Confession Coded In Letter Leads To Claim Of Solving The Case

A message sent to "The Portland Oregonian Newspaper" in 1972 contained a coded message that cold case investigators say has led to the identification of D.B. Cooper.

The investigators say that the man who famously hijacked a Northwest Orient Boeing 727 in 1971 demanding $200,000 was Vietnam veteran Robert Rackstraw. He has long been a suspect in the skyjacking.

Multiple media sources say that in the letter, Rackstraw says "This letter is too (sic) let you know I am not dead but really alive and just back from the Bahamas, so your silly troopers up there can stop looking for me. That is just how dumb this government is. I like your articles about me but you can stop them now. D.B. Cooper is not real.

“I want out of the system and saw a way through good ole Unk,” he writes. “Now it is Uncle’s turn to weep and pay one of it’s (sic) own some cash for a change. (And please tell the lackey cops D.B. Cooper is not my real name).”

Television producer Tom Colbert, who assembled the team of 40 private investigators, said that he had to sue the FBI to get a copy of the letter and other files related to the case.

But the message was still in code. Rick Sherwood, who served in the Army Security Agency which specializes in coded messages, was able to determine that the message hidden in the letter was "I am 1st Lt Robert Rackstraw." His reasoning is outlined at the FMI link below.

Rackstraw is 74 years old and lives in the San Diego area, according to the report. It is not known how, or if authorities intend to proceed.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report