GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.,
May 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Principia Media, a Grand Rapids,
Michigan-based publisher, announced the believed identity of
D.B. Cooper during a press conference held at the Amway Grand Plaza
Hotel in downtown Grand Rapids,
Michigan on May 17. D.B.
Cooper is the infamous skyjacker who boarded a Boeing 727 in
Portland, Oregon on Thanksgiving
Eve, 1971, and escaped with a $200,000 ransom after jumping from 10,000
feet.
The infamous skyjacker was identified by Carl Laurin, one of Cooper's best friends.
Evidence supports the announcement D.B. Cooper is a Michigan man and former military paratrooper
named Walter R. Reca. 3+ hours of
audio tape detailing the events of the skyjacking, an eyewitness, a
pair of long underwear worn during the jump, and the testimony of a
relative all were shared during the press conference. Laurin is a
military veteran, commercial airline pilot, skydiver, and
entrepreneur, and wrote the memoir D.B. Cooper & Me: A
Criminal, A Spy, My Best Friend,
which was also released.
An overview of the evidence, which was gathered by Laurin over a
20-year period and vetted by both Principia Media and Joe Koenig, a Certified Fraud Examiner and
forensic linguist with more than 45-years of investigative
experience, is below:
3+ hours of audio tape:
Laurin and Reca began speaking in 2000 and recorded their
conversations concerning the skyjacking in 2008. The tapes describe
many details, some of which were not known to the public prior to
the FBI's release of information in 2015. Details
include:
- Reca covered his fingertips with glue to obscure his
fingerprints
- Reca dictated instructions to the stewardess, who wrote down
demands to give to the captain
- Reca generously offered a "handful" of money to the stewardess
before he jumped (an action which mimicked his behavior from a
restaurant robbery committed earlier in his life)
- Reca received help with the rear door from the stewardess
- Reca ordered the window shades be pulled shut where he was
sitting to protect against snipers
- Reca insisted the stewardess bring both the money and the
parachutes to him
- Reca said the stewardess initially did not believe the plane
was being hijacked
- Reca told the stewardess she was "polite and kind" and
addressed her as "young lady"
- Reca told the stewardess to go into the cockpit before he
jumped
- Reca told the stewardess to tell the passengers "Happy
Thanksgiving" and ordered meals for the flight crew for the
flight
An eyewitness:
The night that Reca committed the skyjacking, he landed near
Cle Elum, Washington, and walked
to a nearby restaurant called the Teanaway Junction Cafe.
Jeff Osiadacz, a former law
enforcement official, interacted with Reca that evening within an
hour of the jump. Osiadacz said he remembers seeing Reca because
even though it was a cold, wet night, Reca was walking along the
road with his raincoat bundled under his arm. The two men later
interacted at the cafe, where Osiadacz gave Reca's friend
directions over the phone to pick Reca up from the cafe. Reca
thanked Osiadacz by paying for his coffee, and then left.
Koenig, a Certified Fraud Examiner, said this about Osiadacz's
account: "I found it particularly significant that Jeff Osiadacz, aka Cowboy, his statement of
events on the night of November 24,
1971, was identical to Walt's statement that he gave Carl
five years earlier."
A pair of long underwear:
Laurin is in possession of Reca's insulated long underwear
bottoms which Reca wore during the skyjacking to protect from the
cold air as he jumped and observed by at least one eye witness.
A relative's testimony:
Lisa Story is Reca's niece. She
exchanged many letters with Reca when she was a teenager and he was
working in the Middle East. She
then began seeing him regularly in 1999 after her grandmother
passed away. Reca did not admit to being D.B. Cooper at first,
though he did send her news articles about D.B. Cooper suspects and
confessions with notes debunking their claims.
Then, in August 2013, Reca
admitted for the second time that he was D.B. Cooper and asked
Story to take him to a notary to sign his confession. Story would
not, terrified her uncle would spend his last days in
jail.
What Joe Koenig said about the
evidence:
"The audio tapes and transcripts and Walt's last testament,
provided me with great evidence. My analysis told me Walt was not
forced or coerced to make his statements to Carl, that he made the
statements freely and voluntarily. The statements and last
testament contain Walt's admissions to all the elements of robbery
and hijacking constituting a very good confession that could be
used in a criminal proceeding. Based on his confession and all the
corroborating evidence, Walt, if still alive, would be prosecuted
for the hijacking of Northwest 305. I believe that Walter Reca is D.B. Cooper."
Why now?
Laurin asked for Reca's permission to share his story in 2010.
Reca agreed and signed a notarized letter to that effect, although
the story was not to be told until after his death. Reca passed
away on February 17, 2014.
Full audio and video of the press conference is now available in
the Principia Media online press kit at www.principiamedia.com. For
press kit log in credentials, more information regarding this story
and/or to book an interview, please contact Julie Hurley, 616.460.5070;
195700@email4pr.com.
About Principia Media:
Principia Media is an
independent publishing and documentary film company based in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. With a
focus on storytelling, they balance professional production and
marketing skills with intimate client relationships. Their
capabilities include publishing fiction and nonfiction and
investigative storytelling through feature-length documentaries.
Learn more about Principia Media at www.principiamedia.com.
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SOURCE Principia Media