Thank You (A Confessional)

For nurse Sarah Robinson,

Thank you for taking such good care of this old man in his final days. I couldn’t have asked for a more compassionate and competent person to guide me towards the end of the line. I have no doubt that, even if you knew who I was, and what I did, you would have treated me with the same care and respect that I have come to receive these past few days.

As a final request, my hope is that you can help these letters find their way to their intended recipients. If you are curious and would like to know more about the man you have treated these past few days, please feel free to browse these letters.

For my wife (Please place on her gravestone),

Thank you, Meredith, for all the love, joy and support you brought to my life over our 58 years of marriage. A secret such as mine can be a heavy burden to bear, and I cannot thank you enough for sharing that burden with me all those years. I wish I could have preceded you in death, but I am hopeful that we will be reunited in whatever afterlife awaits. If I am to be judged on the actions of my life, I hope the cosmic scales weigh in favor of the good that resulted from my reckless and desperate act so many years ago.

For my children, Roy and Nancy,

Thank you for the joy you have brought this old man over his life. As I fell through the cold dark sky on that fateful night, I prayed to whatever god(s) there may be, that I would get to see you two grow up. I'm so proud of all that you have become and accomplished. I hope you can forgive me for keeping this large secret from you until now, and that you can understand that I only kept it from you to protect you.

I have left a safety deposit box to be transferred into your names after my passing. The contents of which should be sufficient to validate my story, and to incriminate only those who have since left this mortal plane.

For the family of Joe and Maureen Babiche,

Thank you, Joe and Maureen, for the kindness, loyalty and friendship that you gave to Meridith and I over the many decades that we lived next to one another in our sleepy little suburb.

When Joe found me stumbling out of the forest on that frigid Thanksgiving eve, I was hypothermic, battered and broken. How he found me so quickly, and so far from our intended pickup point, I have never been able to comprehend. Had he not been there to ferry me to safety, I surely would have died in those woods. Had Maureen not been so adept at treating my wounds and nursing me back to health, I very well may have perished later. I truly owe my life to you both.

For the family of Julio Vasquez,

Thank you, Julio (or Agent Vasquez, as I knew him at the time) for turning a blind eye towards a man

For the Evergreen Skydiving and Parachuting School,

Thank you, Robert and Maggie, for being excellent teachers who unknowingly helped me to prepare and survive my dangerous jump on that stressful night.

For the surviving members (or families) of the crew of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (I have included names on the back),

Thank you for your calm and courteous treatment of me during such an extraordinary event on that night so long ago. I've never forgiven myself for putting you through such a harrowing experience, nor do I expect forgiveness. However, I want you to know that the ransom money was not spent frivolously but was instead used to help support numerous families who were struggling during those difficult times.

For the Seattle Sacred Days Church,

Thank you, Pastor Joseph and his flock, for discretely laundering the money that would be used to benefit so many needy families. I will never forget the calm and comforting words that Pastor Joseph said when I confessed to him of my transgression.

When ye thought evil against me, God disposed it to good, that he might bring to pass, as it is this day, and save much people alive. Genesis, 50:20

For the Boeing Workers Union,

Thank you to all the wonderful people I worked with during my time at Boeing. The so called "Boeing Bust" was terrible for so many workers and their families. I tried my best to ensure that the ransom money be discreetly distributed to those families who were most severely impacted by those layoffs.

For the Seattle Times,

Thank you to the various media outlets, including the Seattle Times, who have provided fair and unbiased media coverage of my act over the years. My only complaint would be the misreporting of my alias, as well as the continued use of such terribly inaccurate police sketches. At least they got the sunglasses right.

Over these many years, I have wrestled with how to view the notoriety and cult following that my act has inspired. I am not proud of having carried out the hijacking, nor do I think it was the right thing to do, despite the good that the ransom money was used for. It was a dangerous and desperate act of a man who was thinking irrationally in those dire financial circumstances of the time. What I did was wrong, and I beg of anyone in similarly desperate circumstances to please choose a different path.

That being said, I have been heartened by the many treasure hunters, true-crime enthusiasts, and amateur investigators who have found joy in pursuing me. Despite my regrets over my dangerous and stupid actions, I'm glad I was able to add a bit of mystery to the world over these past 54 years.

Sincerely,

Roger Billings, aka Dan Cooper, aka D.B. Cooper

P.S. My parachute and some other gear may still be out there in those woods, waiting to be found. I’ve listed some clues as to the approximate location on the back of this letter. There is one item in particular that may be very surprising to anyone that finds it. Happy hunting!