I agree. The KATU video corroborates what Dorwin Schreuder told me, certainly in terms of the shards. Dorwin's commentary on the briefcase, is of course, suspect, as he himself says.

I would love to see a cross-section profile of T-Bar. What soils are where? Even if it's not from Tom Kaye. Shut, you up for a little art project, here?

And Georger, if I understand you correctly, you are thinking that there may be multiple dynamic's at work here, one dynamic put the three bundles together, and a second dynamic tore up the shards and scattered them underneath the trez bundolas.

I agree. The KATU video corroborates what Dorwin Schreuder told me, certainly in terms of the shards. Dorwin's commentary on the briefcase, is of course, suspect, as he himself says.

I would love to see a cross-section profile of T-Bar. What soils are where? Even if it's not from Tom Kaye. Shut, you up for a little art project, here?

And Georger, if I understand you correctly, you are thinking that there may be multiple dynamic's at work here, one dynamic put the three bundles together, and a second dynamic tore up the shards and scattered them underneath the trez bundolas.

I dont know Bruce how many 'dyamics' would be involved, until we have some strata identification that stands up. We have Palmer's estimate if the strata. We have Tom's verbal ideas. But we dont have anything else ... thats all Im saying. 

I re-sized the photo's again in this post...Shutter

Photo again reduced for easier viewing...Shutter

Lets assume the rubber bands were original. Then that leads to the idea that the money was buried there when the rubber bands were "fresh". If the bands were fresh, then it must have happened shortly after the crime. Then how do you keep them buried all those years? The dredging operations replenished the sand on the beach. The beach was much larger in the 70's, in the 80's, 90's and today it has become minimal, reinforcing the idea that something was keeping the beach intact before 1980.  SO the story we propose is that the money with fresh bands was buried shortly after 1971 (don't know how or why) the dredging kept sand over it until the late 70's when dredging stopped. From there the beach started eroding, the money ended up near the surface and Brian found it. The fragments indicate that the money was intact when first buried and then the fragments came away during decomposition which takes a long time. We have had money buried in Tena bar sand for half a decade and it still looks good. Fragments = long time, rubber bands = long time, money still in bundles = running through a suction dredge is highly unlikely. We have shown how money fans out if it is in water held by a rubber band. There is no hint of a bag or container so to add that to the story is pure speculation. Again I will remind everyone we have absolutely NO IDEA how the money got to Tena.

The other idea is that someone in the late 70's buried the money on the beach. For me to consider that you would have to give a reasonable motivation why someone would do that years later.

Sorry, I have a bad habit of modifying the last post thinking it's mine....

How do you think the money would hold up underwater still in the bag prior to being run through the dredge? could this also be a possibility. that's assuming the bag was tied while resting on the bottom. then you have to find out how long the bag would holdup by itself in the environment...

Photo shows currency found from the Titanic...it can survive a rather long time underwater...

I have encountered many things underwater that show signs of remarkable preservation.  Attached is a 2006 photo of some corn recovered from a shipwreck in Lake Huron which foundered in 1893.  I wouldn't eat it, but it is remarkably well preserved for being a century old.  I have personally encountered fragile fabrics and paper from the 1880 in the bowels of shipwrecks that were nearly perfectly preserved.  There's no way these objects would have survived above water, without being in near perfect conditions (no sunlight, humidity, etc.).

If the ransom money was cocooned in a canvas bag, and found its way into a cold, low oxygen environment and was protected from water flow, the rubber bands could stay intact for years, probably decades

If the ransom money was cocooned in a canvas bag, and found its way into a cold, low oxygen environment and was protected from water flow, the rubber bands could stay intact for years, probably decades

In a article dated August 6, 1980, which appears to be from the Washington Capital News Service reports that the Army Corps. identified the dredge layer? and then went on to say that the bag could of got through the dredge, but basically didn't believe this since Cooper's body would have clogged the pump. they don't mention the possibility of Cooper getting separated from the money. later they report that the pump would of shredded the money. I believe this can be found on Tom's site. I believe this to be true to some extent. I think some of the bundles could have survived intact. the question would be, could the bundles have become fused together while underwater allowing them to remain together for the trip through the pipe?

I contacted several pump companies in the past, and they agreed the money could of survived if it was bundled tightly, Cooper had wrapped the bag for it's trip. one thing that doesn't support this theory is the lack any of the chord, or parts of the bag being found, or did they fail to notice anything like that.

Could the dredge have damaged the money the way we see it, and that's why it can't be replicated in any testing? I would believe that before the theory of the money rounding it's corners while on it's way down the Columbia.

I've always found it odd that we have the dredge depositing sand from the bottom of the river right onto the area where the money was found. the plane crossed the river somewhere? could a lot of the evidence been washed away prior to the discovery?