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- Tonight on History's
Greatest Mysteries:
and may contain
mature subject matter.

ERIC:
Ready to find D.B. Cooper?

WOMAN: Do you think
that he could be

-D.B. Cooper?
-Yeah, I do.

ERIC: I think I've pinpointed
where it is.

ERIC: This could be our
smoking gun.

WOMAN: They've got to take
this back and reopen it.

- It's a mystery that's
confounded law enforcement

for 48 years.

[♪♪]

On November 24th, 1971,

a man who would become known
as D.B. Cooper

hijacks a plane
and then jumps out,

taking with him a ransom
of $200,000.

I'm Laurence Fishburne
and tonight;

Who is D.B. Cooper,

and how did he escape?

Neither his identity nor his
body has ever been recovered.

It's impossible.

Or is it?

(helicopter blades chop)

- Can investigator
Eric Ulis finally close

the only unsolved skyjacking
in US history?

Eric and his team
will reexamine

the plane's alleged
flight path.

They'll search alternate
landing sites for fresh clues

and profile
a possible suspect.

Tonight, a search
for new answers

to one of history's
greatest mysteries.

Who is D.B. Cooper?

[♪]

FISHBURNE: D.B. Cooper
investigator Eric Ulis

is on his way
to Washington State,

but his research
and investigation started

12 years earlier in Arizona.

ERIC: I've always had
a fascination with aviation,

which is what I believe

ultimately drew me
into the case.

Here was a man who developed
a cult-like following

over the years,

despite the fact
that nobody really knew

anything about the guy at all.

He became a legend overnight.

MAN: I think D.B. is
like coolest guy in America.

He did the ultimate crime.

ERIC: Eventually, I found
the case was being hijacked

by conspiracy theories
and so forth,

and I just ended up
getting sucked in

to this D.B. Cooper vortex.

And, ultimately, I decided
that I was gonna undertake

an investigation of my own
into the case.

MAN: Over the years,
more than 1,000 suspects

have been scrutinized.

GEOFFREY: When this case
happened in the 1970s,

the era of DNA was not upon us,

and agents really didn't look
out to preserve

this evidence in the way
that we do now.

ERIC: In order to identify
where the FBI and others

went sideways with this case,

I knew that I was going
to have to personally read

all 20,000 pages
of redacted FBI files

regarding the case.

FISHBURNE: Thanks to a
Freedom of Information Act

lawsuit filed in 2016,

every few months,
the FBI releases files

from the case
in chronological order.

This constant drip
of new information

and new sources
is key to Eric's theory

about what really happened
on Northwest Flight 305.

[JET ENGINE HUMS]

ERIC:
The night of the skyjacking,

we know a man boarded
Northwest Orient Flight

in Portland destined
for Seattle.

He bought the ticket
with a $20 bill at the airport.

There was no ID required.

And he gave the name
Dan Cooper to the ticket agent.

He would end up taking a seat

in the very back row
of the jet,

18E to be exact.

The flight attendants recall
D.B. Cooper

being a guy
who is in his mid-40s,

dressed as a business person
wearing a black suit,

wearing loafers
with a skinny black tie,

and a raincoat.

And he would later put on
a pair of dark sunglasses

as the jet
was about to take off.

By his side,
he had a black attache case.

As the plane starts taxiing
toward the runway,

D.B. Cooper hands
one of the flight attendants,

Florence Schaffner, a note.

Which says that he has a bomb.

MAN: Thirty-six passengers
got off the jetliner

in Seattle last night.

Left aboard four crew members
and the hijacker,

dressed in a business suit,
demanding $200,000

with the full ransom collected
from the Seattle banks,

and four parachutes aboard.

The plane headed for Reno.

ERIC: What many people
don't know was that

Reno was not the intended
destination.

Cooper actually requested
that the plane fly

to Mexico nonstop.

But the problem is, is that
he wanted the jet to fly

with the landing gear down.

He wanted the jet to fly
with the flaps down.

He wanted the jet to fly
at a very slow speed,

and not fly over 10,000 feet
in altitude.

So there was simply no way

that they could fly nonstop
to Mexico City.

They would need
to refuel somewhere.

And they decided Reno.

- According to Eric,

Cooper's request to be flown
to Mexico was a ruse.

Seven minutes after the plane
left Seattle,

the flight crew received
an alert.

The rear airstairs
were activated.

ERIC: The Boeing
727 was unique

in that it had airstairs
that would deploy

from the back bottom
of the fuselage.

In fact, it's these air stairs

that the passengers
actually boarded the jet with.

FISHBURNE: Roughly
27 minutes

after the airstairs'
deployment alert,

the crew experienced a cabin
pressure disturbance.

ERIC: At approximately 8:12 PM,
the pilots experienced

what they described
as a pressure bump on the plane.

What felt like a popping
in the ears.

This pressure bump was created

when D .B. Cooper jumped off
the back airstairs

and the airstairs
snapped back up

into the bottom of the fuselage.

That bump holds the key
to everything.

-
Estimating where and when

that bump took place is key.

It determined the area
in which FBI, Air Force,

and local law enforcement
members looked for Cooper

in a coordinated ground search
that lasted for months.

ERIC: The FBI
never found anything

in their original search area.

And my research indicates

that the reason
they came up empty-handed

was because they were actually
searching in the wrong place.

Why were they searching
in the wrong place?

Because the flight path
was off.

Understanding that pressure bump

and identifying
the correct search area

will allow us to ask the basic
fundamental questions.

- To test his theory
about the plane's path,

Eric is meeting
with the person charged

with tracking Flight 305

on the night of the hijacking.

The air traffic controller
on duty, Cliff Ammerman.

CLIFF: My name
is Cliff Ammerman.

And, uh, I'm a retired
air traffic controller.

I worked at the Seattle Center
Air Route Traffic Control

from 1969 till 1998.

ERIC: Did the FBI
or law enforcement at all

ever reach out to you?

Never did.

I never got a request
like that at all.

What did you know about 305?

I mean, I assume you knew
it was a skyjacked jet?

CLIFF: We knew
it was a hijacking.

We didn't have
a flight plan on it

because nobody knew exactly
what the routing was gonna be,

so we were told,
"Just follow him.

Keep everybody else
away from him."

It became fairly obvious
that he was on Victor 23.

Victor 23 is one airway in
a low-altitude airway structure

that's nationwide.

It's a system of ground-based
navigational aids

that pilots can follow,

and it allows them to hold
a track over the ground.

Just like when you're on
Interstate 5 in a car,

Victor 23 is a highway
in the sky.

ERIC: The first priority here
when tackling this case

is trying to figure out the path
that the jet took.

Can you gauge how precisely
you could identify

the exact location
of Flight 305?

Yeah.
What I'm looking at is a map

on a video screen.

Aircrafts are
being presented in

what would look to you
like an equal sign.

And on the leading slash,

the aircraft itself could be
anyplace on that line.

So it could be in the center,
it might be at the left side

of the line, it might be at
the right side. We don't know.

Any idea of roughly
what kind of distance

you're looking at there?

I would guess four to five
nautical miles long,

that line is.

How do you know that
he's actually within Victor 23

if you've got sort of that much

-play there?
-CLIFF: Sure. Sure.

It's very uncertain just exactly
where the airplane was

within that target area
that we're seeing.

So, uh, where's
the airplane actually?

ERIC: There's quite a bit
of variance in there.

Indeed, the jet could have
actually been a handful of miles

outside of this
Victor 23 airway,

and not have been noticed
by anyone.

It seems to indicate
that the jet indeed took a path

that was more along
the western side,

that lines it up with the money
find and all that good stuff,

that is not at all consistent

with the official version
of the flight path.

The pilot of Northwest 305
also said

that they were not looking
far enough west.

ERIC: Well,
that confirms it for me.

-Yeah.
-That's an area that

they should have looked,
but they didn't look.

[♪]

FISHBURNE: Convinced the
plane was actually eight miles

west of the original
FBI search zone,

Eric and his team head up
to a remote wilderness refuge

that's never been searched.

They're looking for any
evidence of D.B. Cooper,

including possible remains
of his parachute.

-Hey. Hey. How's it going?
-How's it going?

-Eric Ulis.
-Hey. Ryan.

FISHBURNE: To maximize the
time he'll have on the ground,

Eric first takes to the sky

to see how closely
his search lines up

with an area known
as Tina Bar.

In 1980, the FBI found
important evidence there.

MAN: A child has led the FBI
to the start of a trail

it hopes it'll help them solve

the eight-and-a-half-year-old
mystery of skyjacker

D.B. Cooper.

The first break
in the only unsolved

airplane hijacking
in United States history

came on a Columbia River beach,

along the
Oregon-Washington border

where an eight-year-old boy

dug up the shreds
of $3,000 on Sunday.

The money was found
about 20 miles

from the FBI's original
search zone.

Also, it was found
about eight or nine miles

against the current
along the Columbia River.

So there was no possible way

that the money
just washed ashore.

The bundles of 20s were found

just below the surface
of the sand,

neatly stacked upon each other

with the original
rubber band still intact.

So by all appearances,

it looks like somebody
actually buried

those three packets of 20s.

FISHBURNE: Since it's
impossible to know the precise

altitude at which Cooper pulled
his parachute ripcord,

Eric plans to search
a wide area the FBI missed.

The first is an island
a few miles north of Tina Bar.

[HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING]

- The second zone
is an extended meadow

along the tree line on the west
side of the train tracks.

If Cooper landed there,

Eric believes
he could have walked south

along these train tracks

crossing over from the mainland

at the River S Bridge
to Tina Bar.

Eric thinks Cooper might have
buried the ransom here

temporarily, and then fled.

The third zone,
private properties

across from the refuge
provide access

to a large untouched ravine

which could have given
perfect cover for D.B. Cooper.

ERIC:
Part of what has guided me

to these three specific
search areas

is that they're pristine
and largely untouched

in the last 50 years.

Eric Ulis.
Good to meet you.

I'm thinking about, you know,

the 12 years of research

I have put into this case.

This is what I have
been waiting for,

the opportunity to actually
get boots on the ground

and dig through the brush

and look for those
missing parachutes,

look for any sign
of D.B. Cooper.

FISHBURNE: Coming up.

Eric Ulis and his team

put 12 years of research
to the test

as they battle
the Pacific Northwest...

[GRUNTS]
The search just got real

when you draw
a little bit of blood.

- ...and time.

ERIC: Fighting our way

through that stuff

really, really slows us down.

I'm aware that we're marching
against time here.

FISHBURNE: Later,
Eric gets his hands

on possible DNA taken
from D.B. Cooper's tie.

ERIC: The tie knot seems like

the most logically place
to look.

The place that would have been
touched the most by D.B. Cooper.

- Will Eric finally
be able to reveal the identity

of history's
most mysterious skyjacker?

[♪]

FISHBURNE:
Eric Ulis has investigated

the D.B. Cooper case
for 12 years.

CLIFF:
The pilot of Northwest 305

also said that they were not
looking far enough west.

FISHBURNE: Convinced the FBI
misjudged

the hijacked plane's
flight path,

Eric's assembled a team
to look for new evidence.

They hope to find something
to reopen this cold case.

ALEX: Hey.

ERIC: Hey, you guys.
How you doing?

ALEX: Alex Gall
with Archeological Services.

This area was home to thousands
of Native American's villages.

So in order for the project

to have special access
to the refuge,

it needed an archeologist
to join the project,

and, uh,
that archeologist is me.

Given the terrain,
it's gonna be, uh--

require a lot of luck.

FISHBURNE: Accompanying Eric
on his mission,

geophysicist, Colin Miazga,

who will help examine
any ground disturbance

or man-made materials
left behind by the skyjacker.

COLIN:
With my geoscience background,

you look for man-made objects.

In this case though,
there's a very small object

in a very big area,
so it's incredibly challenging.

There's just so much
ground to cover,

and the only real best way
to do that

is by physically walking
over the area.

Who wouldn't wanna be the person
responsible for solving,

uh, a 50-year-old case
that the FBI gave up on,

essentially?

FISHBURNE: He's also enlisted
the help of

local search and rescue
volunteers,

Jason Cole and Barry Wells.

Both have a vast knowledge
of the area.

- I was here
when the event happened,

and there was a lot of theories
going around.

ERIC: So, today,
what we're gonna be doing

is getting on the boats.

We're gonna be traveling
along the Lake River

up to the Columbia River.

Then once we're
on the Columbia River,

we're gonna go upstream
a little bit.

This area
we're talking about here

was not part
of the original search area.

And obviously, the fact
that it's a refuge as well

and is off-limits to people,

-essentially--
-Jason: Yeah.

--provides a real opportunity

where the stuff
would have never been found.

Ready to find D.B. Cooper?

FISHBURNE: With restrictions
in place

to protect the local wildlife,

Eric and his team
must also contact

the state environmental expert

before they can begin
their search on the island.

Hey, Brent.
How you doing? Um...

BRENT: Good, Eric.

We'll work our way north,

see if we can actually get over
to where you are

because I think the refuge
is where we wanna start

versus the DNR land.

-And then we'll, uh--
-BRENT: Right.

--we'll go from there.

Let's get these guys over
on this shoreline here.

-Landfall, here we go.
-Right now, we're on, uh,

Washington Department
of Natural Resources land.

And basically
at the tree line there

is where the wildlife refuge
starts.

- They'll be limited
in the tools they can use,

and are forbidden
to dig anything up

or remove any evidence
from the refuge.

If you wanna go over
some of these, uh,

-maps that I pulled.
-ERIC: This is 1970.

ALEX: So this '70.

Compared to now,
the footprint...

ALEX: It's pretty--
it looks pretty stable.

ERIC:
Looks pretty consistent.

So the only-- the only thing

that might give us
a little pause

is the 1996 aerial.

ERIC: I know there was quite
a bit of flooding in '96.

So it looks like to me
that this area here

is actually under water.

In 1996, there was actually

a very big flood
in the area.

In reality, if the parachutes
were in that area,

they could have easily been
swept out to the Columbia River

and out to the Pacific Ocean.

I believe that the parachutes

were placed a little bit
farther inland

which wasn't affected
nearly as much.

ALEX: So you said the parachute
was white and the--

ERIC:
The parachute itself was white.

---and the pack was green?
-That's correct.

ALEX: Always helps me to know
what colors to be looking for.

It's dark green. Yeah. Yeah.

FISHBURNE: Eric's team
is looking for D.B. Cooper's

missing parachutes
and other evidence,

including his attache case,

ransom notes,
or unrecovered money.

They must notify
local authorities

and the FBI immediately

if they find anything.

But Eric's search permit
for the refuge

is limited and will expire.

- We'll just start working off
from this direction

and work our way through.

[♪♪]

-ERIC: A little bit of rain.
-WOMAN: Today.

Until end of day and tomorrow.

ERIC: I think we got to go
a little farther down

to the open field basically.

BRENT: I was surprised-- or is.

At how he was dressed
as businessman.

ERIC:
You bring up a great point

because a lot of people said,
you know,

"Who in their right mind
would jump

into the middle of the woods
wearing, uh, loafers

-and a-- and a tie."
-BRENT: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.

ERIC:
And I've always argued, nobody.

I believe that the evidence
clearly shows

that D.B. Cooper
intended to jump

initially in the outskirts
of Seattle.

FISHBURNE: After the skyjacking,

flight attendant, Tina Mucklow,

told authorities
that D.B. Cooper

was visibly frustrated
and complained to her

about how the money
was delivered.

TINA:
He, uh, made me feel very sure

that, uh, we had a very real

and horrifying threat.

ERIC: When the money showed up,

it was not in a knapsack

as he requested.

It was actually just delivered

in a white open-top

canvas bank bag.

It didn't have any zippers,
didn't have any snaps,

didn't even have a handle
on it.

Cooper needed
to figure out a way

to secure the top
of that bank bag.

If he didn't,
the force of the free fall

would have immediately ejected

all of the cash out of that bag.

- It was also reported
by copilot, Bill Rataczek,

that Cooper had difficulties
lowering the airstairs.

He called us on the interphone
and requested that, uh,

he was having trouble
with the stairs.

"I can't get the stairs down."

- Eric believes
these delays forced Cooper

to jump into rougher terrain

than originally planned.

ERIC: I think
that's really ground zero,

-as far as--
-ALEX: Yeah.

ERIC: --searching for
the D .B. Cooper's parachutes

if he landed in this area.

And basically we need to start
right around here

where these thicker bushes are,

but start working our way down

around to the south.

ALEX: Along the edges?

FISHBURNE: To ensure
a thorough ground search,

the team walks at arm's length
from each other,

searching in a traditional
grid pattern.

Let's move.

[♪♪]

ERIC: Uh, looks like
a un-penetrable wall back there,

so I'm not even gonna try that.

ALEX: It's pretty thick
in front of us here.

ERIC: This stuff is brutal.

WOMAN: Oh.

Yikes.

ERIC: Yeah.

That looks prime spot
to dump a parachute.

ALEX: Exactly.

FISHBURNE: Eric believes
Cooper left his parachute

behind wherever he landed.

ERIC: All the soil around here
is pretty packed clay.

Um, there's no way he's digging

more than whatever he could kick
with his boot.

ALEX: Right.
And it's dark too,

-right?
-ERIC: Yeah.

ALEX: So he couldn't get
too far in there.

ERIC: No.

-
Although the parachute

may have deteriorated,

metallic and nylon material
could have survived.

-Alex found some, uh...
-Let's check it out.

It's really the first sign
of human activity

I've seen in here.

Oh, yeah.

This could be promising.

- Coming up.

A retired FBI agent
joins the investigation...

MARY JEAN: I received,
uh, communication

from the Seattle office

to obtain
a voluntary DNA sample.

- ...and revisits
a person of interest

from her past.

ASHLEY: Do you think
he could be D.B. Cooper?

Yeah, I do.

[♪♪]

FISHBURNE: Searching on
federally-protected land

on an island along
the Washington-Oregon border,

investigator, Eric Ulis,

and his team make
what they hope

is a significant discovery.

-Alex found some, uh...
-Let's check it out.

It's really the first sign
of human activity

I've seen in here.

Oh, yeah.

This could be promising.

ALEX: Uh, I don't know anything
about parachutes

-and the kinds of--
-Yeah.

--shroud lines they would use.

The problem is the color
of the shroud lines

were, uh, either white
or light pink.

And so that would not be
part of...

-[INDISTINCT]
-Okay.

D.B. Cooper's parachute.

This area is clear.

FISHBURNE: After 10
grueling hours,

the team ends the search
for the day.

ERIC: With the restrictions
that we have from the refuge,

limiting the number of people

that we can actually
search with,

and seeing
how vast this area is,

and how dense the growth is

that we have to fight through,

it just made me realize

how difficult this search

is actually going to be.

[♪♪]

FISHBURNE: With only a few days
remaining to search

what he believes
is the landing area,

Eric reviews the mystery
of D.B. Cooper.

ERIC:
There are really two parts

to the D.B. Copper mystery.

There's the part that relates
to what actually happened...

MAN: All these years later,

they're still looking
for D.B. Cooper.

Everything FBI Special Agent
Larry Carr

has on Cooper
fits in one battered box,

mostly what Cooper left
on the plane.

ERIC:
...and there is this other part

that relates
to who the guy actually was.

LARRY:
D.B. Cooper came from someone.

He came from somewhere.

You know, he just didn't
miracle himself here.

Uh, and so, uh,
someone has information.

FISHBURNE: During the 45 years
that D.B. Cooper's

skyjacking case remained open,

the FBI investigated
more than a thousand

possible suspects.

Some simply matched
the crime sketch.

Others confessed
on their death beds.

Hospitalized here in Florida
with kidney disease,

Duane Weber motioned
to his wife to come close.

He says I have a secret
to tell you.

I said, "What?"

He says, "I'm Dan Cooper."

FISHBURNE: Even a woman was
investigated,

pilot Barbara Dayton.

Eric's determined to provide
a definitive answer

about one person of interest,

a man DNA-tested in 2003

but never publicly eliminated.

Eric believes this man
could be D.B. Cooper.

His name is Sheridan Peterson.

ERIC:
He actually became a suspect

within one week
of the skyjacking.

However,
it wasn't even until 2003,

the FBI was actually able
to interview him.

That FBI agent was a woman
named Mary Jean Fryar.

And what she told me
when I first reached out to her

has completely changed
the trajectory in my case.

I'm Mary Jean Fryar.

I'm a special agent with the FBI

from 1985 to 2006.

In 2003, I received, uh,

a communication
from the Seattle office

to locate and interview
Sheridan Peterson

who was residing in Santa Rosa

and obtain
a voluntary DNA sample.

ERIC: In late 2007,
the FBI announced

that they had
a partial DNA profile

that they've got
from D.B. Cooper's clip-on tie.

MAN: This is the tie
we got the DNA from.

ERIC: This could explain
why the FBI had Mary Jean Fryar

obtain a DNA sample
from Sheridan Peterson

to compare it against
the partial DNA profile.

MARY JEAN: When I met
with Sheridan Peterson in 2003,

it was special
because it was a historic case.

During my training
at the FBI Academy,

we had instructors
that came in

and, uh, talked about it.

Sheridan's alibi,
since I talked to him in 2003,

was always that he was present
in Nepal

for his children's birth.

He was saying
he wasn't in the country

so he couldn't have been
D.B. Cooper.

He did show me his birth
certificates of his kids,

but his wife could have
very easily given birth

without him there.

Sheridan worked
in the department

that literally wrote
the flight manual

for the Boeing 727 jet.

He worked as a smokejumper
in Montana.

He's an expert skydiver.

He's a former Boeing employee.

Then in 1966,

Sheridan found himself
in Vietnam

working as a refugee adviser

until August of 1970

when he and his wife
moved to Nepal.

There is nothing
that Sheridan can point to

that proves unequivocally
that he was in Nepal

at the time that
the skyjacking took place,

with the exception
of the second wife.

The problem is,
according to Sheridan,

his second wife died in 1977.

[♪♪]

ERIC: Sheridan Peterson
was interviewed for a program

related to D.B. Cooper,

and there are some
inconsistencies in there.

There are things that he stated
that just don't add up.

There are two things
that I found

that could rule Sheridan out
as a suspect.

There's some discrepancy
with respect to eye color.

Specifically,
Sheridan has blue eyes,

and the FBI's very first
description of D.B. Cooper

had him having brown eyes.

However, very quickly
after they put up

the initial description
for D.B. Cooper,

the FBI updated the description

and described D.B. Cooper

as possibly
having brown eyes.

The second being,
we know that D.B. Cooper

definitely smoked cigarettes.

In fact,
he smoked eight cigarettes

during the skyjacking.

I have never been able to prove
that Sheridan Peterson

was ever a smoker.

FISHBURNE: Eric's asked
Mary Jean

to help secure an interview
with Sheridan.

Her goal, get him to request
his DNA test results.

[♪♪]

- Now, we can't use DNA
to prove that he was D.B. Cooper

because the profile
that the FBI has

is only a partial DNA profile.

But if we can get
Sheridan Peterson

to actually request

to get his DNA
comparison results

from the FBI,

we may actually be able to prove

definitively that
he wasn't D .B. Cooper.

[TRAIN HORN HONKING]

[♪]

FISHBURNE: Back on the refuge,

Eric Ulis and his team
of investigators

continue their hunt.

Yesterday, they searched
a remote island.

Today, they're searching
an extended meadow area.

None of this land
has been searched before

because the FBI used
a different flight path

to calculate its search area
in 1971.

If Eric can find any evidence

that D.B. Cooper landed here,

it might lead
to finally identifying

the skyjacker.

[♪♪]

ERIC: All right.
So, uh, today,

uh, we're continuing the search

for the missing parachutes.

We've got our survivalist

with us as well, Dan.

I'm Dan Baird.
I'm a backcountry

guidance survival expert.

I'm not an expert
on D.B. Cooper himself,

but to me, it seems like
it's a survival situation.

I'm looking forward
to the search,

this is gonna be awesome.

There are several copycat jumps
that took place

after Cooper's jump.

Every single person

who did it survived.

FISHBURNE: Although every
copycat jumper survived,

none of them got away
with the crime.

Most notable,
a man named Richard Floyd McCoy

who, in 1972, remained free

for two days
before being arrested.

It seems that the real challenge

comes once he hits the ground,

how he gets out of the area.

DAN: Were these tracks
in place at that time?

-MAN: Yes, they were.
-ERIC: Yeah, they were. Yup.

We're on top
of the BNSF Railway tracks.

If D.B. Cooper landed
in this area,

the railroad tracks
provide a perfect corridor

that he could've used
to get to Tena Bar

where the money was found.

DAN: Do you ever think
of looking into

what the train schedule
was like that night?

If he landed,
started walking for 20 minutes,

half hour, I'm sure
the train would've gone by.

ERIC:
There was a railroad conductor

who was driving down
the tracks that night

who actually
did report to the FBI

that there was somebody
on the tracks.

And it's important
to remember

that as the conductor
was bringing this

to the attention of the FBI,

the FBI actually thinks

that D.B. Cooper landed six,

or seven, or eight miles east

of the railroad tracks.

[TRAIN HORN HONKS]

ERIC: Today, we're gonna be
doing half of the meadow,

because there's just
too much territory

to cover in one day.

Tomorrow, we'll deal
with the other half.

That said,
the search starts right here.

BARRY: There's gonna be four
of us that really have to work

as the actual line searchers.

These guys are gonna be
a little bit more independent.

ERIC: I'll look along
the edge here a bit.

That's due north.

ERIC: We need to work our way
and go further north.

COLIN: It's more
of like a pinpoint

-so then it'll open up--
-ERIC: Yeah.

COLIN: --it'll make it
really sensitive

-so you pick up everything.
-Your receiver, yeah.

And then you can kind of do
your crisscross...

And if I left it on that,
it would be like, woo.

-COLIN: Exactly.
-It's messed up. Okay.

ERIC: Somebody landing
in some place like this

in the middle of this thicket,
that would be pretty brutal.

I mean, I just don't see
how you land

in something like this

without getting injured.

FISHBURNE: On the night
D.B. Cooper jumped,

moderate wind gust upwards
of 11 miles per hour

were reported on the ground

with sporadic rainfall.

When Cooper hit land,
he would've experienced

ground temperatures
dropping into the 30s.

ERIC: It's so swampy
right here.

[♪♪]

ERIC: Is it dry over there,
Jason, or...

JASON: Yeah, if you come
around the north side,

follow the grass.

[MACHINE WAILING]

ALEX: Can I go forward
and back a little bit?

This could be promising.

Found it.

FISHBURNE: Coming up.
Eric's ground team

rose even bigger.

ERIC: All right.
Folks, we ready?

We found what appears
to be like a wire.

It's not shiny, but it doesn't
appear to be rusted.

MARK: In the pilot chute,
there's a spring.

FISHBURNE: As Mary Jean Fryar

prepares for a sit-down
with Sheridan Peterson.

MARY JEAN:
It's been a long time

since we've seen each other.

SHERIDAN: Yes, it has.
[LAUGHS]

[♪♪]

JASON: Yeah, if you come
around the north side,

follow the grass.

FISHBURNE: Eric Ulis
and his search team

are in a protected
wildlife refuge

in Southwest Washington,

searching for evidence
that D.B. Cooper

landed here.

Halfway through searching
a large meadow area,

they uncover something
that could be connected

with this unsolved myself.

ALEX: I think I pinpointed
where it is.

FISHBURNE: Cooper's NB6
parachute

had stainless steel parts.

ALEX: Just, uh,
this must've been an old...

- So a hit
on the metal detector

is encouraging news.

ALEX: Yeah, looks about it.

It's either
two separate objects

or one slightly stretched out

like the backpack
I think would be.

ERIC: All right.
We got something on the ground.

Wow. So what does that mean

as far as, uh, the size
of the piece?

COLIN:
With any metal detection,

it's hard to get size

until you start digging it up

because you could have
something really small

that's really conductive
right at surface

and that's gonna give you
a really solid response.

But if you have
something larger

that-- that's at depth,
it could actually give you a--

it'll give you
a smaller response.

And so it's just how close
the object is to the sensors.

FISHBURNE: Although the
metal detector

registered a strong hit,

the size of the object,
how conductive it is

and how close it is
to the surface,

can all influence
the strength of the signal.

ALEX:
It seems really pinpointed

at that little soft spot
right there.

I mean, that's a robust signal.

I mean, clearly,
there's something down there.

[MACHINE WAILING]

COLIN: Well then maybe...

ALEX: Oh, there we are.

-Oh, wire.
-COLIN: A wire.

What kind of wire though?

Parachute pull cord?

ALEX: So the wire
has to stay on the ground, so...

ERIC: Let me--
let me try to see

if I got cell service in here.

I'll give Mark
a really quick call.

Mark Meltzer
is an expert skydiver.

He's gonna know this parachute

inside and out.

So, he's the perfect person
to reach out to

to see if he recognizes
this piece of wire

and if he thinks
it has anything

to do with the parachute.

-MARK: Eric?
-ERIC: Hey, Mark.

Yeah, it's Eric.
So we found what appears

to be like a wire,
uh, buried,

kind of half buried in here.

Is there any sort of wire?

Uh, it's a little heavier
gauge wire,

anything like that
in the-- in the parachutes,

uh, either the reserve
or the, uh, the main

that would--
that's consistent with that?

MARK: Uh, in the pilot--
in the pilot chute,

there's a spring,
it's not stranded.

It's solid wire,
but it's springy.

So what kind of gauge
are we talking about,

relative to, like, the size

of a, uh, a hangar, for example?

MARK: About the same.

Okay. Is it okay
if we take a picture

and send the picture to you

and just kind of get
your impression?

MARK: Yeah, that's fine.

Okay.
Hold on a second here, Mark.

MARK: Uh, is it-- is it rusty?

ERIC: I mean, it's not shiny,
but it doesn't appear

to be rusted to me, but...

let me send this over to you.

Hopefully, it lets me

send it out to you here.

And then you can
just shoot me a callback

as soon as you have a chance
to take a look at it.

-MARK: Okay. Try that.
-All right.

-Thanks, Mark.
-MARK: All right.

ERIC: There's an old road
in here, too,

about a hundred yards in.

-MAN: Hmm.
-ERIC: Had a gate on it even.

Let's see what kind of metal
they used on the fencing here.

But that's what it looks like
actually right there.

ERIC: Yeah.

BARRY: That's what
it looks like.

Yeah, as you can see
down there-- down there,

that's how they secure
the post together

-and make them stand up.
-ERIC: Yeah.

BARRY:
It looked just like that.

It looked just like that,
exactly like that.

ALEX: At least we have an idea
of what it is now, so--

Yeah, that appears
to be the case.

I was hoping that we would
have found something

a little bit more concrete
at this point.

We've only got more day left

to search the refuge,

then it's onto searching
the private property.

[♪♪]

FISHBURNE: While Eric
and the team call it a day,

retired FBI agent,
Mary Jean Fryar,

is in Santa Rosa.

She's spoken
with Sheridan Peterson.

Eric's key person of interest.

And now, she said
she has even more reason

to believe
he could be D.B. Cooper.

In September, I received

communication
from Sheridan Peterson,

which was very strange.

I've never had another person
I've ever interviewed

in my 21.4 years

ever contact me again.

And he sent me two messages

about things
that were upsetting him

and signed them both D.B.

I think Sheridan
loves the simulation,

the engagement,
the thrill of him

being a suspect as D.B. Cooper.

ASHLEY: Do you think
that he could be D.B. Cooper?

Yeah, I do.

FISHBURNE: To prepare for
her meeting,

Mary Jean watches
an interview Sheridan did

for a 2016 documentary.

In it, Sheridan acknowledges
he sky jumped

at Issaquah Skyport,

the place that supplied
the parachutes D.B. Cooper

requested during flight 305
skyjacking.

SHERIDAN:
Oh, I was the most obvious,

uh, suspect of anyone.

I have jumped in Issaquah

and I got
my instructor's license there.

And that is where the guy
got the parachutes

and I had worked
for, um, Boeing.

MARY JEAN: He's building
a very good case

against himself.

SHERIDAN: She said,
"Where were you?"

And I said,
"I was in the park."

"Oh, in the park. Come on.

You can think
of a better one then."

No, I did not say that.

And they didn't keep track
of people

going back and forth
from the country.

If he was there, that's great.

But, that doesn't prove
that he was there.

SHERIDAN:
And then I told them, I said,

"He had four parachutes."

He had one parachute
with a red X cross

and that was a reserve.

Another reserve
was perfectly good.

Which reserve do you take?

The one that was daisy-chained.
I remember that one.

This is interesting
that he's so detailed.

MAN: Took more than taking
the right parachute,

it also meant that the person
would have to know

those stairs come down
on the 727.

SHERIDAN: I wouldn't know
what's on the--

MAN: So that's what I--
that's what I'm saying,

so anybody is saying
that you would've been

a great D.B. Cooper,

not if you didn't know
how to get off the airplane.

Oh, yeah.

That made him nervous, you know,

with that conversation.

Didn't know about the stairs

and he's kind of fidgeting
with his cup.

MAN: And did you ever hear
from Mary Jean again?

She came back for some reason

and told me
that, uh, there's no match.

Well, it's very fortunate
for me.

MARY JEAN: I'm about to go
see Sheridan Peterson

for the first time since 2003

and I'm hoping
that maybe at this point,

he's finally ready to accept

that he's gonna tell us
that he's D.B. Cooper.

Don't take it to your death.

Set the record straight.

Put this to rest
so that everyone can appreciate

what you did and got away with,

and not let anyone else
take credit for it.

[♪]

FISHBURNE: With their permit
expired at the refuge,

Eric and his team arrive
at their final search zone,

a ravine on private property.

It's on Lake River

and Eric believes Cooper
could have used it

for cover as he made his way
to Tena Bar

where some ransom money
was uncovered in 1980.

-ERIC: How's it going, man?
-It's going good.

-Good to see you.
-ERIC: Good to see as well.

MAN: Yup. Yup. How you doing?

Good morning.
Uh, so my name is Eric.

Barry, I wanna thank you
very much for, um,

getting these group
of people together

and why don't you give me
an idea of who we've got here?

Because clearly
we have two different teams.

We have, uh, as you see
by the different colors of blue

and the red, so, uh, I'm with
the Southwest Washington

Search and Rescue

and, uh, these folks here
in the red

are with the Clark County
Sheriff's Office.

ERIC: How many of you
have actually heard

of D.B. Cooper or haven't heard
of D.B. Cooper

who are familiar with the case?

-[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
-ERIC: I know you guys are.

It'd be more surprising
if somebody

-hadn't ever heard of that.
-Yeah.

-I'd know.
-[LAUGHTER]

I'm from the East Coast,
so this is--

I-- I've read
a little bit about it

and thought it was interesting
and being here

with the rest of the team is,

it's exciting and it's fun.

So, um, you know, hopefully

we do come across something

and, you know, get to learn
a little bit more

about the Pacific
Northwest legend.

ERIC: There's a lot of evidence

that suggests that D.B. Cooper

landed somewhere
in this vicinity.

We did some searching
on the refuge side

of Lake River.

Now it's time to focus
on this side of Lake River.

My thought is that Cooper,

you know, if he landed
in this area here,

would have, you know,
walked his way down

to the ravine looking
for a path

out of the area,

a path toward
he railroad tracks.

FISHBURNE: Today's search
will cover over 12 acres.

So they've doubled
their search team.

Each member is outfitted
with a GPS tracker

and monitored
from a mobile command center.

ERIC: All right.
Folks, we ready?

FISHBURNE: If evidence
of D.B. Cooper is here,

Eric's confident
his team can find it.

[♪♪]

MAN: Right side good?

ERIC: Right good.

-Left side.
-Left side good.

MAN: Okay. Moving.
All right. Slow, methodical.

ERIC: Just follow this ravine
straight down.

MAN: Low and slow, folks.
Low and slow.

Make sure you clear under trees

and things like that.

Look up every once in a while.

WOMAN: Yeah,
look behind you, too.

MAN: And you can break
as much as you need to.

Okay. We got permission.

ERIC: Keep going.
Yeah, looking good.

-MAN: Keep going.
-ERIC: Think,

where would I hide a parachute?

One other thing
to consider as I look

at these trees up here,

one of the premier suspects

in this case
was actually a smokejumper.

If he happened to land
in this type of environment,

he would have known
exactly what to do

and how to handle the situation

if he had caught up
in these trees, you know,

60, 70 feet up.

We know that he had
a pocket knife on him

and how he actually used that

to cut some
of the shroud lines.

So, uh, he would have
figured out a way to get down.

It wouldn't have been
an issue for him.

MAN: Oh, yeah, something.

BARRY: They got, uh, something.

They're digging in something
over there, Eric. I'm not sure.

COLIN: Eric,
do you wanna come over here?

ERIC: Yeah. Hold on.

WOMAN: Right. Holding.

Yes. That's the same area.

Hold this.

The wine bottle
like the piece of aluminum.

Yeah, I think that's all it is.

ERIC: Yeah, some cork on it.
Yeah, it's definitely

like a top of a wine cork.

We know the guy was drinking.

Um, had a bourbon
on the flight, you know.

This is one of those things
I'm just curious

-if he took a couple.
-COLIN: Yeah.

Yeah. I mean you never know
he's got many bottles

with him you don't know,
so it'd be the kind items

to save, uh, for the heck of it,

but, yeah.

Seems unlikely
that there's any significance,

-but, uh, an idea...
-COLIN: Gives an idea of how--

how sensitive
this instrument is.

ERIC: Yeah. All right.

-COLIN: We'll continue.
-ERIC: Let's just pocket that

and we'll continue, yeah.

COLIN: Does that look like
something part of a plane?

Cabinet or something?

-Hey, Eric.
-ERIC: Yeah.

Do you wanna come here
for a second?

-ERIC: Yeah.
-COLIN: Large metal box

and I assume
somebody's filled it with rocks,

but I just wanna make sure
that...

-you don't have any...
-ERIC: I'm gonna [INDISTINCT]

with me.
You see it anywhere.

COLIN: This right here.

Oh, yeah. Yeah.
That's the kind of thing

that, uh-- I don't know
how it ended up here,

but it's certainly not
associated with the parachute

-or anything like that.
-COLIN: Yeah.

And it's not associated
with anything...

Nothing that I'm aware of,
yeah.

It doesn't, uh--
it's certainly much bigger

than the attache case
would have been.

It looks just-- up here,
it looks to me

just like a, uh, you know,
old metal box, so...

COLIN: Yeah.
It's an old metal box, yeah.

Yeah. Okay.

All right.
Good to check out though.

FISHBURNE: Although they've yet
to find definitive evidence,

the search team has recovered
a few items of interest,

including this small gauge wire

which could have been part

of the NB6 parachute.

They also found nylon rope

hanging from a tree

and aluminum
that could be from beverages

served on Flight 305.

ERIC: A few, you know,
falls positive, so to speak,

it helps keep a little fresh
in your mind

that this is a very real case.

Uh, this guy
really did really exist.

He really did jump somewhere
in this area.

Those parachutes are somewhere
in this vicinity,

uh, and it's just a matter
of finding them.

FISHBURNE: Coming up.

A possible suspect
becomes more in focus.

You didn't have these
when I interviewed you way back.

When you pulled out
the passports, I said,

"Oh, I think it might be him."

FISHBURNE: A break in
Washington State.

There's some light
something here.

ERIC: What is that?
Oh, what's this?

This had to be on something
with some serious tension.

SHERIDAN: It has
sort of a ripstop weave.

I certainly can't rule it out.

ERIC: This could be
our smoking gun.

FISHBURNE: And findings
from an unlikely source

could force the FBI
to reopen the case.

ERIC: He actually got
special access to the evidence.

MAN: This DNA sample may infect
crack the case wide open.

MARY JEAN: You would think
this is enough

that if we need
law enforcement,

they've got to take this back
and reopen it.

[♪♪]

FISHBURNE: Investigator
Eric Ulis is on the last day

of his search for evidence
that could solve

the mystery of D.B. Cooper.

Eric believes the FBI
got it wrong

and Cooper actually landed
eight miles west

of law enforcement's
original search zone.

If he can find
any sign of Cooper,

it would prove
he survived the jump,

and may be alive today.

WOMAN: I wonder
what this area looked like

for 48 years ago.

ERIC: I think
it looked just like this.

FISHBURNE: The ravine
the team's searching

has remained untouched
by loggers for 50 years.

Eric believes decades
of overgrowth

could have helped
preserve evidence.

There's an awful lot
of vegetation, uh,

and this is exactly
the kind of area

that we would expect
to find something

if he was in this area
and happened to stash up.

WOMAN: It wouldn't be fun
to land a parachute in.

-ERIC: Yeah.
-WOMAN: You'd get caught up.

ERIC: This is actually
a pretty long property.

-Is it a long line?
-MAN: Yeah, we're about

-a fifth of the way right now.
-ERIC: Oh, wow.

Watch to your right, folks.

Don't outwalk your flanks.

-Hey, Joe.
-JOE: Yeah.

ERIC: See that big tree
on the other side

of that ravine right there?

-That one right there? Yeah.
-ERIC: So once we get to that,

we wanna spread out
to the right.

-JOE: Okay. There you go, Eric.
-ERIC: All right.

-BARRY: All right.
-ERIC: So you tug like this?

BARRY: There you go. Yeah.

And it'd catch you
if you fall, yeah.

-MAN: Excellent.
-BARRY: There you go.

ERIC: All right.
This one's still like that.

-MAN: All right.
-MAN: All right.

MAN: Good job.

[♪♪]

WOMAN: $200,000 in 1971,
what would be the value

-of that today?
-MAN: It would be 1.2 million

-today. So, he'd be--
-WOMAN: Wow.

MAN: --be a millionaire
in today's dollar.

WOMAN: All of that
for one million?

ERIC: The FBI's never been
able to prove one way

or the other whether any
of the ransom was spent.

If D.B. Cooper
did actually spend his money,

my research indicates that
there would be approximately

50 of those bills
still out there

in circulation today.

There is a very strong chance

that someone out there
right now has

one of those bills,
but they just don't know it.

As you can see here,

this is not a complete $20 bill.

In fact, I estimate that what
we're looking at is only about

25% of the original bill.

FISHBURNE: After a difficult
grid search,

the team finally reaches
the ravine.

BARRY: Okay, guys.
You're gonna have to--

a little slower. It's a little
bit more brushier here

for both sides, so...

FISHBURNE: From here, Eric
believes

Cooper could hear trains
running on the BNSF

Railway tracks,
tracks leading to Tena Bar.

ERIC: Oh, look at right here
right in front of you.

WOMAN: There's some white
something here.

I don't know.

[♪♪]

MAN: The material
is interesting.

ERIC: We have
a parachute expert.

Um, I'm gonna,
well, ask him about it.

-MAN: Where'd you find it?
-ERIC: Uh, just right under

the log here.

[♪♪]

MAN: It looks like
a mixed material,

some of which could be
on a parachute's...

ERIC: I'll ask the expert
and, uh--

-MAN: Yeah.
-ERIC: --he'll be able to tell

-us definitively.
-MAN: Something with tension.

This had to be on something
with some serious tension.

- The team sets up
a GPS locator on the spot

where the cloth fragment
was found

to provide coordinates
they can plot on a map.

ERIC: The situation we find
ourselves in right now

is rare, unique
in a very limited time.

So, we just cannot afford to
pass up on situations like this.

We have to thoroughly vet this.

We have to figure out
what we're working with here

because this may be it.

This may be the one
final golden opportunity

to figure out once and for all

what happened to D.B. Cooper.

We'll get it checked out.
We'll see what the--

-BARRY: Yup.
-ERIC: --expert says.

MAN: Yeah. We'll see.

FISHBURNE: Could this fabric
be part of D.B. Cooper's

missing parachutes?

[♪♪]

ERIC: It appears
to be nylon and canvas,

which looked very durable.

It resembled a piece
of a parachute.

It certainly looked like it
could be, but I'm not sure.

So, now that we've got
the piece in hand,

we've marked where we found it,

we'll present it
to our parachute expert,

Mark Meltzer,
and he'll be able to tell us

definitively whether or not this
is a piece of a parachute

or not.

[♪♪]

FISHBURNE: To learn more
about the fabric he found,

Eric heads to LA to meet
with Mark Meltzer.

ERIC: Not only
is he very knowledgeable

about the Cooper case,
he's also got something like

1,500, 2,000 parachute jumps.

It gives us the opportunity
to give him

that piece of evidence
that we found

during the search,
see if he thinks

that could possibly
come from a parachute,

either the main parachute
or the reserve parachute

or something else.

And he actually personally
knows Sheridan Peterson.

I wanted to start out
talking to you a little bit

about D.B. Cooper's skill level

with respect to parachutes
given everything

you know about this case
specifically in skydiving

-in particular.
-What indicates to me

that he probably
had some experience

with military parachute gear

is the type of main
parachute rigs

that were brought to him
were either Navy NB6

or NB8 containers
and harnesses and parachute

instructions were brought
to the plane,

printed instructions
on how to use the gear.

He didn't need them.
And Tina Mucklow,

the stewardess that spent
the most time with Cooper,

noted Cooper taking out
a packing card out

of one of the parachute rigs.

And to me,
that's a huge clue that Cooper

was most likely a skydiver.

I mean, skydivers know
what a packing card is.

Nobody else does.
Very well concealed.

So, if Cooper actually found
the packing card

and knew how to put on
an NB8 or NB6,

-that's very telling.
-ERIC: We did find something

that may or may not be related
to a parachute.

-MARK: I'd like to see it.
-ERIC: I'll take it out.

Get this open here.

[♪♪]

MARK: Well, it's interesting
and it has sort of a ripstop

weave in the--
in the fabric material here,

the porous fabric material.

It has nylon webbing.

And I see nothing
in the materials

that's inconsistent
with the late '60s, early '70s.

[♪♪]

FISHBURNE: Coming up.

ERIC: Could you describe
the nature

of your relationship during
that seven years with Sheridan?

The relationship was bumpy.

When you sent me the message,

you signed it D.B.

FISHBURNE: And later,
Eric collects a DNA sample.

MAN: Hopefully we can apply
some new technology

to the Cooper case here and...

FISHBURNE: To test
at a high-tech forensics lab.

ERIC: This is really
the only opportunity

that we have to try to establish

a DNA profile for D.B. Cooper.

[♪♪]

FISHBURNE: Investigator
Eric Ulis is in Los Angeles

meeting with parachute expert,
Mark Meltzer.

He hopes Mark can shed light

on a piece
of possible evidence.

ERIC: Looking for the missing
parachute,

we did find something
that may or may not be related

to a parachute.

[♪♪]

MARK: Well, it's interesting
and that it has sort

of a ripstop,
uh, weave in the--

in the fabric material here,
the porous fabric material.

It has nylon webbing.

FISHBURNE: A ripstop weave
is commonly found

in fabrics made
to resist tearing.

Yarns are interwoven
at regular intervals

in a crosshatch pattern.

MARK: I see nothing in the
materials that's inconsistent

with the late '60s, early'70s.

But it's not the right color
for a military parachute gear.

This is a turquoise blue
and it apparently has leather

over-sewn on the perimeter
of the, uh, thing.

And there is no leather on the--
on the type of gear that Cooper

jumped with.
It does have components

in common with a parachute gear.

There's nylon webbing.

It has some sort of ripstop
weave fabric.

But I can say with a hundred
percent certainty

that this was not from
D.B. Cooper's parachute gear.

So you've
pretty much established

that it's absolutely not related

to the parachute
that he jumped with.

What's the possibility
that there's some sort of

relation to the dummy
reserve parachute?

Yeah. That's an interesting
question, Eric.

I've seen some crude things done
to those trainee reserves

that the only thing you want
to do is have it be able

to be deployed and packed up
really quickly.

So, they cut panels out.

They sometimes cut some
of the suspension lines off.

It doesn't have to be done
to FAA specs.

And so, I can't definitively
say this wasn't part

of a trainee reserve.

I think it's unlikely.

But I certainly
can't rule it out.

ERIC:
This is very exciting for me

because there's a possibility

that this piece could be part

of the modification
that was made

to the dummy reserve parachute.

You personally know
Sheridan Peterson.

What are your overall
impressions of Peterson

as they pertain
to the possibility of this guy

being the real D.B. Cooper?

Sheridan Peterson is absolutely
a qualified candidate.

There is no aspect to that jump
that he wasn't a master of.

He knew how to jump
into the wilderness and egress.

Do I think he's D.B. Cooper?

I just don't know.

[♪♪]

FISHBURNE: To further
his investigation,

Eric Ulis next visits
Claire Peterson,

Sheridan Peterson's first wife.

He hopes she may have
some insight into whether

Sheridan could've pulled off
the skyjacking.

She also has details
about Sheridan's second wife,

the key person who could
corroborate his alibi.

ERIC: Sheridan
has three children,

all grown, with Claire.

They were married in the '50s

and divorced in 1962

which is right before
Sheridan moved up to Seattle

and got the job at Boeing.

Actually Sheridan started
working at Boeing

in May of 1962.

So, they went their separate
ways right before that.

So, this is gonna be fascinating
to speak with Claire

about her time with Sheridan.

Claire Peterson was interviewed

by the FBI in 1974

about Sheridan
and about this case.

And at that time,
Sheridan was living in Asia.

So, she knew as of 1974
that Sheridan was a suspect

in the D.B. Cooper skyjacking.

- Sheridan was 45
at the time of the skyjacking.

And Eric believes
his appearance is similar

to the original sketch
of D.B. Cooper.

Sheridan lived in Seattle
prior to the skyjacking

and was photographed
in a suit and tie

while posing as a skydiver.

As a Boeing employee,

it's also likely
that Sheridan knew

the inner workings
of the Boeing 727.

And finally, Eric does not
believe that Sheridan's alibi

can be corroborated for
the time of the skyjacking.

[♪♪]

-ERIC: Hi, Claire.
-CLAIRE: Hi.

-ERIC: Hi. Eric Ulis.
-CLAIRE: You must be Eric.

-ERIC: I am Eric. How are you?
-CLAIRE: Fine. Thank you.

ERIC: Good to meet you.

FISHBURNE: Claire agreed to help
Eric obtain a DNA profile

from one of their children.

It will be compared to the DNA
from D.B. Cooper's tie

left aboard flight 305.

If it's a match, Eric
could finally have the answer

to the mystery
of D.B. Cooper's identity.

ERIC: First of all, Claire,
thank you very much

for taking the time
to sit down with me

and talk a little bit
about your life

and your life with Sheridan.

Could you describe just
the nature of your relationship

during that seven years
with Sheridan?

The relationship was bumpy.

He did have tirades of anger.

I don't think
he could control it.

So, I knew there was a time
that I was gonna have to say

goodbye to him.

And that's the way it went,

something had to be done
'cause I didn't wanna get hurt.

ERIC: In terms of being
clever and deceptive

when there's something that
he wanted or what have you,

did you detect
any of that in him,

the ability to be deceptive?

I think he was deceptive, yes,

in a way that would work
for him.

FISHBURNE: As Eric speaks
with Claire Peterson,

former FBI Agent
Mary Jean Fryar is in route

to visit Sheridan Peterson.

In 2003, she interviewed him
as a person of interest

and collected a DNA sample.

This is the first time
they've met since then.

[♪♪]

MARY JEAN: I was glad
you reached out to me

and, uh, on Twitter.

When you sent me
that message that you wish

I was still in the FBI
because you had things

that were happening
to your computer.

-Yeah.
-MARY JEAN: Do you remember

that in September?

-With your book, with your book.
-SHERIDAN: Oh, yeah.

MARY JEAN: Yeah.
You signed it D.B.

[LAUGHS]
Well, because I thought

I'd amuse you.

Yeah. You did amuse me.

Twice you sent-- you signed D.B.

[LAUGHS] Yeah.

I was so surprised to find you.

MARY JEAN: It's been
a long time since we've

-seen each other.
-SHERIDAN: Yes, it has,

that was 20 years ago, huh?

-MARY JEAN: Long time ago.
-Uh, heisting of aircraft

and that wasn't me.

[CHUCKLES]
There were easier ways

to get 200,000 I would say,

I'm surprised that you guys
are still interested.

MARY JEAN:
They never caught the guy.

Sheridan: Uh-huh.
They didn't? [CHUCKLES]

MARY JEAN: The FBI gave up
on it and closed it.

-Oh, did they?
-MARY JEAN: The fact that

people think that you could be
D.B. Cooper makes sense.

D.B. Cooper
was a-- was a gangster.

He was a thief.

-He stole $200,000 and he...
-MARY JEAN: Yeah. He did.

And he also-- he wanted
to blow up a plane.

He would've killed
a lot of people.

MARY JEAN: Do you think
the bombs were real?

Oh, they weren't real. No.

MARY JEAN:
How do you know that?

FISHBURNE: Coming up. Eric turns
to science for answers

surrounding Cooper's identity.

ERIC: We are working
with Special Agent Curtis Ang.

He allowed us then
to have access to the tie.

FISHBURNE: And later an alibi
is brought into question.

MARY JEAN: Now, after August
of '71 then where did you go?

SHERIDAN: I don't want them
to know anything.

[♪♪]

FISHBURNE: Retired FBI
Investigator Mary Jean Fryar

is meeting
with Sheridan Peterson.

A man she interviewed in 2003
as a person of interest

in the D.B. Cooper case.

MARY JEAN: Do you think
the bombs were real?

Oh, they weren't real. No.

The FBI [CHUCKLES]
found proofs that they--

-the bombs weren't real.
-MARY JEAN: They did?

I don't think-- I don't--
didn't hear that.

SHERIDAN: Oh, yeah.
They've-- they--

once he had jumped,
uh, he left the stuff behind.

MARY JEAN: He only left
the tie behind.

FISHBURNE: The only items
recovered from the hijacked

plane were a long skinny
black clip-on tie.

A gold tie clip
and eight cigarette butts.

It's believed Cooper jumped
with everything else

including the handwritten note
exchanged

between he
and the flight attendants.

Why would he do it?

I feel that-- my personal
opinion that he, uh,

ended up in the Columbia river.

That money all rotted
and everything

was in the sand along

the bank up north of The Dalles.

MARY JEAN: Actually, I think
the money was buried not lost.

Buried?

MARY JEAN: Because it was like
in a stack in the sand,

not like just drifted there.

If he jumped and then just, uh,

and entirely he was wearing,

he was crazy.

And I'm not crazy.

That took a lot of guts
to do what he did.

Oh, yeah. I think so.

Uh, uh, yeah. [LAUGHS]

[♪♪]

MARY JEAN: You know, your life
story is fascinating.

Can we start after
your first wife Claire?

Yeah.
So, right after my first wife,

I took a sabbatical
in the Philippines.

I was just an English teacher

and I met Zeny she lived
in a very poor area.

She wasn't, um,
uh, well-educated.

But I married Zeny
and we had two children.

And then I went to Vietnam,
with the express purpose

of writing a documentary
on the Vietnam War.

You know, I needed a passport.

Oh, I have those passports.

-MARY JEAN: Oh, you do?
-ASHLEY: Can we see them?

SHERIDAN: Yeah.

MARY JEAN: This is the--
all your travel everywhere?

-ASHLEY: Wow.
-SHERIDAN: Well, I'm not--

I'm not sure
it's all of them, but...

MARY JEAN: You keep everything.
I love that.

So, here's Kathmandu
in August of '71.

-ASHLEY: Yup.
-MARY JEAN: Now after

August of '71,
then where did you go?

SHERIDAN: Oh, I went back
to Vietnam. [LAUGHS]

Yeah. I remember that,
we went--

I went back and I left
the family in,

uh, Malaysia in Penang.

MARY JEAN:
Your wife died in 1977?

SHERIDAN: Well, yeah.

I don't want them to know
where I am.

I don't want them to know
anything.

FISHBURNE: Back in Idaho,

Eric Ulis continues his meeting

with Sheridan's first wife,
Claire.

- He was not money crazy.

But he did not wanna work
but, you know,

he wanted to have a living

and I knew he wanted to go
to Asia.

And it looked like he was doing
what he wanted to do.

So, you were made aware
at some point that he, like,

headed to Asia?

I did know that he left

and he went overseas.

And was there any contact
with him

-while he was over there?
-Um,

probably a couple of letters.

And then-- but for years
and years, no contact.

One thing that was intriguing

that we talked about...

related to,
uh, his second wife.

And you're talking about a wife

that he led me to believe
was alive.

What did he say to you in 2007

that made you think
she was still alive?

I met his, uh, daughter,
their daughter,

and she wanted to see her mother
and she wanted to see her,

that her mother got over here
to the United States

-from the Philippines.
-What year was this?

-CLAIRE: Oh, this was, 2007.
-So, you talked--

you had a conversation
with Sheridan about this--

-I did.
---right here at your house,

-where we are right now?
-I did. Yes.

-What did Sheridan say about...
-Well, I asked him.

Why don't you send for her?

Why don't you see
that she can get here?

And he laughed
and what he said was,

"Oh, she wants to bring her
entire family over with her."

Clearly, you're under
the distinct impression

that his second wife,
at least as of 2007

is alive and well and is living
in the Philippines,

-is that correct?
-Exactly.

According to Sheridan,
his second wife

had passed away

in 1977.

Well, he's lying
about something.

If he is...

possibly Dan Cooper,

uh, she would know.

Well, that's where I started
to really think

perhaps that was he...

who did it.

He had the knowledge
and probably--

he probably had the courage
to do something like that.

MARY JEAN:
Look, I read Eric's work

and I have to ask you.

I want to know how you knew

the reserve parachute
was daisy-chained.

I daisy-chained it.

ASHLEY: You daisy-chained it?

Yeah, I daisy-chained it.

We use it there,
at Issaquah, for years.

FISHBURNE: Sheridan Peterson
worked at the

Issaquah Skydive Center
in the early 1960s.

The same place that would
later provide parachutes

used by Cooper in his escape.

I daisy-chained it so...

they throw it down and out, see,

the reserve,
I put the red x on it.

ASHLEY: You hadn't been
to Issaquah in five years.

How did you know that...

that's the same reserve
you made?

Well, I was sure it was.

Why would they change it?

Who gave it to him?

ASHLEY: Linn Emrich.

SHERIDAN: Well,
that's why Linn Emrich

figured it was me.

- Linn Emrich
worked at Issaquah Skyport

at the same time
of the hijacking.

But, uh, the others don't--

no longer think that I'm, uh,

D.B. Cooper.

And you still had DNA
out there.

Yeah. You still have my DNA.

There-- it's still there. Yeah.

And I've never heard what--
that it was cleared.

Well, I thought you said that...

MARY JEAN: No,
because I never found out.

But you-- you can find out
yourself.

I can send you the form.

You just make the request
and they'll tell you.

-Well...
-There was a little part of me

that was hoping
you were gonna confess

to being D.B. Cooper today.

-A little part of you?
-MARY JEAN: Yeah.

Oh. She really is this FBI.

-Yeah.
-MARY JEAN: I just hope that...

whoever it is

takes some credit for it

before they die,
if they're still alive

because it's quite
the accomplishment

and so many people
have claimed it

or tried to steal it
from this person saying,

"Oh, I was D.B. Cooper."
Or in their deathbed,

or family members
who will come out.

But it'll be nice if the person

doesn't let it go himself.

All right. Listen,
I have to say goodbye.

-SHERIDAN: Yeah. Yeah.
-MARY JEAN: Hey.

All right.
You take care of yourself.

SHERIDAN: Yeah.

MARY JEAN:
I will send you that form.

-SHERIDAN: All right.
-All right? Is it...

-SHERIDAN: Uh, I will.
-Then we can put this to rest.

-I'll go back...
-MARY JEAN: Unless you wanna

-confess to me.
-Huh?

MARY JEAN: Unless you wanna
confess to me.

Oh, I got to get on my knees.
[LAUGHS]

MARY JEAN: Yeah. [LAUGHS]

-Quality, sister.
-You take--

you take care of yourself.

SHERIDAN: I'm gonna remember
this forever.

MARY JEAN: Oh, well, good.
I will, too.

FISHBURNE: Coming up.

ERIC: A scientist Tom Kaye
and a couple of his associates

were actually granted
special access

to the evidence by the FBI.

It only makes sense
to see if Tom Kaye

happened to extract
some of D.B. Cooper's DNA.

MARY JEAN: And I asked him,
"I thought you were gonna do

the paperwork and follow
through with the DNA filing?"

And then that was it.

The conversation ended.

FISHBURNE: Twelve years
after he began

his obsessive search
into D.B. Cooper,

Eric Ulis is in Arizona

meeting with one of the only
researchers ever

to be given access
to Cooper evidence

by the FBI.

Eric hopes
that he will finally learn

that the man he believes
could be D.B. Cooper...

really is.

ERIC: Tom Kaye is a rockstar

in the D.B. Cooper world

and the reason the guy
is a rockstar

is because he actually got
special access

to the evidence in 2008
as well as 2011.

Knowing this,
it only makes sense to see

if Tom Kaye happened to extract

some of D.B. Cooper's DNA
while testing the tie.

-TOM: Eric, glad you made it.
-ERIC: Hey, Tom.

-How you doing, man?
-Good to see you.

Good to see you. Come on in.

Back in 2008, I was approached
by a Cooper group

that was looking for somebody
to analyze the money

that was found on Tena Bar

and have been buried there
for a long time.

Then we went back to the FBI
in 2011 and by that time,

we were working
with Special Agent Curtis Ang

and he allowed us then
to have access to the tie

specifically so we could do
a series of tests

and we also vacuumed the tie
for particles.

What we found
that was really amazing

is we found metallic titanium
on the tie.

- Titanium is used
to manufacture aircrafts

and is found
at plane manufacturing plants

like the Boeing Facility

where Sheridan worked
from 1962 to 1964.

There were very few applications

for commercially pure titanium
back in 1971.

And I know that some of my
research has actually shown

that indeed the 727 itself
specifically the engine

has commercially pure titanium.

At that time,
titanium wasn't very common.

It was used primarily
in aerospace

and also
in the chemical industry.

So it goes a long ways
towards narrowing down

criteria for D.B. Cooper.

TOM: Now, we knew
how vitally important

the particles were on the tie

and we knew
what we were looking for

is we hooked up a vacuum

to a filter like this.

This is a sterile filter
inside of a sterile jar.

We had a small nozzle coming out
at the end here

and then we hook a vacuum
to the back end of this

and we vacuum the tie
including the knot of the tie.

The tie knot seems like
the most logical place to look.

The place that would've been
touched the most

by D.B. Cooper.

This filter that remains
unopened to this day

has particles
from D.B. Cooper's tie in it

but most importantly
it also has Cooper's DNA in it.

The thing is there's only
one shot with the DNA here.

I will never see that again.

It is destroyed in the process
of getting the DNA.

I think that the lab
that's been...

appropriated for this job
is a good one

and they'll do a good job.

The extent of the job
that they can do

nobody knows yet,
not even the lab.

Tom, I wanna thank you
for entrusting us

with this very valuable
D.B. Cooper evidence.

We're gonna take it,
send it right off to the lab,

see what they can find out
and I'll get back to you

with the results
as soon as I have something.

-TOM: Absolutely.
-All right. All right, Tom.

-TOM: Let's go get him.
-Thanks. All right.

[TOM LAUGHS]

FISHBURNE: While Eric waits
to send

the Envac tie sample
to a Florida lab

specializing
in older forensics cases.

Former FBI Agent
Mary Jean Fryar

receives an unexpected call

from Sheridan.

MARY JEAN: When I met
with Sheridan Peterson,

I thought it was intriguing
and kind of confusing.

They evidently found the guy
that made the heist.

MARY JEAN: No.
They never caught the guy.

Uh-huh. They didn't?

MARY JEAN: The FBI gave up
on it and closed it.

-Oh, did they?
-During the interview

I thought it wasn't him.

And then when he pulled out
the passports, I said,

"Oh. I think it be might him ."

So here's Kathmandu
in August of '71.

MARY JEAN:
Now, you didn't have these

when I interviewed you
way back when.

There are two faded stamps
for Nepal, for Kathmandu

one ended late in 1971

before the hijacking

and then the other one
started in April of 1972.

By the time
the interview was over

I walked out thinking
"I don't know anymore.

I'm totally confused."

Probably about a month
after I was up in Santa Rosa.

I called Sheridan
and I asked him,

"I thought you were
gonna do the paperwork

and follow through
with the DNA filing."

And he said,
"Oh, you told me...

that I wasn't D.B. Cooper

and, you know,
I don't think I'm gonna do it."

And then that was it.

The conversation ended.

And I hung up thinking,
"Oh, my God.

Now, that makes me
really suspicious."

He just wants to keep it
'til he dies

which is probably
how it's gonna play out.

FISHBURNE: Five weeks later,

Eric arrives
back in California.

He setup
a video conference meeting

with a senior analyst
at the lab

comparing D.B. Cooper's DNA

to one of Sheridan's daughters.

If his theory is right

he may finally learn
the true identity

of D.B. Cooper.

ERIC: When I first embarked
upon this investigation

I had no idea
where it's gonna take me.

I had no idea
who I was going to encounter.

Let alone
that I'd find a suspect

who couldn't be ruled out
by the known facts.

According to Sheridan
his second wife

had passed away

in 1977.

Well, he's lying
about something.

ERIC: I've often said

that I believe
with 98% certainty

that Sheridan Peterson
could be D.B. Cooper.

But there's always been
that missing two percent.

Because truthfully,

I've never been able to find
the smoking gun.

There's an awful lot riding

on what the lab comes back with.

FISHBURNE: Coming up.

I was very surprised
with the results.

ERIC: I wanna give
Mary Jean a call

and I wanna let her know.

MARY JEAN:
I would think this is enough

that we need law enforcement.

They've got to take this back
and reopen it.

FISHBURNE: After years of
investigating

the D.B. Cooper case

and searching
for lost evidence.

Eric Ulis readies himself
for DNA results

that could break the case
wide open.

He'll be speaking
to an analyst at the lab

tasked with testing a sample

taken directly from the tie

Cooper left behind
on the plane.

Should DNA be found
within the sample

the results could reopen
a near 50-year-old case

and confirm Eric's suspicions

about a person of interest.

ERIC: How are you?

I'm good. How are you?

ERIC: I'm doing well.

Well, my name
is Samantha Wandzek

and I currently work
at DNA Labs International,

we're a private laboratory

out of Deerfield Beach
in Florida

and we have clients
in over 40 states.

So it's very easy to go back
to any cold case

and find more work to be done.

So for this case,
I was actually

the reporting analyst for it.

And how did you tackle
this material

that I sent to you to try
to ascertain whether or not

there's any DNA or not?

SAMANTHA:
Due to the size of the filter

we actually cut it out
in teeny-tiny chunks

and then sent the whole filter
for extraction.

That's the first stage
of the DNA testing process.

We then try to determine
how much DNA, if any,

is present in the sample.

If we have enough DNA

we'll then send it forward
for implication.

When you have cases
that are old,

um, typically you'll see
a sample will be degraded.

That DNA is just
gonna break apart over time

and you're just not gonna have
as much intact DNA.

But I was very surprised
with the results.

So there was DNA

in the filter?

We did end up with a profile

from one male individual.

Is there some way to quantify
like the strength?

I mean,
is it one of these things

where one out of a billion
people would...

match this particular profile,

like, how strong is it?

What can it tell us?

SAMANTHA: Typically,
once you have over 20 locations

you would have to see hundreds,

thousands,
millions in planet Earth,

that are staying
in current population

to expect to see
that profile one time.

So once you have
over those 20 locations

it usually becomes very rare.

So what you're telling me

is that we are
the very first people

outside of the FBI
to actually have

D.B. Cooper's DNA profile?

I'm anxious to find out
what that means?

What can it tell us
in comparison to DNA profile

for one of Sheridan Peterson's
daughters?

Does it match?

She is not
the biological daughter

of the male donor
that we found.

Wow.

That's a-- that's a--
that's stunning.

I mean, it's really remarkable

given everything I know
about this guy.

It's a game changer obviously.

The one thing that's very
encouraging to me though

is that we have a very solid

DNA profile from the tie.

Getting a DNA profile
is so important

because it can provide
assurance to me and others

that this case
is actually solvable.

I do very much appreciate
all the effort

that you folks put into this

and I'm just very grateful
that we've got

a solid DNA profile
and I'm grateful

that we have some resolution

with respect
to Sheridan Peterson.

So again,
thank you very much

for your efforts and your time.

Please feel free to contact me

with any additional questions
that you have.

We will do that.

FISHBURNE: Now, armed with new
information from the lab.

Eric calls Agent Mary Jean
Fryar to share the results.

Right now,

I wanna give Mary Jean a call

and I wanna let her know

what I have learned.

Because Mary Jean
has really helped

move my investigation forward

and I'm sure
she's gonna wanna know

what I've learned
about the DNA.

Hey, Mary Jean.
How are you doing?

-It's Eric Ulis calling.
-MARY JEAN: Hey, there.

ERIC:
I've got a DNA update.

Finally have some results

from the lab in Florida.

They did come up

with a full DNA profile

and it's from a male.

MARY JEAN:
I'm getting really excited.

My stomach is like a knot

because I'm hoping
that it's him.

They proved 100% that the DNA

does not match.

MARY JEAN: Oh, damn.

Sheridan Peterson
is not D.B. Cooper.

MARY JEAN: Last conversation
I have with Sheridan

he point blank refused
to go forward with the DNA--

get the DNA results.

ERIC:
I am absolutely convinced

that the DNA that we have

is D.B. Cooper's DNA.

So if anybody matches
this DNA profile

all 20 points that's your guy.

There's absolutely no doubt
about it.

MARY JEAN:
Can we run it in databases

and find him or is this
a lost cause at this point?

They actually can utilize it

to run through the CODIS system
but of course that involves,

uh, you know, law enforcement
getting involved,

then the courts
getting involved.

MARY JEAN: Eric, I think
what you've done is...

more than the FBI ever did.

And I would think
this is enough

that if we need law enforcement

they've got to take
this back and reopen it.

This is damn good evidence.

This is better than
I've ever come up with

and maybe they can actually
solve this case

-with your help.
-I honestly believe

we will eventually figure out
who this guy was.

-Thank you very much.
-MARY JEAN: Take care.

FISHBURNE: After narrowing down
Cooper's possible landing site

and eliminating
an FBI person of interest.

Eric's even more determined

to continue his mission.

I feel very empowered
at the moment.

I feel more motivated
than ever.

Because having this DNA profile

provides
an outstanding blueprint

as I continue to pursue
this case.

I am now actually armed

with precisely what I need

to determine who D.B. Cooper was

and more importantly
to prove it.

Time in the D.B. Cooper case

has served
as a double edge sword.

In one sense you have,

you know,
first-hand witnesses

that pass on
and memories fade.

But in another sense

we have advances in science
and technology.

And I think
when all is said and done

time is going to be our friend

because I firmly believe

that this DNA profile
is ultimately

what's gonna break this case
wide open

and is what is going to solve
this case.

FISHBURNE: The identity of D.B.
Cooper

has haunted investigators
for nearly five decades.

Who is the mysterious hijacker?

And will we ever finally
discover his true identity?

I'm Laurence Fissburne, thank
you for watching

History's Greatest Mysteries.