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[georger]

I think the starting point for investigating "John Roe" claims isn't digging into minutiae about his memories..since human memory is faulty and it was long ago.

Verify his employment that he claims. ID card etc. He probably would still have some evidence of his employment.

You guys are way too wound up about proving this or that "fact".

Start with proving or disproving whether the dude could have a story to tell.

great point - always true! But will anyone pay attention ? 

[Bruce A. Smith]

Yup. I am. Now to find the time and energy to do it all.

[Bruce A. Smith]

New Film

"I am DB Cooper," will be shown at the Seattle international Film Festival on April 16 and 18th.

Synopsis:

The identity of hijacker DB Cooper remains one of the great PNW mysteries. In 1971, a man hijacked a plane and parachuted from it over southern Washington with his ransom money, never to be seen again. There have been many suspects over the past 50 years, none of whom have been conclusively confirmed… until now? Two bounty-hunting brothers bail an ailing old man named Rodney Bonnefield out of prison in 2016 and are surprised when he announces that he is the REAL DB Cooper. Intrigued by Bonnefield’s admission, they bring a grain of salt to their interrogation of his past, only to find that a lot of details line up in ways that only the true Cooper would know. Asked to accompany Bonnefield to recover the undiscovered portion of the ransom money, they decide to follow the breadcrumbs to their uncertain conclusion. Director T.J. Regan, like the bounty hunters, is fascinated by Bonnefield but also keeps his potential grift at arm's length, more content to present our fascination with the unsolved questions than bestow a conclusive truth that may never be confirmed. I AM DB COOPER is an amalgam of the best episodes of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” and “Unsolved Mysteries,” filled with excellent period dramatizations of the events around the hijacking, engrossing interviews with major and supporting players in Bonnefield’s story, and a drive for truth at the end of a country road.

— Dustin Kaspar

Note: this is another DBC film that got away from me. The primary source for this story may be a lassie named Kari, who came to me with the tale a year or two ago. She wanted me to do most of the heavy lifting, and of course I encouraged her to do all of the heavy lifting. She may have found others to do the sweaty work.... So many women, so little time....

Along those lines, I have asked Joey McFarland and Dawn Birschwal to help me interview Tina about their movie. Maybe I will finally get a chance to sit down with this elusive lady.

[Parrotheadvol]

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I love the quote at the end of this article by John Dower regarding all the folks that have confessed to being Cooper: "“These people all have a D.B. Cooper-shaped hole in their lives.”.

Very true.

[JAG]

FBI Part 69 has been out for couple days:

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I skimmed it real quick, lots of stuff about the sketches, particularly sketch B, and how it was shown to the stewardesses and other witnesses on the plane and their respective feedback.  Some witness say "pouty lower lip", others say lip not as full as depicted in sketch B.  Some feedback I found interesting seemingly made by more than one witness is that UNSUB was not as mean or thuggish looking as depicted, was honest looking with a nothing appearance. 

There's also a few pages, around page 186, discussing the details of the dredge used (the dredge was named "Washington" and the company name was called The General Construction Company), where the dredging was done in the river in 1974.

But, by and large, its a headache of frustrating white rectangles, as usual.

[Bruce A. Smith]

Thanks for the synopsis, JAG.

[Bruce A. Smith]

More news from Jerry Thomas:

I spoke with Jerry today, and was pleased to hear that the reason he has not been responsive to emails is that he doesn't have a working computer, although he might have one soon. I encouraged him to come here and say "Howdy" once he is cyber-active.

Also, his health is poor, and he has been in and out of the hospital many times in the past year or so. His wife Shelly passed away about three months ago from a stroke, it sounds like. There might have been a few more complications but Jerry had difficulty talking about the details. They were married for 37 years.

Jerry is also in regular contact with Joice Himmelsbach, and he reports that she is doing okay, but still grieving a bit. Hard to say goodbye to an old war horse like Ralph.

[Bruce A. Smith]

Brief report on John Roe

Re: Aft Stairs and transfer of ransom materials

John Roe is the airport manager from Toledo, WA - Ed Carlson Memorial Field - that was interviewed in a recent video produced by "SOG Pilot." John is an interesting guy, and presents a strange and disturbing view of the ransom exchange at Sea-Tac.

John says he was working for Pan Am as a manager of some sort, and one of his duties was to ferry mail and documents from planes to the postal sorting facility in the north end of Sea-Tac. While driving to and fro he saw 305 park itself about "half-way to maybe two-thirds" towards the northern end of 16L, parking on a taxiway and out of the runway landing area.

John reiterated that he saw a flight attendant come down the aft stairs part-way to meet one of two men bringing up the parachutes and a large satchel or duffel bag, which he presumes was the money bag. John witnessed the transfer and accompanying activities at 20-30 minute intervals as he was running his errands for Pan Am. He was adamant: "Everything went up the aft stairs."

John said that the "mobile stairs" that are pictured - driven on a pick-up truck to the front part of the plane - was only in place for a very short period of time, maybe 25 minutes in total, and not used for any access or egress that he saw. John never saw the passengers. John said he stood about 100-150 yards from the plane. He also witnessed at least two refueling trucks coming and going. John also told me that the plane was on the ground for only an hour, but he corrected that statement when we reviewed the timeline of 305's landing and departure - basically 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

John is 76 years old and sounded very competent, cogent, and compelling. He was 26 at the time of the incident, and had started working for Pan Am in June 1967, shortly after working for the railroads and getting out of the military. He is a longtime pilot, and has a 1978 Piper Cherokee Warrior II.

John's statements challenge the narratives put forward by everyone else, and I will endeavor to follow-up on this angle. On site visit perhaps. Calls to Pan Am, etc.

[snowmman]

interesting, Bruce

Note you said:
"While driving to and fro he saw 305 park itself about "half-way to maybe two-thirds" towards the northern end of 16L, parking on a taxiway and out of the runway landing area."

see, that shows that it's wrong to latch onto minute suppositions too early. Someone was saying "how could he see".  ...Well, if he wasn't in a static location, and driving around, sure all sorts of things are possible.

It's interesting to think about who all was "driving around" that night.

[Shutter]

Things to ponder...

Cooper's priority would be keeping law enforcement off the plane. why would he leave the stairs down in the back where he spent most of his time, even with the bulkhead door closed.

We should of seen something in the transcripts about Cooper wanted the rear stairs to remain down. he mentions wanting them down, not left down.

The portable stairs being attached for a short period makes perfect sense to keep them off the plane when there is no reason to have access to the cabin..

[Shutter]

Things have not been good the last couple months. my mom is the strongest person I've come across. she beat breast cancer and then a fractured hip. several weeks ago she had to be rushed to the hospital with stomach and back pains. her intestines flipped and twisted, something I never heard of and was a couple hours from death had she not called out for help. she was in the hospital for about 10 days and released.

The doctor ordered a biopsy a week ago and the results came back for lung cancer. she must under go chemo once again starting on the 19th.

This has taken a toll on me mentally setting me off at the slightest things. the strength my mother has going through all of this is utterly amazing. she just goes with the flow hoping for the best like it's no big deal. she lost a lot of weight with the twisted intestine, she's down to 92 lbs from about 125-130. being in her 80's shows enormous courage and the will to live. I'm very proud of her and her actions and blessed she is my mother..

Dave Brown

[georger]

Things have not been good the last couple months. my mom is the strongest person I've come across. she beat breast cancer and then a fractured hip. several weeks ago she had to be rushed to the hospital with stomach and back pains. her intestines flipped and twisted, something I never heard of and was a couple hours from death had she not called out for help. she was in the hospital for about 10 days and released.

The doctor ordered a biopsy a week ago and the results came back for lung cancer. she must under go chemo once again starting on the 19th.

This has taken a toll on me mentally setting me off at the slightest things. the strength my mother has going through all of this is utterly amazing. she just goes with the flow hoping for the best like it's no big deal. she lost a lot of weight with the twisted intestine, she's down to 92 lbs from about 125-130. being in her 80's shows enormous courage and the will to live. I'm very proud of her and her actions and blessed she is my mother..

Dave Brown

Thanks for sharing.

[snowmman]

Things have not been good the last couple months. my mom is the strongest person I've come across. she beat breast cancer and then a fractured hip. several weeks ago she had to be rushed to the hospital with stomach and back pains. her intestines flipped and twisted, something I never heard of and was a couple hours from death had she not called out for help. she was in the hospital for about 10 days and released.

The doctor ordered a biopsy a week ago and the results came back for lung cancer. she must under go chemo once again starting on the 19th.

This has taken a toll on me mentally setting me off at the slightest things. the strength my mother has going through all of this is utterly amazing. she just goes with the flow hoping for the best like it's no big deal. she lost a lot of weight with the twisted intestine, she's down to 92 lbs from about 125-130. being in her 80's shows enormous courage and the will to live. I'm very proud of her and her actions and blessed she is my mother..

Dave Brown

sorry to hear.
Keep showing her you love her, and you'll be doing the right thing

[dudeman17]

Hang in there, Dave. I know it's tough, but in the end you will not regret being there when she needs you. Peace and solace...

[Bruce A. Smith]

Wow, Dave. Lots going on, and thanks for letting us know. Caring for, and caring about, family members - especially a mother - is a wild ride. I send you and your mom good wishes and thoughts for a peaceful resolution to the crises unfolding.