Deseret News archives: Saga of D.B. Cooper — still unsolved ...
Chris is assistant editor with the Politics and the West team, and also writes a daily Deseret News archives story.
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Nov. 24, 1971, a hijacker calling himself “Dan Cooper” — but who soon became popularly known as “D.B. Cooper” — parachuted from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 over the Pacific Northwest after receiving $200,000 in ransom.
His fate remains unknown, and his disappearance remains one of the most famous unsolved cases in FBI history.
The Deseret News noted the hijacking on Thanksgiving Day and followed the case for many days. Amazingly, it was one of two hijackings that week in the western U.S.
“Hijacker escapes; 2 chutes missing,” read the headline on Nov. 25.
“RENO, Nev. — A hijacker apparently parachuted to freedom from a commandeered passenger jet after extorting $200,000 from North Airlines with a bomb threat, authorities say.”
Through the years, the cold case has heated up and cooled down in the search for Cooper.
Was he a Provo man named Richard Floyd McCoy, who hijacked a Boeing 727, ransomed it for $500,000 and parachuted over Utah County on April 7, 1972?
Was he a college professor named Williams “Wolfgang” Gossett, who lived and worked for a time in Ogden and told his family he was the mysterious man?
In 1980, a camper found some $20 bills on the shore of the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon. The money turned out to be some of the $200,000 ransom Cooper was carrying when he parachuted. The bills have fetched high prices at auction through the years.
Reportedly, between May 1961 and the end of 1972, there were 159 hijackings in American airspace. In fact, three days after the unsolved Cooper hijacking, a trio of wanted men hijacked a TWA flight out of Phoenix, and after it refueled in Florida, successfully commandeered it to Cuba, where the men were granted asylum by Fidel Castro.
Here are numerous stories from Deseret News archives about Cooper, his legend and other stories surrounding the case:
“After 25 years, legend of D.B. Cooper lives on”
“Cold D.B. Cooper case gets resurrected”
“Was ‘72 Provo hijacker 1971′S D.B. Cooper? Utahn’s book says yes”
“FBI: ‘Credible lead’ surfaces in D.B. Cooper case”
“D.B. Cooper’s escapade is only unsolved U.S. hijacking”
“Was D.B. Cooper an Ogden resident?”
“Teacher named Cooper picked the wrong day to ride airplane”
“Auction is set for D.B. Cooper money”
“D.B. Cooper’s chute may have been found”
“Tales of D.B. Cooper still spark interest”
“D.B. Cooper cash sells for 120 times face value”
“Were Provoan, D.B. Cooper linked?”
