on this one, but in this case, I agree with the FBI; they figured Cooper (or whomever he was) likely didn't even survive the jump. I know some of the ransom money was found in 1980 by a kid on the Columbia River. The money hadn't been buried, it seems; forensic analysis concluded that because the bills were matted together and had disintegrated in a rounded way that indicated natural water action - they were carried downstream to where they were found, in other words.

From the Wikipedia article on Mr. Cooper:

Subsequent analyses called the original landing zone estimate into question: Scott, who was flying the aircraft manually because of Cooper's speed and altitude demands, later determined that his flight path was significantly farther east than initially assumed. Additional data from a variety of sources—in particular Continental Airlines pilot Tom Bohan, who was flying four minutes behind Flight 305—indicated that the wind direction factored into drop zone calculations had been wrong, possibly by as much as 80 degrees. This and other supplemental data suggested that the actual drop zone was probably south-southeast of the original estimate, in the drainage area of the Washougal River.

"I have to confess," wrote retired FBI chief investigator Ralph Himmelsbach in his 1986 book, "if I [were] going to look for Cooper, I would head for the Washougal." The Washougal Valley and its surroundings have been searched repeatedly by private individuals and groups in subsequent years; to date, no discoveries directly traceable to the hijacking have been reported.

Having previously lived in the Washougal area for 15 years, I'm not surprised that nothings been found so far. It's pretty densely forested and any human remains would long ago have been scattered by animals.

It's fun to speculate, but realistically, whomever Dan Cooper was is something we'll probably never find out. But who knows? Maybe one of these days, someone will come across something - a femur, a rib, a lower jaw.

But as for me.....Dan "D.B." Cooper died on November 24, 1971 in an ill-fated attempt to pull off a spectacular heist.

I went up to Mount St. Helens a few times. It is remote, rugged terrain.

Thanks for writing.

the Mt. St. Helens area before the 1980 eruption - it was pretty much forest as far as the eye could see. It was indeed beautiful, but as you said, remote and rugged terrain. The Washougal River Valley area is also beautiful, and I have fond memories of living in Washougal, which was a small(ish) town at the time.

I'd add that it's easy to get lost up in those forests up in the Pacific Northwest - and I can only imagine how much easier it would've been to get hopelessly lost in the days before GPS, especially if Mr. Cooper was in unfamiliar terrain. Personally, I doubt he even survived the jump, but if he did, he probably didn't last long out in those woods, at least not in November.

n/t

Never thought I'd get those feds off my ass.

Now it's chump change.

but then messed with Sasquatch.