The decades-old mystery surrounding DB Cooper, the infamous hijacker who disappeared after parachuting from Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 with $200,000 cash, could finally be unraveled.

A parachute discovered on the property of Richard Floyd McCoy II’s family has sparked new interest in the case, suggesting McCoy may have been the elusive fugitive.

The renewed investigation into the 53-year-old case began in 2020 when McCoy’s children, Chanté and Richard III “Rick” McCoy, contacted YouTuber Dan Gryder. Gryder, an amateur investigator who had long been investigating the case, was invited to their family property in North Carolina in July 2022. There, in their late mother’s storage room, Gryder discovered a modified military surplus parachute harness. He described it to Cowboy State Daily as “one in a billion,” and speculated that it was used in DB Cooper’s daring escape.

McCoy’s children shared Gryder’s belief and suspected that their father might be DB Cooper. However, they did not come forward until their mother’s death, fearing her involvement in their father’s crimes. Gryder’s findings led the FBI to unofficially reopen the case, marking the first significant step since the investigation was filed in 2016. This breakthrough has now shifted the focus back to McCoy, whose name has long been whispered in true crime circles as a potential match for Kuiper.

In a video released Monday, Gryder revealed that FBI agents contacted him after reviewing his previous videos documenting the discovery of the parachute. Agents met with Gryder and Rick McCoy and collected the parachute and harness as evidence. The FBI also expressed interest in a logbook Chanté found, which ties into the timeline of Cooper’s hijacking over Oregon and a later hijacking in Utah for which McCoy was convicted in 1972. The log could be crucial, as it provides another potential link between McCoy and the FBI. DB Cooper case.

The FBI’s actions did not stop there. A month after collecting the parachute, agents conducted a thorough search of the McCoy family’s property. Rick McCoy described how dozens of officers inspected “every nook and cranny” for additional evidence, while Gryder and his colleague, retired pilot Laura Savino, documented the four-hour search from a distance. This was the first time in years that the FBI had devoted such resources to the case.

Despite the apparent breakthroughs, the FBI has yet to confirm any updates. Rick McCoy provided DNA samples to the agency, but no results were shared with the family. The parachute itself underwent unique modifications consistent with those described by Earl Cossey, who supplied the parachutes for the original 1971 heist, further strengthening Gryder’s theory that McCoy was DB Cooper.

Richard Floyd McCoy II has long been a suspect among sleuths for his nearly identical robbery months after the Cooper case. In April 1972, McCoy hijacked a United Airlines flight and demanded $500,000 before parachuting to escape. The FBI arrested him within 72 hours thanks to fingerprints on a note and an eyewitness account. However, the FBI’s hasty raid on his home without a warrant likely hampered further evidence linking him to the Oregon robbery. McCoy was sentenced to 45 years in prison but escaped months later, only to be killed by police in Virginia in 1974.

The discovery of the parachute, along with the children’s testimonies and the logbook, has reignited interest in McCoy as a possible perpetrator. However, some skeptics remain. Retired FBI agent Larry Carr, who briefly oversaw the case in 2007, doubts the hijacker could have survived the parachute jump. Others argue that McCoy’s age — he was younger than Cooper’s reported profile — makes him an unlikely match. Gryder dismisses these claims and suggests that McCoy used a disguise during the robbery.

Adding to the mystery, true crime investigator Eric Ulis has proposed an entirely different theory. Ulis believes DB Cooper was Vince Petersen, an aerospace engineer from Pittsburgh. After studying microscopic evidence from Cooper’s clip-on tie, which was left behind before the hijacker parachuted from the plane, Ulis discovered particles consistent with metals used in the aerospace industry. Ulis has linked these metals to Petersen’s work as a subcontractor at Boeing. However, his Freedom of Information Act requests for Cooper’s DNA data were denied, leaving his theory unsolved.

While these conflicting theories continue to fuel debate, Gryder remains steadfast. He is confident that the parachute, with its unique modifications, will finally provide the concrete evidence needed to solve the DB Cooper case. Despite the mounting body of evidence, the FBI’s silence leaves many unanswered questions, keeping the mystery of DB Cooper alive. With new discoveries taking place, one thing is certain: the hunt for DB Cooper continues to captivate the public’s imagination.