All,

New developments!  Fly Jack came up with a second book talking about seasonal variation in the Columbia. This time I was able to dig up the reference they used for that statement and now we actually have some hard data. The attached graph shows the predominant species and what months they found them. Unfortunately they did not seem to sample every month so things are a bit jagged. What this clearly shows is than in Nov and Feb there is zero activity for our A. formosa species of interest. At the peak in July, formosa is dominant (as it is on the bill) but there are other species as well. I BELIEVE I have identified all of the other July species as present on the bill at least to the genera level. I did not find any other species other than these on the bill.  The color was added by me.

So now this info suggests:
The money got wet around July and was then buried.
The money find does NOT support the western flight path
It does not support Cooper digging a hole on the beach on his way out of town.
It brings the dredge theory back into play (but it is still weak in that you can't get bundles intact through a dredge)
It suggests that the money event happened in a displaced time frame from the jump event.

I think this gives us much to think about. Let's try and make some progress instead of arguing with each other.

Tom Kaye


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Given the latest diatom evidence my theory makes the most sense. The money was dropped in a waterway near tbar in the summer of 80 by cooper and washes up there at some point and is found by the Ingrams in February. Flyjack’s termite theory is viable imo, the money could of been sitting near wood or in a wooden chest where termites could of got to it before being removed and dropped somewhere in the Columbia by coop himself. This is also further evidence that I think points to this not being about the money at all. There for most of these suspects or the profile that entailed being desperate for money mula, you can throw  them out the window. We’ve had the wrong profile here folks that’s why the fbi and cooperites alike have never identified him. This was not an act of desperation. Everything known about coopers behavior supports this.

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All,

New developments!  Fly Jack came up with a second book talking about seasonal variation in the Columbia. This time I was able to dig up the reference they used for that statement and now we actually have some hard data. The attached graph shows the predominant species and what months they found them. Unfortunately they did not seem to sample every month so things are a bit jagged. What this clearly shows is than in Nov and Feb there is zero activity for our A. formosa species of interest. At the peak in July, formosa is dominant (as it is on the bill) but there are other species as well. I BELIEVE I have identified all of the other July species as present on the bill at least to the genera level. I did not find any other species other than these on the bill.  The color was added by me.

So now this info suggests:
The money got wet around July and was then buried.
The money find does NOT support the western flight path
It does not support Cooper digging a hole on the beach on his way out of town.
It brings the dredge theory back into play (but it is still weak in that you can't get bundles intact through a dredge)
It suggests that the money event happened in a displaced time frame from the jump event.

I think this gives us much to think about. Let's try and make some progress instead of arguing with each other.

Tom Kaye


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PER TOM KAYE

I sent Tom Kaye an email regarding his comments about the July diatoms and his assertions listed above. Tom responded and asked me to post my argument online. Per Tom’s request, here is the essence of my argument:

I believe Tom’s conclusions regarding the Tena Bar money burial are incorrect, in part, because a July burial simply doesn’t make sense given the evidence.
 
Specifically, one of the things I learned/verified by virtue of identifying the precise money find spot was that it was buried 50-60 feet from the water’s edge. Most importantly the spot was several feet above the mean Columbia River water level from 1971-1980.

This means—and can only mean—that the money being buried dry could only acquire diatoms by virtue of the river water level being exceptionally high in order to reach the point on the beach where the money was buried. There were only TWO such events/opportunities from 1971-1980.

My study of historic water levels for the Columbia River in the Tena Bar area determined that the river actually reached the money on and around June 12, 1972 (17th highest recorded river level), as well as on and around June 22, 1974 (18th highest recorded river level).

Therefore, the diatoms deposited on the bills could only have occurred during one of these two high-water events—in fact, the June 22, 1974 event being the most likely.

Moreover, given that the river level only twice reached the spot where the money was ultimately discovered, there are also only two possible periods that the money could have been naturally deposited and self-buried on Tena Bar—the aforementioned June 12, 1972 and June 22, 1974 events. The problem here, of course, is that the rubber bands could not have survived that long in either case, and paper currency isn’t going to bury itself like a piece of metal for several years.

The three individual packets were buried dry, by a human being shortly after the jump. The diatoms were deposited on the bills on or around June 22, 1974 when the river level actually reached the burial spot. While the diatoms probably couldn’t have migrated more than several inches below the surface of the sand, it appears all but certain that when the money find spot was covered with river water during the late June 1974 high-water event for multiple days that some of these diatoms made their way onto the yet-to-be-discovered Cooper twenties.

As I have said in the past, every theory needs a champion so it can be evaluated by all. Here was my response to Eric:

If it was any other diatom species besides Asterionella you might have an argument. There are actually scientific studies of diatoms in sand and their results show that the sand grains act like boulders against the glass structures of the diatoms. Only the smallest diatoms that can fit in the crevices' of the sand grains can survive intact.  The star like spindles of Asterionella coincidentally make it the most vulnerable of all the genera.

Since we find multiple stems associated in one place on the bill, it shows that it was not random bits that worked their way down through the sand. In fact just last night I found in intact joint between two stems still on the bill. It would be very hard to argue that an intact V structure worked its way through the sand. Even if the money was just slightly below the sand, the movement of the sand grains with the water would destroy the structures.

If the diatoms did work their way through the sand the way you say, they would only show up on the outside bills. We have found diatoms on all the bills I have looked at. So again your theory might be plausible with a different set of diatoms. We lucked out with this particular group since it allows us to constrain the environments they could be found in.  I have CC's Mark on this because I am keeping him in the research loop.

As usual I support peoples different views on this stuff and I think your line of inquiry is very reasonable.  You should probably post it somewhere and I will respond with the above stuff and it can be out in the open for consideration.

Tom Kaye

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As I have said in the past, every theory needs a champion so it can be evaluated by all. Here was my response to Eric:

If it was any other diatom species besides Asterionella you might have an argument. There are actually scientific studies of diatoms in sand and their results show that the sand grains act like boulders against the glass structures of the diatoms. Only the smallest diatoms that can fit in the crevices' of the sand grains can survive intact.  The star like spindles of Asterionella coincidentally make it the most vulnerable of all the genera.

Since we find multiple stems associated in one place on the bill, it shows that it was not random bits that worked their way down through the sand. In fact just last night I found in intact joint between two stems still on the bill. It would be very hard to argue that an intact V structure worked its way through the sand. Even if the money was just slightly below the sand, the movement of the sand grains with the water would destroy the structures.

If the diatoms did work their way through the sand the way you say, they would only show up on the outside bills. We have found diatoms on all the bills I have looked at. So again your theory might be plausible with a different set of diatoms. We lucked out with this particular group since it allows us to constrain the environments they could be found in.  I have CC's Mark on this because I am keeping him in the research loop.

As usual I support peoples different views on this stuff and I think your line of inquiry is very reasonable.  You should probably post it somewhere and I will respond with the above stuff and it can be out in the open for consideration.

Tom Kaye

If I understand correctly, Tom is asserting that the type of diatom found on 377's bill cannot migrate down through sand, even underwater, because they're too fragile and would shatter. Essentially, we are to believe that immediately below the surface of the sand the sand itself becomes sterile of this type of diatom.

Here is the flaw with that assertion as I see it:

If the money wasn't buried upon Tena Bar via human intervention, it could have only arrived by one other method--via the river and self-buried.

Now, it is well-established that the river only reached a level that could bring the money to its burial spot twice between the night of the skyjacking in 1971 and when the money was found in 1980. Those high-river level periods center around June 12, 1972 and June 22, 1974. That's it.

Okay, it has already been established that among other things, the rubber bands lose their integrity within three months when exposed to the elements. Therefore, the rubber bands could not have survived the 7 months until June 1972 or 31 months until June 1974.

Moreover, the notion of three independent packets self-burying one on top of the other as if they were made of metal and attached by magnetism is also too unbelievable to seriously consider.

But beyond that, the self-burying process itself would be quite violent. Sand-laden water would be whipping the bills back and forth all the while the bills are being pushed further into a watery and sandy grave to lay undisturbed for another 6 or 8 years. How are the diatoms supposed to survive this abrasive process? Why wouldn't the diatoms shatter when being assaulted during this process?

Indeed, my alternative--the only alternative--involves a much more gentle process whereby the diatoms simply migrate down a handful of inches over the course of multiple days as the river crests at a level that saturates the bills. Remember, this only happened twice. Not coincidentally in the month of June both times. In fact, the second time may have actually lasted into the month of July.

Using Occam’s razor the scenario which is more likely then not is cooper depositing the money into the Columbia River in or around July of 79 with the intention of it being found. Eric is married to his western flight path which I never thought had a high probability to begin with but now I think we can pretty much put it to bed. With the latest diatom evidence compiled with the evidence we already have being the rubber bands still in tact, the placard find in castle rock, the testimony of people who lived on victory 23 and heard the plane that night, the sighting on lewis river road of a man walking in all black carrying something and the break in that night at the Heisson store in battle ground fitting the timeline. I see no reason to dispute the FBI DZ any further.