The mysterious case of D.B. Cooper, the unidentified hijacker who famously escaped with a ransom in 1971, has taken a new twist, leading to the reopening of the FBI’s investigation after more than five decades. The catalyst? A newly discovered parachute, potentially linked to the notorious criminal.
D.B. Cooper’s hijacking of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 on November 24, 1971, is one of the most captivating unsolved mysteries in American history. Cooper successfully extorted $200,000 in cash and parachutes before jumping from the plane, disappearing into the night and leaving behind no trace of his identity.
For years, the case seemed to have reached a dead end, but a recent development has rekindled interest. The parachute, believed to be one of the four Cooper requested during the hijacking, was found by the children of Richard Floyd McCoy Jr., a prime suspect in the case. McCoy, a man arrested for a similar hijacking just months after Cooper’s crime, has long been a person of interest for investigators. His connection to Cooper was speculated upon for years, but there had been little hard evidence to substantiate the claim—until now.
The discovery came in July 2022 when Dan Gryder, a YouTube star who has spent over 20 years investigating the case, uncovered the parachute on McCoy’s family property in North Carolina. Gryder had reached out to McCoy’s children in 2020, who, after their mother’s death, agreed to share the critical evidence. The parachute is now being examined by the FBI, marking the agency’s first step back into the case since it was closed in 2016.
Museum director Derek Nguyen confirmed that one of Cooper’s parachutes is housed in the Washington State History Museum. Two parachutes were found abandoned on the plane, while Cooper took two with him when he made his daring escape. The discovery of the parachute may hold new clues about the hijacker’s identity and where he went after his leap into history.
Though the FBI has since closed the case, it remains open to any new physical evidence linked to Cooper, particularly if it involves the parachutes or the ransom money he took. Anyone who has such materials is urged to contact the FBI.
The saga of D.B. Cooper continues to intrigue, and this latest development raises new questions about whether the mystery will ever be solved.