The 45-year-old mystery of infamous skyjacker D.B. Cooper may forever be unsolved as the FBI has officially ended their active investigation into the case.
The law enforcement agency told Seattle TV station KIRO that "following one of the longest and most exhaustive investigations in our history, on July 8, 2016, the FBI redirected resources allocated to the 'DB Cooper' case, in order to focus on other investigative priorities."
An FBI spokesperson went on to say that "evidence obtained during the course of the investigation will now be preserved for historical purposes at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C."
The November 1971 caper saw an unidentified man, dubbed 'D.B. Cooper,' hijack a plane, demand $200,000 ransom, and then parachute into oblivion, never to be seen again.
In the subsequent four-and-a-half decades since the event, the case has spawned a myriad of theories and potential suspects for who D.B. Cooper may have been.
However, none of the leads provided to the FBI resulted in a conclusive amount of proof to definitively solve the case and, after all these years, the agency had decided that the resourced devoted to the manhunt would be better spent on more pressing matters.
While the decision will likely not put an end to independent investigators attempting to solve the mystery, it appears that the FBI is not interested in pursuing personal theories about the case unless physical evidence from the event is found.
Should that happen, they advise researchers to contact their local FBI office to deliver the materials and then, perhaps, the case will be re-opened.
The Cooper story has been back in the news in recent days with a TV special and book proclaiming to have solved the mystery and identified the infamous fugitive.
Based on the FBI's decision, it seems that either the newfound suspect is not D.B. Cooper or the independent investigation is not as airtight as researchers believe.
Coast Insiders who are not quite ready to give up the search can check out attorney Galen Cook's 11/26/11 appearance on the program, where he detailed his attempts to identify Cooper.
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Source: KIRO Seattle