Whether the money arrived during flooding, or during dredging, or impacted there in 71, the highest probability of how it got there is it came directly from the plane to an underwater "staging area" (not with the "direct impact" theory, though), until it was deposited on Tena Bar.  The point is, unless someone can come up with some kind of proof, or a better idea, the idea that the money landed in the Columbia, or nearby upstream tributary, in 1971 is the most likely scenario out there.  Whether the Cooper suspect lived or died is not dependent on this, though I would argue there's been 40 plus years to locate and present a viable living candidate after the skyjacking, and that doesn't seemed to have happened.

I still haven't come across anything that would lead me to believe the money didn't arrive at Tena Bar or within several miles upstream directly from flight 305.  Junk science, bad guessing and "big foot theories" just don't do it for me.  Just my two cents.

If Cooper had landed in the Columbia River itself, it is highly probable that he and everything attached to him would have gone downstream and pass Tina Bar that same evening.  Cooper was probably on the ground (I include water in this statement), and at most just a few miles upstream from Tina Bar, by 8:15 PM PST and it was probably another 10+ hours before sunrise where he could have been seen.  Cooper and his attachments were probably "floatable" for several hours before they became completely water logged.

Also, note that the money was found at Tina Bar about 5 to 10 feet higher than the Columbia River water level on the evening of the hijacking.  Something had to lift that money those last 5 to 10 feet and the consensus of opinion on this thread seems to be firming against the dredge theory.

That leaves the "landed as a no-pull on reasonably high ground and dislodged some lengthy period of time later by flood waters" theory operational.  Remember that no one even looked for Cooper in the Tina Bar area until after the money was found in 1980, over 9 years after the hijacking.

The vegetation on Caterpillar Island and the Tina Bar area includes some world class briar patches.  Anything that goes into one of those briar patches is not going to come out intact.

Plus there was a lot of work done in the 1970s just upstream of Tina Bar which included construction of a marina on the east side of Caterpillar Island, removing the "mud flats" so that the channel to the marina could be navigated by boats with up to about a 4 or 5 foot draft, and the construction of the Flushing Channel between the Columbia River and Vancouver Lake.  The Columbia River's inlet to the Flushing Channel is just a short distance upstream of Caterpillar Island.   

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Whether the money arrived during flooding, or during dredging, or impacted there in 71, the highest probability of how it got there is it came directly from the plane to an underwater "staging area" (not with the "direct impact" theory, though), until it was deposited on Tena Bar.  The point is, unless someone can come up with some kind of proof, or a better idea, the idea that the money landed in the Columbia, or nearby upstream tributary, in 1971 is the most likely scenario out there.  Whether the Cooper suspect lived or died is not dependent on this, though I would argue there's been 40 plus years to locate and present a viable living candidate after the skyjacking, and that doesn't seemed to have happened.

I still haven't come across anything that would lead me to believe the money didn't arrive at Tena Bar or within several miles upstream directly from flight 305.  Junk science, bad guessing and "big foot theories" just don't do it for me.  Just my two cents.

If Cooper had landed in the Columbia River itself, it is highly probable that he and everything attached to him would have gone downstream and pass Tina Bar that same evening.  Cooper was probably on the ground (I include water in this statement), and at most just a few miles upstream from Tina Bar, by 8:15 PM PST and it was probably another 10+ hours before sunrise where he could have been seen.  Cooper and his attachments were probably "floatable" for several hours before they became completely water logged.

Also, note that the money was found at Tina Bar about 5 to 10 feet higher than the Columbia River water level on the evening of the hijacking.  Something had to lift that money those last 5 to 10 feet and the consensus of opinion on this thread seems to be firming against the dredge theory.

That leaves the "landed as a no-pull on reasonably high ground and dislodged some lengthy period of time later by flood waters" theory operational.  Remember that no one even looked for Cooper in the Tina Bar area until after the money was found in 1980, over 9 years after the hijacking.

The vegetation on Caterpillar Island and the Tina Bar area includes some world class briar patches.  Anything that goes into one of those briar patches is not going to come out intact.

Plus there was a lot of work done in the 1970s just upstream of Tina Bar which included construction of a marina on the east side of Caterpillar Island, removing the "mud flats" so that the channel to the marina could be navigated by boats with up to about a 4 or 5 foot draft, and the construction of the Flushing Channel between the Columbia River and Vancouver Lake.  The Columbia River's inlet to the Flushing Channel is just a short distance upstream of Caterpillar Island.   

Even though we disagree on the "how", we do agree on the "what".

Of approx 100 bundles only 2 and change made it to Tina Bar. Dried out remnants of rubber bands turned to dust when touched. can we assume the bills were as old as the bands? And, what happened to the other ~97 bundles?

 

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Whether the money arrived during flooding, or during dredging, or impacted there in 71, the highest probability of how it got there is it came directly from the plane to an underwater "staging area" (not with the "direct impact" theory, though), until it was deposited on Tena Bar.  The point is, unless someone can come up with some kind of proof, or a better idea, the idea that the money landed in the Columbia, or nearby upstream tributary, in 1971 is the most likely scenario out there.  Whether the Cooper suspect lived or died is not dependent on this, though I would argue there's been 40 plus years to locate and present a viable living candidate after the skyjacking, and that doesn't seemed to have happened.

I still haven't come across anything that would lead me to believe the money didn't arrive at Tena Bar or within several miles upstream directly from flight 305.  Junk science, bad guessing and "big foot theories" just don't do it for me.  Just my two cents.

If Cooper had landed in the Columbia River itself, it is highly probable that he and everything attached to him would have gone downstream and pass Tina Bar that same evening.  Cooper was probably on the ground (I include water in this statement), and at most just a few miles upstream from Tina Bar, by 8:15 PM PST and it was probably another 10+ hours before sunrise where he could have been seen.  Cooper and his attachments were probably "floatable" for several hours before they became completely water logged.

Also, note that the money was found at Tina Bar about 5 to 10 feet higher than the Columbia River water level on the evening of the hijacking.  Something had to lift that money those last 5 to 10 feet and the consensus of opinion on this thread seems to be firming against the dredge theory.

That leaves the "landed as a no-pull on reasonably high ground and dislodged some lengthy period of time later by flood waters" theory operational.  Remember that no one even looked for Cooper in the Tina Bar area until after the money was found in 1980, over 9 years after the hijacking.

The vegetation on Caterpillar Island and the Tina Bar area includes some world class briar patches.  Anything that goes into one of those briar patches is not going to come out intact.

Plus there was a lot of work done in the 1970s just upstream of Tina Bar which included construction of a marina on the east side of Caterpillar Island, removing the "mud flats" so that the channel to the marina could be navigated by boats with up to about a 4 or 5 foot draft, and the construction of the Flushing Channel between the Columbia River and Vancouver Lake.  The Columbia River's inlet to the Flushing Channel is just a short distance upstream of Caterpillar Island.   

Even though we disagree on the "how", we do agree on the "what".

Of approx 100 bundles only 2 and change made it to Tina Bar. Dried out remnants of rubber bands turned to dust when touched. can we assume the bills were as old as the bands? And, what happened to the other ~97 bundles?

The fact that the three bundles were together, or very close to each other, suggests that they arrived together.  And that in turn suggests that they may have been in the same container when they arrived at Tina Bar, whether it was the money bag or Cooper's pockets.  But then as the flooding continued, those three bundles lodged in the sand and everything else, maybe including Cooper's remains also, keep going downstream.

I agree in theory.

In other words, unless the Tina Bar money was a plant (which is unlikely), the same 'process' which brought the bundles to Tina Bar also dispensed with the rest of the money, perhaps in a container. And the further you get from Tina Bar the more remote it gets that three bundles alone could make the trip to Tina Bar in unison, if flow is involved in the process. With one exception: the dredging.

The dredging most definitely could have destroyed all of the money, and the dredging conveyed material to Tina Bar. Did anyone search the other location on the Oregon side where the same project also put material? No, apparently not. The dredging report by Mr. Bechly is dated Feb. 13, 1980. The excavation at Tina Bar was essentially over by Thurs Feb 14th? The diggers at Tina Bar may not have even known there was other material on the opposite side of the river to do a search there?
   

In my opinion the bills could not reach the surface on there own if they were underwater for a long period. the fragments that supposedly were found at the waterline were they directly under the Ingram's find? if so that leaves a path of the bills coming from a easterly position washed down from above the beach vs coming in north, south, or west?

I know Cook is hard to believe in certain points on some of the things he says. what proof is there that fisherman found frags? why has nobody ever come forward about this huge change of events? 

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If dredging becomes an answer to how the money was placed I think proof of the money surviving the dredge is needed, and proof of the money being able to survive underwater for 3 years.

The key is the water temp at the bottom of the Columbia.  I suspect it's pretty cold with mountain runoff, etc.  If the canvas money bag remained tightly wrapped around the money bundles after impacting with the water, then it's conceivable, and even likely, that the money bundles and rubberbands would remain remarkably well preserved for years, if not decades.

Now, a lot of this makes sense, but, this would be from possibly a no pull, to Cooper losing the money on the way down. that all fits nice and neat, but, this presents a problem with the timing of the jump. this adds up to 5+ minutes to the original jump time. the single best piece of information probably lies in the flight recorder showing the bump on the chart. how can this information be missing. according to Kaye, nothing was seen about any data with regards to the FDR, or anything of that nature.

I've heard FBI agents claim they had no idea where Cooper jumped, that's why the search area was so big. then you have Carr showing the flight path, and stating "the believed flight path". we have reports from the Air Force, and ATC monitoring the flight. and yet nobody is willing to set anything in stone? the oscillation was recorded, but not the bump? Rataczak says this, and then he says that? Scott tells a different story as well? Anderson claims 8:05 was not the last transmission with Cooper?

I can sum the whole thing up with 3 letters.....WTF?

For Cooper to have had help certain things need to fall into place. he would need to time the flight since he didn't plot any path. McCoy was very precise in landing exactly where he wanted to land. if he tossed things into the river one would think he was very close to the river, or it's a waste of time going out of his way.

If he had help, why would he toss things in the river, unless they were headed away in that direction. I would think leaving the stairs down would cause more concern than it would help in his escape. as soon as the stairs came down, they should of been saying, "he's getting ready to jump" even if he didn't they would be ready for him IMO? they were supposed to flash the lights when they thought he jumped?

Personally, I'm not trying to change the flight path. I'm open to anything that makes more sense as to how the money arrived on the beach. you must go through all possible scenario's in order to come to any conclusion. leave no rocks unturned.

1) We have R99 making a lot of sense to why that path would be taken.
2) We have someone who was involved with the case stating the same as R99.
3) We don't have any conclusions of how the money got there in the first place.
4) We have people believing a plant, but the money wasn't really buried. why not just toss it on the beach?
5) 40+ years later and they still can't find planes?

For Cooper to have had help certain things need to fall into place. he would need to time the flight since he didn't plot any path. McCoy was very precise in landing exactly where he wanted to land. if he tossed things into the river one would think he was very close to the river, or it's a waste of time going out of his way.

If he had help, why would he toss things in the river, unless they were headed away in that direction. I would think leaving the stairs down would cause more concern than it would help in his escape. as soon as the stairs came down, they should of been saying, "he's getting ready to jump" even if he didn't they would be ready for him IMO? they were supposed to flash the lights when they thought he jumped?

Personally, I'm not trying to change the flight path. I'm open to anything that makes more sense as to how the money arrived on the beach. you must go through all possible scenario's in order to come to any conclusion. leave no rocks unturned.

1) We have R99 making a lot of sense to why that path would be taken.
2) We have someone who was involved with the case stating the same as R99.
3) We don't have any conclusions of how the money got there in the first place.
4) We have people believing a plant, but the money wasn't really buried. why not just toss it on the beach?
5) 40+ years later and they still can't find planes?

This may not be that complex.

We know Cooper bailed btwn Seattle and Portland - his original plan? That is what he did. He didn't wait to bail near Reno! He may not have known where he was going to land ... just bailed, but he began getting ready to the bail the minute the chutes and the money arrived, got door open, and stairs out, and jumped.

What he DID was get ready asap and jumped. Time alone dictates he knew he was somewhere between Seattle and Portland timewise! He instructed the pilots to give him a stable jump from 10k feet at around 200 mph. His last requests were to 'make the plane stable' .... " we think he is going to jump" .... and he did.

His stated motive "I have a grudge".... "has nothing to do with NWA". "The money is not important". That IS what he said.

The jump was survivable. He assumes he is over land - has no reason to think otherwise.

Only the placard and some money were ever found despite searches by thousands all over God's creation over years of people searching!

He said it was a grudge so it's political. He said the money "is not important" - his exact words.

His acts and his words fit 100% with the outcome. The only thing missing is how money gets to Tina Bar.

Occam says he threw the money into the Columbia himself. He said the money was not important!

The minute he gets rid of the money it can never be tied to him, can it.

It may be an audacious thing for him to do (something you would not do _ something people who value money might not do) but he is exorcising a political grudge. He said "the money is not important"! Sounds to me like he is making a political statement and wants to be a "hero" and make a point and get away with it! And he tosses the "establishment's money" into the Columbia as a final act of defiance and contempt! I knew a hundred guys in the seventies who wold do something like that if they could, and laugh all the way home. And that scenario is exactly how a lot of political types in the 70s took Cooper's hijacking.

A bomb and a political principle and an audacious act _ was the stock & trade of political terrorists in the 1970s.

In fact this guy could have been from Seattle and by throwing his loot in the Columbia he shifts the focus of attention further south back to Portland ... far away from home. He may have thought the money or parachute etc would be found .... a lot sooner.

Georger, how did you learn that Cooper said the money was not important?  I've never heard that before.

Read Dropzone. Im not going through it for the 500th time.

I believe its in comments Tina made to someone or in a Ckret post? It caught my eye when I read it ... because it contrasts with how excited Cooper was when he got the money, then offered some to the stews... it caught my eye because it potentially goes to Cooper's priorities. I dont remember the exact source.

and Im not going to sped a lot of time chasing it down at this late date!