A mysterious hijacker known as DB Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient Airlines flight 53 years ago, demanding a $200,000 ransom before parachuting out of the aircraft and disappearing without a trace. Now, on the 53rd anniversary of the skyjacking, the parachute allegedly used by Cooper may have been discovered. The children of DB Cooper suspect Richard Floyd McCoy II have stepped forward with new claims.
After their mother’s death, the siblings connected with YouTuber Gryder and invited him to their residence in 2022. Gryder, who has been investigating the case, told Cowboy State Daily that a modified military parachute found in McCoy's garage might be authentic.
#OTD 1971. A guy high-jacked a 727 traveling Portland to Seattle, obtained a $200K ransom, and famously made a parachute escape.In the 1980s, DB Cooper’s getaway ride (727 #18803) became part of the charter fleet of 727s that ferried employees from Nellis AFB to Tonapah. pic.twitter.com/DMTUlvmWsq
— Fighter Mafia (@Flying_Fighters) November 24, 2018
“That rig is literally one in a billion,” he said in an interview with the outlet.
The two McCoy siblings agreed their father could have been DB Cooper but refrained from speaking publicly until their mother had passed away. They also suspected their mother’s involvement in their father’s alleged crime.
Many have long believed that McCoy was DB Cooper, especially after he jumped from a United Airlines flight following a $500,000 ransom demand.
On Monday, Gryder posted a YouTube video revealing that the FBI had begun investigating new leads. He stated that FBI agents contacted him after seeing his first two videos, one of which documented the discovery of the parachute in a storage shed on the McCoy family’s property.
This marks the FBI's first action in the DB Cooper case since it was shelved in 2016, pending new evidence.
Gryder’s friend Laura Savino, a retired pilot, told Cowboy State Daily that the agents were "professional and stoic" during their interactions. “Considering they had requested the meeting, it was clear they were taking it seriously,” she said.
The FBI has yet to return the evidence, prompting Gryder to accept their suspicions that the parachute was utilised during the Cooper hijacking.