One of the most enduring unsolved mysteries of modern times — if 1971 can still be considered modern times — may have finally been solved. CBS News reports that Rick Sherwood, a retired Indiana construction worker who learned code-breaking skills while serving in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, has used those skills to determine the identity of the infamous hijacker D.B. Cooper.
Cooper, according to Sherwood, was a California man by the name of Robert Rackstraw.
Sherwood and Rackstraw served in the Army together, and Sherwood was approached by TV producer Tom Colbert, who has been investigating the D.B. Cooper case and suspected Cooper might be Rackstraw. Colbert asked Sherwood to review lines of code in letters sent by D.B. Cooper.
“Using the code-breaking skills he honed in the military, Sherwood believes he definitively connected D.B. Cooper to Rackstraw, uncovering his name and other details in the letters,” CBS News reports, adding: “Observers have said Rackstraw had the training and the motive to pull off the heist.”
Reached by phone, Rackstraw reportedly declined to answer questions.
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Tom
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Something smells. There are too many disinterested or neutral code breakers available to analyze the information. Why an old army “buddy”? If they had a bad relationship in the Army, this could be Sherwoods way of getting back at Rackstraw. And isn’t it interesting, that after all these years, Army “buddy” Rick Sherwood is the ONLY person that says he can definitely identify DB Cooper. Something smells. I hope they never find DB Cooper. It’s almost 50 years. Let whoever he is continue to enjoy life. Here was a guy that committed a “perfect” crime. He beat the system. Good for him.
Slightly confused as to why this is considered new finding or suddenly solved? Didn’t the Discovery Channel do a program a couple of years back called DB Cooper Cased Closed (or maybe Case Solved?) that covered all this information?