[suspenseful music playing]
So the FBI's official story is...
Wrong.
That's a bombshell.
Who do you think D.B. Cooper is?
I know who D.B. Cooper is.
It's this young man.
[metal detector beeps]
Hey, Josh. I think I got something here.
I think it could be a serial number off a parachute.
Oh! Look at this!
I know the precise spot
where the money was buried.
There he goes.
Careful, careful, careful, whoa!
[bleep]
Eric! Look at this!
That looks like it's off a briefcase.
There aren't many cold cases that could still captivate a nation
after half a century.
But then again. D.B. Cooper has always been one of a kind.
A daring criminal who hijacked a domestic flight in 1971.
He grabbed hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom,
before parachuting into the realm of legend.
Despite a massive FBI man hunt,
Cooper's whereabouts and identity
are a hotly-debated mystery.
And it remains the only unsolved skyjacking
in American history.
Perhaps, the perfect crime.
A few years ago, I decided to enter what experts call
the Cooper vortex.
A virtual blackhole, swirling with theories pursued,
by obsessive citizen sleuths.
Hell, I became one myself.
- [man 1] To D.B. Cooper. - [man 2] To D.B. Cooper.
- Yeah! - Hear! Hear!
[Josh] I searched low,
and high.
Oh my God!
And helped uncover some of the most momentous evidence in decades.
The discovery of rare element particles
on Cooper's necktie.
And now, the case is churning hot yet again.
Recently uncovered audio recordings
are revealing a new suspect
and an unexplored search area.
Meanwhile, a high-tech discovery is re-writing the story
of the missing ransom money.
And one resolute investigator with FBI documents
believes he's honed in on the true location
of Cooper's daring jump.
So grab a parachute and join me if you dare
as we dive back into the vortex
in pursuit of the real D.B. Cooper.
My name is Josh Gates.
Hello!
Explorer, adventurer...
This is sick.
Help!
...and a guy who ends up in some very strange situations.
- [exclaims] - [bleep]
Whoo! That was exciting.
With a degree in archaeology and a passion for the unexplained...
[exclaims]
I travel to the ends of the earth,
investigating the greatest legends in history.
Okay, let's punch it.
This is Expedition Unknown.
Thanksgiving eve, 1971.
A mysterious figure behind dark sunglasses
carries a briefcase aboard North-West Orient
flight 305.
A domestic hop from Portland, Oregon to here,
Seattle, Washington.
Home of Boeing, and the inspiring museum of flight.
The name on his ticket: Dan Cooper.
An unassuming looking man
later described as in his mid-40s.
And about 5 foot 10 inches tall.
He takes his seat in 18E.
Upon takeoff, he informs the flight attendant
his briefcase contains a bomb.
Once back on the ground in Seattle,
Cooper agrees to release the passengers
in exchange for $200,000,
four parachutes,
and promise of safe passage to Mexico.
Back in the air, the pilots informed Cooper
they'll need to stop in Reno to refuel.
But before they can get there,
a light goes off in the cockpit
indicating that a door has been opened.
You see, D.B. Cooper chose the Boeing 727 for a reason.
It's unique aft staircase.
Jumping from the side door of a commercial jet
could kill a skydiver.
But Cooper simply had to walk out the back.
Outside, a storm is raging.
And somewhere in the darkness above the Pacific north-west,
Cooper jumps.
And that's where the mystery deepens.
Because by the time the plane lands in Reno,
both the hijacker and the money have vanished.
Who are you?
Over the years, there have been countless suspects
fitted for Cooper's shades.
Marvel fans even saw Tom Hiddleston's Loki
take credit for the crime.
Today though, I'm trying to answer the $200,000 question,
who is D.B. Cooper?
By enlisting the A-team of Cooper researchers.
Mark Meltzer, criminal defense attorney
with over 50 years of skydiving experience.
A top authority on Cooper's jump.
Joe Koenig.
Lead investigator in the Jimmy Hoffa case.
Twenty-six-year veteran of the Michigan state police.
And Bruce Smith, veteran sleuth,
and author of D.B. Cooper and the FBI.
Oh, and me. I'm here too.
All right, guys, I've got a lot of questions.
- We got answers. - I hope so.
Let's start with this.
Most books that I've read about D.B. Cooper,
have a suspect.
Mark, I know, you're an attorney.
Does it seem strange to you how many potential suspects there are in this case?
It's very unusual, the FBI
has said there have been hundreds of confessions.
[laughs] Right, you don't normally have
hundreds of guys confessing to the crime.
- Correct. - Right.
Gotta remember the D.B. Cooper sky jacking was...
Was innovative.
No one else had even done it.
In fact, skydivers the next day were saying,
why didn't I think of that?
[laughs] Right. Exactly.
So, okay, let's start where the FBI started.
The primary witness
to the skyjacking is the flight attendant
who sat next to D.B. Cooper.
- [Josh] Tina. - [Mark] That's Tina Mucklow.
[Josh] Right.
[Mark] And she and the FBI, dug to come up with a sketch.
And this was the first sketch.
Okay.
However, over the next year,
a lot of other people came forward, like, passengers.
And so they came up
with a different composite sketch.
Are they accurate?
Is eyewitness testimony for composite sketches
really valuable?
I never found it to be all that valuable.
So much depends on the eyewitnesses ability.
To recall an image.
Right. So, let's wipe the slate here.
Let's talk about actual suspects.
Who are some of the people
that really rose to the top,
and where the greatest hits in this case?
Well, the very first guy was Ted Mayfield.
And people were already calling the FBI
while the plane was still in the air
and Cooper hadn't even jumped yet, saying,
your guy is Ted Mayfield.
Why? Why were people so...
Because he ran a corrupt operation
And people ended up dying there.
-Wow -From bad training, bad equipment.
He even stole an airplane.
So did Ted Mayfield hold up as a suspect?
No, he didn't. He was immediately ruled out,
and I think correctly so because he was far too short.
He did not meet the height requirements for Cooper.
He was way below it.
Okay, so we get rid of Ted Mayfield. Who else?
Within a few days of the crime,
the FBI received a tip that they should investigate
Sheridan Peterson.
Okay, who's he?
Sheridan Peterson was a very experienced skydiver.
- He was an instructor. - Hmm.
And he worked at Boeing in Technical Documentations
Okay, so this guy's looking pretty good.
- He is. - What's wrong with him?
His alibi...
Is that he was living in a mud hut in Nepal at the time.
Well, that's a pretty big problem.
[man] Yeah, I don't think he's Cooper.
[Josh] Okay.
Let me rifle through a few more.
John List.
- Forget about him. - [Josh scoffs, chuckles]
It's not even worth discussing?
- Nah. - Okay, he's gone.
Duane Weber.
Oh, he has no parachuting experience.
- He was arrested 23 times so uh-- - 23 times?
- Yeah, he's not a master criminal. - He's out!
-This guy is not a master criminal -[man laughs]
- He's done, he's done. - [man continues laughing]
[Josh] In the end, the FBI maintains that none of these men were Cooper.
And that he most likely died in his leap from the plane.
The men at this table might respectfully disagree.
Who's the guy who could be Cooper?
[man] As far as capabilities go,
Robert Rackstraw had every skill needed
Robert Rackstraw is an Army...
Helicopter pilot.
And was an experienced HALO Parachutist.
- That means High Altitude, Low Opening. - Mm-hmm.
[Josh] Joe, do you think Rackstraw could be Cooper?
I don't think so. He was too young.
- How old was he? - 29
Oh, I mean, really young.
But he had the capability?
Rackstraw had every skill needed.
But nobody can put him on the plane, and in fact...
The flight attendant, Tina Mucklow.
Said no when she was shown his picture.
- So you can't equate capability with culpability. - Right.
And what about you, Joe?
Who do you think D.B Cooper is?
I know who D.B Cooper is.
It's this young man.
Walter Reca?
Correct.
[Josh] This is D.B Cooper?
He's the one.
Okay.
Tell me.
Who is Walter Reca?
Walter Reca was a para-trooper.
He was in the Air Force Reserves'
Sea and Rescue Squad.
And I go to my parachute expert here.
This guy knew how to jump?
[man] He was a US Air Force Para-Rescue Jumper
They're called PJs.
He absolutely had the skills. He knew everything.
They know night jumps, water jumps, combat rescue.
I've been jumping for 53 years.
I don't have...
A hundredth of the skills that Reca had.
Okay. So...
He knew how to jump?
[man] And he's D.B Cooper because of his confession.
Which was very detailed.
[Josh] After he jumped from the 727,
Reca is said to have land in a town of Cle Elum, Washington.
But don't take my word for it.
Here's an excerpt of Walter Reca's confession.
Recorded by a close friend of his,
shortly before his death in 2014.
[Walter speaking]
Does anybody see this guy walking in the rain along this road?
Yes.
Really?
[Josh] One witness, a local truck driver.
Reports passing Reca on the road on his way,
to a nearby diner.
The man is walking in the rain in a suit.
Shortly after, he limps into the diner.
And asks for change to use the phone.
Here's Walter Reca again.
[Walter speaking]
[man] I evaluated those tapes to determine truthfulness.
That's your area of expertise.
Exactly.
- He was being truthful. - You're convinced?
I am.
I don't wanna start here.
What do you think? Could it be Reca?
The place where he landed is over a 100 miles,
from where this aircraft was flying.
It is also true that there is no actual record,
of where that plane flew right?
There was a record. They didn't preserve it.
[Josh] They didn't preserve it.
This raises another questions.
If he gotta make up the story of him being D.B Cooper,
why place yourself a 100 miles.
If there's something very puzzling about the Reca case,
I can't figure it out.
I agree with Joe.
Walter Reca landed in Cle Elum, Washington.
The night in question and was soaked into the skin by the rain.
You buy that?
I buy that absolutely.
So there's two guys, jumping out of airplanes,
wearing business suits.
The night before Thanksgiving in 1971.
I'd rather have you say, It [bleeping] never happened
There was no guy walking down the road
- We got a-- - You're telling me that there was a guy,
in a business suit, walking down the road,
then how could he not be D.B Cooper?
I think the Walter Reca story...
Opens up a huge...
Story.
And the story is...
What the hell was...
Walter Reca doing in Cle Elum that night?
This is a relatively new suspect.
Landed in an unsearched area.
And... hopefully.
With your help, we'll find some evidence,
to seal this case.
[Josh] If you think that sounds like a challenge,
well it does to me too.
Looks like Joe and I are going to Cle Elum.
[rock music playing]
[Josh] Joe travels ahead to assemble his team of Cooper fanatics.
Leaving me to drive the 85 miles... solo.
I arrive where the Teanaway Junction Cafe once stood.
And rejoin Joe Koenig.
How are you, man?
- Good, Josh. How are you? - Good. Good to see ya!
- Good, good. - What do you think of my car?
I love it, a Mini Cooper.
- Exactly. I'll go a long way for a bad joke, Joe. - [Joe laughs]
- This for me. - Yeah.
- Thank you, sir. - Yeah.
And you've got an army of people out here.
We do. We got a bunch of volunteers from the Cle Elum area,
and a professional metal detectorist.
So we are in the spot?
This is the spot.
Should we go find D.B Cooper's parachute?
- Let's do it. - Let's go!
[Josh] Joe believes that Cooper must have landed,
near where the tree line is today.
An area that was deep in the woods in 1971.
The years may have changed the landscape.
But the buckles, fasteners and other metallic pieces of Cooper's parachute,
can't hide from a metal detector.
Our team is fanned out across the field and into the trees.
This is the largest search ever made here,
for evidence in the Cooper case.
[beeping]
[Josh] And it may be about to pay off.
Got something?
[dramatic music playing]
What have we got over here?
Let's get a little deeper here.
[thudding]
Oooh, we got metal here.
[exciting music playing]
- [thudding] - [Josh] Let's get a little deeper here.
Oooh, we got metal here.
[Josh] I've joined investigator Joe Koenig in Cle Elum, Washington.
To explore his theory that a man named Walter Reca
was also skyjacker D.B Cooper
And that he landed in these very woods.
I see rust down here. Here we go, look.
- See how it's curved? - Yeah.
[man 1] Hot something metal.
[Josh] What you got?
- [Joe] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. - [Josh] Look at that.
- Is it a drum lid? - [man 2] Yeah!
So, okay, somebody at some point buried a bunch of drums back here.
Probably not D. B. Cooper.
- [man 2] Probably not. - Okay.
Moving on.
[music playing]
[Josh] The team continues metal detecting.
While the property's owner Wayne Willette brings us back into the forest
in search of any sign of our suspect.
[Josh] I s this the underside of a tree? These are all roots.
Now in terms of these tree from the Cooper story,
Reca, when he parachuted in here he said that he hit a dead tree, right?
Yeah, he said the only dead tree in the woods.
So this is obviously a big dead tree,
although I wouldn't say it's been dead for that long.
How long you've been on this property?
We moved out here at about '72.
- A year after the Cooper jump? - [Wayne] Yes.
[Josh] So was there a big old dead tree here that time?
There was. It was right in here somewhere.
Okay, well may be will come across it.
- [both] Yeah. - [Josh] Lets keep looking.
[music playing]
[Josh] Nobody said it was gonna be easy.
As far as landmarks go, the remains of a 50 year old dead tree in the forest
don't exactly stick out.
And these woods aren't exactly a walk in the park.
[rustling]
Good, good, good. Oh, oh, careful, careful, careful! Oh no.
- [water splashing] - [bleep]
[man] Here I go.
[Josh] Okay, come here.
[Josh] I rushed to his aid. Bua as a retired cop...
[Joe] I hit my head on that thing.
[Josh] Joe is one tough mother, and he bounces back quickly.
[man] Ha ha, Phew.
- You all right? - [Joe] Yeah, yeah.
You didn't feel a parachute down there, did you?
- [Joe] I didn't. - Come on.
Let's get you dried off.
[amusing instrumental music playing]
[Josh] After changing into dry clothes.
He brings me to meet one of the volunteers who is helping us today.
A man who is driven by this area once before,
on November 24th, 1971.
That's right.
Jeff Osciadacz is the key eye witness from Walter Reca's story.
-Hey, nice to meet you. How are you? -Nice to meet you.
Wow, you're the guy who saw Reca that night out, on the road.
[Jeff] Right.
I can picture it just like it happened yesterday.
So I wanna hear this from your lips, you're driving this truck.
And what do you see out the window?
I see a man standing on this side of the road
with a black suit, white shirt. Soaking wet.
And he's not wearing his raincoat.
No. It's rolled up under his arm.
- Crazy. - And I thought this guy's
french fries short of a happy meal.
[Josh laughing]
So you drive past him,
you go to the diner.
He came walking in. He says to me, "Kid where am I?"
And I said, "You're about four miles east to Cle Elum."
And he says,
"If I make a phone call can you
tell the friend of mine how to get here to pick me up?"
Hands me the phone, I talked to the guy. I said, "Where are you coming from?"
You might have inadvertently
helped Cooper get out of town that night. You are lucky Joe doesn't arrest you.
Yeah, but I'm still looking for the FBI or CIA will show up.
This is it, sir, this is sting.
What's so amazing about you, you are a collaborating witness.
And that's something that almost no other
Cooper suspect has.
[Josh] But he's not the only witness on which Joe's case relies.
He then takes me to meet Reca's niece, Lisa Story.
Who was with Reca shortly before his death in 2014.
- [Josh] Did he ever confess to you? - Yes.
[Josh] He did.
In 2013, he asked me to go grab this envelop and pull out this letter.
And he wanted to sign it and have it notarized.
The Last Testament of Walter R. Peca Jr.
'Cause that was his first name?
Right.
[Josh] Names hereafter Walter R. Reca
and D. B. Cooper.
Wow!
- This is a full confession. - Yes.
[Josh] The death man confession letter left Lisa
convinced that her uncle was Cooper.
But that's not the only disturbing thing she learned about Walter.
In the years after the skyjacking he has one, two, three,
four, five different passports.
- [Lisa] Mm-hmm. - [Josh] Yeah.
- [Josh] He has a British passport. - [Lisa] Yes.
With his photo under the name, Frank Drinkell.
[Lisa] Yup.
[Josh] Look at this, he's in Saudi.
He's in Indonesia, he's in Saudi again.
He's got foreign service IDs.
And what's this?
This is a...
KGB.
[Lisa] Yeah.
- [Josh] This is a Soviet KGB ID. - [Lisa] Yes.
He spoke Russian.
- Polish and Russian-- - And he spoke Russian?
- He did. - What is he doing with a Soviet ID?
[Lisa] I think that was cover, in case he was caught.
I think he was working freelance for the CIA, as a Mercenary.
An undercover behind iron curtain.
Like, forget the skyjacking.
This guy is a true man of mystery.
- [man] Yes. - [Lisa] Right.
[Josh] Wow!
Anywhere in here does he write down where he stashed his
parachute and the rest of that money or...
- No, I wish. - Is there anything in here that you found yet?
I wish I had asked him.
[man laughing]
[dramatic music playing]
[Josh] As the sun lowers in the sky, we were turning to the search.
[machine beeps]
- [machine beeping] - Something right here.
Got a coin.
19, how about this...
1969. Most of the $20 bills that Cooper had were from '69.
- So we are in the right time period here for Cooper. - Yeah.
- Could have dropped down out of his pocket on the way down. - Look at that right.
Hopefully this is a lucky penny.
[Josh] And soon one of Joe's most experienced team members
expert metal detectorist, Chris Holden
proves why he is a pro.
[machine beeping]
[Chris] Hey Josh.
I think I got something here up.
[Josh] What you got?
It's like a little copper band with a serial number on it.
I think it could be a serial number of the parachute.
Look at that it's stamped. One...
- five, eight. - [Chris] Oh yeah.
Lots of things in aviation are stamped.
It's light. A tag of some kind, right?
- 'Cause it's meant to slot into here. - [Joe] Mm hmm.
What do you think?
I think we should bag it and check it with some resources to see
- if it's related to a parachute. - [Josh] Yeah.
Photograph it and see if you can figure out what that is?
- [Chris] Okay. - [Josh] Okay.
We are on the case.
[dramatic music playing]
[Josh] We don't have much light.
But the detector sniff out one more target for us to examine.
- [machine beeping] - I have a good hand here.
[Josh] Let me see.
[beeping]
[Josh] That's it. What is that?
It's a bullet. I can tell by its weight.
That's not just a bullet. That is a really old bullet.
- [Chris] Oh my God. - Look at that.
That's unfired. Look at the end.
That is unfired.
You can see the indentations there, yeah?
[Chris] That's late-1800s or early-1900s. Definitely over 100 years old.
It's like a black powder bullet, right?
Like you put it in your gunpowder, your paper, this is old school.
And the fact that it's unfired is even rarer 'cause
you usually find them in if they destruct something.
Probably a military issue, there were soldiers in this area in the late 1800s.
This place is a time machine. We've way overshot...
[laughing] Our time period.
This is a really cool find.
All right, well, judging by the failing light here,
I don't think anybody could say we didn't put in a long day.
Yeah, I'm tired.
[Josh] Okay. Look
I'm so impressed by your passion for this case.
And I know you are all in on Reca.
But to convince the world,
you're gonna have to go find that parachute.
Yes, and we are gonna continue looking for it.
Good. Keep me posted?
- I will. - Should we go find a beer?
- Yeah! - Let's do it.
-Sounds good. -We've earned it. Come on. Let's go boys.
[Josh] The next morning, I leave Cle Elum
with something nagging at me about Joe's suspect.
Alright. Joe is all in on Walt Reca,
and in some ways, why wouldn't he be?
You know, it's hard to imagine a more compelling story than the one we just heard.
But, something is bothering me.
We're pretty far from Cooper's accepted jump zone.
The FBI established Cooper's likely flight path as being a highway in the sky
know as Victor 23.
Cle Elum is way outside of that.
A fact the casts some real doubt on Reca as a likely suspect.
But the Cooperverse is full of doubts.
Including some that I'm just beginning to have now.
When you think about all these D. B. Cooper suspects,
not just Walt Reca, but all of them,
they all have something in common,
they're all guys that got away with a crime.
But what if the FBI was right?
What if the most obvious answer here is the right one?
What if Cooper died during the jump?
To try and determine the like hood of Cooper's survival,
I drive out of the mountains
while on a runway near fly path V23,
another vehicle begins its own journey.
Which brings us to Andy Farrington, age 41.
Jumps: 26.000 and counting.
Current altitude, about 10.000 feet.
Oh, and he's wearing a C-9 parachute,
the same likely used by D. B. Cooper.
Andy's task for today is simple: Get to the ground in one piece,
and tell me if, in his professional opinion,
D. B. Cooper could've survived his final leap in to the sky.
I'm waiting in Andy's drop zone with his father, Jeff,
who is himself, a professional skydiving instructor.
Okay, Andy, how you looking up there?
[Andy speaking]
[Josh] Just to be clear, Andy is about to jump out of a plane wearing an antique.
Let's hope it still does its job.
Okay, Andy, you are good to jump. Repeat, you are good to jump.
Okay, Andy, you are good to jump.
There it goes.
To test the long held FBI theory that D. B. Cooper died
making his legendary parachute jump,
I've enlisted professional skydiver Andy Farrington
to make a similar dive using the exact same equipment as Cooper.
So far, so good.
That parachute is not really steerable, right?
Oh, that one is not at all.
Andy, we are in the drop zone waiting for you.
[Josh] A gust of wind in almost any direction,
and Andy could find himself sailing into the trees.
Which may tell us what we want to know about Cooper,
but probably wouldn't be so fun for Andy.
[dramatic music playing]
He's down.
Hey!
- How are you, man? - Not bad. Not bad.
Well, you know how to make an entrance, I'll give you that.
-[laughs] -Great job. This is the C9, right?
- Yep. - This is the Shute that we think
Cooper probably jumped in.
I mean, it looks like it's fairly vintage.
- It's definitely older than I am. - [all laughing]
When did they start making these things?
About 1964.
So, why was this chute so attractive as a military chute?
- Reliability. 100%. - Right.
- Got the job done. - So, reliable, but not very maneuverable.
- That's correct. - Okay.
Jeff, how many jumps you have done in a round chute?
Probably 600.
Would you jump out of a plane into a lightning storm
for 200.000 dollars then, equivalent of a million dollars today?
Well, certainly my financial position is way different now that it was back then.
- In 1971 you would've thought about it? - Yeah, I would.
Right. Could Cooper have survived the jump wearing this chute?
- Yeah. - He could've?
Because this Shute will open at up to what speed would you say?
275 knots, or 350 miles per hour.
Got it. And we know the 747 was flying kinda low and a little slower,
it was doing just under 200, so...
Technically, that could work?
Yes, but I think the deck was so stacked against his favor
he jumped out, in mid-November...
- Yep. - Cold, rainy, windy.
And Cooper was jumping into, most likely, wilderness.
- Trees and rivers. - Yep.
[Josh] Cooper jumped wearing nothing more than a parachute and a suit.
Freezing to death would be a real possibility.
Wind shear could've collapsed his chute in the storm
or he could have landed in the water.
So, do you think he could have survived the jump?
The jump part, I do.
I wouldn't wanna land in a river. I wouldn't wanna land in a lake.
My first choice would probably be landing in the trees.
- Really? - It's reasonably soft.
Well awesome job, it was a real treat to see that.
-Nice work, man. Thank you so much. -You betcha.
[Josh] So did Cooper survive?
To say that he did seems possible but I wouldn't say it's overwhelmingly likely.
It feels like I and every other D.B. detective have been chasing a ghost.
Fortunately though, I have friends in smart places.
Something I remember when I get a call from Tom Kaye.
On my first trip down the Cooper rabbit hole,
Tom and I turned up traces of rare earth elements on the
necktie that D.B. Cooper left on the plane.
Incredible new evidence that gave Cooper fanatics their first new clue in years.
The infamous hijacker may have worked in the production of cathode ray tubes.
Used in aviation radar screens
Now Tom says he has something new to show me.
I hit the gas and speed towards the state of the art lab in Hillsboro, Oregon.
What's on the docket today? What have you got for me? I'm excited.
What we've got today in this fantastic facility,
TSS Microscopy has allowed us to use their flagship electron microscope.
To me this is, like something from Antman.
Are we shrinking people today, Tom?
No, no, but we could see Antman
in here, no matter how small he was, we could see him with this machine right here.
We saw type artists before, today is different, look at what we got here.
Well these I recognize.
- Yep, these are? - Stubs.
These are the little platforms you put inside these microscopes.
We used these before.
And we had little fibers from the tie last time.
Go ahead and open it up.
Okay, I see something else on these today, little bits of something.
So what's on here now are little chunks of Cooper cash.
[Josh] In 1980,
nearly a decade after the Cooper hijacking
an eight year old boy named Brian Ingram,
dug up $6,000 of buried cash
in a place called Tena Bar, Washington.
The serial number matched the Cooper ransom.
The FBI theorized that Cooper must have fatally splashed
down somewhere in the Columbia river.
Though exhaustive searching and dredging of the river turned up nothing.
To date the money found in the sand at Tena bar,
is the only part of the Cooper ransom ever recovered.
Now we're about to get the closest look at that cash that's ever been taken.
After Tom carefully places the sample in the scanner,
it's time to show me the money.
[Josh] All right, so here's our stub.
That's a piece of Cooper's cash.
So what'd you find on the money.
Last time we talked about the Ti particles.
This time we're doing the same technique
to go in and look at microscopic particles that are found in water.
- Okay. - And these are called Diatoms.
These are single algae cells that grow this glass shell around them.
Okay. It looks like a fossil almost.
- They actually are. - That is so cool.
[Josh] So these diatoms are just little algae organisms?
Correct.
And we are zoomed in on this bill, how much now?
8,000 times.
So in order for these diatoms to get on the money, the money has to be out in the water?
Takes about 10-15 minutes
for money to get soaked enough that they fan out in the water
and that's when they would be exposed to the diatoms.
Mr. Cooper has made a contribution to forensic science.
Because we found out that we can use diatoms
to determine what season
- ...the money got wet. - Oh!
This has never been done before in forensic science.
That diatom is called Asterionella formosa.
- I was gonna say, it looked like Asterionella formosa. - [laughs boisterously]
So, this particular species only blooms in the spring.
Woah.
It's not in the river, in November, when Cooper jumped.
So, could the money have hit the water in November,
but then, next spring these diatoms worked their way in?
- There are diatoms that live in the winter. - Yes.
And if it went in the water in the winter, we'd see those diatoms.
We don't see them.
My mind is kind of melting here.
This means that the money didn't enter the river when Cooper jumped,
but it did get wet, in the spring.
- Correct. - And then, got buried in the sand.
So the FBI's official story is...
- Wrong. - I mean that's huge! That's a bombshell!
[Josh] I'm in Oregon, breaking D.B. Cooper news once again, with scientist, Tom Kaye.
He's inspected the only cash ever recovered from the Cooper skyjacking,
and found particles of algae, known as diatoms, in the fibers,
that could throw gasoline on this rewarming case.
So, the FBI's official story is...
Wrong.
I mean that's huge! That's a bombshell!
Yeah, it's a big deal.
You may say, "Well, if the sand flooded and got the money wet,
won't you get diatoms in the sand?"
We tested that.
Can't happen.
We buried money in sand, we poured diatom water over it
and the diatoms did not penetrate.
My brain is racing a little bit to come up with a scenario
where that happens.
It just bends your brain.
It doesn't mean that Cooper survived the jump, necessarily
but you can't dump money out of a 727 and dump it in Tena Bar,
- and have this result. - Correct.
From when it left the plane to when it got wet,
is a six month journey, somewhere, somehow.
[Josh] Like our earlier breakthrough, with Cooper's necktie,
Tom's new find has the potential to turn a 50 year old investigation,
on its ear.
But it begs a huge question:
What circumstances explain the money's brief but single exposure
to the water of the Columbia River, before becoming trapped in the sand,
in Tena Bar, to be discovered by Brian Ingrim in 1980?
One Cooper researcher has a theory, that he claims
fits all the newly available facts.
So, I returned to Tena Bar, Washington,
to connect with Eric Ulis.
- Hey, man, how are ya? - Hey, brother, how you doin' man?
I'm doing good, Eric. Nice to meet you, man.
Eric isn't a former cop or a reporter.
He's come by his Cooper knowledge, the old fashioned way,
through decades of exhaustive research and collaboration.
I know you're familiar with Tom Kaye's work.
What's the story that fits with these diatoms that have been found
or not found on the money?
What we know is that the money was exposed to the Columbia River,
but during the spring time only.
I believe that D.B. Cooper landed, very close to this area,
- probably within a mile. - Mmm-hmm.
And on the night that he landed here, actually buried the money on the beach,
before he worked his way back into town.
So, the first part of that theory works great.
He lands out here, he buries the money, in a dry location,
- somewhere up on the beach or up in the woods here. - That's right.
And we don't have those pesky, winter diatoms on the money.
But, how does the money get wet at some point with these "spring" diatoms?
-I've actually researched the Columbia River, -Okay.
And there were only two times between 1971, when the skyjacking took place,
and 1980, when the money was found.
But, there were flooding events where the water actually reached
the money burial spot.
The spring of '72 was one event,
and the spring of '74 was another event.
So, that's why I'm saying that D.B. Cooper realizing that,
hey, the money may get swept out to the Pacific Ocean--
Right, he's like, "Place where I hid this stuff is about to be under water"
He's gotta come back, it's probably under five or six inches of water.
He pulls the bag out of the watery grave.
Few of those packets get left behind, exposed to the Columbia River.
But after he leaves, the sand fills back in,
covers those money packets back up,
and the money is locked into the beach, to be found eight years later.
Okay, so, here's the problem. You'd need to know,
where little Brian Ingram found that money in 1980.
That's part of the problem. When the FBI dug up the beach in 1980,
- and left, they didn't mark the spot. - Right.
- And it was pre-GPS. - That's exactly right.
Now, I actually took it upon myself to start researching,
to try to determine precisely, where the money was buried.
And I eventually did and I know the precise spot today.
- Show me. - All right, absolutely.
[Josh] We walk to the area, where Eric has determined the money was originally found.
I'm skeptical, until I see who's holding the fort.
Josh, I've got a special guest--
I know who this is!
- What's up, man? - How you doing, buddy?
Little Brian Ingram,
the only man who's ever found D.B. Cooper's money.
We refer to Brain as Cooper Royalty.
[Josh] Brian was just eight years old, when he made the only true break in this case,
finding bundles of Cooper's ransom money on the beach, here at Tena Bar.
So, all told, you found just under $6000 of Cooper's money.
Correct. Would you like to see some of it?
- You have it? - I do.
Get outta here!
[whispers] That's insane!
Cooper's money. Like I have chills.
[Josh] This is the real deal, folks!
Remanence of the actual bills that were carried through the air
by our mystery skyjacker.
This money went out that plane with D.B.Cooper.
- That's incredible! - Thank you.
Okay, we have to be relatively close to where you found the money.
- But it's changed so much, since then. - That's right.
So, how do we know right where the money was found?
Here, take a look at this.
- So, this looks like old arial footage. - That's correct.
This is footage taken from a news helicopter, that was filmed
during the FBI searching seedy agents on the beach.
First thing that pops out is how much beach there is.
I mean it's all sand.
It's completely different.
There's an old gravel road that you can see in the footage here,
that an FBI car is sitting on it.
That's the part when we walked up.
- That gravel road is right up there. - Right.
Utilizing landmarks, I was able to identify the precise money find spot.
I've got a still image from the footage that you're looking at
that shows a little better, exactly the money find spot.
Now, somebody might say, all this is well and good,
but isn't the FBI all over this place?
The FBI did not search from the money find spot, back up to the gravel road.
I don't know why.
- Should we pick up some metal detectors and some shovels? - I think so.
- Are you here to help? - I'm in.
There's a $194,000 still out there.
- You're a lucky charm, Brian. - Give me a shovel.
[Josh] We grab our metal detectors and begin exploring the area from the shore
up to the old gravel road.
Our team is now four strong,
including Brian and Eric's friend, expert metal detectorist, Jeff Morgan.
[detector beeping]
- Something hard, huh? - Yeah, something down there.
- [metal detector beeping] - What you got is strong here, right here.
[electronic beeping] Something here!
[beeping intensifies]
What is that?
It's an odd enough piece, I just can't tell what it is.
I mean, it could be anything, could be part of a barbed wire fence.
Yeah, interesting.
But hey, it's a start. All right, keep looking.
[Josh] The wire is just the beginning,
as we start to pile up the hits.
- It's like a feeder straw of some kind. - Yeah!
Yeah. A 7040 can.
Did Cooper jump with WD-40?
[laughs]
- Shotgun shell. - Okay, we got a shotgun shell.
We got permission to be on this property, right?
[gunshot]
Nice nail.
-If we were in the iron collection business, -Yup.
We'd be rich.
[dramatic music playing]
Now, in terms of the actual money find spot,
Brian said,
- said it was right around here, yeah? - That's correct,
if you see that furthest boulder
- out right there. - You go out from there,
that's exactly where the money was found.
- In the water? - That's correct. Nowadays, the money find spots around
fifteen feet offshore.
Well, it feels like one of us should probably get out there, and check that out.
Good luck, Josh.
[both chuckle]
[Josh] Alright. I'll go.
[dramatic music playing]
Time to get wet.
[Josh] I traded my detector
for an aquatic model,
and wade back into the search.
Okay, so. Around here?
Two feet to the left of that shark over there.
Alright. There's no sharks in Portland.
["Jaws" theme playing]
There's no sharks, right?
Using Eric's coordinates, I programmed my phone's GPS
to zero in to the exact spot
where Bryan found Cooper's cash.
[dramatic music playing]
[detector beeping] Got a hit!
[Josh] There is literally
a hit right here.
Looks like an old spike.
You know the cool thing
about this, Josh. This is
exactly what I think DB Cooper went through
in June of 1972,
- retrieving the money. - [Josh] I mean DB Cooper
could have been standing right here.
That's right.
Now, we just got to see if he left anything else behind.
[dramatic music playing]
[detector beeping]
Ooh.
Eric!
Yes.
Hey! Check this out.
What is it?
Look.
[dramatic music playing]
-It's like a... Buckle -Hinge or a buckle?
Yeah, yeah.
Those are clearly two rivets,
and it looks like the kind piece you would have on a briefcase.
- [Josh] I mean it really does. - I mean, what
- else would you use it for? - I don't know.
Very cool.
[Josh] I mean that's pretty unbelievable.
It's pretty intriguing.
Okay, that's going right there. I'm going
back to that same area to keep searching. Things are heating up!
It was like, right in here.
[detector beeping loudly] Big hit.
[dramatic music playing]
[exclaims] Oh!
Eric! Look at this!
Come here! Come here! Come here!
[narrator] Portland's north-west escape experience has
a DB Cooper-inspired escape room.
Okay, here we go.
[narrator] In a kind of loose sequel,
to the skyjacking,
I have 60 minutes
to find the 200 thousand dollars
that have eluded the FBI
for 50 years.
Oh, and I have to stop this bomb
from exploding.
[electronic voice] T minus sixty minutes
until detonation.
Of course, this is
an escape room. I have to navigate a
gauntlet of fiendish puzzles,
that Cooper never had
to contend with.
There are hidden messages,
North, west, here.
And secret clues.
[whispers] There's another room.
Until finally...
North west door xxx
Full of money!
I got the money! I'm rich.
- One, two. - [electronic voice] System deactivated.
- Yeah! - [electronic voice] You win.
Alright, boys.
Beers are on me.
I'm in the Columbia river,
near Tena Bar, Washington.
Looking for evidence of DB Cooper with
investigator Eric Ulis.
And we just
found something.
Eric! Look at this.
Come here! Come here! Come here!
Check this out.
That's a clasp! That's a
[bleep] clasp!
That is an absolute clasp. There's no doubt about that.
That
looks like it's off a briefcase.
That is definitely from a briefcase.
Do we know what
his briefcase looked like? There's no photo of it.
No. No photo at all.
We don't know if it was metal or what the case was. But that
definitely looks like a clasp that could have gone to
his briefcase.
And it is rusted to high hell,
and look where this is
This was found close to this.
These could be from the same thing I think.
I mean. how could they not be from the same thing?
You've got a clasp. And you've got what appears to be some sort
of hinge, or something like that.
I'm kinda flabbergasted
because, I mean, we are at
- the spot, the money spot. - That's right.
That could actually be the very first piece of evidence, we found related to
DB Cooper, since the money
in the same spot!
- That is insane! - That is very cool.
[Josh] Unbelievable!
Oh my word!
[exclaims] Ha!
[triumphant music playing]
[Josh] Okay, I need to back
and see if there's anything else in here. Stand by.
[dramatic music playing]
Coming up with any more hits out there?
It's all quiet now.
[Josh] Nada.
[Josh narrating] I scan the water, up and down
the bank to be sure there's nothing else to find.
And soon, the sun begins to set on Tena Bar,
and on this chapter of my hunt for DB Cooper.
[Josh narrating] In the days that follow, we conclude that the serial number
on the tag found in xxx doesn't match the registry of any known components
of a parachute canopy, container, or harness.
The hinge and clasp found at Tena Bar have been carefully examined,
and appear to match those found on many soft
briefcases from the 1960s and 70s.
Unfortunately, they also match any number of other containers
and are therefore compelling, but inconclusive.
For me, the biggest headline here
is the discovery of the diatoms
on Cooper's cash.
New forensic evidence in a case that's
supposedly cold,
but feels significantly hotter today.
Still,
DB Cooper remains at large,
anonymous after 50 years, his identity,
his motivations, his life or death are unknown.
Leaving us to fill in the blanks.
And perhaps, that's why we're so fascinated
by him. because, we've been able to make
his story into whatever we want it to be.
To some, a terrorist.
To others, a kind of
Thomas Crowne and James Bond rolled into one.
Most recently, as the Norse God of mischief, Loki.
Maybe Cooper was Walter Reca,
whose detailed confession and strange appearance in that diner
are hard to ignore.
Or, maybe he was this guy.
Or this guy.
Or him.
Or maybe someone no one's thought of.
And maybe he died alone,
in a place still undiscovered, after half a century.
It seems like we can't let go of DB Cooper.
He's still out there
in our imaginations, where anything is possible.
So he won't be going away,
any time soon.