D.B. Cooper: Mystery Of Notorious Skyjacker — Solved

The FBI is officially closing the books on the case of D.B. Cooper — 45 years after the skyjacker parachuted out of a Boeing 727 over the Pacific Northwest with $200,000 in ransom money. Officially, the criminal who booked a ticket in that name was never caught. But The National ENQUIRER learned the secret story behind the famous cold case, with insiders claiming that the man known as D.B. Cooper ultimately died while attempting a prison escape!

Ex-FBI agents insisted that the mysterious Cooper was in fact a daring Mormon from Provo, Utah, named Richard McCoy Jr. They said McCoy, a highly decorated Vietnam War hero, pulled off a second skyjacking just five months after "D.B. Cooper" parachuted out of the plane over Oregon. But unlike Cooper, who seemingly vanished into thin air, McCoy got caught!

"We are convinced that McCoy was D.B. Cooper," declared Russell P. Calame, former FBI bureau chief in Salt Lake City — and one of the agents who arrested McCoy. "When you look at the D.B. Cooper skyjacking and the second one, there are something like two dozen similarities — so striking, it's unbelievable!"

Many details of Cooper's crime were never made public. Yet McCoy used exactly the same methods in his skyjacking, said Calame and Bernie Rhodes, who spent over 20 years as the Chief U.S. Probation and Parole Officer for Utah. In both cases, the skyjacker demanded four Army parachutes, and both McCoy and Cooper communicated with the pilots through a series of notes written on Federal Aviation Administration flight plan forms.

Many details of Cooper's crime were never made public. Yet McCoy used exactly the same methods in his skyjacking, said Calame and Bernie Rhodes, who spent over 20 years as the Chief U.S. Probation and Parole Officer for Utah. In both cases, the skyjacker demanded four Army parachutes, and both McCoy and Cooper communicated with the pilots through a series of notes written on Federal Aviation Administration flight plan forms.

In both of the skyjacking cases, the culprits also demanded the notes back before jumping! The two skyjacking cases also involved criminals using technical terms usually only known to pilots. "For instance," said Calame, "D.B. Cooper told the pilot to 'follow Victor 23 airway.' McCoy used the same jargon."

Both skyjackers commandeered Boeing 727 jetliners and jumped from the rear emergency exit — even though several exits were available. The only difference was that Cooper asked a stewardess how to open the emergency exit. McCoy didn't have to — because, explained Calame, "he already knew how from the first time!"

Descriptions of each skyjacker were the same: a well-spoken man, about 5 feet 10 and 165 pounds. What's more, there's physical evidence that links Cooper and McCoy beyond a shadow of a doubt, Rhodes revealed. "When Cooper was changing into a jumpsuit, he dropped a clip-on necktie and a mother-of-pearl tie clasp on the plane. After McCoy's arrest, the tie and clasp were shown to his mother-in-law and sister-in-law — and both said they belonged to McCoy."

Although D.B. Cooper had $200,000 in ransom when he jumped the night of Nov. 24, 1971, both agents believe he lost most of it. Remnants of bills — along with Cooper's parachute — were later recovered by agents. "We think that when he jumped, the bag he'd stuffed the money in came undone and the money scattered everywhere," said Calame.

The agents believe that's why McCoy, who needed money, pulled the second skyjacking on April 7, 1972. This time he demanded and got $500,000, then parachuted out of the jet near Provo, Utah. But thanks to tipsters, agents quickly tracked him down. An FBI investigation disclosed that McCoy, married with two small children, was a Mormon Sunday School teacher and criminal justice student at Brigham Young University. Agents also learned he  had a private pilot's license.

McCoy had served in Vietnam and had made numerous parachute jumps — including night jumps. Agents arrested McCoy two days after the skyjacking, and found $499,970 in marked bills at his home. Sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1972, he told agents: "I'm going to escape."

McCoy had served in Vietnam and had made numerous parachute jumps — including night jumps. Agents arrested McCoy two days after the skyjacking, and found $499,970 in marked bills at his home. Sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1972, he told agents: "I'm going to escape."

Sure enough, on Aug. 10, 1974, he used a handmade gun to break out of Lewisburg Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. He robbed two banks before agents shot him to death at a hideout in Virginia. The FBI never charged McCoy with the Cooper skyjacking because they had a "watertight case" against him in the second skyjacking, explained Calame — adding: "I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that D.B. Cooper and Richard McCoy were the same man. The evidence is just overwhelming!"