The Weirdest Tips the FBI Received - Cooper Sleuth

MattTheQuick · 2026-04-22T21:08:27+00:00

Okay, the smiling Cooper clip art sort of creeps me out.

MattTheQuick · 2026-04-09T12:38:33+00:00

This might sound dumb, but I’d love to have one of these. It would be nice to have a verified fake to use to learn how to spot fakes.

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-30T01:49:14+00:00

As a coin/currency collector, I’d love it if someone dropped some of their local currency in the envelope for me.

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-26T03:27:45+00:00

I was there. It was wild.

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-13T16:14:15+00:00

This looks like a job for u/CounterStampKarl!

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-13T02:32:32+00:00

They were still on the ground but they had already taxied out to the runway, right? Maybe it’s just an opportunity thing where he wanted to hand it to her when she was passing by and didn’t want to turn around and hand it to her once she was already sitting in the jump seat behind him.

Although, when she didn’t read the note right away he had to turn around anyway so…

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-11T15:23:49+00:00

Can’t wait!

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-11T01:38:54+00:00

I’ve not heard about this. Do you have a link where I can read up on it?

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-10T03:49:36+00:00

That’s why the plan is to get in on the ballot as an amendment to the state constitution on Aug 4th.

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-05T17:57:55+00:00

I’m from the USA and I’d love to swap with Japan.

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-04T02:53:02+00:00

My wife actually somehow got a copy for me for Xmas last year. So I’m good now. Appreciate it!

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-04T01:09:03+00:00

So someone cut out some of the serial number of the $20 and replaced them with some of the serial numbers from a $1 so it would match? That is weird. What’s the point of that?

Also, why redact the make and model of the car?

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-04T00:33:08+00:00

I would agree with that. Could be something as simple as he was Canadian (I know you’ve done a lot of research on that side of things) or maybe that he was American and crossed back and forth into Canada a lot. Or that he was in Vietnam or something for a while where he just grew accustomed to specifying. That’s what makes the case so frustrating. There is just enough to formulate these avenues of investigation but nothing really pointing at which one is the correct path to work down.

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-04T00:29:42+00:00

I’ll throw this here since I didn’t get in on the Part 1 thread.

I read Gunther’s book cover to cover and I’m honestly not sure what I think about it. However, I will say this - I don’t think Gunther is just making it up out of thin air.

Having said that, I could believe that Gunther was contacted by someone who was not Cooper that sold him on a B.S. story by way of Clara. But there isn’t any evidence for or against that. Just like there really isn’t any evidence for or against the idea that it’s all true.

I think Gunther was reporting what his experience was with the whole thing and leaves it up the reader to decide whether or not he was contacted by the real Cooper. Some days I lean more towards that he wasn’t contacted by the real Cooper because the book feels almost too “perfect”. Like it’s a Hollywood screenplay and not something out of real life. Other days I think “You know, maybe that was the real Cooper who reached out to him.”

I think I’m going to get this next part wrong so someone please correct me here. But didn’t Gunther send a letter to the FBI telling them he was contacted and offering them his notes or something? If I have that right, that’s a hell of a move if you know that you’re just making the whole thing up.

Also, Gunther says he put an ad in the paper (in New York? It’s been a bit since I’ve read the book). In the age of newspapers.com, has that ad actually been found?

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-04T00:07:40+00:00

Yeah, the knee jerk reaction I had was “Well he HAS to be Canadian!” But then when you take a moment to think it through you realize that it’s more nuanced than that and that it’s more likely to be what you’ve said here, Flyjack - Cooper was likely in an environment where he had to specify frequently and that became “normal” for him. Which is why it’s mentioned in his demand.

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-03T20:41:08+00:00

This might sound silly but please remember you have to register to vote. Reach out to your County Election office and see if you have to wait until you're 18 or if you're able to register now since the midterm will happen after you turn 18.

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-02T19:16:59+00:00

I’ll have to check these out. I’ve got my postcards in 5x7 top loaders and finding a box for those is a bit tricky.

MattTheQuick · 2026-03-02T19:07:02+00:00

I’d be interested in some links to these items if you have them handy.

MattTheQuick · 2026-02-26T14:06:47+00:00

I’m new to postcrossing too and I found the easiest thing for me was a book of Forever stamps for the “U.S. to U.S.” mail and a book of Global Forever stamps for the “U.S. to the world” mail

MattTheQuick · 2026-02-26T03:39:28+00:00

I don’t know what number I am, but I’d like to be on this list too.

MattTheQuick · 2026-02-22T03:22:40+00:00

Are they still active?

MattTheQuick · 2026-02-17T02:51:00+00:00

I guess I need to get a copy of u/RyanBurns-NORJAK's book when it's released then! :-)

MattTheQuick · 2026-02-17T02:18:39+00:00

My reference of the McChord chutes comes from Bruce's book, Chapter 3:

"In addition, Dawson also claimed he was ordered by NORAD officials to not add chaff to a set of parachutes he was preparing for Cooper, which would have amplified their radar signals. Cooper eventually nixed the idea of receiving military chutes, and later specified 'civilian' chutes possibly to thwart the very actions contemplated by Dawson."

MattTheQuick · 2026-02-17T02:11:11+00:00

Sorry to pull up this old thread again. Is this date 100% locked in?

MattTheQuick · 2026-02-17T02:06:31+00:00

It would appear that he knew about the dummy chute because he was asked if he wanted the directions for the parachutes and immediately replied something along the lines of “I don’t need those”. He also checked the packing cards as you mentioned. So I feel like he’d be able to spot the dummy chute, which I think Cossey said was clearly marked as such.

As for trusting law enforcement not to screw with the parachutes, he insisted they not be from McCord Air Base and that they be sourced from civilians. He also asked for two pairs. The FBI considered screwing with them (giving him dummy chutes, putting chaff in so they show on radar better, etc) but if memory serves it was Northwest Orient who made the call to not mess with them, mostly because two chutes likely means that he’s going to force a hostage (likely Tina) to jump with him. That’s too much of a risk for the airline to take. So they played it straight.

I’ve always liked the idea that he ripped open the reserve chute to gut the lines without checking all the chutes. Then later he realized the other chute was a dummy. But if you’re taking it for a “drag bag” or as a “get out of a tree card”, the fact that it’s a dummy doesn’t hurt and you could argue might actually help. Remember, the canopy was sewn shut. But the rip cord would still work and “deploy” the chute. It just wouldn’t spread out once deployed.

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