One benchmark in the rubber band story may be the Ingram's comment that: 'the bands turned to dust when touched'.

This can only happen IF the bands had reached the crystalline stage and then more time has passed where the crystals themselves begin to break down, atomically. All things being equal it takes years for this process to go full cycle to where bands would 'turn to dust when touched', ie having broken down atomically.

The Ingrams also stated ' some hardened pieces of the bands stuck to the bills and had to be picked off'. This further confirms the bands had reached the crystalline stage, but before reaching this stage the bands had been viscous enough to merge with the paper fibers themselves ... all of which further implies a long term process.

The test will hopefully bust some myths. I received the same emails from Jo about containers. Robert thinks the bills were tossed in the river in a paper bag (to throw them off the trail) and were dredged up. ya, that's how I would throw them off? how could Cooper know the bills would be dredged and the material placed somewhere to be found? how did Cooper know they could go through the dredge, or even be found. that's just not logical thinking.

I tried to tell Jo that the bills wouldn't look any different if they were in a container for years. lets just hope we can get some good positive results from this. I believe that it will.

Law enforcement was never hot on his trail. as each year passed, so did Cooper. another story comes out of California. Cooper owned a bar and laundered the money though there. this was in the late 80's. there would be no reason to do this. they stopped looking for the money almost two decades ago. 

The rubber band here didn't get sticky, or stick to the bundle of paper it just failed. I have had rubber bands get to that point, but they were stored away in the closet, or in a drawer. this is where I wonder if the sand held everything together.

If anyone wants to give us a hand. a call to the local coin dealer might help to see if they have some vintage bills (more than one) from the 70's & 80's.

With this above I must send you and Meyer some technical literature. I will try to do that tonight when I have time.

By the time the Ingrams found the money the bands had long-since lost their elasticity and had no holding power. The sand around the bundles was helping hold them in position but the Ingrams also say the bundles came out 'in cemented pieces' ... the 'cement' being sediment. This fact points once again to a long term process. The Ingrams found it difficult to separate some of these pieces; the FBI had the same problem. The FBI analyzed the sediment between bills and found 'round sand like one would find in (Columbia) river water'. Imo it was this sediment that was holding the pieces and bundles together in the sand & sediment matrix of the beach. The fact that sediments had infiltrated between bills points once again to a long term process. (years)     

Doesn't a lot of people put a years time on the money due to the bands failing? this is why I want to see if the sand holds them together, if it does, it doesn't really matter when they failed, correct?

Tom's theory, as I understand it, is: since the Ingrams found bands still evident on the bundles, and since bands deteriorate and break within six months when exposed to nature, this implies the money had to be buried in sand (or in water and sand?) within six months of the hijacking - otherwise there would have been no bands at all in any form on the money, when the Ingrams found and examined the money.

Tom's argument has some merit if you apply Tom's formula strictly, that bands break within six months when exposed to nature. However, we don't know how old these bands were when they were applied to the Cooper bundles - we don't know where the clock was on the bands used prior to the money being banded and given to Cooper so Tom's six month clock may not apply quite as accurately as he implies it does.

One assumption is 'bands age faster than paper money when exposed equally to nature' ?? I dont know that that assumption has ever been tested.

The FBI lab did conduct several tests on the money. There is no mention of them conducting tests on the bands or band fragments, and drawing conclusions from those about (a) when the money was buried, (b) the conditions under which the money was buried, (c) the location where the money was buried, etc...

On the other hand, what we do know is the Ingrams all testified to bands and band remnants being (seen and played with) on the found bundles. Mrs Ingram picked pieces of hardened bands off the money, she says, as part of her effort to clean the money for redemption back at the apartment. Thus, from this little evidence we know that bands do play some role in the story of the money, but exactly what story?

Anything that can help clarify this matter is worth a few tests.

 

Started working on a page for the project on our website.....

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Floating by Caterpillar island...

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Superb video.

Im wondering if Bryan Ingram would be willing to come here and comment about the rubber bands - or do a telephone interview with someone here and that info be brought here, concerning the rubber bands?

My sense is we need fresh info on that subject. Would someone be up for contacting Brian and asking?

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Im wondering if Bryan Ingram would be willing to come here and comment about the rubber bands - or do a telephone interview with someone here and that info be brought here, concerning the rubber bands?

My sense is we need fresh info on that subject. Would someone be up for contacting Brian and asking?

I've tried in the past and never got a response..

Plainly, we arent in the 'circle of influence' that he respects. He is (or was) curious about us but then added us to his avoidance list, due to somebody or something. All of the Ingrams are a Managed Cooper Care consortium.

Thats the facts.