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08.13.2026
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UNSOLVED

FBI Releases New D.B. Cooper Files, 55 Years After The Hijacking

  1. The FBI released roughly 391 additional declassified pages from its D.B. Cooper investigation on January 6, 2026.
  2. The files consist largely of interview summaries, tips and suspect profiles rather than a confirmed identity for Cooper.
  3. Follow-up reporting in February and March 2026 pointed to Raymond Sidney Russell, a former Maine pilot, as a suspect worth renewed scrutiny.

More than 55 years after a man calling himself D.B. Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 and parachuted into the night with $200,000 in ransom, the FBI released a new batch of declassified case files, reigniting interest in one of America's most famous unsolved mysteries.

Why it matters

The case remains the only unsolved commercial airplane hijacking in U.S. history, and each document release keeps amateur investigators and the Bureau's own historical record in dialogue over who Cooper really was.

What to watch

The FBI has not named a confirmed suspect and considers the case inactive absent new physical evidence tied to the ransom money or parachutes.

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Sources
Unexplained Mysteries Fox News
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