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"FD-350 (Rev. 7-16-63) ~ an pe . “ . : Loe : « a . » ‘ 1 . oa é . . (Mount Clipping in Space Beton) Bui FBI has doubts os a a” wea § chew Am like Portland * By BILL KELLER PA ars ofThe Oregonlenstaff = =”. ” ae WASHINGTON — The FBI is ais counting the possibility that a Northern Virginia man named Jerry A. Cooper may be the Dan Cooper, who parachuted . from a 727 jet over southwestern Wash- ington four years ago and disappeared « With a $200,000 ransom. ’ >> 1, The Virginia man, an experienced " skydiver who bears a striking physical - “resemblance to the police artist’s con- , ception of the hijacker, voluntarily ' . -;@Pproached the FBI Monday for ques- . "toning after he learned of the inves- : tigation.” =< ete t Later, he told The Oregonian he had " never been in the Pacific Northwest, ; and urged the real hijacker to come ,. out of hiding and get me out of this.” . Michael A. Morrow, -the assistant .-special FBI agent in charge of the Alex-" andria, Va., office, said, “We feel very ~ certain that he is not D.B. Cooper; but + "until we're 100 per cent sure we "Il ‘Keep + « checking.” . ’ * (The hijacker signed ‘a ‘flight mani- ° {. fest “Dan Cooper” but the FBI at first released the name “D.B. Cooper,” “ which has survived in press accounts.) . . * Morrow said the FBI is investigating * Jerry Cooper’s whereabouts at the time of the 1971] Thanksgiving eve incident, - and ‘added the _issue _is almost resolved.” , The FBE began its investigation after _ af anonymous caller told Fairfat Coun- ° ty, Va. police he had seen $15,000 cash in Jerry Cooper's apartment and sus- “pected him of being the élusive hijacker. ~ The caller directed police to Coop- er’s sister-in-law, Carol Wood: After she was questioned by an FBI agent she told her brother-in-law who “voluntar- ily came into our office and was most cooperative,” Morrow said. - ‘ . Cooper said, “If I had $15,000, I'd be ‘ out fishing somewhere. “ . “I'd seen the picture (of the hijack- er) before, but I never really noticed it,” Jerry Cooper said Tuesday. “You com right down to it, the guy is almost the same as me. The same eight same j height, same complexion.” - . 4 stench esoe Aa ted s a: naan 8 Skydiving Cooper looks: 5 ir alates he Te ¥ a 1 1 eanemenatimewel™. a = rg oa: ae) ee eae F955 Nha ba hese el ve Ne ant ‘skyjacker Pakee * pe te Ss roche: ‘skyjacker . was described by: witnesses as about 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, With dark hair and complexion. “3 " *,. * “You put_glasses on that’ man and’ ¢ look at me four- years ago and you’ re + pretty close,” “Cooper said. “My hair + Was shorter. then. ‘The ears, are the | samesIt’s scary.” °*4,° ve Be ney rie To make matters worse for a “ —~a 30-year-old heavy equipment oper- H 4 jator — he had been a sport skydiver for bout eight yéars until he gave it up #i five yearsago. * “=~ juts: “yee WS Moreover, in 1967 he worked as a’ fueler at Washington National Airport, where the hijacked Northwest Orient : ; “flight originated four years ago, and is * familiar with commercial aircraft. oe "The man who used the name Dan Cooper commandeered.the jet after * boarding it during a‘Portland stop. He collected a bag full of $20 bills from the airline, released 36 passengers and two - stewardesses, and ordered the pilot to fly at 200 miles per hour, 10,000 feet ~ over Oregon and Western Washington. ° When the plane landed ‘for fuel in ~ - Reno, Nev., the man was gone," ; he = Jerry Cooper said he believes the "hijacker i is still alive. re - 4 % * There’ S$ no reason a man : can't make it jumping out of a 727 jet that’s going 200 miles per hour at 10,000 feet. _ It was probably a little cold that time of * the ican but I imagine he was dressed for it. ER aR > 5 Cooper said he couldn't recall exact- ly where he was at’ the time of the hijacking, but suspects he was hunting with friends or family in Augusta Coun- _ ty, Va., as he usually does near Thanks- _ giving. ot 2g oe ie i eye te eet “Can you remember where you |. were on Nov. 24 four years ago?” he asked, ms ‘ a? hes Cooper's sister-in-law ‘said she was almost certain he had joined the family \for Thanksgiving dinner at her house ithe day after Dan Cooper leapt from a Plane on the other side of the country. _ "SENT TO BURA WS IS eae Soe Somme pe . (Indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.) . Cl THE OREGONIAN PORTLAND, OREGON N Date: Q-(0- 15 Edition: Author: Editor: J. RICHARD NOKES Title: NORJAK Character: or Classification: Submitting Office: PORTLAND Being Investigated DB Cooper- 1086 a a