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Fog, rain hamper searchNo trace of hijacker and $200,000 foundWOODLAND, Wash. (UPI)- Fog and rain today hampered the search for a daring hijacker who parachuted from an airliner with $200,000 ransom and disappeared in the Western wilderness.Police, sheriff’s officers and FBI agents fanned out along the foothills of the Cascade mountains, but a search by planes and helicopters was restricted by the weather.The hijacker, who used the name “D.B. Cooper,” took over the Northwest Airlines 727 jet over Oregon Wednesday, collected the ransom —largest ever paid in an American skyjacking —along with four parachutes at Seattle, ordered the plane to* Reno, and disappeared somewhere along the way.It was reported today that one of the two parachutes missing when the plane landed at Reno was sewn shut, but authorities said an experienced parachutist wouldhave used the other one first, and therewas even some question as to whether he could have even strapped on the nonfunctioning chute.About 35 to 40 law officers took part in the ground search, which the FBI said wascentered around Woodland since that wasthe last place of contact between the crew and the hijacker.The Seattle Post-Intelligencer quoted anunidentified FBI man as saying hedoubted the hijacker’s name was really Cooper.4‘He’s probably no more D.B. Coopern L* /I m r rf-kw Athan I am,” the agent said.There were no federal sky marshalsaboard the Northwest flight, considered a“milk run” among scheduled flights.According to linn Emrick, who supplied one of the four parachutes handed over to the hijacker, one of the two parachutes apparently used in the jump was inoperable.Emrick, of Sky Sports Inc., Issauah, Wash., said the ’chute was for ground practice only and the canopy was sewnshut.“I didn’t know it when I went over andpicked it out,” he said.However, most experiencedparachutists would use the back pack first and Emrick’s was the chest device.“We’re either looking for a parachute or a hole in the ground,” said Clark County under sheriff Tom McDowell.The FBI said the suspect was about 6 feet tall, 175 pounds, with black hair and an olive complexion.The hijacker, described as middle-aged and “very relaxed,” disappeared as the plane flew on from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Reno, Nev.The FBI said the search was being concentrated in the Cowlitz-Clark County area in southern Washington as a result of information provided by the crew and‘‘strictly conjecture on our part.”An FBI spokesman said the 75-square mile area was selected because the crew reported a slight shift in the plane’s jibalance while over this farmland region.Searchers were aided by helicopters and light planes.Two stewardesses were allowed to deplane with the passengers at Seattle-Tacoma. Two flight officers and a stewardess were locked up in a rear compartment while the pilot flew the aircraft to Nevada. He had told the pilot he wanted to fly to Mexico City.The hijacker gave a note to a stewardess and showed her “two red cylinders with wires,” officials said. The alleged bomb was in a suitcase.The man told thecaptain at Seattle that the crew and passengers would be killed if his demands for $200,000 and four parachutes were not met.When Northwest acceded to his request, the plane took off on a southward course. Two Air Force jet planes tailed the commandeered airliner to Reno. Officers said the hijacker could have bailed out unnoticed because of the darkness and because the jetliner was flying so low.The plane flew to Reno with its tail section exit steps open.It was a dramatic landing at Reno. Hundreds of persons were gathered at the airport terminal.Scores of police and FBIagents surrounded the field.Upon landing the crew disembarked, but there were no signs of the bomb, the money, one of the four parachutes or “D-B. Cooper.”
Newspaper Details
Redlands Daily Facts
Redlands, California, US
Fri, Nov 26, 1971
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WV, USA 05 May 2020
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