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[Bruce A. Smith]

Death of Skipp Porteous

Tonight, RMB announced on the Mountain News that his co-author, Skipp Porteous, has died. RMB says that Skipp's son, Mark, told him that the former PI and co-author of Into the Blast, passed away in his sleep in a hospice facility in Florida.

RMB says that more information on Skipp's death will be released in the near future, and those interested can follow developments at Skipp's Facebook page.

Sad news, it appears no pain was involved other than what he was probably going through over the last few years. tough times for the family right now I'm sure..not a day goes by without thinking about my father, so hopefully the family will get through these tough times...

Shutter

I found Skipp to be a curious fellow, and someone with whom I had an uneven relationship-probably due to his association with RMB and the atrocious Into the Blast. I tried to make contact with him to get his side of the story but he was elusive. I walked to his apartment building on the Upper West Side in Manhattan one day, and found that he had just moved out the prior month. In fact, he had just sold his PI biz, Sherlock Investigations.

By the time I caught up with him he was in Half Moon Bay in California, I believe, and we exchanged a couple of Facebook messages. Nothing major, though. By then his illness had taken root. Soon he was in Florida for a more comprehensive heath care program and to be with family. He had a wife somewhere in all of that, but I know nothing about her.

Skipp was never able to explain how his relationship with RMB began or how the Kenny story evolved into such a huge disaster - but very popular, too. That is its own story. Oddly, I knew plenty of people in Skipp's orbit, or had lots of dealings with him such as RMB, Geoffrey Gray, and even Galen who conversed with him frequently in the early years, circa 2007. What I got from Galen was that Skipp was like an operator, looking for his angles and opportunities. He also hired a lot of babes, I hear, like Charlie's Angels. I don't know if that is true, but that's his rep. The folks who bought his biz were nice, though, and very appreciative of what he had established.

So, Skippy was a mixed bag I suppose. Regardless, I consider him a brother in our Cooper business, and I wish him well in his next adventure, and for his family to grieve as they need to and to celebrate his life.

[fcastle866]

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If only they hadn't lost DB's cig butts..... Even if he's dead, so long as family had used one of these services, it wouldn't be too hard to figure out who he was.

Maybe the cigarette butts will pop up.  I wonder if any of the DNA they have is really from Cooper.  I need to get up to speed on how all of the testing works.  Should a viable suspect appear, with relatives, then all the DNA from the heist may have to be tested, and I'm guessing that could get expensive.  Or maybe not.  Suspects with loose connections may only get tested against a few pieces of DNA, such as the hair that was found.  However, if a suspect was deemed to be likely or very likely, a more thorough test could be warranted.  Old pictures, pay stubs, eyewitness ID's, proof of presence in the area at the time, or at other sites known to have been visited by Dan Cooper, may in aggregate be enough for some to accept a specific suspect.

[Bruce A. Smith]

For those who would like, Barb Dayton's DNA is on file with the Formans. They tested her stuff at their own expense. The FBI never asked for a copy of her genetic profile, as far as I know despite SA Jeremy Blauser's keen interest in her candidacy.

[Bruce A. Smith]

Maybe the cigarette butts will pop up....

When I last heard from Billy Jensen he was looking for them. About two years ago.

[fcastle866]

Bruce: Do you think the FBI has enough of Cooper's DNA to match it if a suspect appeared?  As I understand there were a lot of people who touched the tie, and who sat in the seats on the plane.

[Bruce A. Smith]

Bruce: Do you think the FBI has enough of Cooper's DNA to match it if a suspect appeared?...

Yes.

That said, it ain't gonna be easy. There are at least three different sets of male DNA on the tie, and as you point out there is a high degree of concern that lots of different people could have contributed DNA inadvertently. Plus, the chain of custody on the tie is suspect. So, there could be dozens, hundreds, or maybe even thousands of people who put genetic material on the tie. Sorting that out could be tricky.

And then there are the ciggies...

[Shutter]

Tom Colbert released 62 more pages in regards to McCoy ..I will post them when I get home....

[MEYDC]

Tom Colbert released 62 more pages in regards to McCoy ..I will post them when I get home....

In what was released before we can understand why he was eliminated as a suspect, I wonder what else there could be.

[Shutter]

Keep in mind that we never get the full picture..I would imagine they have hundreds of pages on each suspect, or at least the one's that catch there eye...I just got home and will upload them...I'll send the file to you right now...

[MEYDC]

Does any one know if there was hair found in Cooper's seat on the airplane? In the McCoy files Calaame had said that they had a sample of McCoy's hair from when he was interviewed. I am not suggesting that McCoy was Cooper, it made me wonder in the FBI has any Cooper hair. If they did it could be tested for DNA, and solve this case.

[georger]

Bruce: Do you think the FBI has enough of Cooper's DNA to match it if a suspect appeared?...

Yes.

That said, it ain't gonna be easy. There are at least three different sets of male DNA on the tie, and as you point out there is a high degree of concern that lots of different people could have contributed DNA inadvertently. Plus, the chain of custody on the tie is suspect. So, there could be dozens, hundreds, or maybe even thousands of people who put genetic material on the tie. Sorting that out could be tricky.

And then there are the ciggies...

One more SALE! Ka-ching!   

 
 

[georger]

Bruce: Do you think the FBI has enough of Cooper's DNA to match it if a suspect appeared?...

Yes.

That said, it ain't gonna be easy. There are at least three different sets of male DNA on the tie, and as you point out there is a high degree of concern that lots of different people could have contributed DNA inadvertently. Plus, the chain of custody on the tie is suspect. So, there could be dozens, hundreds, or maybe even thousands of people who put genetic material on the tie. Sorting that out could be tricky.

And then there are the ciggies...

Uh, Dr. Smith, ...  which loci do you think the FBI has identified in its CODIS partial(s)? How many partials are they using and what is the statistical agreement between them?

Which suspects have they looked at genetically and which partial(s) did they use - all of just one? What's the level of significance in their comparison(s)?

What kits does the lab use and who manufactures those kits? Do you trust the makers of STR kits?   

answers Fact is Dr Smith cant answer any of these basic questions. Mr Smith has no knowledge in this arrea, period. Mr. Smith relies on hearsay and his 'hearsay' is now years old. Updated info is needed in these matters. And since nobody will even talk to Mr. Smith now, it is very unlikely Mr. Smith will have any updates - ever.

So keep playing it again and again Dr. Smith.  One more SALE! Ka-ching!   
 
 

[Bruce A. Smith]

Does any one know if there was hair found in Cooper's seat on the airplane?

Yes, there was. Hair samples were collected off the linen headrest. GG talks about it, I believe. Ayn and Larry also confirmed, circa 2009, if I recall. Oddly, no principals have talked about collecting DNA profiles from the hair that I know of, but Georger and I have discussed it at the DZ and my understanding is that hair is not a hotsy-totsy source for DNA. But I find that strange.

[Bruce A. Smith]

Bruce: Do you think the FBI has enough of Cooper's DNA to match it if a suspect appeared?...

Yes.

That said, it ain't gonna be easy. There are at least three different sets of male DNA on the tie, and as you point out there is a high degree of concern that lots of different people could have contributed DNA inadvertently. Plus, the chain of custody on the tie is suspect. So, there could be dozens, hundreds, or maybe even thousands of people who put genetic material on the tie. Sorting that out could be tricky.

And then there are the ciggies...

Uh, Dr. Smith, ...  which loci do you think the FBI has identified in its CODIS partial(s)? How many partials are they using and what is the statistical agreement between them?

Which suspects have they looked at genetically and which partial(s) did they use - all of just one? What's the level of significance in their comparison(s)?

What kits does the lab use and who manufactures those kits? Do you trust the makers of STR kits?   

answers Fact is Dr Smith cant answer any of these basic questions. Mr Smith has no knowledge in this arrea, period. Mr. Smith relies on hearsay and his 'hearsay' is now years old. Updated info is needed in these matters. And since nobody will even talk to Mr. Smith now, it is very unlikely Mr. Smith will have any updates - ever.

So keep playing it again and again Dr. Smith.  One more SALE! Ka-ching!   
 
 

Georger, I have always relied on you and others, such as Snowmman, Dr. Frederick Whitehurst, and Tom Kaye, for expert analysis in selected areas like DNA, legal details, lab techniques, etc. That has not changed.

My job here is to be a reporter and an information gatherer. I sympathize with your disappointment that I am not more of a scientific peer to you, but such is life I suppose. Yes, I do have some areas of specialized knowledge, such as in the science of consciousness, so I share what I can when those topics arise in our discussions.

[georger]

Bruce: Do you think the FBI has enough of Cooper's DNA to match it if a suspect appeared?...

Yes.

That said, it ain't gonna be easy. There are at least three different sets of male DNA on the tie, and as you point out there is a high degree of concern that lots of different people could have contributed DNA inadvertently. Plus, the chain of custody on the tie is suspect. So, there could be dozens, hundreds, or maybe even thousands of people who put genetic material on the tie. Sorting that out could be tricky.

And then there are the ciggies...

Uh, Dr. Smith, ...  which loci do you think the FBI has identified in its CODIS partial(s)? How many partials are they using and what is the statistical agreement between them?

Which suspects have they looked at genetically and which partial(s) did they use - all of just one? What's the level of significance in their comparison(s)?

What kits does the lab use and who manufactures those kits? Do you trust the makers of STR kits?   

answers Fact is Dr Smith cant answer any of these basic questions. Mr Smith has no knowledge in this arrea, period. Mr. Smith relies on hearsay and his 'hearsay' is now years old. Updated info is needed in these matters. And since nobody will even talk to Mr. Smith now, it is very unlikely Mr. Smith will have any updates - ever.

So keep playing it again and again Dr. Smith.  One more SALE! Ka-ching!   
 
 

Georger, I have always relied on you and others, such as Snowmman, Dr. Frederick Whitehurst, and Tom Kaye, for expert analysis in selected areas like DNA, legal details, lab techniques, etc. That has not changed.

My job here is to be a reporter and an information gatherer. I sympathize with your disappointment that I am not more of a scientific peer to you, but such is life I suppose. Yes, I do have some areas of specialized knowledge, such as in the science of consciousness, so I share what I can when those topics arise in our discussions.

Fair enough I guess. It's the best that can be done at present but I do respect your concession to others, or the advice of others you sometimes seek, in these technical matters. It is a fact you have asked for help in the past with some of these matters, but on several occasions you rejected or ignored that help. On balance I guess we do what we can with what we have ... which is damned little by my reckoning!   

And I reject your socalled 'science of consciousness' as you call it - out of hand. I keep knocking on the door to remind myself which planet you are sometimes on!