Who Is DB Cooper? FBI Reopens 53-Year-Old Case After Parachute Discovery

The decades-old mystery of DB Cooper, the elusive hijacker who vanished into the night with a ransom of $200,000, has taken a significant turn. The FBI has reopened its investigation after a parachute, potentially linked to the infamous crime, was discovered.

The parachute was found on the property of a family connected to a prime suspect in the case, Richard Floyd McCoy II. McCoy was arrested for a similar hijacking shortly after Cooper's daring escape, Newsweek reported. 

YouTube investigator Dan Gryder, who has been delving into the Cooper case for over two decades, played a crucial role in this development. He uncovered the parachute on the McCoy family property in North Carolina and shared his findings in a series of videos.

The FBI's renewed interest in the case is fueled by the potential significance of the discovered parachute. It could provide crucial evidence to shed light on one of aviation history's most enduring mysteries.

What Happened to DB Cooper? 

On November 21, 1971, a man known as D.B. Cooper purchased a one-way ticket to Seattle. During the Boeing 727 flight, he handed flight attendant Florence Schaffner a note claiming he had a bomb in his briefcase.

Schaffner, after inspecting what appeared to be a makeshift bomb- though its authenticity remains uncertain-alerted the plane's captain, William A. Scott. The typed note contained a demand for $200,000 in $20 bills and four parachutes.

Cooper communicated briefly with the flight crew through the plane's internal phone but stopped after a while. When the plane landed, he was gone. Authorities believe Cooper jumped from the rear of the aircraft mid-flight, parachuting away with the cash.

In the 1970s, airport security was far less stringent than today, and investigators were unable to determine the exact moment he exited the plane, making it difficult to identify his landing area.

To this day, D.B. Cooper remains officially unidentified and at large. The FBI launched an extensive investigation, interviewing over 800 suspects by 1976, but the case remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in aviation history.