
answer the $200,000 question,
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who is D.B. Cooper?
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By enlisting the A-team
of Cooper researchers.
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Mark Meltzer,
criminal defense attorney
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with over 50 years
of skydiving experience.
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A top authority
on Cooper's jump.
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Joe Koenig.
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Lead investigator
in the Jimmy Hoffa case.
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Twenty-six-year veteran
of the Michigan state police.
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And Bruce Smith, veteran sleuth,
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and author of D.B.
Cooper and the FBI.
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Oh, and me. I'm here too.
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All right, guys,
I've got a lot of questions.
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- We got answers.
- I hope so.
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Let's start with this.
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Most books that I've read
about D.B. Cooper,
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have a suspect.
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Mark, I know,
you're an attorney.
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Does it seem strange to you how many
potential suspects there are in this case?
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It's very unusual, the FBI
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has said there have been
hundreds of confessions.
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[laughs] Right,
you don't normally have
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hundreds of guys
confessing to the crime.
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- Correct.
- Right.
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Gotta remember the D.B. Cooper
sky jacking was...
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Was innovative.
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No one else had even done it.
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In fact, skydivers
the next day were saying,
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why didn't I think of that?
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[laughs] Right. Exactly.
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So, okay, let's start
where the FBI started.
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The primary witness
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to the skyjacking
is the flight attendant
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who sat next to D.B. Cooper.
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- [Josh] Tina.
- [Mark] That's Tina Mucklow.
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[Josh] Right.
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[Mark] And she and the FBI,
dug to come up with a sketch.
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And this was the first sketch.
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Okay.
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However, over the next year,
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a lot of other people came
forward, like, passengers.
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And so they came up
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with a different
composite sketch.
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Are they accurate?
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Is eyewitness testimony
for composite sketches
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really valuable?
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I never found it to be
all that valuable.
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So much depends on
the eyewitnesses ability.
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To recall an image.
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Right. So, let's
wipe the slate here.
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Let's talk about
actual suspects.
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Who are some of the people
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that really rose to the top,
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and where the greatest
hits in this case?
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Well, the very first guy
was Ted Mayfield.
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And people were already
calling the FBI
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while the plane
was still in the air
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and Cooper hadn't even
jumped yet, saying,
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your guy is Ted Mayfield.
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Why? Why were people so...
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Because he ran
a corrupt operation
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And people ended up dying there.
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-Wow -From bad
training, bad equipment.
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He even stole an airplane.
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So did Ted Mayfield
hold up as a suspect?
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No, he didn't.
He was immediately ruled out,
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and I think correctly so
because he was far too short.
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He did not meet the height
requirements for Cooper.
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He was way below it.
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Okay, so we get rid of
Ted Mayfield. Who else?
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Within a few days of the crime,
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the FBI received a tip that
they should investigate
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Sheridan Peterson.
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Sheridan Peterson.
Okay, who's he?
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Sheridan Peterson was
a very experienced skydiver.
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- He was an instructor.
- Hmm.
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And he worked at Boeing
in Technical Documentations
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Okay, so this guy's looking
pretty good.
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- He is.
- What's wrong with him?
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His alibi...
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Is that he was living in a
mud hut in Nepal at the time.
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Well, that's a pretty
big problem.
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[man] Yeah, I don't think
he's Cooper.
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[Josh] Okay.
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Let me rifle through a few more.
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John List.
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- Forget about him.
- [Josh scoffs, chuckles]
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It's not even worth discussing?
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- Nah.
- Okay, he's gone.
199
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Duane Weber.
200
00:08:29,475 --> 00:08:31,676
Oh, he has no
parachuting experience.
201
00:08:31,711 --> 00:08:34,579
- He was arrested 23
times so uh-- - 23 times?
202
00:08:34,614 --> 00:08:35,847
- Yeah, he's not a master criminal.
- He's out!
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-This guy is not a master
criminal -[man laughs]
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- He's done, he's done.
- [man continues laughing]
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[Josh] In the end, the FBI maintains
that none of these men were Cooper.
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And that he most likely died
in his leap from the plane.
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00:08:46,726 --> 00:08:49,861
The men at this table might
respectfully disagree.
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Who's the guy
who could be Cooper?
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00:08:52,932 --> 00:08:53,732
[man] As far as capabilities go,
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Robert Rackstraw
had every skill needed
211
00:08:56,636 --> 00:08:59,271
Robert Rackstraw is an Army...
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00:08:59,305 --> 00:09:00,539
Helicopter pilot.
213
00:09:00,573 --> 00:09:02,807
And was an experienced
HALO Parachutist.
214
00:09:02,842 --> 00:09:05,710
- That means High Altitude, Low Opening.
- Mm-hmm.
215
00:09:05,745 --> 00:09:08,647
[Josh] Joe, do you think
Rackstraw could be Cooper?
216
00:09:08,681 --> 00:09:10,582
I don't think so.
He was too young.
217
00:09:10,616 --> 00:09:12,517
- How old was he?
- 29
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00:09:12,552 --> 00:09:14,386
Oh, I mean, really young.
219
00:09:14,420 --> 00:09:16,354
But he had the capability?
220
00:09:16,389 --> 00:09:18,590
Rackstraw had
every skill needed.
221
00:09:18,624 --> 00:09:21,660
But nobody can put him
on the plane, and in fact...
222
00:09:21,694 --> 00:09:23,361
The flight attendant,
Tina Mucklow.
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00:09:23,396 --> 00:09:25,897
Said no when she was
shown his picture.
224
00:09:25,932 --> 00:09:30,335
- So you can't equate capability with culpability.
- Right.
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00:09:30,369 --> 00:09:31,236
And what about you, Joe?
226
00:09:31,270 --> 00:09:32,904
Who do you think D.B Cooper is?
227
00:09:33,472 --> 00:09:35,206
I know who D.B Cooper is.
228
00:09:37,310 --> 00:09:38,109
It's this young man.
229
00:09:38,477 --> 00:09:39,411
Walter Reca?
230
00:09:39,445 --> 00:09:40,412
Correct.
231
00:09:40,446 --> 00:09:42,147
[Josh] This is D.B Cooper?
232
00:09:42,181 --> 00:09:43,048
He's the one.
233
00:09:43,382 --> 00:09:44,182
Okay.
234
00:09:45,418 --> 00:09:46,384
Tell me.
235
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Who is Walter Reca?
236
00:09:48,554 --> 00:09:50,689
Walter Reca was a para-trooper.
237
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He was in the
Air Force Reserves'
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00:09:53,259 --> 00:09:54,626
Sea and Rescue Squad.
239
00:09:54,660 --> 00:09:56,828
And I go to my
parachute expert here.
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This guy knew how to jump?
241
00:09:57,930 --> 00:10:00,665
[man] He was a US Air Force
Para-Rescue Jumper
242
00:10:00,700 --> 00:10:01,733
They're called PJs.
243
00:10:01,767 --> 00:10:03,902
He absolutely had the skills.
He knew everything.
244
00:10:03,936 --> 00:10:07,272
They know night jumps,
water jumps, combat rescue.
245
00:10:07,306 --> 00:10:08,907
I've been jumping for 53 years.
246
00:10:08,941 --> 00:10:09,774
I don't have...
247
00:10:09,809 --> 00:10:12,410
A hundredth of the skills
that Reca had.
248
00:10:12,445 --> 00:10:14,012
Okay. So...
249
00:10:14,046 --> 00:10:15,146
He knew how to jump?
250
00:10:15,181 --> 00:10:18,216
[man] And he's D.B Cooper
because of his confession.
251
00:10:18,250 --> 00:10:19,884
Which was very detailed.
252
00:10:20,786 --> 00:10:23,355
[Josh] After he jumped
from the 727,
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00:10:23,389 --> 00:10:26,958
Reca is said to have land in a
town of Cle Elum, Washington.
254
00:10:27,593 --> 00:10:28,793
But don't take my word for it.
255
00:10:28,828 --> 00:10:31,663
Here's an excerpt of
Walter Reca's confession.
256
00:10:31,697 --> 00:10:33,632
Recorded by
a close friend of his,
257
00:10:33,666 --> 00:10:36,334
shortly before his death
in 2014.
258
00:10:38,304 --> 00:10:39,337
[Walter speaking]
259
00:11:01,761 --> 00:11:05,230
Does anybody see this guy
walking in the rain along this road?
260
00:11:05,464 --> 00:11:06,297
Yes.
261
00:11:07,366 --> 00:11:07,766
Really?
262
00:11:08,734 --> 00:11:10,769
[Josh] One witness,
a local truck driver.
263
00:11:10,803 --> 00:11:13,505
Reports passing Reca
on the road on his way,
264
00:11:13,539 --> 00:11:14,739
to a nearby diner.
265
00:11:14,774 --> 00:11:17,342
The man is walking
in the rain in a suit.
266
00:11:18,444 --> 00:11:20,745
Shortly after,
he limps into the diner.
267
00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:23,248
And asks for change
to use the phone.
268
00:11:23,282 --> 00:11:25,050
Here's Walter Reca again.
269
00:11:25,518 --> 00:11:27,118
[Walter speaking]
270
00:11:37,997 --> 00:11:42,233
[man] I evaluated those tapes
to determine truthfulness.
271
00:11:42,268 --> 00:11:43,468
That's your area of expertise.
272
00:11:43,502 --> 00:11:44,502
Exactly.
273
00:11:44,536 --> 00:11:47,238
- He was being truthful.
- You're convinced?
274
00:11:47,273 --> 00:11:48,206
I am.
275
00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:49,541
I don't wanna start here.
276
00:11:49,575 --> 00:11:51,543
What do you think?
Could it be Reca?
277
00:11:51,577 --> 00:11:54,579
The place where he landed
is over a 100 miles,
278
00:11:54,613 --> 00:11:56,581
from where this aircraft
was flying.
279
00:11:56,615 --> 00:11:59,651
It is also true that
there is no actual record,
280
00:11:59,685 --> 00:12:01,720
of where that plane flew right?
281
00:12:01,754 --> 00:12:03,455
There was a record.
They didn't preserve it.
282
00:12:03,489 --> 00:12:04,422
[Josh] They didn't preserve it.
283
00:12:04,457 --> 00:12:05,990
This raises another questions.
284
00:12:06,025 --> 00:12:08,693
If he gotta make up the story
of him being D.B Cooper,
285
00:12:08,728 --> 00:12:11,563
why place yourself a 100 miles.
286
00:12:11,597 --> 00:12:15,266
If there's something very
puzzling about the Reca case,
287
00:12:15,301 --> 00:12:16,501
I can't figure it out.
288
00:12:16,535 --> 00:12:18,069
I agree with Joe.
289
00:12:18,104 --> 00:12:21,940
Walter Reca landed
in Cle Elum, Washington.
290
00:12:21,974 --> 00:12:26,277
The night in question and was
soaked into the skin by the rain.
291
00:12:26,312 --> 00:12:27,212
You buy that?
292
00:12:27,246 --> 00:12:28,813
I buy that absolutely.
293
00:12:28,848 --> 00:12:32,350
So there's two guys,
jumping out of airplanes,
294
00:12:32,384 --> 00:12:34,385
wearing business suits.
295
00:12:34,420 --> 00:12:37,489
The night before
Thanksgiving in 1971.
296
00:12:37,523 --> 00:12:40,425
I'd rather have you say,
It [bleeping] never happened
297
00:12:40,459 --> 00:12:41,693
There was no guy walking
down the road
298
00:12:41,727 --> 00:12:44,496
- We got a-- - You're telling
me that there was a guy,
299
00:12:44,530 --> 00:12:47,332
in a business suit,
walking down the road,
300
00:12:47,366 --> 00:12:48,566
then how could he
not be D.B Cooper?
301
00:12:48,601 --> 00:12:51,136
I think the Walter Reca story...
302
00:12:51,170 --> 00:12:53,204
Opens up a huge...
303
00:12:53,472 --> 00:12:54,539
Story.
304
00:12:54,573 --> 00:12:55,573
And the story is...
305
00:12:55,608 --> 00:12:56,741
What the hell was...
306
00:12:56,776 --> 00:12:59,010
Walter Reca doing
in Cle Elum that night?
307
00:12:59,779 --> 00:13:02,480
This is a relatively
new suspect.
308
00:13:02,515 --> 00:13:05,116
Landed in an unsearched area.
309
00:13:05,151 --> 00:13:06,417
And... hopefully.
310
00:13:06,451 --> 00:13:09,154
With your help,
we'll find some evidence,
311
00:13:09,188 --> 00:13:10,755
to seal this case.
312
00:13:11,824 --> 00:13:13,658
[Josh] If you think that
sounds like a challenge,
313
00:13:13,692 --> 00:13:15,226
well it does to me too.
314
00:13:16,562 --> 00:13:19,297
Looks like Joe and I
are going to Cle Elum.
315
00:13:20,299 --> 00:13:21,466
[rock music playing]
316
00:13:22,902 --> 00:13:26,638
[Josh] Joe travels ahead to
assemble his team of Cooper fanatics.
317
00:13:26,672 --> 00:13:30,141
Leaving me to drive
the 85 miles... solo.
318
00:13:32,678 --> 00:13:36,414
I arrive where the Teanaway
Junction Cafe once stood.
319
00:13:36,448 --> 00:13:38,183
And rejoin Joe Koenig.
320
00:13:41,453 --> 00:13:42,453
How are you, man?
321
00:13:42,488 --> 00:13:44,589
- Good, Josh. How are you?
- Good. Good to see ya!
322
00:13:44,623 --> 00:13:46,457
- Good, good.
- What do you think of my car?
323
00:13:46,492 --> 00:13:48,393
I love it, a Mini Cooper.
324
00:13:48,427 --> 00:13:51,296
- Exactly. I'll go a long way for a bad joke, Joe.
- [Joe laughs]
325
00:13:52,331 --> 00:13:52,864
- This for me.
- Yeah.
326
00:13:52,898 --> 00:13:53,798
- Thank you, sir.
- Yeah.
327
00:13:53,833 --> 00:13:55,578
And you've got an army
of people out here.
328
00:13:55,602 --> 00:13:59,404
We do. We got a bunch of
volunteers from the Cle Elum area,
329
00:13:59,438 --> 00:14:02,473
and a professional
metal detectorist.
330
00:14:02,508 --> 00:14:04,242
So we are in the spot?
331
00:14:04,276 --> 00:14:05,577
This is the spot.
332
00:14:05,611 --> 00:14:07,478
Should we go find
D.B Cooper's parachute?
333
00:14:07,513 --> 00:14:08,646
- Let's do it.
- Let's go!
334
00:14:09,715 --> 00:14:11,749
[Josh] Joe believes that
Cooper must have landed,
335
00:14:11,784 --> 00:14:13,785
near where the tree line
is today.
336
00:14:13,819 --> 00:14:17,589
An area that was deep
in the woods in 1971.
337
00:14:17,623 --> 00:14:19,724
The years may have
changed the landscape.
338
00:14:19,758 --> 00:14:24,796
But the buckles, fasteners and other
metallic pieces of Cooper's parachute,
339
00:14:24,830 --> 00:14:26,798
can't hide from
a metal detector.
340
00:14:26,832 --> 00:14:30,635
Our team is fanned out across
the field and into the trees.
341
00:14:30,669 --> 00:14:33,304
This is the largest search
ever made here,
342
00:14:33,339 --> 00:14:34,606
for evidence in the Cooper case.
343
00:14:34,907 --> 00:14:35,807
[beeping]
344
00:14:35,841 --> 00:14:38,309
[Josh] And it may be about
to pay off.
345
00:14:38,344 --> 00:14:39,377
Got something?
346
00:14:39,411 --> 00:14:42,247
[dramatic music playing]
347
00:14:44,416 --> 00:14:45,383
What have we got over here?
348
00:14:48,554 --> 00:14:50,989
Let's get a little deeper here.
349
00:14:52,491 --> 00:14:54,158
[thudding]
350
00:14:56,328 --> 00:14:58,229
Oooh, we got metal here.
351
00:15:01,567 --> 00:15:02,667
[exciting music playing]
352
00:15:02,701 --> 00:15:04,369
- [thudding] - [Josh] Let's
get a little deeper here.
353
00:15:06,372 --> 00:15:07,805
Oooh, we got metal here.
354
00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,643
[Josh] I've joined investigator Joe
Koenig in Cle Elum, Washington.
355
00:15:11,677 --> 00:15:15,246
To explore his theory
that a man named Walter Reca
356
00:15:15,281 --> 00:15:17,515
was also skyjacker D.B Cooper
357
00:15:17,549 --> 00:15:20,218
And that he landed
in these very woods.
358
00:15:21,553 --> 00:15:23,554
I see rust down here.
Here we go, look.
359
00:15:23,589 --> 00:15:25,323
- See how it's curved?
- Yeah.
360
00:15:25,357 --> 00:15:27,225
[man 1] Hot something metal.
361
00:15:27,259 --> 00:15:28,326
[Josh] What you got?
362
00:15:31,630 --> 00:15:33,498
- [Joe] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [Josh] Look at that.
363
00:15:33,532 --> 00:15:35,066
- Is it a drum lid?
- [man 2] Yeah!
364
00:15:35,100 --> 00:15:38,636
So, okay, somebody at some point
buried a bunch of drums back here.
365
00:15:38,671 --> 00:15:40,571
Probably not D. B. Cooper.
366
00:15:40,606 --> 00:15:42,373
- [man 2] Probably not.
- Okay.
367
00:15:42,408 --> 00:15:43,775
Moving on.
368
00:15:44,209 --> 00:15:45,276
[music playing]
369
00:15:47,413 --> 00:15:48,947
[Josh] The team continues
metal detecting.
370
00:15:48,981 --> 00:15:53,651
While the property's owner Wayne
Willette brings us back into the forest
371
00:15:53,686 --> 00:15:56,054
in search of any sign of
our suspect.
372
00:15:59,591 --> 00:16:02,660
[Josh] I s this the underside
of a tree? These are all roots.
373
00:16:02,695 --> 00:16:05,063
Now in terms of these tree
from the Cooper story,
374
00:16:05,097 --> 00:16:10,001
Reca, when he parachuted in here
he said that he hit a dead tree, right?
375
00:16:10,035 --> 00:16:12,603
Yeah, he said the only
dead tree in the woods.
376
00:16:12,638 --> 00:16:14,072
So this is obviously
a big dead tree,
377
00:16:14,106 --> 00:16:16,474
although I wouldn't say
it's been dead for that long.
378
00:16:16,508 --> 00:16:17,709
How long you've been on
this property?
379
00:16:17,743 --> 00:16:19,811
We moved out here at about '72.
380
00:16:19,845 --> 00:16:21,779
- A year after the Cooper jump?
- [Wayne] Yes.
381
00:16:21,814 --> 00:16:24,582
[Josh] So was there a big
old dead tree here that time?
382
00:16:24,616 --> 00:16:27,418
There was. It was
right in here somewhere.
383
00:16:27,453 --> 00:16:28,720
Okay, well may be
will come across it.
384
00:16:28,754 --> 00:16:30,888
- [both] Yeah.
- [Josh] Lets keep looking.
385
00:16:31,323 --> 00:16:33,024
[music playing]
386
00:16:34,626 --> 00:16:36,394
[Josh] Nobody said
it was gonna be easy.
387
00:16:40,199 --> 00:16:45,403
As far as landmarks go, the remains
of a 50 year old dead tree in the forest
388
00:16:45,437 --> 00:16:47,071
don't exactly stick out.
389
00:16:47,106 --> 00:16:50,274
And these woods aren't
exactly a walk in the park.
390
00:16:51,176 --> 00:16:52,310
[rustling]
391
00:16:53,579 --> 00:16:56,447
Good, good, good. Oh, oh,
careful, careful, careful! Oh no.
392
00:16:56,482 --> 00:16:58,116
- [water splashing]
- [bleep]
393
00:16:58,150 --> 00:16:59,283
[man] Here I go.
394
00:17:00,419 --> 00:17:02,420
[Josh] Okay, come here.
395
00:17:03,989 --> 00:17:06,491
[Josh] I rushed to his aid.
Bua as a retired cop...
396
00:17:06,525 --> 00:17:08,292
[Joe] I hit my head on
that thing.
397
00:17:08,327 --> 00:17:12,163
[Josh] Joe is one tough mother,
and he bounces back quickly.
398
00:17:12,197 --> 00:17:13,531
[man] Ha ha, Phew.
399
00:17:13,565 --> 00:17:16,501
- You all right?
- [Joe] Yeah, yeah.
400
00:17:16,535 --> 00:17:18,536
You didn't feel a parachute
down there, did you?
401
00:17:18,570 --> 00:17:20,571
- [Joe] I didn't.
- Come on.
402
00:17:20,606 --> 00:17:21,906
Let's get you dried off.
403
00:17:22,741 --> 00:17:24,442
[amusing instrumental
music playing]
404
00:17:25,444 --> 00:17:26,944
[Josh] After changing into
dry clothes.
405
00:17:26,979 --> 00:17:30,782
He brings me to meet one of the
volunteers who is helping us today.
406
00:17:30,816 --> 00:17:34,218
A man who is driven by this
area once before,
407
00:17:34,253 --> 00:17:37,121
on November 24th, 1971.
408
00:17:37,556 --> 00:17:38,990
That's right.
409
00:17:39,024 --> 00:17:42,927
Jeff Osciadacz is the key eye
witness from Walter Reca's story.
410
00:17:42,961 --> 00:17:45,696
-Hey, nice to meet you. How are you?
-Nice to meet you.
411
00:17:45,731 --> 00:17:49,534
Wow, you're the guy who saw
Reca that night out, on the road.
412
00:17:49,568 --> 00:17:50,601
[Jeff] Right.
413
00:17:50,636 --> 00:17:53,104
I can picture it just like it
happened yesterday.
414
00:17:53,138 --> 00:17:55,540
So I wanna hear this from
your lips, you're driving this truck.
415
00:17:55,574 --> 00:17:57,508
And what do you see
out the window?
416
00:17:57,543 --> 00:17:59,444
I see a man standing
on this side of the road
417
00:17:59,478 --> 00:18:01,679
with a black suit,
white shirt. Soaking wet.
418
00:18:01,713 --> 00:18:03,481
And he's not wearing
his raincoat.
419
00:18:03,515 --> 00:18:05,550
No. It's rolled up
under his arm.
420
00:18:05,584 --> 00:18:06,717
- Crazy.
- And I thought this guy's
421
00:18:06,752 --> 00:18:08,619
french fries short
of a happy meal.
422
00:18:08,654 --> 00:18:10,221
[Josh laughing]
423
00:18:10,255 --> 00:18:12,090
So you drive past him,
424
00:18:12,124 --> 00:18:13,257
you go to the diner.
425
00:18:13,292 --> 00:18:16,561
He came walking in. He
says to me, "Kid where am I?"
426
00:18:16,595 --> 00:18:19,430
And I said, "You're about
four miles east to Cle Elum."
427
00:18:19,465 --> 00:18:20,565
And he says,
428
00:18:20,599 --> 00:18:22,667
"If I make a phone call can you
429
00:18:22,701 --> 00:18:25,036
tell the friend of mine how
to get here to pick me up?"
430
00:18:25,070 --> 00:18:28,539
Hands me the phone, I talked to the
guy. I said, "Where are you coming from?"
431
00:18:28,574 --> 00:18:30,441
You might have inadvertently
432
00:18:30,476 --> 00:18:34,245
helped Cooper get out of town that night.
You are lucky Joe doesn't arrest you.
433
00:18:34,279 --> 00:18:36,614
Yeah, but I'm still looking
for the FBI or CIA will show up.
434
00:18:36,648 --> 00:18:38,349
This is it, sir, this is sting.
435
00:18:39,718 --> 00:18:43,521
What's so amazing about you,
you are a collaborating witness.
436
00:18:43,555 --> 00:18:45,756
And that's something that
almost no other
437
00:18:45,791 --> 00:18:47,725
Cooper suspect has.
438
00:18:47,759 --> 00:18:51,629
[Josh] But he's not the only
witness on which Joe's case relies.
439
00:18:51,663 --> 00:18:54,776
He then takes me to meet
Reca's niece, Lisa Story.
440
00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,569
Who was with Reca shortly
before his death in 2014.
441
00:18:58,604 --> 00:19:01,072
- [Josh] Did he ever confess to you?
- Yes.
442
00:19:01,106 --> 00:19:02,507
[Josh] He did.
443
00:19:02,541 --> 00:19:06,744
In 2013, he asked me to go grab
this envelop and pull out this letter.
444
00:19:06,778 --> 00:19:09,347
And he wanted to sign it and
have it notarized.
445
00:19:09,381 --> 00:19:12,617
The Last Testament
of Walter R. Peca Jr.
446
00:19:12,651 --> 00:19:14,185
'Cause that was his first name?
447
00:19:14,219 --> 00:19:15,019
Right.
448
00:19:15,053 --> 00:19:18,055
[Josh] Names hereafter
Walter R. Reca
449
00:19:18,524 --> 00:19:20,258
and D. B. Cooper.
450
00:19:20,726 --> 00:19:21,492
Wow!
451
00:19:21,527 --> 00:19:24,529
- This is a full confession.
- Yes.
452
00:19:24,563 --> 00:19:26,797
[Josh] The death man
confession letter left Lisa
453
00:19:26,832 --> 00:19:28,866
convinced that her uncle
was Cooper.
454
00:19:28,901 --> 00:19:31,969
But that's not the only disturbing
thing she learned about Walter.
455
00:19:32,004 --> 00:19:36,340
In the years after the
skyjacking he has one, two, three,
456
00:19:36,375 --> 00:19:37,708
four, five different passports.
457
00:19:37,743 --> 00:19:39,510
- [Lisa] Mm-hmm.
- [Josh] Yeah.
458
00:19:39,545 --> 00:19:41,846
- [Josh] He has a British passport.
- [Lisa] Yes.
459
00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:46,217
With his photo under
the name, Frank Drinkell.
460
00:19:46,585 --> 00:19:47,685
[Lisa] Yup.
461
00:19:47,719 --> 00:19:50,521
[Josh] Look at this,
he's in Saudi.
462
00:19:50,556 --> 00:19:53,257
He's in Indonesia, he's in
Saudi again.
463
00:19:53,292 --> 00:19:55,393
He's got foreign service IDs.
464
00:19:56,528 --> 00:19:58,396
And what's this?
465
00:19:58,430 --> 00:19:59,430
This is a...
466
00:20:00,365 --> 00:20:01,432
KGB.
467
00:20:01,466 --> 00:20:02,767
[Lisa] Yeah.
468
00:20:02,801 --> 00:20:05,803
- [Josh] This is a Soviet KGB ID.
- [Lisa] Yes.
469
00:20:05,837 --> 00:20:06,804
He spoke Russian.
470
00:20:06,838 --> 00:20:08,573
- Polish and Russian-- -
And he spoke Russian?
471
00:20:08,607 --> 00:20:11,909
- He did.
- What is he doing with a Soviet ID?
472
00:20:11,944 --> 00:20:14,679
[Lisa] I think that was
cover, in case he was caught.
473
00:20:14,713 --> 00:20:19,317
I think he was working freelance
for the CIA, as a Mercenary.
474
00:20:19,351 --> 00:20:21,519
An undercover behind
iron curtain.
475
00:20:21,553 --> 00:20:23,421
Like, forget the skyjacking.
476
00:20:23,455 --> 00:20:25,489
This guy is a true man of
mystery.
477
00:20:25,524 --> 00:20:26,557
- [man] Yes.
- [Lisa] Right.
478
00:20:26,592 --> 00:20:28,893
[Josh] Wow!
479
00:20:28,927 --> 00:20:31,529
Anywhere in here does he
write down where he stashed his
480
00:20:31,563 --> 00:20:33,564
parachute and the rest of
that money or...
481
00:20:33,599 --> 00:20:36,500
- No, I wish.
- Is there anything in here that you found yet?
482
00:20:36,535 --> 00:20:38,236
I wish I had asked him.
483
00:20:38,270 --> 00:20:39,237
[man laughing]
484
00:20:39,271 --> 00:20:41,372
[dramatic music playing]
485
00:20:41,406 --> 00:20:45,176
[Josh] As the sun lowers in the
sky, we were turning to the search.
486
00:20:46,245 --> 00:20:47,511
[machine beeps]
487
00:20:47,546 --> 00:20:50,147
- [machine beeping]
- Something right here.
488
00:20:56,154 --> 00:20:57,388
Got a coin.
489
00:20:58,690 --> 00:21:01,225
19, how about this...
490
00:21:01,260 --> 00:21:05,796
1969. Most of the $20 bills
that Cooper had were from '69.
491
00:21:05,831 --> 00:21:08,065
- So we are in the right time period here for Cooper.
- Yeah.
492
00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:11,702
- Could have dropped down out of his pocket on the way down.
- Look at that right.
493
00:21:11,737 --> 00:21:13,337
Hopefully this is a lucky penny.
494
00:21:14,873 --> 00:21:18,376
[Josh] And soon one of Joe's
most experienced team members
495
00:21:18,410 --> 00:21:20,611
expert metal detectorist,
Chris Holden
496
00:21:20,646 --> 00:21:22,346
proves why he is a pro.
497
00:21:22,381 --> 00:21:23,948
[machine beeping]
498
00:21:26,151 --> 00:21:27,351
[Chris] Hey Josh.
499
00:21:27,386 --> 00:21:29,197
I think I got something here up.
500
00:21:29,221 --> 00:21:30,421
[Josh] What you got?
501
00:21:30,455 --> 00:21:32,623
It's like a little copper band
with a serial number on it.
502
00:21:32,658 --> 00:21:35,293
I think it could be a serial
number of the parachute.
503
00:21:35,327 --> 00:21:37,895
Look at that
it's stamped. One...
504
00:21:37,929 --> 00:21:38,763
- five, eight.
- [Chris] Oh yeah.
505
00:21:38,797 --> 00:21:40,731
Lots of things
in aviation are stamped.
506
00:21:40,766 --> 00:21:42,733
It's light. A tag
of some kind, right?
507
00:21:42,768 --> 00:21:44,268
- 'Cause it's meant to slot into here.
- [Joe] Mm hmm.
508
00:21:44,303 --> 00:21:45,580
What do you think?
509
00:21:45,604 --> 00:21:49,440
I think we should bag it and
check it with some resources to see
510
00:21:49,474 --> 00:21:51,642
- if it's related to a parachute.
- [Josh] Yeah.
511
00:21:51,677 --> 00:21:53,577
Photograph it and see if you
can figure out what that is?
512
00:21:53,612 --> 00:21:55,246
- [Chris] Okay.
- [Josh] Okay.
513
00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:56,380
We are on the case.
514
00:21:56,415 --> 00:21:57,982
[dramatic music playing]
515
00:21:58,817 --> 00:22:00,618
[Josh] We don't have much light.
516
00:22:00,652 --> 00:22:04,622
But the detector sniff out one
more target for us to examine.
517
00:22:05,624 --> 00:22:08,592
- [machine beeping] - I
have a good hand here.
518
00:22:08,627 --> 00:22:10,061
[Josh] Let me see.
519
00:22:10,395 --> 00:22:11,595
[beeping]
520
00:22:11,630 --> 00:22:13,397
[Josh] That's it. What is that?
521
00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:17,868
It's a bullet.
I can tell by its weight.
522
00:22:17,903 --> 00:22:21,539
That's not just a bullet.
That is a really old bullet.
523
00:22:21,573 --> 00:22:23,474
- [Chris] Oh my God.
- Look at that.
524
00:22:23,508 --> 00:22:25,576
That's unfired. Look at the end.
525
00:22:25,610 --> 00:22:27,411
That is unfired.
526
00:22:27,446 --> 00:22:28,879
You can see the indentations
there, yeah?
527
00:22:28,914 --> 00:22:32,817
[Chris] That's late-1800s or
early-1900s. Definitely over 100 years old.
528
00:22:32,851 --> 00:22:34,719
It's like a black
powder bullet, right?
529
00:22:34,753 --> 00:22:37,788
Like you put it in your gunpowder,
your paper, this is old school.
530
00:22:37,823 --> 00:22:40,558
And the fact that it's
unfired is even rarer 'cause
531
00:22:40,592 --> 00:22:43,160
you usually find them in if
they destruct something.
532
00:22:43,195 --> 00:22:48,099
Probably a military issue, there were
soldiers in this area in the late 1800s.
533
00:22:48,133 --> 00:22:51,635
This place is a time machine.
We've way overshot...
534
00:22:51,670 --> 00:22:53,571
[laughing] Our time period.
535
00:22:53,605 --> 00:22:55,973
This is a really cool find.
536
00:22:57,676 --> 00:23:00,644
All right, well, judging
by the failing light here,
537
00:23:00,679 --> 00:23:03,481
I don't think anybody could
say we didn't put in a long day.
538
00:23:03,515 --> 00:23:04,548
Yeah, I'm tired.
539
00:23:04,583 --> 00:23:05,716
[Josh] Okay. Look
540
00:23:05,751 --> 00:23:08,552
I'm so impressed by your
passion for this case.
541
00:23:08,587 --> 00:23:10,554
And I know you are all in
on Reca.
542
00:23:10,589 --> 00:23:12,823
But to convince the world,
543
00:23:12,858 --> 00:23:14,759
you're gonna have to go find
that parachute.
544
00:23:14,793 --> 00:23:17,495
Yes, and we are gonna
continue looking for it.
545
00:23:17,529 --> 00:23:18,729
Good. Keep me posted?
546
00:23:18,764 --> 00:23:20,664
- I will.
- Should we go find a beer?
547
00:23:20,699 --> 00:23:21,866
- Yeah!
- Let's do it.
548
00:23:21,900 --> 00:23:24,969
-Sounds good.
-We've earned it. Come on. Let's go boys.
549
00:23:30,675 --> 00:23:33,043
[Josh] The next morning,
I leave Cle Elum
550
00:23:33,078 --> 00:23:36,580
with something nagging
at me about Joe's suspect.
551
00:23:36,615 --> 00:23:38,482
Alright. Joe is all in
on Walt Reca,
552
00:23:38,517 --> 00:23:40,151
and in some ways,
why wouldn't he be?
553
00:23:40,185 --> 00:23:44,989
You know, it's hard to imagine a more
compelling story than the one we just heard.
554
00:23:45,023 --> 00:23:46,857
But, something is bothering me.
555
00:23:46,892 --> 00:23:50,795
We're pretty far from Cooper's
accepted jump zone.
556
00:23:50,829 --> 00:23:55,366
The FBI established Cooper's likely
flight path as being a highway in the sky
557
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:57,635
know as Victor 23.
558
00:23:57,669 --> 00:23:59,904
Cle Elum is way outside of that.
559
00:23:59,938 --> 00:24:04,442
A fact the casts some real
doubt on Reca as a likely suspect.
560
00:24:04,476 --> 00:24:06,610
But the Cooperverse
is full of doubts.
561
00:24:06,645 --> 00:24:10,014
Including some that I'm just
beginning to have now.
562
00:24:10,048 --> 00:24:12,416
When you think about all
these D. B. Cooper suspects,
563
00:24:12,451 --> 00:24:14,351
not just Walt Reca,
but all of them,
564
00:24:14,386 --> 00:24:15,686
they all have something
in common,
565
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,356
they're all guys
that got away with a crime.
566
00:24:19,391 --> 00:24:20,925
But what if the FBI was right?
567
00:24:20,959 --> 00:24:24,528
What if the most obvious
answer here is the right one?
568
00:24:24,563 --> 00:24:27,331
What if Cooper died
during the jump?
569
00:24:30,202 --> 00:24:33,237
To try and determine the
like hood of Cooper's survival,
570
00:24:33,271 --> 00:24:34,638
I drive out of the mountains
571
00:24:34,673 --> 00:24:37,675
while on a runway
near fly path V23,
572
00:24:37,709 --> 00:24:40,277
another vehicle
begins its own journey.
573
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,782
Which brings us to
Andy Farrington, age 41.
574
00:24:44,816 --> 00:24:47,618
Jumps: 26.000 and counting.
575
00:24:47,652 --> 00:24:50,688
Current altitude,
about 10.000 feet.
576
00:24:50,722 --> 00:24:53,357
Oh, and he's wearing
a C-9 parachute,
577
00:24:53,391 --> 00:24:55,993
the same likely
used by D. B. Cooper.
578
00:24:56,027 --> 00:25:00,498
Andy's task for today is simple:
Get to the ground in one piece,
579
00:25:00,532 --> 00:25:03,434
and tell me if,
in his professional opinion,
580
00:25:03,468 --> 00:25:07,304
D. B. Cooper could've survived
his final leap in to the sky.
581
00:25:08,974 --> 00:25:11,909
I'm waiting in Andy's drop
zone with his father, Jeff,
582
00:25:11,943 --> 00:25:16,080
who is himself, a professional
skydiving instructor.
583
00:25:19,618 --> 00:25:22,119
Okay, Andy,
how you looking up there?
584
00:25:23,188 --> 00:25:28,359
[Andy speaking]
585
00:25:28,393 --> 00:25:32,663
[Josh] Just to be clear, Andy is about to
jump out of a plane wearing an antique.
586
00:25:32,697 --> 00:25:36,233
Let's hope it
still does its job.
587
00:25:36,268 --> 00:25:40,137
Okay, Andy, you are good to
jump. Repeat, you are good to jump.
588
00:25:53,785 --> 00:25:56,120
Okay, Andy,
you are good to jump.
589
00:26:00,458 --> 00:26:02,259
There it goes.
590
00:26:03,728 --> 00:26:07,398
To test the long held FBI
theory that D. B. Cooper died
591
00:26:07,432 --> 00:26:09,867
making his legendary
parachute jump,
592
00:26:09,901 --> 00:26:12,970
I've enlisted professional
skydiver Andy Farrington
593
00:26:13,004 --> 00:26:17,508
to make a similar dive using the
exact same equipment as Cooper.
594
00:26:17,542 --> 00:26:19,510
So far, so good.
595
00:26:20,512 --> 00:26:22,613
That parachute is not
really steerable, right?
596
00:26:22,647 --> 00:26:25,215
Oh, that one is not at all.
597
00:26:26,851 --> 00:26:29,787
Andy, we are in the drop zone
waiting for you.
598
00:26:29,821 --> 00:26:32,556
[Josh] A gust of wind
in almost any direction,
599
00:26:32,591 --> 00:26:35,259
and Andy could find
himself sailing into the trees.
600
00:26:35,293 --> 00:26:37,595
Which may tell us what we
want to know about Cooper,
601
00:26:37,629 --> 00:26:40,097
but probably wouldn't
be so fun for Andy.
602
00:26:41,366 --> 00:26:46,303
[dramatic music playing]
603
00:26:53,511 --> 00:26:55,245
He's down.
604
00:26:59,150 --> 00:27:00,417
Hey!
605
00:27:02,587 --> 00:27:04,855
- How are you, man?
- Not bad. Not bad.
606
00:27:04,889 --> 00:27:06,757
Well, you know how to make
an entrance, I'll give you that.
607
00:27:06,791 --> 00:27:09,526
-[laughs] -Great job.
This is the C9, right?
608
00:27:09,561 --> 00:27:12,262
- Yep.
- This is the Shute that we think
609
00:27:12,297 --> 00:27:13,497
Cooper probably jumped in.
610
00:27:13,531 --> 00:27:16,066
I mean, it looks
like it's fairly vintage.
611
00:27:16,101 --> 00:27:19,770
- It's definitely older than I am.
- [all laughing]
612
00:27:19,804 --> 00:27:21,105
When did they
start making these things?
613
00:27:21,139 --> 00:27:22,740
About 1964.
614
00:27:22,774 --> 00:27:26,276
So, why was this chute so
attractive as a military chute?
615
00:27:26,311 --> 00:27:28,545
- Reliability. 100%.
- Right.
616
00:27:28,580 --> 00:27:32,616
- Got the job done.
- So, reliable, but not very maneuverable.
617
00:27:32,651 --> 00:27:34,652
- That's correct.
- Okay.
618
00:27:34,686 --> 00:27:37,388
Jeff, how many jumps you
have done in a round chute?
619
00:27:37,422 --> 00:27:38,856
Probably 600.
620
00:27:38,890 --> 00:27:41,792
Would you jump out of a
plane into a lightning storm
621
00:27:41,826 --> 00:27:45,262
for 200.000 dollars then,
equivalent of a million dollars today?
622
00:27:45,296 --> 00:27:50,934
Well, certainly my financial position is
way different now that it was back then.
623
00:27:50,969 --> 00:27:54,738
- In 1971 you would've thought about it?
- Yeah, I would.
624
00:27:54,773 --> 00:27:59,176
Right. Could Cooper have
survived the jump wearing this chute?
625
00:27:59,210 --> 00:28:01,245
- Yeah.
- He could've?
626
00:28:01,279 --> 00:28:04,415
Because this Shute will open at
up to what speed would you say?
627
00:28:04,449 --> 00:28:07,618
275 knots,
or 350 miles per hour.
628
00:28:07,652 --> 00:28:12,723
Got it. And we know the 747 was
flying kinda low and a little slower,
629
00:28:12,757 --> 00:28:14,558
it was doing
just under 200, so...
630
00:28:14,592 --> 00:28:17,594
Technically, that could work?
631
00:28:17,629 --> 00:28:22,533
Yes, but I think the deck was
so stacked against his favor
632
00:28:22,567 --> 00:28:25,369
he jumped out,
in mid-November...
633
00:28:25,403 --> 00:28:28,472
- Yep.
- Cold, rainy, windy.
634
00:28:28,506 --> 00:28:32,242
And Cooper was jumping
into, most likely, wilderness.
635
00:28:32,277 --> 00:28:34,812
- Trees and rivers.
- Yep.
636
00:28:34,846 --> 00:28:38,549
[Josh] Cooper jumped wearing
nothing more than a parachute and a suit.
637
00:28:38,583 --> 00:28:40,751
Freezing to death
would be a real possibility.
638
00:28:40,785 --> 00:28:43,654
Wind shear could've collapsed
his chute in the storm
639
00:28:43,688 --> 00:28:46,223
or he could
have landed in the water.
640
00:28:47,459 --> 00:28:49,660
So, do you think he could
have survived the jump?
641
00:28:49,694 --> 00:28:51,061
The jump part, I do.
642
00:28:51,096 --> 00:28:55,432
I wouldn't wanna land in a river.
I wouldn't wanna land in a lake.
643
00:28:55,467 --> 00:28:58,535
My first choice would probably
be landing in the trees.
644
00:28:58,570 --> 00:29:01,004
- Really?
- It's reasonably soft.
645
00:29:02,107 --> 00:29:05,542
Well awesome job, it
was a real treat to see that.
646
00:29:05,577 --> 00:29:08,412
-Nice work, man. Thank you so much.
-You betcha.
647
00:29:09,314 --> 00:29:11,381
[Josh] So did Cooper survive?
648
00:29:11,416 --> 00:29:15,786
To say that he did seems possible but
I wouldn't say it's overwhelmingly likely.
649
00:29:15,820 --> 00:29:20,758
It feels like I and every other D.B.
detective have been chasing a ghost.
650
00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:24,962
Fortunately though, I have
friends in smart places.
651
00:29:24,996 --> 00:29:28,699
Something I remember when
I get a call from Tom Kaye.
652
00:29:28,733 --> 00:29:31,368
On my first trip down
the Cooper rabbit hole,
653
00:29:31,402 --> 00:29:34,638
Tom and I turned up traces
of rare earth elements on the
654
00:29:34,672 --> 00:29:37,074
necktie that D.B. Cooper
left on the plane.
655
00:29:37,108 --> 00:29:43,680
Incredible new evidence that gave Cooper
fanatics their first new clue in years.
656
00:29:43,715 --> 00:29:47,718
The infamous hijacker may have worked
in the production of cathode ray tubes.
657
00:29:47,752 --> 00:29:50,788
Used in aviation radar screens
658
00:29:50,822 --> 00:29:54,191
Now Tom says he has something
new to show me.
659
00:29:54,225 --> 00:29:59,363
I hit the gas and speed towards the
state of the art lab in Hillsboro, Oregon.
660
00:30:00,732 --> 00:30:03,934
What's on the docket today? What
have you got for me? I'm excited.
661
00:30:03,968 --> 00:30:05,969
What we've got today
in this fantastic facility,
662
00:30:06,004 --> 00:30:10,741
TSS Microscopy has allowed us to
use their flagship electron microscope.
663
00:30:10,775 --> 00:30:13,544
To me this is, like something
from Antman.
664
00:30:13,578 --> 00:30:14,678
Are we shrinking
people today, Tom?
665
00:30:14,712 --> 00:30:16,814
No, no, but we could see Antman
666
00:30:16,848 --> 00:30:20,317
in here, no matter how small he was, we
could see him with this machine right here.
667
00:30:20,351 --> 00:30:23,654
We saw type artists before, today
is different, look at what we got here.
668
00:30:23,688 --> 00:30:25,355
Well these I recognize.
669
00:30:25,390 --> 00:30:27,825
- Yep, these are?
- Stubs.
670
00:30:27,859 --> 00:30:30,627
These are the little platforms
you put inside these microscopes.
671
00:30:30,662 --> 00:30:32,095
We used these before.
672
00:30:32,130 --> 00:30:35,465
And we had little fibers
from the tie last time.
673
00:30:35,500 --> 00:30:37,067
Go ahead and open it up.
674
00:30:37,101 --> 00:30:40,103
Okay, I see something else on
these today, little bits of something.
675
00:30:40,138 --> 00:30:44,141
So what's on here now are
little chunks of Cooper cash.
676
00:30:45,410 --> 00:30:46,543
[Josh] In 1980,
677
00:30:46,578 --> 00:30:48,946
nearly a decade after
the Cooper hijacking
678
00:30:48,980 --> 00:30:51,648
an eight year old boy
named Brian Ingram,
679
00:30:51,683 --> 00:30:54,551
dug up $6,000 of buried cash
680
00:30:54,586 --> 00:30:57,187
in a place called Tena Bar,
Washington.
681
00:30:57,222 --> 00:31:00,958
The serial number matched
the Cooper ransom.
682
00:31:00,992 --> 00:31:03,527
The FBI theorized that Cooper
must have fatally splashed
683
00:31:03,561 --> 00:31:06,029
down somewhere
in the Columbia river.
684
00:31:06,064 --> 00:31:10,701
Though exhaustive searching and
dredging of the river turned up nothing.
685
00:31:10,735 --> 00:31:13,704
To date the money found
in the sand at Tena bar,
686
00:31:13,738 --> 00:31:18,208
is the only part of the Cooper
ransom ever recovered.
687
00:31:18,243 --> 00:31:22,813
Now we're about to get the closest
look at that cash that's ever been taken.
688
00:31:22,847 --> 00:31:25,782
After Tom carefully places
the sample in the scanner,
689
00:31:25,817 --> 00:31:28,685
it's time to show me the money.
690
00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:30,654
[Josh] All right,
so here's our stub.
691
00:31:30,688 --> 00:31:32,589
That's a piece of Cooper's cash.
692
00:31:32,624 --> 00:31:35,392
So what'd you find on the money.
693
00:31:35,426 --> 00:31:37,995
Last time we talked about
the Ti particles.
694
00:31:38,029 --> 00:31:39,596
This time we're doing
the same technique
695
00:31:39,631 --> 00:31:42,733
to go in and look at microscopic
particles that are found in water.
696
00:31:42,767 --> 00:31:44,868
- Okay.
- And these are called Diatoms.
697
00:31:44,903 --> 00:31:49,907
These are single algae cells that
grow this glass shell around them.
698
00:31:49,941 --> 00:31:51,575
Okay. It looks like
a fossil almost.
699
00:31:51,609 --> 00:31:54,144
- They actually are.
- That is so cool.
700
00:31:54,178 --> 00:31:56,413
[Josh] So these diatoms
are just little algae organisms?
701
00:31:56,447 --> 00:31:57,447
Correct.
702
00:31:57,482 --> 00:31:59,216
And we are zoomed
in on this bill, how much now?
703
00:31:59,250 --> 00:32:00,984
8,000 times.
704
00:32:01,019 --> 00:32:05,422
So in order for these diatoms to get on the
money, the money has to be out in the water?
705
00:32:05,456 --> 00:32:06,990
Takes about 10-15 minutes
706
00:32:07,025 --> 00:32:08,792
for money to get soaked enough
that they fan out in the water
707
00:32:08,826 --> 00:32:11,628
and that's when they would
be exposed to the diatoms.
708
00:32:11,663 --> 00:32:14,932
Mr. Cooper has made a
contribution to forensic science.
709
00:32:14,966 --> 00:32:17,334
Because we found out
that we can use diatoms
710
00:32:17,368 --> 00:32:19,603
to determine what season
711
00:32:19,637 --> 00:32:21,705
- ...the money got wet.
- Oh!
712
00:32:21,739 --> 00:32:24,708
This has never been done
before in forensic science.
713
00:32:24,742 --> 00:32:28,879
That diatom is called
Asterionella formosa.
714
00:32:28,913 --> 00:32:32,616
- I was gonna say, it looked like Asterionella formosa.
- [laughs boisterously]
715
00:32:32,650 --> 00:32:36,586
So, this particular species
only blooms in the spring.
716
00:32:36,621 --> 00:32:37,754
Woah.
717
00:32:37,789 --> 00:32:41,825
It's not in the river, in
November, when Cooper jumped.
718
00:32:41,859 --> 00:32:45,629
So, could the money have hit
the water in November,
719
00:32:45,663 --> 00:32:48,699
but then, next spring these
diatoms worked their way in?
720
00:32:48,733 --> 00:32:52,235
- There are diatoms that live in the winter.
- Yes.
721
00:32:52,270 --> 00:32:55,405
And if it went in the water in the
winter, we'd see those diatoms.
722
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:56,506
We don't see them.
723
00:32:56,541 --> 00:32:57,908
My mind is kind of melting here.
724
00:32:57,942 --> 00:33:01,678
This means that the money didn't
enter the river when Cooper jumped,
725
00:33:01,713 --> 00:33:04,648
but it did get wet,
in the spring.
726
00:33:04,682 --> 00:33:07,351
- Correct.
- And then, got buried in the sand.
727
00:33:08,386 --> 00:33:10,687
So the FBI's official story
is...
728
00:33:10,722 --> 00:33:14,992
- Wrong.
- I mean that's huge! That's a bombshell!
729
00:33:17,362 --> 00:33:22,799
[Josh] I'm in Oregon, breaking D.B. Cooper
news once again, with scientist, Tom Kaye.
730
00:33:22,834 --> 00:33:27,037
He's inspected the only cash ever
recovered from the Cooper skyjacking,
731
00:33:27,071 --> 00:33:31,541
and found particles of algae,
known as diatoms, in the fibers,
732
00:33:31,576 --> 00:33:35,345
that could throw gasoline
on this rewarming case.
733
00:33:35,380 --> 00:33:37,948
So, the FBI's official story
is...
734
00:33:38,216 --> 00:33:39,349
Wrong.
735
00:33:39,384 --> 00:33:41,485
I mean that's huge! That's
a bombshell!
736
00:33:41,519 --> 00:33:42,819
Yeah, it's a big deal.
737
00:33:42,854 --> 00:33:45,622
You may say, "Well, if the sand
flooded and got the money wet,
738
00:33:45,656 --> 00:33:47,391
won't you get diatoms
in the sand?"
739
00:33:47,425 --> 00:33:49,059
We tested that.
740
00:33:49,460 --> 00:33:50,560
Can't happen.
741
00:33:50,595 --> 00:33:53,030
We buried money in sand,
we poured diatom water over it
742
00:33:53,064 --> 00:33:55,532
and the diatoms did not
penetrate.
743
00:33:55,566 --> 00:33:59,302
My brain is racing a little
bit to come up with a scenario
744
00:33:59,337 --> 00:34:00,570
where that happens.
745
00:34:00,605 --> 00:34:01,772
It just bends your brain.
746
00:34:01,806 --> 00:34:04,574
It doesn't mean that Cooper
survived the jump, necessarily
747
00:34:04,609 --> 00:34:08,512
but you can't dump money out
of a 727 and dump it in Tena Bar,
748
00:34:08,546 --> 00:34:10,547
- and have this result.
- Correct.
749
00:34:10,581 --> 00:34:12,682
From when it left the plane
to when it got wet,
750
00:34:12,717 --> 00:34:15,886
is a six month journey,
somewhere, somehow.
751
00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:18,822
[Josh] Like our earlier
breakthrough, with Cooper's necktie,
752
00:34:18,856 --> 00:34:23,460
Tom's new find has the potential
to turn a 50 year old investigation,
753
00:34:23,494 --> 00:34:24,561
on its ear.
754
00:34:24,595 --> 00:34:26,863
But it begs a huge question:
755
00:34:26,898 --> 00:34:30,934
What circumstances explain the
money's brief but single exposure
756
00:34:30,968 --> 00:34:34,805
to the water of the Columbia River,
before becoming trapped in the sand,
757
00:34:34,839 --> 00:34:39,576
in Tena Bar, to be discovered
by Brian Ingrim in 1980?
758
00:34:39,610 --> 00:34:43,447
One Cooper researcher has
a theory, that he claims
759
00:34:43,481 --> 00:34:45,916
fits all the newly available
facts.
760
00:34:45,950 --> 00:34:48,418
So, I returned to Tena Bar,
Washington,
761
00:34:48,453 --> 00:34:50,420
to connect with Eric Ulis.
762
00:34:51,622 --> 00:34:53,590
- Hey, man, how are ya?
- Hey, brother, how you doin' man?
763
00:34:53,624 --> 00:34:55,625
I'm doing good, Eric.
Nice to meet you, man.
764
00:34:55,660 --> 00:34:57,894
Eric isn't a former cop or
a reporter.
765
00:34:57,929 --> 00:35:00,897
He's come by his Cooper
knowledge, the old fashioned way,
766
00:35:00,932 --> 00:35:04,768
through decades of exhaustive
research and collaboration.
767
00:35:04,802 --> 00:35:07,370
I know you're familiar with
Tom Kaye's work.
768
00:35:07,405 --> 00:35:10,240
What's the story that fits with
these diatoms that have been found
769
00:35:10,308 --> 00:35:11,608
or not found on the money?
770
00:35:11,642 --> 00:35:15,078
What we know is that the money
was exposed to the Columbia River,
771
00:35:15,113 --> 00:35:16,980
but during the spring time only.
772
00:35:17,014 --> 00:35:20,183
I believe that D.B. Cooper
landed, very close to this area,
773
00:35:20,218 --> 00:35:21,718
- probably within a mile.
- Mmm-hmm.
774
00:35:21,752 --> 00:35:25,655
And on the night that he landed here,
actually buried the money on the beach,
775
00:35:25,690 --> 00:35:28,492
before he worked his way back
into town.
776
00:35:28,526 --> 00:35:29,793
So, the first part of
that theory works great.
777
00:35:29,827 --> 00:35:32,662
He lands out here, he buries
the money, in a dry location,
778
00:35:32,697 --> 00:35:35,132
- somewhere up on the beach or up in the woods here.
- That's right.
779
00:35:35,166 --> 00:35:38,768
And we don't have those pesky,
winter diatoms on the money.
780
00:35:38,803 --> 00:35:42,806
But, how does the money get wet at
some point with these "spring" diatoms?
781
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:45,108
-I've actually researched
the Columbia River, -Okay.
782
00:35:45,143 --> 00:35:50,313
And there were only two times between
1971, when the skyjacking took place,
783
00:35:50,348 --> 00:35:52,549
and 1980, when the money
was found.
784
00:35:52,583 --> 00:35:56,186
But, there were flooding events
where the water actually reached
785
00:35:56,220 --> 00:35:57,487
the money burial spot.
786
00:35:57,522 --> 00:35:59,756
The spring of '72 was one event,
787
00:35:59,790 --> 00:36:02,325
and the spring of '74
was another event.
788
00:36:03,561 --> 00:36:05,929
So, that's why I'm saying that
D.B. Cooper realizing that,
789
00:36:05,963 --> 00:36:09,099
hey, the money may get swept
out to the Pacific Ocean--
790
00:36:09,133 --> 00:36:10,967
Right, he's like, "Place where I hid
this stuff is about to be under water"
791
00:36:11,002 --> 00:36:14,538
He's gotta come back, it's probably
under five or six inches of water.
792
00:36:14,572 --> 00:36:16,173
He pulls the bag out of
the watery grave.
793
00:36:16,207 --> 00:36:19,709
Few of those packets get left
behind, exposed to the Columbia River.
794
00:36:19,744 --> 00:36:22,546
But after he leaves, the sand
fills back in,
795
00:36:22,580 --> 00:36:24,114
covers those money packets
back up,
796
00:36:24,148 --> 00:36:27,851
and the money is locked into the
beach, to be found eight years later.
797
00:36:27,885 --> 00:36:30,854
Okay, so, here's the problem.
You'd need to know,
798
00:36:30,888 --> 00:36:33,990
where little Brian Ingram
found that money in 1980.
799
00:36:34,025 --> 00:36:37,827
That's part of the problem. When
the FBI dug up the beach in 1980,
800
00:36:37,862 --> 00:36:40,931
- and left, they didn't mark the spot.
- Right.
801
00:36:40,965 --> 00:36:42,832
- And it was pre-GPS.
- That's exactly right.
802
00:36:42,867 --> 00:36:45,635
Now, I actually took it upon
myself to start researching,
803
00:36:45,670 --> 00:36:49,606
to try to determine precisely,
where the money was buried.
804
00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:53,376
And I eventually did and
I know the precise spot today.
805
00:36:53,411 --> 00:36:55,445
- Show me.
- All right, absolutely.
806
00:36:57,582 --> 00:37:01,918
[Josh] We walk to the area, where Eric has
determined the money was originally found.
807
00:37:01,953 --> 00:37:05,689
I'm skeptical, until I see
who's holding the fort.
808
00:37:05,723 --> 00:37:08,258
Josh, I've got a special guest--
809
00:37:08,292 --> 00:37:09,826
I know who this is!
810
00:37:09,860 --> 00:37:12,262
- What's up, man?
- How you doing, buddy?
811
00:37:12,296 --> 00:37:14,064
Little Brian Ingram,
812
00:37:14,098 --> 00:37:16,600
the only man who's ever found
D.B. Cooper's money.
813
00:37:16,634 --> 00:37:19,002
We refer to Brain as
Cooper Royalty.
814
00:37:19,036 --> 00:37:23,974
[Josh] Brian was just eight years old, when
he made the only true break in this case,
815
00:37:24,008 --> 00:37:28,645
finding bundles of Cooper's ransom
money on the beach, here at Tena Bar.
816
00:37:28,679 --> 00:37:32,449
So, all told, you found just
under $6000 of Cooper's money.
817
00:37:32,483 --> 00:37:34,618
Correct. Would you like to see
some of it?
818
00:37:34,652 --> 00:37:36,419
- You have it?
- I do.
819
00:37:37,355 --> 00:37:38,855
Get outta here!
820
00:37:39,423 --> 00:37:40,757
[whispers] That's insane!
821
00:37:40,791 --> 00:37:43,393
Cooper's money.
Like I have chills.
822
00:37:43,427 --> 00:37:44,861
[Josh] This is the real deal,
folks!
823
00:37:44,895 --> 00:37:48,632
Remanence of the actual bills
that were carried through the air
824
00:37:48,666 --> 00:37:50,934
by our mystery skyjacker.
825
00:37:50,968 --> 00:37:52,969
This money went out that plane
with D.B.Cooper.
826
00:37:53,738 --> 00:37:55,405
- That's incredible!
- Thank you.
827
00:37:55,439 --> 00:37:59,209
Okay, we have to be relatively
close to where you found the money.
828
00:37:59,243 --> 00:38:00,844
- But it's changed so much, since then.
- That's right.
829
00:38:00,878 --> 00:38:04,281
So, how do we know right where
the money was found?
830
00:38:04,315 --> 00:38:06,116
Here, take a look at this.
831
00:38:07,585 --> 00:38:09,753
- So, this looks like old arial footage.
- That's correct.
832
00:38:09,787 --> 00:38:13,490
This is footage taken from a
news helicopter, that was filmed
833
00:38:13,524 --> 00:38:16,526
during the FBI searching
seedy agents on the beach.
834
00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:19,329
First thing that pops out is
how much beach there is.
835
00:38:19,363 --> 00:38:20,363
I mean it's all sand.
836
00:38:20,398 --> 00:38:21,831
It's completely different.
837
00:38:21,866 --> 00:38:24,668
There's an old gravel road that
you can see in the footage here,
838
00:38:24,702 --> 00:38:26,536
that an FBI car is sitting
on it.
839
00:38:26,570 --> 00:38:27,871
That's the part when we
walked up.
840
00:38:27,905 --> 00:38:29,706
- That gravel road is right up there.
- Right.
841
00:38:29,740 --> 00:38:36,046
Utilizing landmarks, I was able to
identify the precise money find spot.
842
00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:38,782
I've got a still image from the
footage that you're looking at
843
00:38:38,816 --> 00:38:42,552
that shows a little better,
exactly the money find spot.
844
00:38:42,586 --> 00:38:45,455
Now, somebody might say,
all this is well and good,
845
00:38:45,489 --> 00:38:48,191
but isn't the FBI all over
this place?
846
00:38:48,225 --> 00:38:53,596
The FBI did not search from the money
find spot, back up to the gravel road.
847
00:38:53,631 --> 00:38:55,065
I don't know why.
848
00:38:55,099 --> 00:38:58,435
- Should we pick up some metal detectors and some shovels?
- I think so.
849
00:38:58,469 --> 00:38:59,714
- Are you here to help?
- I'm in.
850
00:38:59,738 --> 00:39:02,572
There's a $194,000 still out
there.
851
00:39:02,606 --> 00:39:05,308
- You're a lucky charm, Brian.
- Give me a shovel.
852
00:39:05,343 --> 00:39:10,313
[Josh] We grab our metal detectors and
begin exploring the area from the shore
853
00:39:10,348 --> 00:39:12,549
up to the old gravel road.
854
00:39:12,583 --> 00:39:14,150
Our team is now four strong,
855
00:39:14,185 --> 00:39:18,888
including Brian and Eric's friend,
expert metal detectorist, Jeff Morgan.
856
00:39:19,357 --> 00:39:21,091
[detector beeping]
857
00:39:21,125 --> 00:39:23,626
- Something hard, huh?
- Yeah, something down there.
858
00:39:23,661 --> 00:39:26,429
- [metal detector beeping] - What
you got is strong here, right here.
859
00:39:26,464 --> 00:39:28,631
[electronic beeping]
Something here!
860
00:39:28,666 --> 00:39:30,166
[beeping intensifies]
861
00:39:30,568 --> 00:39:31,868
What is that?
862
00:39:31,902 --> 00:39:34,037
It's an odd enough piece,
I just can't tell what it is.
863
00:39:34,071 --> 00:39:37,540
I mean, it could be anything,
could be part of a barbed wire fence.
864
00:39:37,575 --> 00:39:38,842
Yeah, interesting.
865
00:39:38,876 --> 00:39:41,678
But hey, it's a start.
All right, keep looking.
866
00:39:41,712 --> 00:39:43,680
[Josh] The wire is just
the beginning,
867
00:39:43,714 --> 00:39:46,616
as we start to pile up the hits.
868
00:39:46,650 --> 00:39:49,185
- It's like a feeder straw of some kind.
- Yeah!
869
00:39:49,220 --> 00:39:50,687
Yeah. A 7040 can.
870
00:39:50,721 --> 00:39:53,390
Did Cooper jump with WD-40?
871
00:39:53,424 --> 00:39:54,457
[laughs]
872
00:39:54,492 --> 00:39:56,760
- Shotgun shell.
- Okay, we got a shotgun shell.
873
00:39:56,794 --> 00:39:59,095
We got permission to be on
this property, right?
874
00:39:59,397 --> 00:39:59,796
[gunshot]
875
00:39:59,830 --> 00:40:00,930
Nice nail.
876
00:40:00,965 --> 00:40:03,099
-If we were in the iron
collection business, -Yup.
877
00:40:03,501 --> 00:40:04,567
We'd be rich.
878
00:40:04,602 --> 00:40:08,138
[dramatic music playing]
879
00:40:10,608 --> 00:40:13,410
Now, in terms of the actual
money find spot,
880
00:40:13,744 --> 00:40:14,844
Brian said,
881
00:40:14,879 --> 00:40:16,713
- said it was right around here, yeah?
- That's correct,
882
00:40:16,747 --> 00:40:18,381
if you see that furthest boulder
883
00:40:18,416 --> 00:40:19,649
- out right there.
- You go out from there,
884
00:40:19,683 --> 00:40:21,084
that's exactly where the
money was found.
885
00:40:21,118 --> 00:40:24,454
- In the water?
- That's correct. Nowadays, the money find spots around
886
00:40:24,488 --> 00:40:26,089
fifteen feet offshore.
887
00:40:26,123 --> 00:40:29,426
Well, it feels like one of us should
probably get out there, and check that out.
888
00:40:29,460 --> 00:40:31,127
Good luck, Josh.
889
00:40:31,162 --> 00:40:32,262
[both chuckle]
890
00:40:32,296 --> 00:40:33,396
[Josh] Alright. I'll go.
891
00:40:37,368 --> 00:40:38,868
[dramatic music playing]
892
00:40:39,270 --> 00:40:41,004
Time to get wet.
893
00:40:41,639 --> 00:40:43,473
[Josh] I traded my detector
894
00:40:43,507 --> 00:40:45,241
for an aquatic model,
895
00:40:45,276 --> 00:40:47,977
and wade back into the search.
896
00:40:49,447 --> 00:40:51,614
Okay, so. Around here?
897
00:40:51,649 --> 00:40:53,783
Two feet to the left of that
shark over there.
898
00:40:53,818 --> 00:40:56,486
Alright. There's no
sharks in Portland.
899
00:40:56,520 --> 00:40:58,855
["Jaws" theme playing]
900
00:40:58,889 --> 00:41:01,324
There's no sharks, right?
901
00:41:03,961 --> 00:41:07,530
Using Eric's coordinates,
I programmed my phone's GPS
902
00:41:07,565 --> 00:41:09,632
to zero in to the exact spot
903
00:41:09,667 --> 00:41:11,968
where Bryan found Cooper's cash.
904
00:41:12,503 --> 00:41:15,038
[dramatic music playing]
905
00:41:18,509 --> 00:41:20,610
[detector beeping] Got a hit!
906
00:41:20,644 --> 00:41:22,212
[Josh] There is literally
907
00:41:22,246 --> 00:41:23,346
a hit right here.
908
00:41:33,591 --> 00:41:35,425
Looks like an old spike.
909
00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:37,393
You know the cool thing
910
00:41:37,428 --> 00:41:38,628
about this, Josh. This is
911
00:41:38,662 --> 00:41:40,563
exactly what I think
DB Cooper went through
912
00:41:40,598 --> 00:41:42,432
in June of 1972,
913
00:41:42,466 --> 00:41:45,568
- retrieving the money.
- [Josh] I mean DB Cooper
914
00:41:45,603 --> 00:41:47,504
could have been
standing right here.
915
00:41:47,538 --> 00:41:48,705
That's right.
916
00:41:48,739 --> 00:41:51,374
Now, we just got to see if
he left anything else behind.
917
00:41:51,408 --> 00:41:53,176
[dramatic music playing]
918
00:41:53,644 --> 00:41:55,278
[detector beeping]
919
00:42:05,489 --> 00:42:07,290
Ooh.
920
00:42:08,225 --> 00:42:09,158
Eric!
921
00:42:09,193 --> 00:42:10,159
Yes.
922
00:42:10,194 --> 00:42:11,361
Hey! Check this out.
923
00:42:13,597 --> 00:42:15,098
What is it?
924
00:42:16,166 --> 00:42:16,933
Look.
925
00:42:17,468 --> 00:42:20,136
[dramatic music playing]
926
00:42:21,572 --> 00:42:23,540
-It's like a... Buckle
-Hinge or a buckle?
927
00:42:23,574 --> 00:42:24,774
Yeah, yeah.
928
00:42:24,808 --> 00:42:26,609
Those are clearly two rivets,
929
00:42:26,644 --> 00:42:29,546
and it looks like the kind piece
you would have on a briefcase.
930
00:42:29,580 --> 00:42:31,381
- [Josh] I mean it really does.
- I mean, what
931
00:42:31,415 --> 00:42:33,249
- else would you use it for?
- I don't know.
932
00:42:33,284 --> 00:42:34,183
Very cool.
933
00:42:35,686 --> 00:42:37,654
[Josh] I mean that's
pretty unbelievable.
934
00:42:37,688 --> 00:42:39,389
It's pretty intriguing.
935
00:42:39,423 --> 00:42:40,723
Okay, that's going
right there. I'm going
936
00:42:40,758 --> 00:42:43,393
back to that same area to keep
searching. Things are heating up!
937
00:42:44,562 --> 00:42:47,163
It was like, right in here.
938
00:42:48,666 --> 00:42:51,200
[detector beeping loudly]
Big hit.
939
00:42:56,507 --> 00:42:59,142
[dramatic music playing]
940
00:43:06,584 --> 00:43:09,018
[exclaims] Oh!
941
00:43:10,487 --> 00:43:12,689
Eric! Look at this!
942
00:43:13,457 --> 00:43:14,991
Come here! Come here! Come here!
943
00:43:18,696 --> 00:43:21,364
[narrator] Portland's north-west
escape experience has
944
00:43:21,398 --> 00:43:24,267
a DB Cooper-inspired
escape room.
945
00:43:24,301 --> 00:43:25,301
Okay, here we go.
946
00:43:26,403 --> 00:43:27,604
[narrator] In a kind
of loose sequel,
947
00:43:27,638 --> 00:43:29,339
to the skyjacking,
948
00:43:29,373 --> 00:43:30,373
I have 60 minutes
949
00:43:30,407 --> 00:43:31,674
to find the 200 thousand dollars
950
00:43:31,709 --> 00:43:33,343
that have eluded the FBI
951
00:43:33,377 --> 00:43:34,677
for 50 years.
952
00:43:34,712 --> 00:43:36,579
Oh, and I have to stop this bomb
953
00:43:36,614 --> 00:43:37,747
from exploding.
954
00:43:37,781 --> 00:43:40,350
[electronic voice] T minus
sixty minutes
955
00:43:40,384 --> 00:43:41,150
until detonation.
956
00:43:41,185 --> 00:43:42,352
Of course, this is
957
00:43:42,386 --> 00:43:44,721
an escape room. I have
to navigate a
958
00:43:44,755 --> 00:43:46,389
gauntlet of fiendish puzzles,
959
00:43:46,423 --> 00:43:47,457
that Cooper never had
960
00:43:47,491 --> 00:43:48,424
to contend with.
961
00:43:49,693 --> 00:43:51,427
There are hidden messages,
962
00:43:51,462 --> 00:43:52,762
North, west, here.
963
00:43:53,263 --> 00:43:54,697
And secret clues.
964
00:43:54,732 --> 00:43:56,766
[whispers] There's another room.
965
00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:58,201
Until finally...
966
00:44:01,472 --> 00:44:02,972
North west door xxx
967
00:44:03,374 --> 00:44:04,307
Full of money!
968
00:44:04,341 --> 00:44:06,476
I got the money! I'm rich.
969
00:44:06,510 --> 00:44:08,911
- One, two.
- [electronic voice] System deactivated.
970
00:44:08,946 --> 00:44:11,247
- Yeah!
- [electronic voice] You win.
971
00:44:11,281 --> 00:44:12,248
Alright, boys.
972
00:44:12,282 --> 00:44:13,216
Beers are on me.
973
00:44:18,656 --> 00:44:20,356
I'm in the Columbia river,
974
00:44:20,391 --> 00:44:21,624
near Tena Bar, Washington.
975
00:44:21,659 --> 00:44:24,394
Looking for evidence
of DB Cooper with
976
00:44:24,428 --> 00:44:26,162
investigator Eric Ulis.
977
00:44:26,530 --> 00:44:27,430
And we just
978
00:44:27,464 --> 00:44:29,165
found something.
979
00:44:29,199 --> 00:44:31,300
Eric! Look at this.
980
00:44:31,335 --> 00:44:33,002
Come here! Come here! Come here!
981
00:44:33,437 --> 00:44:34,937
Check this out.
982
00:44:35,572 --> 00:44:38,107
That's a clasp! That's a
983
00:44:38,142 --> 00:44:39,175
[bleep] clasp!
984
00:44:41,812 --> 00:44:44,947
That is an absolute clasp.
There's no doubt about that.
985
00:44:44,982 --> 00:44:45,682
That
986
00:44:45,716 --> 00:44:47,350
looks like it's off a briefcase.
987
00:44:47,384 --> 00:44:48,818
That is definitely
from a briefcase.
988
00:44:48,852 --> 00:44:49,886
Do we know what
989
00:44:49,920 --> 00:44:52,021
his briefcase looked like?
There's no photo of it.
990
00:44:52,056 --> 00:44:53,256
No. No photo at all.
991
00:44:53,290 --> 00:44:55,558
We don't know if it was metal
or what the case was. But that
992
00:44:55,592 --> 00:44:58,327
definitely looks like a clasp
that could have gone to
993
00:44:58,362 --> 00:44:59,629
his briefcase.
994
00:44:59,663 --> 00:45:01,531
And it is rusted to high hell,
995
00:45:01,565 --> 00:45:03,299
and look where this is
996
00:45:03,333 --> 00:45:04,534
This was found close to this.
997
00:45:04,568 --> 00:45:05,835
These could be from the
same thing I think.
998
00:45:05,869 --> 00:45:07,837
I mean. how could they
not be from the same thing?
999
00:45:07,871 --> 00:45:11,307
You've got a clasp. And you've
got what appears to be some sort
1000
00:45:11,341 --> 00:45:12,608
of hinge, or
something like that.
1001
00:45:12,643 --> 00:45:14,310
I'm kinda flabbergasted
1002
00:45:14,344 --> 00:45:15,611
because, I mean, we are at
1003
00:45:15,646 --> 00:45:18,247
- the spot, the money spot.
- That's right.
1004
00:45:18,282 --> 00:45:22,452
That could actually be the very first
piece of evidence, we found related to
1005
00:45:22,486 --> 00:45:24,353
DB Cooper, since the money
1006
00:45:24,388 --> 00:45:25,621
in the same spot!
1007
00:45:25,656 --> 00:45:27,623
- That is insane!
- That is very cool.
1008
00:45:27,658 --> 00:45:29,358
[Josh] Unbelievable!
1009
00:45:29,393 --> 00:45:32,061
Oh my word!
1010
00:45:32,463 --> 00:45:33,696
[exclaims] Ha!
1011
00:45:33,731 --> 00:45:37,266
[triumphant music playing]
1012
00:45:38,569 --> 00:45:39,635
[Josh] Okay, I need to back
1013
00:45:39,670 --> 00:45:42,105
and see if there's anything
else in here. Stand by.
1014
00:45:44,508 --> 00:45:47,076
[dramatic music playing]
1015
00:45:48,612 --> 00:45:50,179
Coming up with any
more hits out there?
1016
00:45:50,681 --> 00:45:52,281
It's all quiet now.
1017
00:45:52,883 --> 00:45:53,883
[Josh] Nada.
1018
00:45:53,917 --> 00:45:55,852
[Josh narrating] I scan the
water, up and down
1019
00:45:55,886 --> 00:45:59,388
the bank to be sure there's
nothing else to find.
1020
00:45:59,423 --> 00:46:02,992
And soon, the sun begins
to set on Tena Bar,
1021
00:46:03,026 --> 00:46:06,095
and on this chapter
of my hunt for DB Cooper.
1022
00:46:07,798 --> 00:46:11,267
[Josh narrating] In the days that
follow, we conclude that the serial number
1023
00:46:11,301 --> 00:46:15,471
on the tag found in xxx doesn't match
the registry of any known components
1024
00:46:15,506 --> 00:46:19,175
of a parachute canopy,
container, or harness.
1025
00:46:19,209 --> 00:46:23,045
The hinge and clasp found at Tena
Bar have been carefully examined,
1026
00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:25,615
and appear to match those
found on many soft
1027
00:46:25,649 --> 00:46:28,518
briefcases from the
1960s and 70s.
1028
00:46:28,552 --> 00:46:32,588
Unfortunately, they also match
any number of other containers
1029
00:46:32,623 --> 00:46:35,691
and are therefore
compelling, but inconclusive.
1030
00:46:35,726 --> 00:46:38,327
For me, the biggest
headline here
1031
00:46:38,362 --> 00:46:40,129
is the discovery of the diatoms
1032
00:46:40,164 --> 00:46:41,364
on Cooper's cash.
1033
00:46:41,398 --> 00:46:44,233
New forensic evidence
in a case that's
1034
00:46:44,268 --> 00:46:45,434
supposedly cold,
1035
00:46:45,469 --> 00:46:48,070
but feels significantly
hotter today.
1036
00:46:52,009 --> 00:46:52,608
Still,
1037
00:46:52,643 --> 00:46:55,411
DB Cooper remains at large,
1038
00:46:55,479 --> 00:46:58,881
anonymous after 50 years,
his identity,
1039
00:46:58,916 --> 00:47:02,451
his motivations, his life
or death are unknown.
1040
00:47:02,486 --> 00:47:05,421
Leaving us to fill
in the blanks.
1041
00:47:05,455 --> 00:47:07,490
And perhaps, that's why
we're so fascinated
1042
00:47:07,524 --> 00:47:09,692
by him. because, we've
been able to make
1043
00:47:09,726 --> 00:47:12,962
his story into whatever
we want it to be.
1044
00:47:14,398 --> 00:47:16,365
To some, a terrorist.
1045
00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:17,633
To others, a kind of
1046
00:47:17,668 --> 00:47:21,003
Thomas Crowne and James Bond
rolled into one.
1047
00:47:21,038 --> 00:47:24,707
Most recently, as the Norse
God of mischief, Loki.
1048
00:47:24,741 --> 00:47:26,809
Maybe Cooper was Walter Reca,
1049
00:47:26,844 --> 00:47:30,446
whose detailed confession and
strange appearance in that diner
1050
00:47:30,480 --> 00:47:32,648
are hard to ignore.
1051
00:47:32,683 --> 00:47:34,383
Or, maybe he was this guy.
1052
00:47:34,418 --> 00:47:35,518
Or this guy.
1053
00:47:35,552 --> 00:47:36,719
Or him.
1054
00:47:36,753 --> 00:47:37,520
Or him.
1055
00:47:37,554 --> 00:47:40,389
Or maybe someone
no one's thought of.
1056
00:47:41,458 --> 00:47:42,758
And maybe he died alone,
1057
00:47:42,793 --> 00:47:46,562
in a place still undiscovered,
after half a century.
1058
00:47:46,597 --> 00:47:49,232
It seems like we can't let
go of DB Cooper.
1059
00:47:49,266 --> 00:47:51,667
He's still out there
1060
00:47:51,702 --> 00:47:54,237
in our imaginations,
where anything is possible.
1061
00:47:54,271 --> 00:47:56,305
So he won't be going away,
1062
00:47:56,340 --> 00:47:58,074
any time soon.