DB Cooper’s infamous parachute may have just been found by opening the 50-year-old cold

On By Littum

The 50-year-old DB Cooper cold case may have seen a new development after an amateur sleuth claims to have found the parachute used by the infamous but still unidentified hijacker.

YouTuber Dan Gryder said he found a modified device matching the one used in the 1971 hijacking at a North Carolina property and has turned it over to the FBI.

Gryder, who has been investigating the case “on and off” for nearly 20 years, said in a video series about his investigation that the rig was “literally one in a billion.” “This is the rig he used… we just fixed it,” he says.

YouTuber Dan Gryder pictured holding what he believes to be the parachute used by infamous and unidentified hijacker DB Cooper

YouTuber Dan Gryder pictured holding what he believes to be the parachute used by infamous and unidentified hijacker DB Cooper (Probable cause: Dan Gryder/ YouTube)

DB Cooper, also known as Dan Cooper, hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 on November 24, 1971. During the flight, Cooper told a flight attendant that he had a bomb and demanded a $200,000 ransom and four parachutes upon landing in Seattle.

But shortly after taking off again with the intention of going to Mexico, Cooper opened the plane’s door and parachuted into the night over southwest Washington. His true identity and whereabouts remain a mystery to this day.

Gryder found what he claims is Cooper’s parachute on property owned by the family of the late Richard McCoy Jr. – one of the men the FBI considers a “serious suspect” in the case.

FBI artist rendering of DB Cooper who hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 on November 24, 1971

FBI artist rendering of DB Cooper who hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 on November 24, 1971 (FBI)

McCoy staged an almost identical hijacking in April 1972 after he boarded a plane in Denver, Colorado, demanding four parachutes and $500,000 while brandishing a gun. He later bailed out of the plane as well.

McCoy was killed two years later in a shootout with FBI agents after he escaped from federal prison. Investigators have pointed out that his photo bears a striking resemblance to a sketch made by DB Cooper.

Despite Gryder’s handover of the parachute, it is The FBI has not yet updated the status of the case on its website. The last update was made in July 2016, when the agency said it would no longer be “actively” investigating the matter.

Gryder found the parachute rig on a property in North Carolina owned by the family of the late Richard McCoy, one of the men suspected to have been DB Cooper

Gryder found the parachute rig on a property in North Carolina owned by the family of the late Richard McCoy, one of the men suspected to have been DB Cooper (Likely cause: Dan Gryder/ YouTube)

But it added that “should specific physical evidence emerge — related specifically to the parachutes or the money taken by the hijacker — individuals with these materials are asked to contact their local FBI field office.”

According to Cowboy State Daily, McCoy’s children, Chante and Richard III, have said they agree with Gryder’s discovery and have long suspected their father was the hijacker.

In his series, Gryder said FBI investigators told him a possible next step would be to exhume McCoy’s body and try to get a DNA match to evidence left behind.