Free Republic

A groundbreaking new clue might finally unlock the long-standing mystery of the DB Cooper case, which has puzzled investigators for over 53 years.On November 24, 1971, a man using the alias Dan "DB" Cooper hijacked Northwestern Flight 305 over Portland, demanding a ransom of $200,000. After receiving the money, he parachuted out of the aircraft and vanished without a trace. Recently, on the 53rd anniversary of the hijacking, a parachute believed to belong to Cooper may have been discovered.The children of Richard Floyd McCoy II, a suspect in the case, have stepped forward with intriguing information. Chante and Richard III...

This is the first of a two-part series. Part two is located here.More than five decades ago, a mild-mannered passenger in a business suit boarded a Seattle-bound flight in Oregon under the name Dan Cooper on Nov. 24, 1971. He ordered a bourbon and soda, and once in the air, handed a stewardess a handwritten note demanding $200,000 in cash and four parachutes under the threat of what appeared to be a bomb in his ratty briefcase. The plane landed in Seattle, and authorities complied with the hijacker’s demand. After refueling, the airliner took off again. Somewhere between takeoff and...