The Mystery of DB Cooper
Who Commited the Crime and Why?
History Behind the Crime…
45 years ago, a man calling himself Dan Cooper (the more popular name, DB Cooper was caused by a journalist's mistake) parachuted out of North West Orient Flight 305, bound from Portland Oregon to Seattle Washington, with $200,000 and two parachutes, one sewn shut (Crilly, 2015). Dan boarded the flight in Portland and soon after take off passed a note to the stewardess saying,"I HAVE A BOMB IN MY BRIEFCASE. I WILL USE IT IF NECESSARY. I WANT YOU TO SIT NEXT TO ME. YOU ARE BEING HIJACKED,"(Crilly, 2015). He then proceded to tell the stewardess to have the plane land and unload all passengers and all but two of the crew members. He also demanded $200,000 in cash and four parachutes, he only took 2 parachutes when he jumped and has no confirmed motives (Seelye, 2011).
Recent Developments…
- 1980- A eight year old boy found $8,500 out of the $200,000 stolen, while camping on a dried up river bed (DB Cooper Redux, 2007).
- 2011- Marla Cooper comes forward about how she thinks her Uncle LD, commited the hijacking, without any solid evidence. The case has not been thoroughly dealt with (Seelye, 2011).
- 2015- Lisa Lepsy comes forward saying, that she, and the rest of her family think that her Father, Richard Lepsy, was the hijacker. They came forward with solid evidence proving their theory (Crilly, 2015).
Theories…
- Richard Lepsy: A woman named Lisa Lepsy has recently come forward with a story saying: that her father Dick, who had been missing for three years already looked identical to the police sketch she had seen on the news of the hijacker (Crilly, 2015). The hijacker left behind a clip on tie (Dick's work uniform). The hijacker also wore loafers which were Dick's favorite shoes and went missing when Dick disappeared after work in 1969. His motivation was thought to be buying the family a new house (Crilly, 2015).
- LD Cooper: Marla Cooper, who was eight at the time of the hijacking, claims that her Uncle L.D. Cooper was the hijacker. He came back a week after the hijacking bruised and battered, claiming that he had been in a car accident (Seelye, 2011).
- Richard McCoy: Richard McCoy, who died in 1974, was a likely suspect for the mystery. But he did not match the physical description given by the two stewardesses who saw DB. He was also home the day after the hijacking, which is possible, yet very unlikely that he was DB (DB Cooper Redux, 2007).
What I Believe…
After researching this interesting case for a while now, I have come to the personal conclusion of who I think commited the crime and why. In my opinion I think that Richard Lepsy commited the crime. For as to why he did it, I think it was to support his poor family and parents in their recent retirement (Crilly, 2015). I beleive this theory because the evidence supports every part of the story. For example, the reason the police sketch looked so familiar to Richard's daughters and wife, it was their father. The reason behind 'DB's' midwestern accent, because Richard grew up in Chicago and then moved to Michigan. And lastly, how what he was wearing completely explains the mystery. 'DB' was wearing loafers (Richard's favorite shoes), A clip on tie (identical to his work uniform) and lastly a suit coat that dis appeared along with him (Crilly, 2015). All of these facts and evidence prove to me that Mr. Richard Lepsy was the the hijacker, DB Cooper.
Works Cited…
Crilly, Rob. "Has the Mystery of DB Cooper Been Solved?" The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.
"Help Us Solve the Enduring Mystery." FBI. FBI, 31 Dec. 2007. Web. 10 May 2016.
Seelye, Katharine Q. "Woman Says Her Uncle Was a Famous Hijacker." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Aug. 2011. Web. 10 May 2016.