DB Cooper – Citizen Sleuth Chief publishes break-through findings of new evidence on the Tina Bar money

Posted on August 4, 2020 by

By Bruce A. Smith

Tom Kaye, the leader of the Citizen Sleuths, an investigatory group formed by FBI Special Agent Larry Carr in 2009, has made a major new discovery in the DB Cooper case. He has found specialized diatoms – little aquatic creatures that live in river water – on one of the twenty-dollar bills recovered from the skyjacker’s ransom in 1980.

Kaye’s findings were published this week in the prestigious Scientific Reports. As such, they are triggering a wave of new interest in the DB Cooper case. Further, they reverse or clarify earlier findings about the relationship between the bills and diatoms. Since it is a complex issue, I am posting the full chapter on the work of the Citizen Sleuths to illuminate the broader context of Kaye’s findings. Continue reading →

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DB Cooper – Controversy continues concerning the flight path

Posted on July 31, 2020 by

By Bruce A. Smith

Note: Recent postings at the DB Cooper Forum indicate that the flight path issue for DB Cooper is not resolved. As a result, I offer the following excerpt from my forthcoming edition of DB Cooper and The FBI – A Case Study of America’s Only Unsolved Skyjacking.

Analysis of the Flight Path, Weather, and Clothing

 The Traditional Flight Path

The flip-side of the parachute examination is: Where did Cooper land, even if he died upon impact? The key to answering that question is knowing where Flight 305 was when Cooper exited the plane, and for that we need precise information on the flight path and the time of the jump. Surprisingly these issues are not fully resolved, which begs another question: why not? Is it due simply to the turgidity of bureaucracy? Or is there a cover-up? Continue reading →

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DB Cooper – A retrospective on the development of the sketches

Posted on June 29, 2020 by

By Bruce A. Smith

Note: The following is an excerpt from my upcoming 3rd Edition of DB Cooper and the FBI – A Case Study of America’s Only Unsolved Skyjacking

Sketches of DB Cooper

The first drawing of DB Cooper, known as “Composite A,” was developed by the FBI immediately after the skyjacking and was created by one of their top-notch sketch artists, Roy Rose. Continue reading →

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DB Cooper – an update on recent suspects, 2013 to the present

Posted on June 24, 2020 by

By Bruce A. Smith

Although the DB Cooper case is over forty years-old, the suspects keep coming and one of the enduring mysteries of this case is how many middle-aged Caucasian men didn’t appear for Thanksgiving dinner in 1971. Continue reading →

Posted in DB Cooper | 3 Comments

A Covid Journal, Day 103 of Quarantine – and Day 27 of Nationwide Protests for Social Justice

Posted on June 21, 2020 by

By Bruce A. Smith

These are the most dramatic days of my lifetime – the Covid crisis coupled with historic social change that will hasten the end of racism. The coronavirus has killed 120,000 Americans, half of whom would be alive if Trump took appropriate and timely measures, such as testing and mask-wearing, and acted with anything approaching competence and compassion.
Continue reading →

Posted in Covid-19, Culture, Family, Health, Politics | 3 Comments

True friendships emerge in the time of Covid

Posted on June 19, 2020 by

By Rachel Holtzman

Special to the Mountain News

Free flowing thoughts of Rachel

I have a nomination for the Hero Chronicles, or whatever they may be called in the face of Covid 19. It’s not a nurse or doctor or the person who sterilized all the instruments used to treat desperately ill patients. It’s not the driver of the morgue van that had to assist in loading up the body bags to be transferred to the refrigerated storage containers at a local funeral home. No, I nominate Gabriella Rachel, an unsung hero who had been restricted to her 8’x10’ bedroom for well over three weeks, leaving the space, escorted, only to use the bathroom when absolutely necessary. This was the stay-in-place Covid rule for her house, an adult group home for the developmentally disabled. Her forms of diversion in the 24/7 box called her room were a television set, the radio, a CD player and the use of the house telephone for a few hours a day. But the years of over medication left her with tremors that made using the phone or the CD player a challenge. She’s been in the system for more than two-thirds of her life and I’ve known her for all that time. She calls me daily, 10:00 am every morning, and often more than that. I never ignore her calls. We are friends. Continue reading →

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DB Cooper – new clues surface in the Walter Reca story

Posted on June 16, 2020 by

By Bruce A. Smith

Editor’s Note: the following is from the 3rd edition of DB Cooper and the FBI – A Case Study of America’s Only Unsolved Skyjacking, being prepped for publication.

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If the FBI thought the world would lose interest in the DB Cooper case when they “officially closed” it in 2016, they must have been shocked with the huge media splash Walter R. Reca and Principia Media publishing company made in 2018. Continue reading →

Posted in DB Cooper, Science and Technology, The New Physics | 5 Comments

The Men of Honor of Unity House, 2nd Edition, Chapters 30 & 31 – Saying Hello

Posted on May 27, 2020 by

By Bruce A. Smith

Chapter 30 – Saying Hello

Spring

I did some construction work, but my heart wasn’t into it. Nor did I join the crowd chasing the vanishing therapy jobs. Unity offered me an entry-level position in a satellite clinic in Bangor, Maine, but I didn’t want to relocate. Truth be told, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t even pursue my divorce. I just moved out of my sister’s house and rented an RV trailer on Nantucket Island.

For four months, I lived on the $296 a week from unemployment and walked the beaches. One night in March, while listening to Motown and drinking a bottle of Berenger’s, I started writing this story. I wrote ‘til dawn. Continue reading →

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The Men of Honor of Unity House, 2nd Edition, Chapter 29 – Saying Goodbye

Posted on May 27, 2020 by

By Bruce A. Smith

Chapter 29 – Saying Goodbye

Winter

By first snow, everything we had built was gone, but not without a fight. Surprisingly, Anita Bouchart had championed our cause.

“Dave,” she said to me at an emergency staff meeting in December, “I know you think I’ve never been a big supporter of Unity House, and perhaps you’re right. I do think most kids fare better in family homes, not residences like Unity.

“But,” she continued, “I’ve learned a lot in the past month by getting back into action here. These kids are thriving at Unity better than they have anywhere else. Continue reading →

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The Men of Honor of Unity House, 2nd Edition, Chapter 28 – Trey

Posted on May 27, 2020 by

By Bruce A. Smith

Chapter 28 – Trey

Day 13

I got the phone call at 10:00 am

“I would’ve called you sooner, Dave,” Terry said, “but I know how you like to sleep late. How are you?”

“I…, umm…, I’m coming around, Terry.” She was right. I was still in bed, lying in a groggy twilight when she called. “Ummm. How are you?”

“Good. Great actually, personally. I’ve resigned, effective next week.

“Good for you, Terry,” I said.

“You know you’re gonna be in charge now, permanently, or at least sharing things with Anita.”

“Yeah, okay…oy,” I took a deep breath and sighed.

“But, listen, I have some sad news….,” she paused. “Trey died last night.” Continue reading →

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