Has the mystery of DB Cooper been solved? FBI seizes 53-year-old parachute
New evidence pointing back to DB Cooper could be a huge revelation in one of America’s most mysterious cases.
November 24, 2024, published at 1:45 PM ET
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The parachute with which DB Cooper fled after hijacking a plane may finally have been found.
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The FBI has been baffled for decades by the case of DB Cooper – the unidentified man who hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, took thousands in ransom and mysteriously disappeared after parachuting from the plane.
After exhausting all credible leads and suspects, the intelligence community finally seemed to give up in 2016.
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YouTuber Dan Gryder was contacted by Richard McCoy II’s children, who said they had new evidence.
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The FBI said it was diverting resources to other investigative priorities unless new information — especially physical evidence such as parachutes or money — emerged.
But now the case has been quietly reopened after Richard Floyd McCoy II’s children contacted retired pilot, skydiver and YouTuber Dan Gryder in 2020 and presented possible new evidence.
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There have been speculations and theories suggesting that McCoy could be DB Cooper, but there is no definitive evidence linking him to the hijacking.
McCoy, a former Army soldier and fugitive, was arrested for a similar hijacking of a United Airlines flight in 1972 – a year after the DB Cooper incident.
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Following the deaths of Chanté and ‘Rick’ McCoy’s mother, the siblings contacted Gryder in July 2022 and invited him to their family property in North Carolina.
The YouTuber had continually contacted them over the years during his own investigation into the case.
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In Rick’s mother’s storage room, Gryder discovered a modified military rescue operation, which he believes was used by Cooper during the hijacking and could be the missing link to the case.
He said of the specific parachute, “That rig is literally one in a billion.”
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An apparent parachute was found in storage at the McCoy family estate in North Carolina.
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McCoy’s children share Gryder’s belief that their father was DB Cooper, a secret that hung over the family but was never openly discussed.
For years, the family kept quiet, fearing that their mother, Karen, who they believe was involved in both hijackings, would be implicated if they spoke out.
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Gryder – who spent twenty years investigating the DB Cooper case – documented his findings in two parts Probable cause series on YouTube, including footage of the discovery of the parachute on the McCoy family estate in July 2022.
He released a third installment on Monday, revealing the FBI’s recent efforts on his discoveries.
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FBI agents contacted Rick and Gryder to investigate the parachute after reviewing his first two videos, marking the agency’s first action on the case since it was closed in 2016.
In September 2023, Gryder and Rick traveled to Richmond, Virginia, where they met with FBI agents.
The officers took the harness and parachute as evidence, along with a skydiving log found by Chanté that matched the timeline of both hijackings, adding another crucial piece to the investigation.
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McCoy’s children said they believe his father was the hijacker and that it is a looming secret in their family.
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A month later, an FBI agent called Rick asking him to search the family property in Cove City, North Carolina, where the parachute was discovered.
Rick said the agency searched “every nook and cranny” of the property, which was owned by their mother.
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The key to the discovery lies in unique modifications to the parachute, which were well documented by Earl Cossey, an experienced skydiver who provided the parachutes for the 1971 hijacking.
Gryder and McCoy’s children believe these specific details provide strong evidence that he… DB Cooper case.
