#18: The Disappearance of DB Cooper

One of the most well-known unsolved mysteries of modern times is the case of DB Cooper. On the 24th of November, 1971, Daniel Cooper acquired himself a $20 plane ticket on Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle. Seemingly normal, Cooper was described as a regular man in his 40s, wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase, like most men traveling on planes interstate during that time period. But there was nothing ordinary about what was in his briefcase… Once their flight had taken off, Cooper handed the flight attendant a note which she put in her pocket… He told her, “Miss, you better look at that note. I have a bomb.” Cooper showed the woman that there was a bomb inside his briefcase.

He told her to write his demands down and take them to the captain, which she did. The note said, “I want $200,000 by 5 pm in cash exclusively in $20 bills, put in a knapsack. I want two back parachutes and two front parachutes. When we land, I want a fuel truck ready to refuel. No funny stuff, or I’ll do the job.” The FBI got the money together and scrambled parachutes from a local skydiving school. Once he claimed his demands were met, he let some people off the plane and asked the rest to refuel. Cooper was famous for wearing black sunglasses, which he put on before he jumped out of the plane. At around 8 pm, Cooper jumped with his money and briefcase and was never seen again. After over 45 years of searching, Cooper is nowhere to be found. It is still one of the greatest cases in the FBI and US history, and in 1980, an 8-year-old boy found a portion of Cooper’s money whilst on vacation with his family…