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Vicki, Has anyone, law enforcement types or otherwise, tried to trace this Buick automobile? It would seem to represent a possible source of cash for him unless he cleaned out some bank accounts before leaving. If he didn't have the title to the car with him, he would probably try to sell it to an operation that would part it out. The car could be traced if he registered it elsewhere or sold it to someone who did.

Robert



This car post made two questions come to mind re Cooper....I think this has been addressed before but I can't remember ....

1. Did they check for abandoned cars in the parking lot of the airport?

2. Is there anyway they could know for sure that Cooper did not arrive to Portland via another flight? Or do they just assume that he didn't since he bought the ticket there and seemed to know the area?
but....A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.....Winston Churchill

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Farflung,

I am now “Seriously” “Worried About You”. 377 says he’s “He's Concerned About You" too! You’re getting “More Like Me, Less Like You”. This music kick you’re on… well, you need to “Drop It Like It's Hot”!

“As Time Goes By”, “It Seems Like You're Ready”, to “Fall Again” “Into a Dream”.

“I Can Help”, “I've Been There Before”. “If You Leave” now, you can make “Amarillo By Morning” and get you “What You Need”. "There's a Place for Us" at the “Crazy House” in Amarillo, and “I'll Pay For It”.

“I'll Be Waiting” … “I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say”.

“Sluggo”

PS: I'll bet that I have more MP3s than you!

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NORJAK Forum

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Please do, I could not find anything on the subject looking on the Web. The Madison, Wisconsin paper has relevant articles in their online archives, but I have not paid the fee to access it.

The archives from the Minnesota newspapers are on Microfilm at the History center/museum in St. Paul. I did not have enough time during lunch break. B|

Melvin Luther Wilson - Missing Person since September 1971:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03QLnFvk8Fs

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Robert

This car post made two questions come to mind re Cooper....I think this has been addressed before but I can't remember ....

1. Did they check for abandoned cars in the parking lot of the airport?

2. Is there anyway they could know for sure that Cooper did not arrive to Portland via another flight? Or do they just assume that he didn't since he bought the ticket there and seemed to know the area?




I am not100% sure about the abandoned car theory.
I read somewhere that there were no abandoned vehicles parked in the Portland airport lot.

I brought it up previously in a post that NWA flight 305 stopped in Minneapolis/St. Paul prior to landing in Portland.
Melvin Luther Wilson - Missing Person since September 1971:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03QLnFvk8Fs

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I have no information on the car at all. I was 7. oh wait, I think it was brown. lol[.:P]



Vicki, Have you or others considered the possibility that he went to Canada?

Robert



I always thought Mexico. He used to cook a lot of Mexican food. We even had a tortilla press.

I always thought he was from Canada. That is the lie he told my Mom when he met her in Vegas. Hell....he even put it down as his birthplace on my birth certificate.

It wasn't until John Donahue, from the U.S. Marshal's, told me that he had children from a previous marriage. That is how I found out he was born and raised in the San Francisco area and I had a Grandma that died in 1994. He left his own Mother when he left their family in mid 1950's.
Melvin Luther Wilson - Missing Person since September 1971:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03QLnFvk8Fs

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Please do, I could not find anything on the subject looking on the Web. The Madison, Wisconsin paper has relevant articles in their online archives, but I have not paid the fee to access it.

The archives from the Minnesota newspapers are on Microfilm at the History center/museum in St. Paul. I did not have enough time during lunch break.



Done. I sent to your email address in your profile. Attachments were too large to pm.
but....A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.....Winston Churchill

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Thank you 99....

Two things:

1. Robert Zell, the man passing the counterfeit money. met Melvin Wilson while they both "resided" at Leavenworth Prison. I spoke with Jo Weber via e-mail and she states Duane was also residing at Leavenworth during the same time frame - mid 1950's. (spooky)

2. He passed the bogus money at a cocktail lounge and was identified by the bartender. Well I guess he drank.
Melvin Luther Wilson - Missing Person since September 1971:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03QLnFvk8Fs

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Thank you 99....

Two things:

1. Robert Zell, the man passing the counterfeit money. met Melvin Wilson while they both "resided" at Leavenworth Prison. I spoke with Jo Weber via e-mail and she states Duane was also residing at Leavenworth during the same time frame - mid 1950's. (spooky)

2. He passed the bogus money at a cocktail lounge and was identified by the bartender. Well I guess he drank.



Yeah, the way it reads, to me, is Zell was passing the bills in Denver, Co., got caught and turned on Wilson so they started observation operation on Wilson. Apparently Wilson counterfeited the money in Los Angeles and also had run printing shops in several places in Minn and Las Vegas. Looks like they were watching Wilson and found a counterfeit 20 in the bartender's till after he had been in the lounge. After he was arrested they got a warrant to search his car and found more bills hidden. One article said that he dumped the barrelll because the plates and bills had imperfections. Do you think he thought it would sink? :S
but....A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.....Winston Churchill

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Mr. Blevins,

You may have explained it once before, but I can't keep track of all the posts, so kindly indulge me. What are your thoughts on the following?

KC had too much money to be Cooper. Cooper only took 200K. KC allegedly had more cash than that. Sure his gold could appreciate but not his currency. Looks like he was just a buyer not a seller.

Even with a grudge, wouldn't it be nuts for KC to hijack an NWA plane?
Big chance he'd be recognized or his sketch would. NWA employees were fascinated with Norjack.

How did the money end up at Tena Bar of KC was Cooper?

How did KC escape detection after landing? If he rendevoused with an accomplice how did they find each other?

How do you predict the gay community will react if KC is proven to be Cooper. I know it isn't a monolithic culture, but would KC become a gay pride hero?

I don't think KC was Cooper, but I do think youve made a provocative circumstantial case. Snow and Georger will think me a moron for giving you credit for anything, but I can take the heat.

What made Kenny go bad? Radiation at Bikini Atol? Don't ask don't tell military oppression? Drugs?

Can't wait to see the show.

377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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Thank you 99....

Two things:

1. Robert Zell, the man passing the counterfeit money. met Melvin Wilson while they both "resided" at Leavenworth Prison. I spoke with Jo Weber via e-mail and she states Duane was also residing at Leavenworth during the same time frame - mid 1950's. (spooky)

2. He passed the bogus money at a cocktail lounge and was identified by the bartender. Well I guess he drank.



:(Duane WAS NOT in Leavenworth. He was in Jefferson.

:|In 1950's he was San Quentin.

[:/]I try to be VERY SPECIFIC, because I am very deeply involved in this. I am sure the guys here will set you
straight. Duane WAS NEVER in LEAVENWORTH that I am aware of. Hope you saved the email.
The email I sent you was to offer to help the same as everyone else. I just thought there might be some information you preferred to keep behind closed doors.

I just sent her another email explaining to her that Coffelt another Cooper suspect WAS in Leavenworth - NOT Weber! I do not normally make that kind of error...of course if I have my pill in me we have NO idea what I am saying - RIGHT! Makes me type drunk.

We all know where Weber was for 7 yrs in the 50's - Folsum and San Quentin. Hell, he was a bad boy - and with the new STUFF I am learning about WEBER, maybe he was actually HELL's Angel! :DB|:D:D He was definitely NO Angel.
Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

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Thanks for the graceful mercy Georger. I can only pray that Snowmman will find it also in his heart, but a light saber chastisement is far more likely. I can hear it coming, the heavy breathing in the black helmet.

I've been reading up on the old posts about Waugh, Braden and those missions. Trying to find out if South Africans participated. Their "Recce" Special Forces soldiers had similar skills. Maybe they had similar domestic operations. Orange, would all Recces have noticeable (to Americans) accents?

Had dinner tonight with an old time skydiver. He had so many interesting stories. Great guy. The scariest was landing a double malfunction. Horsehoe on the main, couldn't clear it, pulled silver, reserve fouls in horseshoe mess, and he is rocketing down at 50 plus MPH. Lots of broken bones but he got patched up and lived to jump again. Still jumping with a big ram air canopy. Watched a recent RW video and this guy could fly circles around me. Very aggressive flyer and docks like a young hot shot kid.

He mentioned a skydiver Cooper candidate who very closely resembled the sketch but thought the only tie was the appearance. Personality made it unlikely that this guy was Cooper. Mayfield was thought to have all the skills and the criminal personality, but was too stocky at the time and not a good match. He thought Cooper had jumped before. Most skydivers agree on this point.

I wonder just how easily Cooper donned the rig. Tina's opinion is quite subjective. She probably never saw anyone put a rig on so what was her basis for concluding that Cooper did it with ease that suggested familiarity. A cargo kicker would be putting on a rig far more often than a paratrooper. They'd likely be the fastest.

377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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Correction...from Jo's e-mail.

"Duane was in San Quentin and Folsom - from 1950 to 1957"

I inadvertently named the wrong prison....they may have been in SAN QUENTIN together. Sorry if this caused any confusion or hostility in the forum.
Melvin Luther Wilson - Missing Person since September 1971:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03QLnFvk8Fs

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Skyjack71 opined:

“Okay, I guess that is supposed to be funny, but I didn’t get it.”

Well that is kinda the point.

What may appear as absolutely logical and obvious to you may appear as absurd to me. Skydiving welders who were trained prison convicts to repair inaccessible pipeline comes to mind. The addition of minutia and detail about a superfluous subject in order to give it more credence is odd. Duane knew a man ‘from his past’ (as opposed to what?) who worked in a bar south of Fort Collins (why not name the town? Preserving the mystique?). The man’s name was Rick (I know that guy) and her name was Elaine (where did she come from and why add this detail to another detail?). Then you go into how you were prevented from using the restroom. I really didn’t see that one coming at all; from guys Duane knew to steel guitars, their names, the names of random women and you trotting back after some Troglodyte stops you from using the toilet. Did I miss something? My reading comprehension is good not much now.

Now a convicted felon, rises to the occasion by obtaining a huge (your word) weapon with numerous people acting as witness to this assault. A threat is effectively conveyed, as you said the young man who said something left this establishment. How am I doing so far?

This is held up like a badge of honor and as an example of how quickly Duane could craft and follow a plan through execution in the face of some ominous problem solving. Like your being prevented from going to the bathroom? This may not be the peg to hang your ‘See how smart Duane was’ hat. In fact, it had the opposite impact on me. But I’m also open to being the only one with such an interpretation.

While I was reading the above story, the Perry Como song began an involuntary playback in my topsy-turvy, hat holder for some droll reason. Probably a random event, just like the album cover selected.

‘Urine a heap of trouble…’ is a phonetic corruption of a catch phrase from the Cooper era – ‘You’re in a heap of trouble, boy.’ Strange how the Dodge Sheriff which was broadcast coast to coast during that time frame has vanished into oblivion, yet people can recall singular events from that time if it is associated with Cooper. It all just strikes me as a - Plate of Shrimp.

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I've been reading up on the old posts about Waugh, Braden and those missions. Trying to find out if South Africans participated. Their "Recce" Special Forces soldiers had similar skills. Maybe they had similar domestic operations. Orange, would all Recces have noticeable (to Americans) accents?



Would definitely notice the accent i.e not American; but many Americans for some reason seem unable to distinguish between an (English) south african accent and a British accent (the latter of which, of course, there are very many). If the person had been an Afrikaans-speaker the accent might be more "noticeably" south african.

I'd be surprised to be honest if there were any recces out in Asia, but will be very interested indeed to hear if you do find out anything like that! We sent soldiers to WW1 and WW2 of course, but I'm not aware (which is not to say it didn't happen) of anyone going to Asia. By the time of Vietnam, the then-government in SA was busy fighting its own wars and probably was not going to spare its most elite units to help other people fight different wars (even if they all claimed to have the same aim)... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Border_War
As an aside, it's common cause that SA did have US/possibly CIA help back then. Remember Africa was also seen as a proxy Cold War battleground.
Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

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I just figured it was time for an update:

Top 15 Reasons Skipp Porteous and Yours Truly Believe Kenny Christiansen was the Guy:

In no particular order...

1) Kenny was a paratrooper...

15) We think the skyjacker's choice of parachutes was a 'tell'. Cooper picked the military chute, which would be more familiar to a person who hadn't jumped for a long time, and only with military chutes. Could also be why he missed the sewed-up reserve...

Your reasons, except for the ones above are pretty convincing.

BUT...

Although having any jump experience is a big step over having zero, paratrooper jumping is a completely different activity than sport freefall jumping.
The paratrooper static line equipment is significantly different than the Emergency Bailout gear that Cooper jumped.

The sport reserves (belly wart) from that era are almost identical to what the military used (and uses). And the Training Dummy Reserve wasn't "sewn shut". It was a functional reserve container with a canopy that had been seriously butchered to make it easier to stuff back into the container. It was used to train the students the "scoop and throw" reserve deployment technique they used.

Anyone with any experience would be able to tell that there was something wrong with the Dummy reserve because it was "squishy" because the canopy volume was significantly less.

And there was no way to properly attach the reserve to the harness on the NB-6. There were the D-rings for that purpose on the Pioneer sport rig (that was left behind)

Whatever the reason Cooper chose the NB-6 and Dummy reserve, he had to know that it wasn't going to be able to be used as a functional reserve canopy.
Perhaps one of the reasons he chose the NB-6 is that it was an emergency rig, presumably packed more carefully than a simple sport rig. Perhaps he couldn't figure out a way to carry the money and have a reserve attached to his chest, so he took the rig least likely to malfunction.
"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

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Joe,

What do you think about the choice of an unsleeved canopy (NB6 bailout rig)? I wonder if Cooper even knew what a sleeve was?

If he did know, and he was going to pull right after exit, surely he'd want a sleeved deployment system to lessen opening shock wouldnt he?

I wonder if he knew about the Air America 727 jumps. The film shows the S/L deployed canopies squidding and acting as decelerators before fully inflating. Dont know what the Air America 727 exit speed was but there appears to be a turbine Beech 18 (Volpar mod?) shadowing the 727 so it couldnt have been very fast.

377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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Joe,

What do you think about the choice of an unsleeved canopy (NB6 bailout rig)? I wonder if Cooper even knew what a sleeve was?

If he did know, and he was going to pull right after exit, surely he'd want a sleeved deployment system to lessen opening shock wouldnt he?

I wonder if he knew about the Air America 727 jumps. The film shows the S/L deployed canopies squidding and acting as decelerators before fully inflating. Dont know what the Air America 727 exit speed was but there appears to be a turbine Beech 18 (Volpar mod?) shadowing the 727 so it couldnt have been very fast.

377



I don't know.

Remember, sleeve or no sleeve, the Pioneer was marked "max speed 150mph" (wasn't it?)

Cossey was quoted in the Parachutist articles as saying how hard the openings would be on the NB-6.

But my (limited) understanding of rounds is that the squiddding makes the deployments survivable (for both the jumper and the canopy). They may hurt, but they won't hurt you.
"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

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Duane knew a man ‘from his past’ (as opposed to what?) who worked in a bar south of Fort Collins (why not name the town? Preserving the mystique?). The man’s name was Rick (I know that guy) and her name was Elaine (where did she come from and why add this detail to another detail?). Then you go into how you were prevented from using the restroom. I really didn’t see that one coming at all; from guys Duane knew to steel guitars, their names, the names of random women and you trotting back after some Troglodyte stops you from using the toilet. Did I miss something? My reading comprehension is good not much now.




[:/]I didn't name the town because I would have to look it up on a map - forgive me if I forget somethings...age and all of this CRAP is a little more than I can handle once in awhile.

[:/]Without looking it up I believe it was Loveland or a town near there. I didn't know the man's last name - it was not even on the package they sent. All if said was

:)Anywhere,USA.

:)This was a long narrow bar which meant a narrow path to the ladies room. This guy and his buddies had it blocked. I asked very nicely if I could get thru and they shot off with an off the wall remark such as "F--- You!" I returned to my seat at the end of the bar with Duane.



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Now a convicted felon, rises to the occasion by obtaining a huge (your word) weapon with numerous people acting as witness to this assault. A threat is effectively conveyed, as you said the young man who said something left this establishment. How am I doing so far?



:)I felt I quiet adequately described the "weapon" which was NOT displayed until the young man left the bar. The only conveyance Duane gave was a deep DARK glare with eyes set only on that young man. Words were NOT necessary. Duane only left his seat to go to the car and retrieve the Screw Driver.


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This is held up like a badge of honor and as an example of how quickly Duane could craft and follow a plan through execution in the face of some ominous problem solving.



:(I did not plan what I was writing or telling - and the last comment was only an after thought. In fact I believe I added that after I made the post...as an edit.

It was 377 who came back and made a positive post regarding this little story that is just part of what I know about Duane Weber.

I was NOT trying to be smart and didn't give the post much thought until I re-read it. It is true and accurate.

:)That event was just something that happened - I was only making the point about his having known other guys he reconnected with in CO...the story was just that and nothing more. Maybe I was hoping someone might have been familiar with the place and might know who the guy and his wife where who provided the entertainment. I was NOT trying to prove any point regarding Duane. The last statement was only made in retrospect after reading what I had just typed.
:S:P:(:D
Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

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skyjack71, this is a microcosm of the Cooper ‘research’ conducted for near 20,000 posts.

The elements of the story being in some city bar, the couple who played there, the people that knew Duane from his past would not change the tale is they were completely removed. These additional minutia acts as a sort of literary chaff that does nothing more than cloud the picture. This may be the desired outcome for all I know.

By adding more and more elements your story becomes diluted and draws more attention to the eccentric. What song were they playing while this happened? What sort of drinks did you have that made you need to use the restroom? The bar was narrow, do you think this was used to store parachutes at some time in the past? Get it?

You said Duane (convicted felon) returned with a bulge in his clothing that the other patrons of the bar were well aware of. I would infer that it was patently obvious to the most casual of observer that Duane was about to open a keg of whoop ass on the person that prevented you from finding relief in the bathroom. That plus you said if someone had dropped a glass there may have been panic. Panic? Sounds like Duane was not concealing his intentions too well and this was an assault being committed with many witnesses. Or this is just a ‘Drama Queen’ version.

Duane handled a simple situation extremely poorly for anyone over the age of 16. I don’t think he had some ‘confinement fetish’ which caused him to pickpocket women on vacation in order to get caught time and time again. He just didn’t use anything resembling sound judgment. Had anyone in that bar seen things differently or been a cop, Duane would have had his picture in some South of Fort Collins town newspaper to compliment the one from Treasure Island, FL.

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