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QuoteBlevins wrote:
QuoteI'll make mincemeat out of Cook if he's actually got guts enough to appear.
We have apparently transitioned from soap opera to pro wrestling.
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I vote for mud wrestling. Winner take all, of gawd - knows- what.
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Welcome back Bruce!
So much time, so many Coopers.
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So much time, so many Coopers.
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2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
Thanks, Three-Seven-Seven. Here's what I've been up to since my last major post:
The Hunt for DB Cooper
Looking for Tina –
Initial investigations, August 2008 – October 2010
Tina Mucklow, the flight attendant DB Cooper kept hostage during his skyjacking, vanished from public view beginning in 1991. Nevertheless, here is what I know of her.
Her last-known whereabouts were the Carmelite Monastery in Eugene, Oregon, where she had been a cloistered nun for the previous twelve years, entering the convent about 1979.
It is widely reported that Tina moved to Portland, Oregon when she left the convent in 1991, but I have no definitive information on that occurrence, nor do I have any address or contacts there to question further about Tina.
This report, then, is my account of my efforts to find Tina and learn the state of her current well-being, ascertain what happened during the skyjacking, and to determine why she has disappeared from sight for nearly twenty years.
I’m not the only one who is looking for Tina. In 2008, Dr. Susan Eisenhower-Turner, a psychiatrist from Media, Pennsylvania, posted a blog entry on a Minnesota newspaper’s website regarding a DB Cooper-related story and asked the cyber world for information on Tina, claiming that they were old friends and former classmates at the Lankenau School for Girls, a private secondary school located in Germantown, PA.
During this same time period, Cooper investigator Galen Cook also launched an intensive to find Tina. Because of my extensive writings on Tina on the DropZone.com forum, particularly concerning her mental and psychological well-being, Galen contacted me to discuss what dynamics could have caused Tina to become reclusive.
From those conversations Galen and I developed an investigative partnership, pooling information and resources, and giving each other a well-appreciated support via numerous phone calls and emails.
Galen, an attorney from Anchorage, Alaska, has been on the hunt for DB Cooper since the 1980s and is also writing a book on the case. Although he is widely known as the leading advocate for Cooper suspect, William Wolfgang Gossett, Galen has broad knowledge of the case and a keen interest in what has happened to Tina.
We both feel that the mystery of Tina is as compelling a story as Cooper’s, and that the two may be connected. Together, we have sought to peel back the mysteries surrounding these two individuals, particularly by attempting to understand their motivations and emotional states.
As part of this process Galen has shared with me several vital pieces of information about Tina.
To begin, Galen told me that he has interviewed the Mother Superior at Tina’s former convent, Sister Elizabeth Mary, and says the chief nun told him that Tina “never really fit in” while she was there despite living in the ecclesiastical community from 1979 until 1991.
In addition, Galen told me that he has also interviewed Russ Calame, the former Special Agent in Charge of the Salt Lake City, Utah FBI office, and co-author of the Cooper book, “DB Cooper – The Real McCoy”. Calame is the guy who collared Richard McCoy, another Cooper-esque skyjacker and the man that Calame believes did the Cooper jump as well.
Galen says that Calame told him that when he interviewed Tina in the mid 1980s while looking for Cooper-McCoy connections, he came to realize that Tina would never be a credible witness in any Cooper trial because her memory of the skyjacking had become too fuzzy. Galen told me that Calame had intimated that Tina had been brainwashed during her time at the convent.
“It’s as if her memory has been wiped clean, like an eraser wiping off the chalk off a blackboard,” is how I heard Galen describe Calame’s pronouncements.
These comments are further enhanced by Calame’s account in his book that the FBI agents who conducted the evidence retrieval after the skyjacking were confused as to those events during Calame’s interview with them in the 1980s, and Calame states they were acting as if under the influence of post-hypnotic suggestions.
Galen also said that another Cooper investigator, author and former FBI agent Richard Tosaw, had described Tina’s mental state at the convent in similar terms as Calame.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to confirm these claims with the Mother Superior and Russ Calame despite numerous attempts to do so. In addition, my efforts to speak with Richard Tosaw before his death in 2009 were also unsuccessful.
Another interesting angle provided by Galen is the fact that Tina’s older sister is married to an FBI agent, and that Tina lived with them prior to her arrival at the convent. Tina’s sister and brother-in-law also visited her in the convent on multiple occasions, and reportedly brought her to the monastery in 1979 and picked her up when she left in 1991.
Backed with these pieces of information, I have also gathered insights into Tina’s mental and cognitive states from interviews with other principals and documentary sources.
Most importantly, Bill Rataczak, co-pilot of Flight 305, told me in 2009 that Tina was cool, calm and collected during her ordeal with Cooper. He specifically stated that he “wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Tina. She kept Cooper calm.”
To show his appreciation for Tina’s skillful handling of Cooper during the skyjacking, Rataczak - on behalf of the entire flight crew - gifted Tina with a large bottle of Chanel No.5, adding, “That woman sure knew how to wear perfume.”
So, how did Tina develop the skill to handle Cooper? Doing so was not an easy task. Tina sat next to him for nearly two hours while circling Sea-Tac airport waiting for the parachutes and ransom money and during that time she lit at least eight Raleigh cigarettes for him as he kept his right hand on the bomb trigger. She also engaged him in conversation upon instruction from the pilots - and presumably the FBI - in an effort to ferret-out information from Cooper on his identity and motivation.
In addition, she took numerous notes from Cooper and relayed information to and from the cockpit, and joined with fellow flight attendant Florence Schaffner in calming the passengers.
Further, she spent at least forty-five minutes alone with Cooper in the passenger cabin during the re-fueling at Sea-Tac. It can be easily imagined that the experience was harrowing. Yet afterwards when Cooper sent her back the cockpit, she was able to take written notes of the radio transmissions between Flight 305 and the FBI and air traffic controllers in Seattle.
So, how did Tina stay so calm and productive? How did she maintain that perfect blend of assertiveness and deference? Was she adept at handling a bomb-tottin’ skyjacker because she had had prior experiences placating abusers? Or was Tina Muckow just one tough cookie?
If so, why did Tina fall apart a few years later in the convent? What happened?
Seeking answers, I sought Dr. Eisenhower-Turner. Besides wanting to know Tina’s whereabouts and details of the skyjacking, I was especially concerned for her well-being. In particular, I wanted to know why Tina was hyper-religious. Tina is thought to have carried a bible aboard Flight 305, as she is seen clutching what appears to be a bible in pictures taken after the debriefing with FBI agents immediately following the plane’s landing in Reno, Nevada.
In addition, Galen says Tina has been described by fellow flight attendants as being excessively preachy before and after the skyjacking, particularly during lay-overs.
Piecing these parts together I began to see a picture of a woman who might have experienced child abuse, possibly sexual. In my fourteen years as an activity therapist in psychiatry, I had learned that many women who had been raped as children often found solace in religion, frequently becoming hyper-religious, such as carrying bibles to work. Further, many of these abused women also sought to enhance their physical beauty, recognizing the inherent power therein.
Was sexual abuse the pathway by which Tina learned to handle violent men?
Along these lines, pictures of Tina from the post-skyjacking period show her to be a very attractive twenty-something. So, how did this bible-carrying woman also come to be an individual who “knew how to wear perfume” and one seeking the glamour and prestige of being a flight attendant?
Reports from classmate searches on the Internet indicate that Tina graduated from the Lankenau School for Girls in 1968, which would make her about 21 when she was skyjacked in 1971. Hence, she must have left her home in Philadelphia soon after graduating from the Lankenau School for Girls, heading to Minneapolis to work as a stewardess for Northwest Orient Airlines.
Recapping what I knew of Tina from the early stages of my investigation: she was a good-looking young woman who left her home in Philly after graduation from a religiously-oriented high school and sought adventure in the skies. Along the way she brings her bible, handles a skyjacking with aplomb, and then loses her mind in a convent and disappears from view.
How did all that happen, and what role does the DB Cooper skyjacking play in Tina Mucklow’s life, if any? And further, is there anything from her childhood or family life that could shed some light on these questions?
Looking For Tina, December 15-16, 2010
A visit to Eastern Pennsylvania
In the fall of 2010, I had a couple of personal experiences that placed me on the east coast for an extended period. First, the newspaper that I had been writing for, The Dispatch of Eatonville, Washington, was sold by its mom and pop operators to a corporate group. The new owners demonstrated a profound inability to pay me in a timely manner and worse, they did not display any substantive capacity to respect my intellectual property rights. My efforts to rectify these issues led my new employers to terminate my contract in September, 2010.
On October 20, within minutes of chiseling-out my last pay check from corporate ownership my 86 year-old mother fell in New York and broke four ribs. Without a job, I seemed the ideal candidate to tend to mom, so, on Halloween I flew to JFK, got mom into a rehab center, and then orchestrated her return back home.
During that time, I was able to take a few days and travel to eastern Pennsylvania to scout for information on Tina.
Uppermost on my list was meeting Dr. Eisenhower-Turner.
I had contacted Dr. ET, as Galen and I affectionately call her, the prior year and shared my concerns for Tina, especially the possibility that she might have been sexually assaulted early in life and that those traumas may have been exacerbated by the DB Cooper incident. I sent Dr. ET a hefty packet of information on the DB Cooper case and also mentioned the possibility that Tina - and the whole DB Cooper caper - may have been part of a Manchurian Candidate–like scenario. The latter could have been part of MKULTRA mind-control operations that were being conducted by the CIA and US military during the Cooper time-frame. In my view, many circumstantial aspects of the Cooper case, especially the sexual behaviors of the primary suspects and in particular those who have confessed to being DB Cooper, suggest the involvement of mind, mood, and memory control processes.
Although Dr. ET and I never spoke directly with each other she did telephone me once, leaving a voice message acknowledging receipt of my packet of information and stressing that she did not want to partner with me in any outreach towards Tina. In fact, she asked quite plaintively that I abandon my efforts to contact Tina.
“I ask that you respect her privacy,” Dr. ET said.
I was disappointed by Dr. ET’s response, and also a little surprised. After all, she too, had been seeking information on Tina. If she was a childhood friend why did she have to ask the cyber world for information on her old classmate? Why didn’t she just call Tina’s family?
Hence, I had assumed that Tina and her family were just as hidden and taciturn for Dr. ET as they were for me. Otherwise, why would Dr ET need the Internet?
But then, why did Dr. ET go mum? Was Dr. ET admitted into the inner sanctum of Tina’s world and then motivated somehow to join their efforts to keep the external world at bay?
Hence, I sought answers directly from Dr. ET.
I was able to learn from medical directories that Dr. ET was practicing at a major medical center in suburban of Philadelphia. I was also intrigued to learn that Dr ET was a psychiatrist.
Another piece of co-incidence, or a connection to MKULTRA? I pondered.
On a cold, pre-Christmas December day in 2010, I knocked on Dr. ET’s office door. She quickly answered but only opened the door a little bit. It appeared that she was having a session with a client, and Dr. ET only allowed a partial view into her office.
“Hi,” I said. “Dr. Susan Eisenhower-Turner?”
She nodded in affirmative.
“Hi there, I’m Bruce Smith,”
Dr. ET’s face looked blank.
“I’m a newspaper reporter from Tacoma, Washington. I contacted you about a year ago.”
Her face brightened with recognition.
“I was wondering if we could speak some time about Tina Mucklow.”
“No,” she replied instantly, in a clear, firm voice.
“Why not?” I countered. She paused, and Dr. ET began to close the door.
“Perhaps we could talk about the Lankenau School for Girls,” I offered.
“Just no,” she said, stepping back and closing her door.
I left quickly, not wanting to trigger a response from hospital security or even risking arrest.
However, I did retreat to the hospital’s snack bar where I calmed myself with an ice-cold Coca-Cola. I was surprised how excited I was. My hands were shaking and my body was absolutely tingling. After two years of talking with DB Cooper principals on the phone, I had actually met one in-person. It was enthralling.
Here are some of my notes on my encounter with Dr. Eisenhower-Turner that I wrote in the snack bar:
“Dr. ET is a stern-looking woman. She’s about 5’8”, early 60s and very thin. She has short hair and was dressed in casual but exceptionally tasteful and colorful professional clothes – scarf, flowing skirt - that type of thing. She looks like an old hippy that has gotten uptight, or she is a stern, older yuppie who has a taste for color, texture and composition in her clothing.”
I called Galen from the snack bar and after hearing my report his first words to me were: “Why does everyone protect Tina?” We spoke for about an hour, and my effort to make direct contact with a member of the Mucklow Clan shifted something between Galen and I – we became bonded more fully in this project. Galen then suggested that I contact AW Mucklow, a woman that he had spoken with several times over the years and had found polite and receptive to his requests for information.
I had known about AW Mucklow from prior conversations with Galen, and he had given me her email address during the time I was reaching out initially to Dr. ET. I had sent a similar packet of information to AW replete with a cover letter elucidating my concerns for Tina’s well-being. However, I had never heard back from her.
Now, though, in the hospital snack bar Galen gave me her phone number and address. I was on the Hunt in a new and more robust manner.
AW, it turned out, lived northeast of Philadelphia and I was currently far to the southwest. Further complicating my itinerary, I wanted to check-out the Lankenau School for Girls, Germantown, and any Mucklows I could find - especially one name-sake, a dentist - before I left this part of Philly.
As it turned out, by the time I reached the office of the dentist bearing Tina’s family moniker he was gone for the day and not to return for a few so I headed to my evening’s lodging in Cherry Hill, NJ at the home of a member of my extended family.
The next day, December 16, I resumed looking for the Lankenau School for Girls. Initially, I had thought it was a Catholic high school but neither the Catholic archdiocese nor the Philly school district had ever heard of it.
Nevertheless, there was a Lankenau High School in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia that was a part of the public school system, so I headed there.
The principal of Lankenau High School, Jacqueline M. Bentley, was as courteous and helpful as her assistant principal Shawn Poole had been on the phone the week before when I had called looking for information on Tina.
They had never heard of Tina Mucklow or Susan Eisenhower, as Dr. ET was known in her high school years, nor did they have any information on when or how their high school was connected to the Catholic Church. I wanted to know if there was a relationship between Tina and a Catholic institution because Cathy O’Brien, the noted MKULTRA whistleblower, specifically charges that members of the Catholic Church were involved in her sexual abuse and the eventual fracturing of her personality as part of an effort to Manchurian-candidate her into a CIA operative.
But Ms. Bentley told me that her Lankenau High School had come into existence in 1983, first as an annex to the Germantown High School further downtown and then as a free-standing high school that had a special charter to educate highly motivated kids.
She also said that she knew prior to the Philadelphia school system taking over Lankenau it had been a private school, possibly for children with special needs.
As for the building itself, it is two-stories in height with a box-like brick and masonry construction. Over its 150-foot length Lankenau High School housed perhaps sixteen classrooms spread over its east and west wings and connected by a central administrative core.
Currently, the building appears a bit dilapidated and has a late-1960s-early-1970s feel. “Run-down- modern” is how I described it in my field notes.
Ms. Bentley also told me that “there’s was nothing out here when the school was built,” and a drive around the area confirmed that this northwestern-most section of Philadelphia had been a collection of wealthy estates, old farms and sporting clubs in the not-too-distant past.
The current Lankenau High School certainly seemed like it was built in an ideal place for MKULTRA kids getting their personalities fried, but it didn’t seem like it was old-enough to be the place Tina and Sue graduated from in 1968, as Google searches had indicated.
When I explained my interest in Lankenau High School to Principal Bentley and shared my knowledge of Tina and Sue Eisenhower more fully, Ms. Bentley recommended that I pay a visit to the neighboring Renfrew Center, which she said was a private treatment facility for women with eating disorders.
As I drove away from Lankenau High School I passed a small, white Honda with a Pennsylvania license plate that read: MK JOE’S.
An omen?
Nevertheless, I found the Renfrew Center to be a concoction of elegant dorms and classroom-like buildings surrounding a two-story Mediterranean-style villa that was built in the 1850s.
Oddly, the parking lots at Renfrew were filled with twice the number of vehicles that were parked at Bentley’s Lankenau HS, and most were late-model, mini SUVs. As I headed towards the administration center in the villa I passed a number of large bay-windows that revealed several groups of pretty-but-skinny women sitting around in circles, presumably in group therapy sessions. I surmised that Renfrew did not have many male reporters strolling around its grounds and thus making the residents uncomfortable.
The official I spoke with at the Renfrew administrative office was civil but not warm, informing me that the Renfrew Center was a private treatment facility and has been in existence since the 1980s. I got the hint and got out of there. It may have an interesting link to this story – or not – but I needed more specific information on Tina Mucklow.
Seeking it, I started driving towards downtown on the near-by Germantown Ave with the goal of visiting the Germantown Historical Society. Within minutes a light snow began to fall and by the time I reached inner Philly the roads were very slippery and the traffic snarled.
But GHS curators Sam and Alex greeted me warmly as I entered and introduced myself. They called out: “Bruce, we were just going to call you!”
The prior week, I had called the Germantown Historical Society looking for information on the Lankenau Catholic High School. I was hoping, successfully as it turned out, that these historians would have knowledge of Germantown far beyond their efforts to commemorate the important battle that was fought in that part of the city in the early days of America’s Revolutionary War.
The folks at the Historical Society provided me with documents that the school was officially called the Lankenau School for Girls and was dedicated in 1956 at 3201 West School House Lane, which is now located on the Philadelphia University campus. However, they couldn’t confirm the school was run by the Catholic Church or when it went out of existence. Also, before its arrival at the West School House Lane site, the Lankenau School for Girls had a pre-existing campus elsewhere in the Germantown area, dating back to at least 1903.
Since West School House Lane was just a hop, skip and a jump from the Historical Society, I was back in the snow in short order. But, as I made my way to the door an older figure with twinkling eyes emerged from a dusty cubicle amongst the shadows and announced that he could not find any Mucklows listed in the 1963 Philadelphia phone book as residing in Germantown, only a Mucklow print shop, now out of business.
Hmmm, I thought, Germantown is a working-class neighborhood. Maybe the Mucklows didn’t have a phone?
Then, another historian approached and handed me a newspaper clipping of the dedication. I was shocked to see that the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia – not the Catholic Church - was the officiating organization at the dedication and perhaps was also administering the school.
However, a Sister Lydia Fisher was listed as orchestrating the dedication ceremony. This Lankenau thing was getting murkier by the minute. Was the Lankenau School for Girls a private school run by the Lutherans and not the Catholic Church? If so, when did the Lutherans utilize teaching nuns?
Slipping and sliding through the snow I wandered the grounds of Philadelphia University asking students and staff where I could get information on the former Lankenau school. Eventually, I was directed to Archer Hall, the Registrar’s building, which proved to be another elegant, two-story mansion.
“Can you tell me where the old Lankenau School for Girls existed?” I asked Victoria Lally, the receptionist.
“Well, you’re standing in what was the dorm building for both the nuns and the girls, as far as I know. The building across the parking lot, Downs Hall, was the classroom building,” she said.
Again I felt chills, this time knowing I was standing on ground that Tina Mucklow had also walked. Also, the question of nuns further excited me - this was getting weirder.
“The nuns resided here?” I asked. “They lived in the same building as their students?”
“Yes, that is my understanding,” said Victoria.
“And the Lankenau School for Girls was a boarding school?”
“Yes.”
Wow, I thought. I had assumed Tina and Sue had been day students, commuting from near-by Germantown. After all, Tina’s family didn’t have a phone or at least a listing in the phone book, so how could they afford a boarding school?
Victoria couldn’t tell me when Philadelphia University took over the buildings from the Lutherans - or Catholics - or when the Lankenau School for Girls closed its doors, but she said it was prior to 1980, which was when she started her career in the Registrar’s office.
Seeking more information, Victoria directed me towards the “White House,” another estate on campus and one that housed the Public Relations department. However, all the PR folks had departed for home by the time I reached their offices.
As I left Archer Hall Victoria added one more piece of advice, saying that I could probably obtain confirmation of Tina’s graduation from Lankenau at the Pennsylvania Department of Education in Harrisburg.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Good luck,” she said. “I hope you find out what happened to Tina. It’s a great story.”
As the dark descended the snow tapered off. However, the traffic mess only grew worse. The radio said that I-95 was jammed from Philadelphia to the PA-Delaware state line, and when I passed I-76 on the west side of Philly I could see it was at a standstill in both directions. Even the cars on the entrance ramps weren’t moving.
"Yikes, I might as well take Route 1 North to get out of Philly!"
AW Mucklow was my next stop, but she was a long ways off. "I’ll get there when I get there," I philosophized is an effort to assuage my mounting impatience. Fortunately, I caused no damage to anyone as I slid through one intersection. Creeping and crawling, I finally made it to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and headed towards my old stomping grounds of Lehigh University and Bethlehem, PA, and eventually AW.
Earlier, when I had called the number Galen had given me for AW I learned that it had been disconnected. Nevertheless, I had reverse-addressed it so I knew where to go and found her house without difficulty.
It’s a cute, simple little house on a fair-sized property in a clean, attractive working-class neighborhood. AW’s abode is what folks in New York call a “shotgun” dwelling, as the house is narrow and long, and the main entrance is on the side of the house and not on the side facing the street. She had a few Christmas lights strung on her house and along a shrub or two, so I could clearly see the eight-foot high hedges shielding the house and the chain-link fence and gate, which completed a fortress-like appearance.
Since it was well after sunset I decided to park across the street at a neighbor’s, as it was well-lit from plenty of Christmas decorations.
However, shortly after I parked, the neighbor, a young, Polish-accented woman opened her door. I asked her where AW Mucklow lived, although I knew. Besides my concerns about freaking-out the neighborhood because of my after-dark arrival, I wanted to make my investigative intentions known to the neighbors and maybe obtain a little extra information. Plus, even though AW had a few Christmas lights glowing, her property was still mostly dark. Compounding my concern was the gate. I have a journalist’s rule of never opening a private entrance unless authorized, particularly in the dark.
As I talked with the neighbor, AW's dogs were apparently released from inside the house or came running from the back of the property. At the gate they barked like crazed creatures guarding the Wicked Witch of the West. Despite the commotion the neighbor asked me to move my car since I was in her husband’s parking space and he was due home momentarily.
I repositioned my vehicle on AW's side of the street but in front of another neighbor's house. By the time I walked to AWs gate the dogs had been recalled inside. At the gate I hesitated, then took a breath and opened it. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission, I rationalized and approached the front door. I knocked a couple times but got no response. Since it didn't feel like the main door I walked around to the side of her house, which did feel like the primary entrance.
Once again, the dogs were inside and began yapping when I knocked. A voice inside called out, "Who is it?"
"My name is Bruce Smith,” I answered. “I'm a newspaper reporter. I was wondering if I could talk to you."
Thus began a loud, awkward conversation shouted through the house walls and over the noise of the dogs.
"About the skyjacking?" the voice-inside called out.
"Yes. I'd like to talk to you about Tina....is she okay?"
"She's fine...but she's not here.
"Do you have a number I could call her?
"No."
"Is AW Mucklow here? I'd like to talk with AW, too."
"No, she's not here, either."
Do you have a number I could call AW?"
"No, I don't."
"Okay, I’ll be leaving then. Thanks for your time."
As I walked away all the outside lights were turned off, but I was still able to read an engraved wooden sign hanging next to the door: "Nobody gets to see the wizard. Not no how. Not no way."
I smiled. "I must be at the right place….."
I left AW’s property and headed to another neighbor, this one next to the neighbor whose husband was coming home soon. I thought I would make my presence known further – let AW know that I wasn’t going to go away without an effort, and also spreading the news to folks who might not know that AW’s cousin is the primary witness to the only unsolved skyjacking case in the United States. I figured I could stir the pot a bit and maybe make a friend along the way who could intercede for me with the Mucklows. I wasn't completely sure I had spoken to AW, as the voice sounded like a young woman's, but I had thought I had and she sounded like she was going to be a tough interview.
So, I knocked on a second neighbor's front door, another house with lots of Christmas lights shining. However, I received no answer. I walked back into the street, and then someone opened the door at AW's and let the dogs out again.
Within seconds, a womanly figure appeared at the Mucklow's gate. She was attractive and slightly-over-weight, around 50 and I surmised it was AW, but she never introduced herself.
"Do you have a business card?" the figure called out.
"Yes, I do," and I handed it to her with my cell number scribbled hastily on the back.
Arching my arm high into the sky to avoid the yapping dogs, I passed the card over the gate and the figure took it.
"Do you have a number I can call you on?” I asked.
"Yeah, I'll give you my cell number. Do you have a piece of paper?"
Again using a sky-hook maneuver, I handed her a pen and a scrap of notepaper from my over-flowing Mucklow file. She wrote her number down, and handed it back to me.
"Thanks," I said. "I'll call you soon."
She seemed pleasant and not concerned about standing in the wintry cold talking to a pesky reporter.
I was hoping that she would invite me in, but after a momentary pause during which I did not receive it I said goodbye and drove off. I stopped at a near-by convenience store to restock with note paper and then headed to a neighborhood pizzeria. There, I called AW on my cell. She picked up on the second ring and we spoke for about 20-30 minutes. She was friendly but unrevealing. She also conducted herself in a smooth manner, deftly deflecting my probing questions.
Maybe she’s talked with a lot of reporters….or she’s been coached?
But she did display one cognitive slip when describing Tina's departure from the home environs:
"When Tina went off to become...you know…a.... whatchamacallit... ah, not a waitress..."
"A stewardess?" I offered
"Yeah, a stewardess....
I was surprised by that mental block but I didn’t press the issue. I wanted to build rapport so I didn't push for details or information. In the main, we had a gentle, pleasant conversation and AW took many opportunities to assure me that Tina was okay and wanted to be left alone.
“It happened a long time ago, and she just wants to leave it in the past,” AW announced early in the conversation.
I only pushed heavily on one item, a comment AW made that Tina lives well and even goes on vacations
“Where?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. Lots of places.”
“Like where?”
“I don’t remember exactly.”
“Well, what kinds of vacations does she go on? Does she go swimming, like in the Caribbean? Or maybe skiing? Like in Colorado?”
“I can’t say for sure.”
“Well, where did she go on her last vacation?”
“Ah, somewhere down in California, I think.”
“Southern California….northern California?”
“Ah, down in the lower part.”
“LA?”
“Not exactly. It was off the coast. It was, ah…an island. Yeah, Catalina Island.”
Hmmmm. Is that the truth? Did Tina Mucklow actually go on a vacation to Catalina Island, or did AW just hem and haw until she could come up with a plausible vacation spot. I don’t know.
Later, AW asked me why I wanted to talk with Tina, and what my interest was in the case.
I explained that I thought the crime was an important story because it’s the only unsolved skyjacking case in the United States and one filled with mysteries. I also said it was important to talk with Tina since she is the primary witness to the crime and thus a primary source journalistically. Also, I explained some of my concern for Tina's health and well-being, and the possibility of MKULTRA involvement. I told her that I had spoken with Bill Rataczak and that he had described Tina as vital to saving their lives, adding that he described Tina as a figure who kept her cool under pressure. Nevertheless, I added that others report that Tina has had serious cognitive difficulties. I told AW about Dr. ET. I described my relationship with Galen Cook and how I had come to received her telephone number, and how I had reversed-addressed it to find where she lived.
AW interrupted at one point and asked where I was from. I assumed she wondered how my New York accent got attached to an Eatonville, Washington business card, so I explained how my mom had fallen and broken four ribs, and I had come back east to help care for her. Later, AW told me that Tina had returned similarly to help care for her father.
“That shows you the kind of person Tina is,” AW told me. “Not too many people do that for their elderly parents these days.”
Also, I told AW that I had met Dr. ET the prior day but that the doctor had declined to discuss Tina despite her outreach on the Internet a couple years before.
“That makes me really curious,” I told AW. “Why wouldn’t Susan Eisenhower talk with me when she clearly wanted to learn about Tina and did so in such a public manner?”
I ended the conversation after hearing yet one more string of commentaries from AW claiming that Tina's okay and just wants to be left alone. After about 20 minutes, I decided that to continue fishing would be counterproductive so I bailed. Nevertheless, I told AW that I would like to talk with her again when I had new information and more questions. She didn't protest that possibility.
I intend to go back to eastern PA and talk with her again before I return to WA.
Here are my field notes from talking with AW Mucklow:
AW began by saying that she has spoken with a lot of reporters and investigators.
“I’m dealing with half-a-dozen people trying to get – ya know – in touch with Tina.”
When I asked AW how she was related to Tina, she paused, so I offered a prompt.
“Are you like a cousin or something?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
AW added that she is a lot younger than Tina. When I asked AW about Tina and her family, she said, “She (Tina) just went off to become...you know…(the waitress/stewardess comment).”
When I asked AW if or how Tina had been affected by the skyjacking she simply said, “She had a bad night, I guess.”
Then she added quickly, “She’s very quiet….She’s a very good person.”
Further: “She keeps to herself. I think that’s just what she wants to do... It all happened in the past and I guess she just wants to forget about it.”
I asked about Cooper:
“She not afraid of Cooper – that’s what I think, personally.”
AW confirmed Tina’s religiosity.
“She’s very religious. She’s one of those good people – like you taking care of your mother. Her dad was up in age and he needed help. She’s the one who came in and took care of him….I respect that; a lot of people wouldn’t do that – they don’t care…she’s a good person.”
AW confirmed that Tina went to the Lankenau School for Girls and said that she thought it was a Catholic institution. She also confirmed that Tina was a Catholic, although she hesitated for a split second when I asked what religion Tina was.
AW also confirmed that Tina has one sibling, an older sister named Jane. I asked if AW could give me contact information on Jane and she gently re-buffed me.
“There’s been so many people trying to get to talk with Tina and her (Jane). I can talk to Jane and run it by her that you’d like to talk with her.”
I asked what life is like in general for Tina.
“She’s living a normal life. She does everything a normal person does – she dates, she works, she drives.” AW then added: “Is Tina happy? I would say yes.”
I then asked AW about her relationship with Tina.
“I haven’t seen her in a while, not for about ten years. But, I talk with her fairly frequently. She seems fine to me.”
As for dealing with reporters:
“I just feel that she doesn’t want to talk about it. I’ve sent her what I got from you. I think she just feels that it happened in the past and she just doesn’t want to relive it.”
AW confirmed some specifics about Tina’s life, stating that Tina had been married once but was not currently married, and that she has never had any children.
I asked about the specifics of where Tina has lived, such as the reports that she moved to the Portland, Oregon area after leaving the convent in Eugene.
“I don’t think Tina’s in Oregon anymore.
AW seemed exasperated at this point.
“I always send everything out to her. I don’t know what else I can do…to help you guys. I’m in the middle. What more can I say?”
I asked about Tina’s participation in the investigation of DB Cooper:
“I don’t think she has a lot of contact with the FBI.”
Then she added, a little smugly, “Nobody got hurt that night, right?”
“But didn’t Tina get emotionally hurt that night?” I retorted.
“It probably did traumatize her,” AW replied.
Then AW went back to defending Tina:
“Tina’s got a good life. She’s planting a garden, she goes on vacation – she’s living better than I am,” adding with a laugh: “That’s better than me. I haven’t been on a vacation in a long time.”
AW and I then had our exchange about where Tina goes on vacation.
At the end, I asked,” Can I call back, if I have more information?”
“Sure, I’ll be happy to talk with you, but I don’t know what more I can say.”
Summation:
AW Mucklow was very circumspect in our conversation this evening (Dec. 16, 2010).
She answered very carefully. She was very successful in giving some details but not too many, and nothing crucial. She seemed very skilled, as if she has been rehearsed, or just has had a lot of practice.
I plan on speaking with her again, during the latter part of my trip here in New York.
Addendum: Lankenau School for Girls
- Update, January 12, 2011
On January 11, 2011, I spoke with John Peterson, the curator for the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, about the Lankenau School for Girls.
Mr. Peterson told me that the Lutherans had operated the Lankenau School for Girls, and that the “nuns” who taught there were, in fact, Lutheran deaconesses. Pictures from that era show Lutheran deaconesses dressed very similarly to Catholic nuns, although not as severely as some Catholic orders. These deaconesses engaged in similar types of activities as Catholic nuns, such as social and medical work, and teaching.
In addition, Mr. Peterson gave me an overview of the history of the school:
The Lankenau School for Girls was established in 1890 and grew to become an independent school for grades K-12. It was founded by the Lutheran Theological Seminary on the grounds of the “Deaconesses House” in Germantown, with substantial support from the well-known Lutheran philanthropist, John Lankenau. Mr. Lankenau had been very active in community affairs throughout the late 19th and early 20th Century and had also founded the Lankenau Hospital, a major medical center that still serves the Philadelphia area.
In 1942, the Lankenau School for Girls moved to 3201 West School House Lane, a location now part of Philadelphia University. At this time the LSG was a boarding school. However, in 1969, the LSG became co-educational and ceased its boarding operations.
I was unable to clarify what part of the school was dedicated in 1956.
In 1974, The Lankenau School moved to 201 Spring Lane, apparently building the structure that is now the current public Lankenau High School. In 1978, the Lutherans closed the school and the public school system took control soon after, re-opening as a public charter school sometime around 1980.
Addendum, Second AW Interview, Jan. 12, 2011
AW has been unresponsive to my requests for a second interview. I have also sent her a snail mail correspondence and have not received a reply.
In addition, I have called Florence Schaffner, Tina’s fellow flight attendant aboard 305. Ms. Schaffner is also unresponsive to my requests for an interview.
Addendum, Interview with Leslie, January 17, 2011
A former NWO flight attendant named Leslie contacted Galen recently, claiming that she was a colleague of Tina’s, and in fact had been a classmate of her in flight attendant training.
I called her to get more background on Tina, and I was surprised at her response, her kindness for calling me after I had left on her phone.
“I knew Tina Mucklow as a wonderful, sweet person, and that’s all I want to say,” Leslie told me.
I was stunned. She reached out to two different investigators to tell us that brief statement and then cut off the conversation? I find that weird - it's almost a set-up.
I pursued Leslie a little, asking if we could just have a general conversation about Tina and discuss what kind of person she is and how she knew Tina. Leslie relented a little, and confirmed to me that she knew Tina in flight school. When I grasped for more she pushed back, saying that maybe Tina is incommunicado because guys like me constantly hound her. Leslie also seemed unaffected by my perspective that Tina, as the prime witness to a major crime, has some level of responsibility to contribute to the effort of having justice served.
“I’m just going to respect her privacy and I ask that you do, too. I knew Tina to be a dear sweet person, and I won’t say anything more.”
And she didn’t.
Leslie makes the third person I have spoken to in recent days that has beseeched me to respect Tina’s privacy and has also offered a positive, upbeat note on Tina’s well-being. After I spoke with Leslie, I began to wonder if she was reading from a script, one that Dr. ET and AW both read from – many of the words were identical, i.e.: “Please respect Tina’s privacy,” and were delivered with similar inflection and with similar firmness.
These three ladies were all tough cookies.
The Hunt for DB Cooper
Looking for Tina –
Initial investigations, August 2008 – October 2010
Tina Mucklow, the flight attendant DB Cooper kept hostage during his skyjacking, vanished from public view beginning in 1991. Nevertheless, here is what I know of her.
Her last-known whereabouts were the Carmelite Monastery in Eugene, Oregon, where she had been a cloistered nun for the previous twelve years, entering the convent about 1979.
It is widely reported that Tina moved to Portland, Oregon when she left the convent in 1991, but I have no definitive information on that occurrence, nor do I have any address or contacts there to question further about Tina.
This report, then, is my account of my efforts to find Tina and learn the state of her current well-being, ascertain what happened during the skyjacking, and to determine why she has disappeared from sight for nearly twenty years.
I’m not the only one who is looking for Tina. In 2008, Dr. Susan Eisenhower-Turner, a psychiatrist from Media, Pennsylvania, posted a blog entry on a Minnesota newspaper’s website regarding a DB Cooper-related story and asked the cyber world for information on Tina, claiming that they were old friends and former classmates at the Lankenau School for Girls, a private secondary school located in Germantown, PA.
During this same time period, Cooper investigator Galen Cook also launched an intensive to find Tina. Because of my extensive writings on Tina on the DropZone.com forum, particularly concerning her mental and psychological well-being, Galen contacted me to discuss what dynamics could have caused Tina to become reclusive.
From those conversations Galen and I developed an investigative partnership, pooling information and resources, and giving each other a well-appreciated support via numerous phone calls and emails.
Galen, an attorney from Anchorage, Alaska, has been on the hunt for DB Cooper since the 1980s and is also writing a book on the case. Although he is widely known as the leading advocate for Cooper suspect, William Wolfgang Gossett, Galen has broad knowledge of the case and a keen interest in what has happened to Tina.
We both feel that the mystery of Tina is as compelling a story as Cooper’s, and that the two may be connected. Together, we have sought to peel back the mysteries surrounding these two individuals, particularly by attempting to understand their motivations and emotional states.
As part of this process Galen has shared with me several vital pieces of information about Tina.
To begin, Galen told me that he has interviewed the Mother Superior at Tina’s former convent, Sister Elizabeth Mary, and says the chief nun told him that Tina “never really fit in” while she was there despite living in the ecclesiastical community from 1979 until 1991.
In addition, Galen told me that he has also interviewed Russ Calame, the former Special Agent in Charge of the Salt Lake City, Utah FBI office, and co-author of the Cooper book, “DB Cooper – The Real McCoy”. Calame is the guy who collared Richard McCoy, another Cooper-esque skyjacker and the man that Calame believes did the Cooper jump as well.
Galen says that Calame told him that when he interviewed Tina in the mid 1980s while looking for Cooper-McCoy connections, he came to realize that Tina would never be a credible witness in any Cooper trial because her memory of the skyjacking had become too fuzzy. Galen told me that Calame had intimated that Tina had been brainwashed during her time at the convent.
“It’s as if her memory has been wiped clean, like an eraser wiping off the chalk off a blackboard,” is how I heard Galen describe Calame’s pronouncements.
These comments are further enhanced by Calame’s account in his book that the FBI agents who conducted the evidence retrieval after the skyjacking were confused as to those events during Calame’s interview with them in the 1980s, and Calame states they were acting as if under the influence of post-hypnotic suggestions.
Galen also said that another Cooper investigator, author and former FBI agent Richard Tosaw, had described Tina’s mental state at the convent in similar terms as Calame.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to confirm these claims with the Mother Superior and Russ Calame despite numerous attempts to do so. In addition, my efforts to speak with Richard Tosaw before his death in 2009 were also unsuccessful.
Another interesting angle provided by Galen is the fact that Tina’s older sister is married to an FBI agent, and that Tina lived with them prior to her arrival at the convent. Tina’s sister and brother-in-law also visited her in the convent on multiple occasions, and reportedly brought her to the monastery in 1979 and picked her up when she left in 1991.
Backed with these pieces of information, I have also gathered insights into Tina’s mental and cognitive states from interviews with other principals and documentary sources.
Most importantly, Bill Rataczak, co-pilot of Flight 305, told me in 2009 that Tina was cool, calm and collected during her ordeal with Cooper. He specifically stated that he “wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Tina. She kept Cooper calm.”
To show his appreciation for Tina’s skillful handling of Cooper during the skyjacking, Rataczak - on behalf of the entire flight crew - gifted Tina with a large bottle of Chanel No.5, adding, “That woman sure knew how to wear perfume.”
So, how did Tina develop the skill to handle Cooper? Doing so was not an easy task. Tina sat next to him for nearly two hours while circling Sea-Tac airport waiting for the parachutes and ransom money and during that time she lit at least eight Raleigh cigarettes for him as he kept his right hand on the bomb trigger. She also engaged him in conversation upon instruction from the pilots - and presumably the FBI - in an effort to ferret-out information from Cooper on his identity and motivation.
In addition, she took numerous notes from Cooper and relayed information to and from the cockpit, and joined with fellow flight attendant Florence Schaffner in calming the passengers.
Further, she spent at least forty-five minutes alone with Cooper in the passenger cabin during the re-fueling at Sea-Tac. It can be easily imagined that the experience was harrowing. Yet afterwards when Cooper sent her back the cockpit, she was able to take written notes of the radio transmissions between Flight 305 and the FBI and air traffic controllers in Seattle.
So, how did Tina stay so calm and productive? How did she maintain that perfect blend of assertiveness and deference? Was she adept at handling a bomb-tottin’ skyjacker because she had had prior experiences placating abusers? Or was Tina Muckow just one tough cookie?
If so, why did Tina fall apart a few years later in the convent? What happened?
Seeking answers, I sought Dr. Eisenhower-Turner. Besides wanting to know Tina’s whereabouts and details of the skyjacking, I was especially concerned for her well-being. In particular, I wanted to know why Tina was hyper-religious. Tina is thought to have carried a bible aboard Flight 305, as she is seen clutching what appears to be a bible in pictures taken after the debriefing with FBI agents immediately following the plane’s landing in Reno, Nevada.
In addition, Galen says Tina has been described by fellow flight attendants as being excessively preachy before and after the skyjacking, particularly during lay-overs.
Piecing these parts together I began to see a picture of a woman who might have experienced child abuse, possibly sexual. In my fourteen years as an activity therapist in psychiatry, I had learned that many women who had been raped as children often found solace in religion, frequently becoming hyper-religious, such as carrying bibles to work. Further, many of these abused women also sought to enhance their physical beauty, recognizing the inherent power therein.
Was sexual abuse the pathway by which Tina learned to handle violent men?
Along these lines, pictures of Tina from the post-skyjacking period show her to be a very attractive twenty-something. So, how did this bible-carrying woman also come to be an individual who “knew how to wear perfume” and one seeking the glamour and prestige of being a flight attendant?
Reports from classmate searches on the Internet indicate that Tina graduated from the Lankenau School for Girls in 1968, which would make her about 21 when she was skyjacked in 1971. Hence, she must have left her home in Philadelphia soon after graduating from the Lankenau School for Girls, heading to Minneapolis to work as a stewardess for Northwest Orient Airlines.
Recapping what I knew of Tina from the early stages of my investigation: she was a good-looking young woman who left her home in Philly after graduation from a religiously-oriented high school and sought adventure in the skies. Along the way she brings her bible, handles a skyjacking with aplomb, and then loses her mind in a convent and disappears from view.
How did all that happen, and what role does the DB Cooper skyjacking play in Tina Mucklow’s life, if any? And further, is there anything from her childhood or family life that could shed some light on these questions?
Looking For Tina, December 15-16, 2010
A visit to Eastern Pennsylvania
In the fall of 2010, I had a couple of personal experiences that placed me on the east coast for an extended period. First, the newspaper that I had been writing for, The Dispatch of Eatonville, Washington, was sold by its mom and pop operators to a corporate group. The new owners demonstrated a profound inability to pay me in a timely manner and worse, they did not display any substantive capacity to respect my intellectual property rights. My efforts to rectify these issues led my new employers to terminate my contract in September, 2010.
On October 20, within minutes of chiseling-out my last pay check from corporate ownership my 86 year-old mother fell in New York and broke four ribs. Without a job, I seemed the ideal candidate to tend to mom, so, on Halloween I flew to JFK, got mom into a rehab center, and then orchestrated her return back home.
During that time, I was able to take a few days and travel to eastern Pennsylvania to scout for information on Tina.
Uppermost on my list was meeting Dr. Eisenhower-Turner.
I had contacted Dr. ET, as Galen and I affectionately call her, the prior year and shared my concerns for Tina, especially the possibility that she might have been sexually assaulted early in life and that those traumas may have been exacerbated by the DB Cooper incident. I sent Dr. ET a hefty packet of information on the DB Cooper case and also mentioned the possibility that Tina - and the whole DB Cooper caper - may have been part of a Manchurian Candidate–like scenario. The latter could have been part of MKULTRA mind-control operations that were being conducted by the CIA and US military during the Cooper time-frame. In my view, many circumstantial aspects of the Cooper case, especially the sexual behaviors of the primary suspects and in particular those who have confessed to being DB Cooper, suggest the involvement of mind, mood, and memory control processes.
Although Dr. ET and I never spoke directly with each other she did telephone me once, leaving a voice message acknowledging receipt of my packet of information and stressing that she did not want to partner with me in any outreach towards Tina. In fact, she asked quite plaintively that I abandon my efforts to contact Tina.
“I ask that you respect her privacy,” Dr. ET said.
I was disappointed by Dr. ET’s response, and also a little surprised. After all, she too, had been seeking information on Tina. If she was a childhood friend why did she have to ask the cyber world for information on her old classmate? Why didn’t she just call Tina’s family?
Hence, I had assumed that Tina and her family were just as hidden and taciturn for Dr. ET as they were for me. Otherwise, why would Dr ET need the Internet?
But then, why did Dr. ET go mum? Was Dr. ET admitted into the inner sanctum of Tina’s world and then motivated somehow to join their efforts to keep the external world at bay?
Hence, I sought answers directly from Dr. ET.
I was able to learn from medical directories that Dr. ET was practicing at a major medical center in suburban of Philadelphia. I was also intrigued to learn that Dr ET was a psychiatrist.
Another piece of co-incidence, or a connection to MKULTRA? I pondered.
On a cold, pre-Christmas December day in 2010, I knocked on Dr. ET’s office door. She quickly answered but only opened the door a little bit. It appeared that she was having a session with a client, and Dr. ET only allowed a partial view into her office.
“Hi,” I said. “Dr. Susan Eisenhower-Turner?”
She nodded in affirmative.
“Hi there, I’m Bruce Smith,”
Dr. ET’s face looked blank.
“I’m a newspaper reporter from Tacoma, Washington. I contacted you about a year ago.”
Her face brightened with recognition.
“I was wondering if we could speak some time about Tina Mucklow.”
“No,” she replied instantly, in a clear, firm voice.
“Why not?” I countered. She paused, and Dr. ET began to close the door.
“Perhaps we could talk about the Lankenau School for Girls,” I offered.
“Just no,” she said, stepping back and closing her door.
I left quickly, not wanting to trigger a response from hospital security or even risking arrest.
However, I did retreat to the hospital’s snack bar where I calmed myself with an ice-cold Coca-Cola. I was surprised how excited I was. My hands were shaking and my body was absolutely tingling. After two years of talking with DB Cooper principals on the phone, I had actually met one in-person. It was enthralling.
Here are some of my notes on my encounter with Dr. Eisenhower-Turner that I wrote in the snack bar:
“Dr. ET is a stern-looking woman. She’s about 5’8”, early 60s and very thin. She has short hair and was dressed in casual but exceptionally tasteful and colorful professional clothes – scarf, flowing skirt - that type of thing. She looks like an old hippy that has gotten uptight, or she is a stern, older yuppie who has a taste for color, texture and composition in her clothing.”
I called Galen from the snack bar and after hearing my report his first words to me were: “Why does everyone protect Tina?” We spoke for about an hour, and my effort to make direct contact with a member of the Mucklow Clan shifted something between Galen and I – we became bonded more fully in this project. Galen then suggested that I contact AW Mucklow, a woman that he had spoken with several times over the years and had found polite and receptive to his requests for information.
I had known about AW Mucklow from prior conversations with Galen, and he had given me her email address during the time I was reaching out initially to Dr. ET. I had sent a similar packet of information to AW replete with a cover letter elucidating my concerns for Tina’s well-being. However, I had never heard back from her.
Now, though, in the hospital snack bar Galen gave me her phone number and address. I was on the Hunt in a new and more robust manner.
AW, it turned out, lived northeast of Philadelphia and I was currently far to the southwest. Further complicating my itinerary, I wanted to check-out the Lankenau School for Girls, Germantown, and any Mucklows I could find - especially one name-sake, a dentist - before I left this part of Philly.
As it turned out, by the time I reached the office of the dentist bearing Tina’s family moniker he was gone for the day and not to return for a few so I headed to my evening’s lodging in Cherry Hill, NJ at the home of a member of my extended family.
The next day, December 16, I resumed looking for the Lankenau School for Girls. Initially, I had thought it was a Catholic high school but neither the Catholic archdiocese nor the Philly school district had ever heard of it.
Nevertheless, there was a Lankenau High School in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia that was a part of the public school system, so I headed there.
The principal of Lankenau High School, Jacqueline M. Bentley, was as courteous and helpful as her assistant principal Shawn Poole had been on the phone the week before when I had called looking for information on Tina.
They had never heard of Tina Mucklow or Susan Eisenhower, as Dr. ET was known in her high school years, nor did they have any information on when or how their high school was connected to the Catholic Church. I wanted to know if there was a relationship between Tina and a Catholic institution because Cathy O’Brien, the noted MKULTRA whistleblower, specifically charges that members of the Catholic Church were involved in her sexual abuse and the eventual fracturing of her personality as part of an effort to Manchurian-candidate her into a CIA operative.
But Ms. Bentley told me that her Lankenau High School had come into existence in 1983, first as an annex to the Germantown High School further downtown and then as a free-standing high school that had a special charter to educate highly motivated kids.
She also said that she knew prior to the Philadelphia school system taking over Lankenau it had been a private school, possibly for children with special needs.
As for the building itself, it is two-stories in height with a box-like brick and masonry construction. Over its 150-foot length Lankenau High School housed perhaps sixteen classrooms spread over its east and west wings and connected by a central administrative core.
Currently, the building appears a bit dilapidated and has a late-1960s-early-1970s feel. “Run-down- modern” is how I described it in my field notes.
Ms. Bentley also told me that “there’s was nothing out here when the school was built,” and a drive around the area confirmed that this northwestern-most section of Philadelphia had been a collection of wealthy estates, old farms and sporting clubs in the not-too-distant past.
The current Lankenau High School certainly seemed like it was built in an ideal place for MKULTRA kids getting their personalities fried, but it didn’t seem like it was old-enough to be the place Tina and Sue graduated from in 1968, as Google searches had indicated.
When I explained my interest in Lankenau High School to Principal Bentley and shared my knowledge of Tina and Sue Eisenhower more fully, Ms. Bentley recommended that I pay a visit to the neighboring Renfrew Center, which she said was a private treatment facility for women with eating disorders.
As I drove away from Lankenau High School I passed a small, white Honda with a Pennsylvania license plate that read: MK JOE’S.
An omen?
Nevertheless, I found the Renfrew Center to be a concoction of elegant dorms and classroom-like buildings surrounding a two-story Mediterranean-style villa that was built in the 1850s.
Oddly, the parking lots at Renfrew were filled with twice the number of vehicles that were parked at Bentley’s Lankenau HS, and most were late-model, mini SUVs. As I headed towards the administration center in the villa I passed a number of large bay-windows that revealed several groups of pretty-but-skinny women sitting around in circles, presumably in group therapy sessions. I surmised that Renfrew did not have many male reporters strolling around its grounds and thus making the residents uncomfortable.
The official I spoke with at the Renfrew administrative office was civil but not warm, informing me that the Renfrew Center was a private treatment facility and has been in existence since the 1980s. I got the hint and got out of there. It may have an interesting link to this story – or not – but I needed more specific information on Tina Mucklow.
Seeking it, I started driving towards downtown on the near-by Germantown Ave with the goal of visiting the Germantown Historical Society. Within minutes a light snow began to fall and by the time I reached inner Philly the roads were very slippery and the traffic snarled.
But GHS curators Sam and Alex greeted me warmly as I entered and introduced myself. They called out: “Bruce, we were just going to call you!”
The prior week, I had called the Germantown Historical Society looking for information on the Lankenau Catholic High School. I was hoping, successfully as it turned out, that these historians would have knowledge of Germantown far beyond their efforts to commemorate the important battle that was fought in that part of the city in the early days of America’s Revolutionary War.
The folks at the Historical Society provided me with documents that the school was officially called the Lankenau School for Girls and was dedicated in 1956 at 3201 West School House Lane, which is now located on the Philadelphia University campus. However, they couldn’t confirm the school was run by the Catholic Church or when it went out of existence. Also, before its arrival at the West School House Lane site, the Lankenau School for Girls had a pre-existing campus elsewhere in the Germantown area, dating back to at least 1903.
Since West School House Lane was just a hop, skip and a jump from the Historical Society, I was back in the snow in short order. But, as I made my way to the door an older figure with twinkling eyes emerged from a dusty cubicle amongst the shadows and announced that he could not find any Mucklows listed in the 1963 Philadelphia phone book as residing in Germantown, only a Mucklow print shop, now out of business.
Hmmm, I thought, Germantown is a working-class neighborhood. Maybe the Mucklows didn’t have a phone?
Then, another historian approached and handed me a newspaper clipping of the dedication. I was shocked to see that the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia – not the Catholic Church - was the officiating organization at the dedication and perhaps was also administering the school.
However, a Sister Lydia Fisher was listed as orchestrating the dedication ceremony. This Lankenau thing was getting murkier by the minute. Was the Lankenau School for Girls a private school run by the Lutherans and not the Catholic Church? If so, when did the Lutherans utilize teaching nuns?
Slipping and sliding through the snow I wandered the grounds of Philadelphia University asking students and staff where I could get information on the former Lankenau school. Eventually, I was directed to Archer Hall, the Registrar’s building, which proved to be another elegant, two-story mansion.
“Can you tell me where the old Lankenau School for Girls existed?” I asked Victoria Lally, the receptionist.
“Well, you’re standing in what was the dorm building for both the nuns and the girls, as far as I know. The building across the parking lot, Downs Hall, was the classroom building,” she said.
Again I felt chills, this time knowing I was standing on ground that Tina Mucklow had also walked. Also, the question of nuns further excited me - this was getting weirder.
“The nuns resided here?” I asked. “They lived in the same building as their students?”
“Yes, that is my understanding,” said Victoria.
“And the Lankenau School for Girls was a boarding school?”
“Yes.”
Wow, I thought. I had assumed Tina and Sue had been day students, commuting from near-by Germantown. After all, Tina’s family didn’t have a phone or at least a listing in the phone book, so how could they afford a boarding school?
Victoria couldn’t tell me when Philadelphia University took over the buildings from the Lutherans - or Catholics - or when the Lankenau School for Girls closed its doors, but she said it was prior to 1980, which was when she started her career in the Registrar’s office.
Seeking more information, Victoria directed me towards the “White House,” another estate on campus and one that housed the Public Relations department. However, all the PR folks had departed for home by the time I reached their offices.
As I left Archer Hall Victoria added one more piece of advice, saying that I could probably obtain confirmation of Tina’s graduation from Lankenau at the Pennsylvania Department of Education in Harrisburg.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Good luck,” she said. “I hope you find out what happened to Tina. It’s a great story.”
As the dark descended the snow tapered off. However, the traffic mess only grew worse. The radio said that I-95 was jammed from Philadelphia to the PA-Delaware state line, and when I passed I-76 on the west side of Philly I could see it was at a standstill in both directions. Even the cars on the entrance ramps weren’t moving.
"Yikes, I might as well take Route 1 North to get out of Philly!"
AW Mucklow was my next stop, but she was a long ways off. "I’ll get there when I get there," I philosophized is an effort to assuage my mounting impatience. Fortunately, I caused no damage to anyone as I slid through one intersection. Creeping and crawling, I finally made it to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and headed towards my old stomping grounds of Lehigh University and Bethlehem, PA, and eventually AW.
Earlier, when I had called the number Galen had given me for AW I learned that it had been disconnected. Nevertheless, I had reverse-addressed it so I knew where to go and found her house without difficulty.
It’s a cute, simple little house on a fair-sized property in a clean, attractive working-class neighborhood. AW’s abode is what folks in New York call a “shotgun” dwelling, as the house is narrow and long, and the main entrance is on the side of the house and not on the side facing the street. She had a few Christmas lights strung on her house and along a shrub or two, so I could clearly see the eight-foot high hedges shielding the house and the chain-link fence and gate, which completed a fortress-like appearance.
Since it was well after sunset I decided to park across the street at a neighbor’s, as it was well-lit from plenty of Christmas decorations.
However, shortly after I parked, the neighbor, a young, Polish-accented woman opened her door. I asked her where AW Mucklow lived, although I knew. Besides my concerns about freaking-out the neighborhood because of my after-dark arrival, I wanted to make my investigative intentions known to the neighbors and maybe obtain a little extra information. Plus, even though AW had a few Christmas lights glowing, her property was still mostly dark. Compounding my concern was the gate. I have a journalist’s rule of never opening a private entrance unless authorized, particularly in the dark.
As I talked with the neighbor, AW's dogs were apparently released from inside the house or came running from the back of the property. At the gate they barked like crazed creatures guarding the Wicked Witch of the West. Despite the commotion the neighbor asked me to move my car since I was in her husband’s parking space and he was due home momentarily.
I repositioned my vehicle on AW's side of the street but in front of another neighbor's house. By the time I walked to AWs gate the dogs had been recalled inside. At the gate I hesitated, then took a breath and opened it. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission, I rationalized and approached the front door. I knocked a couple times but got no response. Since it didn't feel like the main door I walked around to the side of her house, which did feel like the primary entrance.
Once again, the dogs were inside and began yapping when I knocked. A voice inside called out, "Who is it?"
"My name is Bruce Smith,” I answered. “I'm a newspaper reporter. I was wondering if I could talk to you."
Thus began a loud, awkward conversation shouted through the house walls and over the noise of the dogs.
"About the skyjacking?" the voice-inside called out.
"Yes. I'd like to talk to you about Tina....is she okay?"
"She's fine...but she's not here.
"Do you have a number I could call her?
"No."
"Is AW Mucklow here? I'd like to talk with AW, too."
"No, she's not here, either."
Do you have a number I could call AW?"
"No, I don't."
"Okay, I’ll be leaving then. Thanks for your time."
As I walked away all the outside lights were turned off, but I was still able to read an engraved wooden sign hanging next to the door: "Nobody gets to see the wizard. Not no how. Not no way."
I smiled. "I must be at the right place….."
I left AW’s property and headed to another neighbor, this one next to the neighbor whose husband was coming home soon. I thought I would make my presence known further – let AW know that I wasn’t going to go away without an effort, and also spreading the news to folks who might not know that AW’s cousin is the primary witness to the only unsolved skyjacking case in the United States. I figured I could stir the pot a bit and maybe make a friend along the way who could intercede for me with the Mucklows. I wasn't completely sure I had spoken to AW, as the voice sounded like a young woman's, but I had thought I had and she sounded like she was going to be a tough interview.
So, I knocked on a second neighbor's front door, another house with lots of Christmas lights shining. However, I received no answer. I walked back into the street, and then someone opened the door at AW's and let the dogs out again.
Within seconds, a womanly figure appeared at the Mucklow's gate. She was attractive and slightly-over-weight, around 50 and I surmised it was AW, but she never introduced herself.
"Do you have a business card?" the figure called out.
"Yes, I do," and I handed it to her with my cell number scribbled hastily on the back.
Arching my arm high into the sky to avoid the yapping dogs, I passed the card over the gate and the figure took it.
"Do you have a number I can call you on?” I asked.
"Yeah, I'll give you my cell number. Do you have a piece of paper?"
Again using a sky-hook maneuver, I handed her a pen and a scrap of notepaper from my over-flowing Mucklow file. She wrote her number down, and handed it back to me.
"Thanks," I said. "I'll call you soon."
She seemed pleasant and not concerned about standing in the wintry cold talking to a pesky reporter.
I was hoping that she would invite me in, but after a momentary pause during which I did not receive it I said goodbye and drove off. I stopped at a near-by convenience store to restock with note paper and then headed to a neighborhood pizzeria. There, I called AW on my cell. She picked up on the second ring and we spoke for about 20-30 minutes. She was friendly but unrevealing. She also conducted herself in a smooth manner, deftly deflecting my probing questions.
Maybe she’s talked with a lot of reporters….or she’s been coached?
But she did display one cognitive slip when describing Tina's departure from the home environs:
"When Tina went off to become...you know…a.... whatchamacallit... ah, not a waitress..."
"A stewardess?" I offered
"Yeah, a stewardess....
I was surprised by that mental block but I didn’t press the issue. I wanted to build rapport so I didn't push for details or information. In the main, we had a gentle, pleasant conversation and AW took many opportunities to assure me that Tina was okay and wanted to be left alone.
“It happened a long time ago, and she just wants to leave it in the past,” AW announced early in the conversation.
I only pushed heavily on one item, a comment AW made that Tina lives well and even goes on vacations
“Where?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. Lots of places.”
“Like where?”
“I don’t remember exactly.”
“Well, what kinds of vacations does she go on? Does she go swimming, like in the Caribbean? Or maybe skiing? Like in Colorado?”
“I can’t say for sure.”
“Well, where did she go on her last vacation?”
“Ah, somewhere down in California, I think.”
“Southern California….northern California?”
“Ah, down in the lower part.”
“LA?”
“Not exactly. It was off the coast. It was, ah…an island. Yeah, Catalina Island.”
Hmmmm. Is that the truth? Did Tina Mucklow actually go on a vacation to Catalina Island, or did AW just hem and haw until she could come up with a plausible vacation spot. I don’t know.
Later, AW asked me why I wanted to talk with Tina, and what my interest was in the case.
I explained that I thought the crime was an important story because it’s the only unsolved skyjacking case in the United States and one filled with mysteries. I also said it was important to talk with Tina since she is the primary witness to the crime and thus a primary source journalistically. Also, I explained some of my concern for Tina's health and well-being, and the possibility of MKULTRA involvement. I told her that I had spoken with Bill Rataczak and that he had described Tina as vital to saving their lives, adding that he described Tina as a figure who kept her cool under pressure. Nevertheless, I added that others report that Tina has had serious cognitive difficulties. I told AW about Dr. ET. I described my relationship with Galen Cook and how I had come to received her telephone number, and how I had reversed-addressed it to find where she lived.
AW interrupted at one point and asked where I was from. I assumed she wondered how my New York accent got attached to an Eatonville, Washington business card, so I explained how my mom had fallen and broken four ribs, and I had come back east to help care for her. Later, AW told me that Tina had returned similarly to help care for her father.
“That shows you the kind of person Tina is,” AW told me. “Not too many people do that for their elderly parents these days.”
Also, I told AW that I had met Dr. ET the prior day but that the doctor had declined to discuss Tina despite her outreach on the Internet a couple years before.
“That makes me really curious,” I told AW. “Why wouldn’t Susan Eisenhower talk with me when she clearly wanted to learn about Tina and did so in such a public manner?”
I ended the conversation after hearing yet one more string of commentaries from AW claiming that Tina's okay and just wants to be left alone. After about 20 minutes, I decided that to continue fishing would be counterproductive so I bailed. Nevertheless, I told AW that I would like to talk with her again when I had new information and more questions. She didn't protest that possibility.
I intend to go back to eastern PA and talk with her again before I return to WA.
Here are my field notes from talking with AW Mucklow:
AW began by saying that she has spoken with a lot of reporters and investigators.
“I’m dealing with half-a-dozen people trying to get – ya know – in touch with Tina.”
When I asked AW how she was related to Tina, she paused, so I offered a prompt.
“Are you like a cousin or something?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
AW added that she is a lot younger than Tina. When I asked AW about Tina and her family, she said, “She (Tina) just went off to become...you know…(the waitress/stewardess comment).”
When I asked AW if or how Tina had been affected by the skyjacking she simply said, “She had a bad night, I guess.”
Then she added quickly, “She’s very quiet….She’s a very good person.”
Further: “She keeps to herself. I think that’s just what she wants to do... It all happened in the past and I guess she just wants to forget about it.”
I asked about Cooper:
“She not afraid of Cooper – that’s what I think, personally.”
AW confirmed Tina’s religiosity.
“She’s very religious. She’s one of those good people – like you taking care of your mother. Her dad was up in age and he needed help. She’s the one who came in and took care of him….I respect that; a lot of people wouldn’t do that – they don’t care…she’s a good person.”
AW confirmed that Tina went to the Lankenau School for Girls and said that she thought it was a Catholic institution. She also confirmed that Tina was a Catholic, although she hesitated for a split second when I asked what religion Tina was.
AW also confirmed that Tina has one sibling, an older sister named Jane. I asked if AW could give me contact information on Jane and she gently re-buffed me.
“There’s been so many people trying to get to talk with Tina and her (Jane). I can talk to Jane and run it by her that you’d like to talk with her.”
I asked what life is like in general for Tina.
“She’s living a normal life. She does everything a normal person does – she dates, she works, she drives.” AW then added: “Is Tina happy? I would say yes.”
I then asked AW about her relationship with Tina.
“I haven’t seen her in a while, not for about ten years. But, I talk with her fairly frequently. She seems fine to me.”
As for dealing with reporters:
“I just feel that she doesn’t want to talk about it. I’ve sent her what I got from you. I think she just feels that it happened in the past and she just doesn’t want to relive it.”
AW confirmed some specifics about Tina’s life, stating that Tina had been married once but was not currently married, and that she has never had any children.
I asked about the specifics of where Tina has lived, such as the reports that she moved to the Portland, Oregon area after leaving the convent in Eugene.
“I don’t think Tina’s in Oregon anymore.
AW seemed exasperated at this point.
“I always send everything out to her. I don’t know what else I can do…to help you guys. I’m in the middle. What more can I say?”
I asked about Tina’s participation in the investigation of DB Cooper:
“I don’t think she has a lot of contact with the FBI.”
Then she added, a little smugly, “Nobody got hurt that night, right?”
“But didn’t Tina get emotionally hurt that night?” I retorted.
“It probably did traumatize her,” AW replied.
Then AW went back to defending Tina:
“Tina’s got a good life. She’s planting a garden, she goes on vacation – she’s living better than I am,” adding with a laugh: “That’s better than me. I haven’t been on a vacation in a long time.”
AW and I then had our exchange about where Tina goes on vacation.
At the end, I asked,” Can I call back, if I have more information?”
“Sure, I’ll be happy to talk with you, but I don’t know what more I can say.”
Summation:
AW Mucklow was very circumspect in our conversation this evening (Dec. 16, 2010).
She answered very carefully. She was very successful in giving some details but not too many, and nothing crucial. She seemed very skilled, as if she has been rehearsed, or just has had a lot of practice.
I plan on speaking with her again, during the latter part of my trip here in New York.
Addendum: Lankenau School for Girls
- Update, January 12, 2011
On January 11, 2011, I spoke with John Peterson, the curator for the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, about the Lankenau School for Girls.
Mr. Peterson told me that the Lutherans had operated the Lankenau School for Girls, and that the “nuns” who taught there were, in fact, Lutheran deaconesses. Pictures from that era show Lutheran deaconesses dressed very similarly to Catholic nuns, although not as severely as some Catholic orders. These deaconesses engaged in similar types of activities as Catholic nuns, such as social and medical work, and teaching.
In addition, Mr. Peterson gave me an overview of the history of the school:
The Lankenau School for Girls was established in 1890 and grew to become an independent school for grades K-12. It was founded by the Lutheran Theological Seminary on the grounds of the “Deaconesses House” in Germantown, with substantial support from the well-known Lutheran philanthropist, John Lankenau. Mr. Lankenau had been very active in community affairs throughout the late 19th and early 20th Century and had also founded the Lankenau Hospital, a major medical center that still serves the Philadelphia area.
In 1942, the Lankenau School for Girls moved to 3201 West School House Lane, a location now part of Philadelphia University. At this time the LSG was a boarding school. However, in 1969, the LSG became co-educational and ceased its boarding operations.
I was unable to clarify what part of the school was dedicated in 1956.
In 1974, The Lankenau School moved to 201 Spring Lane, apparently building the structure that is now the current public Lankenau High School. In 1978, the Lutherans closed the school and the public school system took control soon after, re-opening as a public charter school sometime around 1980.
Addendum, Second AW Interview, Jan. 12, 2011
AW has been unresponsive to my requests for a second interview. I have also sent her a snail mail correspondence and have not received a reply.
In addition, I have called Florence Schaffner, Tina’s fellow flight attendant aboard 305. Ms. Schaffner is also unresponsive to my requests for an interview.
Addendum, Interview with Leslie, January 17, 2011
A former NWO flight attendant named Leslie contacted Galen recently, claiming that she was a colleague of Tina’s, and in fact had been a classmate of her in flight attendant training.
I called her to get more background on Tina, and I was surprised at her response, her kindness for calling me after I had left on her phone.
“I knew Tina Mucklow as a wonderful, sweet person, and that’s all I want to say,” Leslie told me.
I was stunned. She reached out to two different investigators to tell us that brief statement and then cut off the conversation? I find that weird - it's almost a set-up.
I pursued Leslie a little, asking if we could just have a general conversation about Tina and discuss what kind of person she is and how she knew Tina. Leslie relented a little, and confirmed to me that she knew Tina in flight school. When I grasped for more she pushed back, saying that maybe Tina is incommunicado because guys like me constantly hound her. Leslie also seemed unaffected by my perspective that Tina, as the prime witness to a major crime, has some level of responsibility to contribute to the effort of having justice served.
“I’m just going to respect her privacy and I ask that you do, too. I knew Tina to be a dear sweet person, and I won’t say anything more.”
And she didn’t.
Leslie makes the third person I have spoken to in recent days that has beseeched me to respect Tina’s privacy and has also offered a positive, upbeat note on Tina’s well-being. After I spoke with Leslie, I began to wonder if she was reading from a script, one that Dr. ET and AW both read from – many of the words were identical, i.e.: “Please respect Tina’s privacy,” and were delivered with similar inflection and with similar firmness.
These three ladies were all tough cookies.
Bruice. Trust me the bottom line is that Tina just wants to be left alone.If info from her is needed she can be contacted.She is will off and living a good life. Jerry
QuoteWell, some radio interviews are big markets and others are small. This one is small-market.
But in case you want to hear the half-hour interview, it is streamed live. They don't store the shows like Coast-to-Coast AM does, so if you want to catch it, it will be here:
KYNT AM
Begins about 5:15PM, Central Time (3:15 Seattle Time) on Wednesday, January 20th.
I sent George Noory a message and challenged him to produce Galen Cook and I together for a show. And Noory has seen the revised version of the book, I know.
I'll make mincemeat out of Cook if he's actually got guts enough to appear. He was a no-show last August at the Auburn Avenue Theatre. I don't blame him for that, though. I had the audience laughing at his Gossett story.
Do you WANT a real CHallenge - Geoffrey Gray - REMEMBER he was the one who introduced Christiansen to the Public in the N.Y. Magazine.
I DARE you to have him on a program with you - I double DARE you. Get Cook and Grey into the interview....that one is a REAL DOUBLE dare and I do NOT think you will even let it happen.
Why? Because Porteous controls you - that is why!
Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber
I'll be glad to apear in an interview with all of you. Jerry
georger 244
As you know, Grey thinks KC was the hijacker, although his new book reviews all the major possibles.
Baloney!
Quote
I'm sure Geoff Grey and I would get along fine. And it wouldn't be fair if Grey came along, although I would like it. As you know, Grey thinks KC was the hijacker, although his new book reviews all the major possibles. Cook would need a second person to help support his case.
Do YOU really think Grey thinks KC was the Skyjacker? YOU, Blevins are in for a very very large surprise. He may have got caught up into Blevins in the beginning and GOT Suckered by Porteous, but Grey does NOT thing KC was Cooper.
Yes, his book is an exploratory of the suspects and he will present them independently.
ASK Grey if he wants to be on a talk show with you...if he declines IT is NOT for the REASON you stated. YOU and PORTEOUS DON'T want him because he knows TOO much about your subject and he would NOT want to be forced to lie in the public eye.
Grey has been a VERY busy guy for the last 2 yrs and his book will have a few surprises in it.
Has Grey asked you or Porteous or Lyle Christiansen for permission on anything?
Have you Blevins actually met Grey? Have you ever discussed your recent claims about your subject with Grey?
Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber
Bruce Smith Posted:
---------------------------------
--------------------------------
Jo Weber states:
Bruce, your write up was interesting, but I think you STEPPED a little too far with your "opinion" about Tina Mucklow's background. I do NOT feel you are qualified to make the statement you made about how or why Tina had the ability to keep Cooper occupied.
You have NO compassion for what this woman has had to live through...and to humiliate her with an opinion or assumption such as you have stated in a public forum was in very bad taste.
The recounting of your adventure in your search for Tina was interesting because NO one ever did that before...no one has ever exposed Tina before. You have NOT met this woman before nor are you qualified to analyze what gave her the courage to do what she did..
I think it took a lot of courage and I believe that Cooper did NOT present as much of a threat as we have been led to believe.
Yes, she was afraid - but there was something about the man and there must have been conversation never made public. She told me "He was a Sad Man"....later on this would also appear in the FIOA, but not until after she told me this in a phone conversation.
Precisely why and for other reasons I do believe she was the woman who called me on that day many yrs ago.
Such as - NO one had My private phone number after I got married and she called me on that number...because the number was put into a message I sent her. I had at one time 2 lines into the house (one was public) but the other was not...she called me on the private line which is the only one I currently have.
The old number was getting too many unwanted phone calls and the number she called is not listed under Jo Weber.
She showed a lot of courage and she has had to spend her life hiding from people - I just do not feel she deserved your de-meaning opinion and it is one you should never have publically stated. Especially after people who knew her did grant you an interview of sorts.
[Blue]Your reseach was phenonmenal and very through.Did you get a school picture of her?
If she was married and had children - I don't believe friends or family members would have told you - because then the children become targets - did your read what one Cooper searcher did regarding one of the McCoy family members?
Frankly nothing could make me happier if she knocked on my door one day and spent a couple of days with me, If that were to ever happen - NO one would ever know, but me. Not even my children. But she has a life and that life does not include Cooper.
She was never paid enough to be sought out like she was a movie star for 40 yrs. I hope the government has provided for her all of these yrs and made sure she had a good life.
I have stated before that Tina did NOT "disappear" until after Sept of 1979. Does anyone know where she was living at that time? How timely she slipped into oblivion after Sept of 1979.
Does ANYONE have a clue as to where Tina Mucklow was living in Sept of 1979? If any of you knew the answers to that you might suspect why she disappeared.
Yes, Blevin - we particially agree on something per your statement, except I didn't consider it Fluff - or Ridiculous, I found it in very poor taste...to hint or even mention the subject under the circumstances.
.QuoteBruce Smith says in part:
***'Piecing these parts together (on Tina Mucklow) I began to see a picture of a woman who might have experienced child abuse, possibly sexual. In my fourteen years as an activity therapist in psychiatry, I had learned that many women who had been raped as children often found solace in religion, frequently becoming hyper-religious, such as carrying bibles to work. Further, many of these abused women also sought to enhance their physical beauty, recognizing the inherent power therein
QuoteWas sexual abuse the pathway by which Tina learned to handle violent men?
---------------------------------
--------------------------------
Jo Weber states:
Bruce, your write up was interesting, but I think you STEPPED a little too far with your "opinion" about Tina Mucklow's background. I do NOT feel you are qualified to make the statement you made about how or why Tina had the ability to keep Cooper occupied.
You have NO compassion for what this woman has had to live through...and to humiliate her with an opinion or assumption such as you have stated in a public forum was in very bad taste.
The recounting of your adventure in your search for Tina was interesting because NO one ever did that before...no one has ever exposed Tina before. You have NOT met this woman before nor are you qualified to analyze what gave her the courage to do what she did..
I think it took a lot of courage and I believe that Cooper did NOT present as much of a threat as we have been led to believe.
Yes, she was afraid - but there was something about the man and there must have been conversation never made public. She told me "He was a Sad Man"....later on this would also appear in the FIOA, but not until after she told me this in a phone conversation.
Precisely why and for other reasons I do believe she was the woman who called me on that day many yrs ago.
Such as - NO one had My private phone number after I got married and she called me on that number...because the number was put into a message I sent her. I had at one time 2 lines into the house (one was public) but the other was not...she called me on the private line which is the only one I currently have.
The old number was getting too many unwanted phone calls and the number she called is not listed under Jo Weber.
She showed a lot of courage and she has had to spend her life hiding from people - I just do not feel she deserved your de-meaning opinion and it is one you should never have publically stated. Especially after people who knew her did grant you an interview of sorts.
[Blue]Your reseach was phenonmenal and very through.Did you get a school picture of her?
If she was married and had children - I don't believe friends or family members would have told you - because then the children become targets - did your read what one Cooper searcher did regarding one of the McCoy family members?
Frankly nothing could make me happier if she knocked on my door one day and spent a couple of days with me, If that were to ever happen - NO one would ever know, but me. Not even my children. But she has a life and that life does not include Cooper.
She was never paid enough to be sought out like she was a movie star for 40 yrs. I hope the government has provided for her all of these yrs and made sure she had a good life.
I have stated before that Tina did NOT "disappear" until after Sept of 1979. Does anyone know where she was living at that time? How timely she slipped into oblivion after Sept of 1979.
Does ANYONE have a clue as to where Tina Mucklow was living in Sept of 1979? If any of you knew the answers to that you might suspect why she disappeared.
Yes, Blevin - we particially agree on something per your statement, except I didn't consider it Fluff - or Ridiculous, I found it in very poor taste...to hint or even mention the subject under the circumstances.
Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber
georger 244
QuoteQuoteAs you know, Grey thinks KC was the hijacker, although his new book reviews all the major possibles.
Baloney!
You should be telling this to Skipp Porteous. He and Grey both live in New York, and Porteous has spoken to him many times since 2007. If Grey still didn't stand by his article, or he thought it was inaccurate, he would have pulled it by now, or written a counter-article. I have not seen this from him.
And no one, including Jo, myself, or you, actually KNOWS what is in Grey's upcoming book. That is between Grey and his publisher. The only announcement was the public one about reviewing all the suspects.
EDIT: I have sent a message to Skipp Porteous asking him to clarify Grey's position, that is, whether he's changed his mind since 2007. I should have an answer on this tomorrow. After doing an extensive Google search this evening, I find absolutely nothing on Grey that even HINTS that he no longer considers KC a strong suspect. His publisher knows this, too. Google is showing one KC/Grey link after another and nothing else.
This should be telling you something. His book is very likely going to be a general review of all the suspects, and will lean toward KC as the strongest one. If he had changed his mind about this, something would have emerged by now.
His book was put over until August of this year, even though Crown Books was supposed to release it last summer. It was even listed in Crown's 2010 summer catalog. (You can see it at Issuu.com) What probably happened is that Grey had to do a rewrite once he got a look at the additional information on Christiansen that became available with Blast. Porteous provided him with a copy. I've also authorized the release of the PDF to the Revised Edition to Grey, via Porteous. I told Porteous to tell Grey he is free to use it as a reference if he wishes and to take excerpts if he wants.
Consult your bones and trinkets and guess
again.
Geof Grey does not owe you and Porteous
one damned thing that I know of and whatever
that might be has no affect on the real world,
in any event.
Calm down. Go to bed.
georger 244
QuoteGeorger says:
Quote'Consult your bones and trinkets and guess
again.
Geof Grey does not owe you and Porteous
one damned thing that I know of and whatever
that might be has no affect on the real world,
in any event.
Calm down. Go to bed.'
Actually, WE owe Geoff Grey. It was his work that helped bring KC into the light as a suspect.
You called 'baloney' but didn't like reading the researched response. Your 'effect on the real world' comment sounds like a cop-out.
There is a large inconsistency at this point. You
said all along you did not care if Cooper was KC
and you wanted back to your regular work regime,
and now here you are (Jo style) weeks later
not only defending KC but also trying to convince
the world Geof Grey supports KC as being
Cooper (when in fact he doesnt and never did!).
All Geof was doing was bringing a person to light
who others had commented about already -
Geof has a pure journalistic background unbridled
by commercialistic concerns like you do.
That is not just an inconsistency on your part
about your motives, but an actual false statement
in terms of Geof Grey. I have discussed these matters with Geof Grey and nothing you
say fits with what Mr. Grey previously told me.
What is this? Blevins Uber Alles Max Frie?
Either we believe KC was Cooper or what?
The sky will fall? Badgering people isnt going
to put KC or you "on the plane". Its too bad
you are attempting to force a public statement
out of Geof. Is it not like Bruce trying to force
Tina to speak under guise of 'welfare'?
Except for Bernie;s belated endorsement you
havent given one piece of actual proof KC had
anything to do with this hijacking.
My guess is, you have painted a very one-sided
portrait of KC, almost prosecutorial which you then
call research. It's all bias pure and simple until
you produce one item of evidence that links KC
to this crime and my bet is you cant and never
will do that because it isnt there as fact.
You must be counting on nothing ever surfacing
which says concretely 'Cooper died', or lived and
was somewhere else .... or other items of evidence
which would discount your claim? Or you would
have the capacity to counter argue against such
evidence. That my friend is a tall order. You have
bet against Nature and Man!
Guru312 0
QuoteI'll be glad to apear in an interview with all of you. Jerry
You are willing to be seen and interviewed with a bunch of fifth graders who don't know anything about parachutes?! That's surprising.
Guru312
I am not DB Cooper
I am not DB Cooper
I'm not quite finished...
Bruce Smith says in part:
First, you should stop identifying yourself as a 'newspaper reporter' to both this thread and the general public, because you are not. At most, you've freelanced a couple of articles, and they don't usually issue press credentials for those. I've done more than 450 illustrated articles for Newsvine/MSNBC, and passed the million-visitor mark there just recently. (Member since March 2007) But I don't represent myself as being with MSNBC. To do so would be fraud. Here's a quote you should read from the Citizens' Law Project website:
Misrepresenting Yourself in Order to Gain Consent:
***
Robert, why the dis? Do I disrepect you? I think not.
And the misrepresentation of my professional credentials. Why?
As for setting the record straight:
The Eatonville Dispatch (www.dispatchnews.com) published nearly 1,000 news articles and features of mine from November 2006 through December 2010.
Priot to that and beginning in 1990, I have had numerous journalistic and short story pieces published in regional and local publications, such as The Olympian, Creations Magazine and The Golden Thread magazine.
When I get back to Washington, which should be around the beginning of February, folks can read me in the on-line magazine that I'm starting, called The Mountain News. (www.themountainnews.wa.wordpress.com.)
Bruce Smith says in part:
Quote'Piecing these parts together (on Tina Mucklow) I began to see a picture of a woman who might have experienced child abuse, possibly sexual. In my fourteen years as an activity therapist in psychiatry, I had learned that many women who had been raped as children often found solace in religion, frequently becoming hyper-religious, such as carrying bibles to work. Further, many of these abused women also sought to enhance their physical beauty, recognizing the inherent power therein.
Was sexual abuse the pathway by which Tina learned to handle violent men?
First, you should stop identifying yourself as a 'newspaper reporter' to both this thread and the general public, because you are not. At most, you've freelanced a couple of articles, and they don't usually issue press credentials for those. I've done more than 450 illustrated articles for Newsvine/MSNBC, and passed the million-visitor mark there just recently. (Member since March 2007) But I don't represent myself as being with MSNBC. To do so would be fraud. Here's a quote you should read from the Citizens' Law Project website:
Misrepresenting Yourself in Order to Gain Consent:
Quote'You may want to engage in investigative reporting tactics in order to inform the public, and thus may feel the need to misrepresent yourself in order to gain the necessary consent. If you do so, you may find yourself facing charges of trespass on the basis that your misrepresentation vitiated the consent given to you...'
***
Robert, why the dis? Do I disrepect you? I think not.
And the misrepresentation of my professional credentials. Why?
As for setting the record straight:
The Eatonville Dispatch (www.dispatchnews.com) published nearly 1,000 news articles and features of mine from November 2006 through December 2010.
Priot to that and beginning in 1990, I have had numerous journalistic and short story pieces published in regional and local publications, such as The Olympian, Creations Magazine and The Golden Thread magazine.
When I get back to Washington, which should be around the beginning of February, folks can read me in the on-line magazine that I'm starting, called The Mountain News. (www.themountainnews.wa.wordpress.com.)
QuoteBruce Smith Posted:
.QuoteBruce Smith says in part:
***'Piecing these parts together (on Tina Mucklow) I began to see a picture of a woman who might have experienced child abuse, possibly sexual. In my fourteen years as an activity therapist in psychiatry, I had learned that many women who had been raped as children often found solace in religion, frequently becoming hyper-religious, such as carrying bibles to work. Further, many of these abused women also sought to enhance their physical beauty, recognizing the inherent power thereinQuoteWas sexual abuse the pathway by which Tina learned to handle violent men?
---------------------------------
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Jo Weber states:
Bruce, your write up was interesting, but I think you STEPPED a little too far with your "opinion" about Tina Mucklow's background. I do NOT feel you are qualified to make the statement you made about how or why Tina had the ability to keep Cooper occupied.
You have NO compassion for what this woman has had to live through...and to humiliate her with an opinion or assumption such as you have stated in a public forum was in very bad taste.
***
Jo, I take your comments to heed with great seriousness, and I thank you for sharing them here. This is one of the great values of this forum - it is public and serious, but it is not the front page of the New York Times, either. Hence, it gives guys like me a chance to share our writings and thoughts in a somewhat buffered environment - one that provides a measure of safety to the folks I write about, such as Tina.
I share your concerns about protecting Tina. However, we disagree on where to draw the line. Obviously my line is much further towards public sharing than yours, but I do not discount your perspective. I am grateful to you and the others who have posted here saying that I have crossed a line of fair play and safety. It is good to keep my feet to the fire and be accountable to the impact my words may have.
Here are my thoughts on Tina and my writing about her:
1. Tina is a public figure. She is talked about in numerous books. She is seen in numerous YouTube videos. She is discussed here and on many other Internet forums. Most importantly, she is the primary witness to a major crime. Yes, she may not like her celebrity status, but nevertheless she has a public persona.
As such, if she is unwilling to appear personally in the public spotlight then she ought to hire a publicist to speak for her. I hope she would select a publicist that could speak credibily about her experiences and not just spill generalities. I have recommended to the family that she do this.
2. I do not think Tina's silence serves her. Every indication I have is that Tina's life has been seriously impacted by the Cooper incident despite numerous assurances to the contrary. I simply do not belive the folks who keep telling me to respect her privacy that Tina is okay as they are not able to refute the information I have regarding her well-being. That may be a grandious and hubristic perspective on my part, but I truly I belive the truth shall set everyone free, and that is the intention from which I write.
3. Further, I believe that Tina is a victim of, and a witness to, crimes far beyond a mere skyjacking. I believe that Tina has a responsiblity to society to actively see that justice be done. As a victim, I understand that her capacity to do that may be greatly impaired; nevertheless, I think Tina needs to speak out about her experiences in a forthwright manner. Somehow, somewhere.
quade 4
Have you considered that Tina is perfectly fine, but just doesn't want to be pestered about something she really doesn't have a lot to say about?
Believe it or not, some people don't want to be in the spotlight and just want to go about their lives.
I'm pretty sure you'd get pissed if complete strangers kept pestering you about something that happened 40 years ago.
Believe it or not, some people don't want to be in the spotlight and just want to go about their lives.
I'm pretty sure you'd get pissed if complete strangers kept pestering you about something that happened 40 years ago.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver
The World's Most Boring Skydiver
Farflung 0
There was some chat about the condition of the cut ends of the reserve chute left on the plane. This video has the necktie (looks like a Towncraft), ticket, money and parachute (0:54 – 1:16).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLOgfkv4alk
Don’t know what Cooper used to cut the lines or why he resorted to such a drastic solution. Far more robust equipment was available in the aircraft.
That makes one point for opening a chute and canning it for materials as being familiar with skydiving. Zero points for aircraft system/ops knowledge. With a bonus point for haberdashery selection since he avoided using a bow tie (ref: Pee Wee Herman, Senator Paul Simon and Orville Redenbacher).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLOgfkv4alk
Don’t know what Cooper used to cut the lines or why he resorted to such a drastic solution. Far more robust equipment was available in the aircraft.
That makes one point for opening a chute and canning it for materials as being familiar with skydiving. Zero points for aircraft system/ops knowledge. With a bonus point for haberdashery selection since he avoided using a bow tie (ref: Pee Wee Herman, Senator Paul Simon and Orville Redenbacher).
Robert99 50
QuoteThere was some chat about the condition of the cut ends of the reserve chute left on the plane. This video has the necktie (looks like a Towncraft), ticket, money and parachute (0:54 – 1:16).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLOgfkv4alk
Don’t know what Cooper used to cut the lines or why he resorted to such a drastic solution. Far more robust equipment was available in the aircraft.
That makes one point for opening a chute and canning it for materials as being familiar with skydiving. Zero points for aircraft system/ops knowledge. With a bonus point for haberdashery selection since he avoided using a bow tie (ref: Pee Wee Herman, Senator Paul Simon and Orville Redenbacher).
Farflung, Somewhere, maybe Tosaw's book, I have seen a statement that Tina was standing by Cooper's side when he pulled a pocket knife out and cut the shroud lines.
What "far more roboust equipment" was available on the aircraft for cutting the shroud lines?
Robert Nicholson
nigel99 473
QuoteThat makes one point for opening a chute and canning it for materials as being familiar with skydiving. Zero points for aircraft system/ops knowledge. With a bonus point for haberdashery selection since he avoided using a bow tie (ref: Pee Wee Herman, Senator Paul Simon and Orville Redenbacher).
Interesting observation regarding sticking to familiar materials.
Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.
georger 244
QuoteQuoteThat makes one point for opening a chute and canning it for materials as being familiar with skydiving. Zero points for aircraft system/ops knowledge. With a bonus point for haberdashery selection since he avoided using a bow tie (ref: Pee Wee Herman, Senator Paul Simon and Orville Redenbacher).
Interesting observation regarding sticking to familiar materials.
and familiar methods...
Farflung 0
Robert99,
I should have been slightly (read big time) more succinct regarding the robust equipment. I meant an attaching device.
Cooper is credited with an in depth knowledge of airline operations (as an employee) or piloting skills (ex-military) without the benefit of a cross check via associated behaviors. I can be easily (easily that is) BS’d about things involving skydiving since I have no experience with jumping. No so much with aircraft systems and flight dynamics. Yet the battle of wills beats wits with great consistency.
As a person NOT familiar with parachutes, I would be hesitant to jack one open and cannibalize the lines in order to attach the money to the rig (my big ass bias).
For attaching equipment I would have used some webbing with buckles already attached (aka- seat belt extension). This again is my big ass bias since I have experience with this subject and would give little thought to canning a reserve rig in order to obtain a way to lash the money to my harness. Seat belts (the webbing) are already flat (distribute that shock) and are certified to some stupid amount of G forces (40 plus with 200 lbs?). One could (just could- non mandatory here) buckle, tie or weave a belt extension and attach the money similar to a ‘Butt Boat’ container in an ejection seat. This is just a simple difference in approach given a different professional affinity with associated equipment familiarity.
Cooper was problem solving with a canvas bag of money and a reserve chute without attach points. What could be realistically gleaned from Cooper’s solution?
Bonus question: What does line look like after being cut with the ‘hook’ blade on an MC-1 knife (or equivalent)? I have no idea, even though I wore an MC-1 in my Go Fast Suit (causing another large bulge in the inner thigh area) and looked all cool and hunky and chick magnety.
I should have been slightly (read big time) more succinct regarding the robust equipment. I meant an attaching device.
Cooper is credited with an in depth knowledge of airline operations (as an employee) or piloting skills (ex-military) without the benefit of a cross check via associated behaviors. I can be easily (easily that is) BS’d about things involving skydiving since I have no experience with jumping. No so much with aircraft systems and flight dynamics. Yet the battle of wills beats wits with great consistency.
As a person NOT familiar with parachutes, I would be hesitant to jack one open and cannibalize the lines in order to attach the money to the rig (my big ass bias).
For attaching equipment I would have used some webbing with buckles already attached (aka- seat belt extension). This again is my big ass bias since I have experience with this subject and would give little thought to canning a reserve rig in order to obtain a way to lash the money to my harness. Seat belts (the webbing) are already flat (distribute that shock) and are certified to some stupid amount of G forces (40 plus with 200 lbs?). One could (just could- non mandatory here) buckle, tie or weave a belt extension and attach the money similar to a ‘Butt Boat’ container in an ejection seat. This is just a simple difference in approach given a different professional affinity with associated equipment familiarity.
Cooper was problem solving with a canvas bag of money and a reserve chute without attach points. What could be realistically gleaned from Cooper’s solution?
Bonus question: What does line look like after being cut with the ‘hook’ blade on an MC-1 knife (or equivalent)? I have no idea, even though I wore an MC-1 in my Go Fast Suit (causing another large bulge in the inner thigh area) and looked all cool and hunky and chick magnety.
quade 4
QuoteBonus question: What does line look like after being cut with the ‘hook’ blade on an MC-1 knife (or equivalent)?
Pretty clean the moment it's cut. As time goes by, even the cleanest (cold) cut will frizz out and especially if it is thrashed around a bit or man handled (even if the person doing the man handling is wearing surgical gloves).
I'm pretty sure the only way 550 cord is going to retain a clean cut for the periods of time we're talking about in the DB Cooper case is with a hot knife.
In other words, I'm not too certain we can draw any conclusions about what tool was used to cut the suspension lines by looking at the ones held by Carr in the video other than it probably wasn't a hot knife.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver
The World's Most Boring Skydiver
377 22
QuoteBonus question: What does line look like after being cut with the ‘hook’ blade on an MC-1 knife (or equivalent)? I have no idea, even though I wore an MC-1 in my Go Fast Suit (causing another large bulge in the inner thigh area) and looked all cool and hunky and chick magnety.
I have one of those orange colored USAF hook knifes (GREAT hook knife BTW). I cut some parachute cord with that and with a pocket knife and I cant see any diff.
377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
georger 244
Tina saw him reach in his pocketQuoteQuoteBonus question: What does line look like after being cut with the ‘hook’ blade on an MC-1 knife (or equivalent)? I have no idea, even though I wore an MC-1 in my Go Fast Suit (causing another large bulge in the inner thigh area) and looked all cool and hunky and chick magnety.
I have one of those orange colored USAF hook knifes (GREAT hook knife BTW). I cut some parachute cord with that and with a pocket knife and I cant see any diff.
377
and pull out a pocket knife and CUT the line(s).
Tina did not see him goto the xtra step of pulling
a cigarette liter and MELT the ends of the cut
lines.
I dont know 550 from 420 from XVIII-990 when
it comes to parachute lines but here are some 550
images I found, cut.
The fraying must be due to the atomic-molec
structure of the material in its twisted woven
state ... wants to untwist and spring out due to energy in the 'stressed long chain' molecule ...
pure speculation on my part. Melting overcomes
those energies and rearranges the atoms into a
more stable (semi glass) state.
Isnt this the same stuff (some) use for antenna
and tower lines?
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://b377.ovi.ch/articles/carpet/lounge0.jpg&imgrefurl=http://b377.ovi.ch/articles/carpet/&usg=__OMrekeCxZuwKLIi0M8z5f07Rpgo=&h=557&w=800&sz=94&hl=en&start=2&sig2=HVK7T2QvbidA3Lm-tolWyw&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=hH56Ah4ZxionTM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstratocruiser%2Blounge%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7GGLL_en%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=Uww2TenlCYmmsQOJ8smyBQ
377
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