A parachute, hidden on family property in North Carolina for years, is said to match the type used in the 1971 D.B. Cooper skyjacking—the only unsolved hijacking in U.S. history.
The suspect in question, Richard McCoy II, was arrested just months after the Cooper incident for a nearly identical skyjacking that also involved a parachute jump.
McCoy’s children, Chanté and Richard III (Rick), have long suspected their father was D.B. Cooper. Their belief is based on the striking similarities between the two skyjackings. Now, they may have the evidence to support their theory.
For years, Chanté and Rick kept their suspicions private out of respect for their mother, Karen, whom they believed may have been complicit in both crimes. However, with both parents now deceased, the siblings have come forward. They have presented what they believe to be crucial evidence: a modified parachute that, along with a skydiving logbook, they and amateur sleuth Dan Gryder believe links McCoy to Cooper’s daring escape.
“That rig is literally one in a billion,” Gryder told Cowboy State Daily after releasing a YouTube series detailing his suspicions. According to Gryder, it was his series that reignited the FBI’s interest in the case.
The FBI now reportedly has the parachute, harness, and logbook—once stored in a family shed in North Carolina—that may offer new clues. These items, along with documents showing movements near Oregon and Utah (where both skyjackings occurred), have prompted the FBI to take another look at the case. This marks the first significant movement from the FBI since the bureau officially closed the investigation in 2016, though some former personnel suggest it may have remained open in secret.
According to Gryder, the FBI now possesses the parachute and harness that were previously stored in a shed on the family’s property in North Carolina, along with a skydiving logbook and another harness. Chanté asserts that the logbook reveals D.B. Cooper’s movements near Oregon and Utah, the locations of the two skyjacking events. This marks the first significant action by the FBI on the case since it was officially closed in 2016, though some former agents have suggested that the investigation remained quietly open.
After receiving the new evidence, the FBI responded by searching the family property for four hours, with over a dozen agents involved, according to Gryder. The parachute, with its unique alterations, could be the key to unlocking the value of this new evidence in the decades-old case. The FBI is aware that the original parachutes used in the hijacking were altered by Earl Cossey, a veteran skydiver who worked with the FBI until his murder in 2013. If the newly discovered parachute matches Cossey’s modifications, it could provide a significant breakthrough in the hunt for the real D.B. Cooper.
The D.B. Cooper case has taken on a near-mythical status, sparking numerous theories from amateur sleuths in books, documentaries, and online forums. One 1990s book, D.B. Cooper: The Real McCoy, even suggested that McCoy was the culprit, though the book was pulled from print after McCoy's wife, Karen, sued for libel.
On November 24, 1971, a man who identified himself as "Dan" (but was later misidentified by the media as D.B. Cooper) boarded Northwest Orient Flight 305 with a one-way ticket to Portland, paying $18.52 in cash and offering no identification—something not uncommon at the time.
During the flight, Cooper handed a note to a flight attendant, claiming he had a bomb. When she opened the note, he revealed a briefcase containing what appeared to be an explosive device and demanded $200,000 in ransom, multiple parachutes, and a refueling truck waiting in Seattle so he could continue on to Mexico City.
After Cooper’s demands were met, the flight was delayed for two hours as the aircraft circled over Puget Sound while ground crews prepared. Cooper released the 35 passengers and some crew members, then dictated the flight path and aircraft settings to the remaining crew, specifying speeds, flap settings, and more. With the arrangements complete, Cooper and the four remaining crew members took off again.
Somewhere over Washington, Cooper opened the rear staircase of the plane and parachuted into the night, but the exact location and timing of his jump remain unknown. Despite immediate searches, no physical evidence was found, and over the years, experts have struggled to pinpoint a specific search area due to the many variables involved in the daring escape.
One of the few tangible pieces of evidence left behind was a $1.49 clip-on tie from JCPenney, which the FBI still holds. Various sleuths have attempted to gain access to the DNA and particles left on the tie, but their efforts have been unsuccessful.
Finding the actual parachute could greatly expand the evidence available in the case.
Richard McCoy, Jr. has long been an intriguing suspect. Though he was initially dismissed by the FBI, many investigators had started to believe that the real D.B. Cooper might have died during the jump by the time McCoy came onto the radar. Additionally, McCoy didn’t match the original physical description of Cooper, being much younger—27 years old at the time—than the assumed mid-40s age of the skyjacker.
However, McCoy certainly had the skills needed to pull off the infamous crime. In April 1972, just months after the Cooper hijacking, McCoy executed a nearly identical skyjacking of a United Airlines flight. He demanded $500,000, had his demands met, and ordered the plane to be diverted to San Francisco. After receiving the ransom, McCoy forced the plane back into the air and jumped out over Utah. He was arrested by the FBI just three days later, thanks to an anonymous tip. That tip led investigators to a waitress who recalled serving him a milkshake the night of the skyjacking and a teenager who reported that McCoy had paid him $5 to drive him from the scene. Fingerprints found on the demand note further confirmed his involvement.
McCoy was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 45 years in prison. However, he escaped from a maximum-security prison in 1973 and eluded authorities for three months before being shot and killed by police in Virginia in 1974.
Now, with the discovery of the parachute, this evidence offers the best chance of finally linking McCoy to the D.B. Cooper case. As Gryder stated, “This will definitely prove it was McCoy.”
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