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Talk:D. B. Cooper

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Former featured articleD. B. Cooper is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.
Main Page trophyThis article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on May 30, 2008.
Article milestones
DateProcessResult
March 24, 2008Featured article candidatePromoted
March 3, 2022Featured article reviewDemoted
On this day...Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on November 24, 2005, November 24, 2006, November 24, 2008, November 24, 2009, November 24, 2010, November 24, 2021, and November 24, 2022.
Current status: Former featured article

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A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion

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The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:

You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 01:36, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Community Tech bot It is not fair A.SAFARIAN (talk) 21:49, 22 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Map of relevant locations

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Original raster map
Map
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50km
31miles
4
Tina Bar
4 Tina Bar
4 Tina Bar
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Reno Airport
3 Reno–Tahoe International Airport
3 Reno–Tahoe International Airport
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Seattle–Tacoma Airport
2 Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
2 Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
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Portland Airport
1 Portland International Airport
1 Portland International Airport
Graph map


the map used in the article File:Coopermap.png is not quite as informative as I wish. though, I tried to make a map using some of the locations listed. ideally, this should include the search areas by the FBI. Himmelsbach & Worcester (1986) provide a route map (p. 38) and search area (p. 49). all that's left is to digitise these.  Juwan  🕊️🌈 13:04, 27 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

create c:Data:Search area for D.B. Cooper.map for this. missing a lot of information for now.  Juwan  🕊️🌈 00:14, 28 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Ted Mayfield

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Ted Mayfield was removed as a suspect. He was on this page for many years. Will this be reviewed? KatDales (talk) 21:57, 2 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Respectfully, Mayfield being on the page for years is irrelevant. Just because no one thought about removing him before and/or no one had the gumption to remove him before, doesn't mean he shouldn't have been removed. The man was NEVER a legitimate suspect. Not trying to be a jerk here by saying this, but I think I have enough credibility within the D.B. Cooper community to state these things. I'm Ryan Burns, D.B. Cooper Sleuth on YouTube. I've written a 350 page book with over 500 citations on the FBI's investigation. There have only ever been nine case agents assigned to the Cooper case during the 45 year investigation. Three of them assisted me in my book and one of them, Larry Carr, wrote the foreword. It is currently in the process of being published. Again, I'm not trying to come off as arrogant or anything, that's not my style, I'm simply establishing my credibility on this particular topic and I'm not sure of any other way to do that than to state my credentials.
Mayfield was about 5'6, fat, and bald, plus the guy was literally on the phone with the FBI that night. He sticks out like a sore thumb on the page.
I will give you the chance to rebut this, but honestly, a guy who no one planet Earth thinks was D.B. Cooper should not be on here. Literally no one is going to be upset about his removal here. SillyRyno (talk) 22:55, 5 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Op is definitely a single purpose account. – The Grid (talk) 00:45, 6 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]


Removal of suspects

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John List and Barbara Dayton were removed. Why now? Especially Dayton. She has been on shows a lot. List does seem out of place as a suspect. But removing whole sections after years should be open to review. Possibly add a section for past suspects when a suspect is removed. KatDales (talk) 18:19, 8 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The edit summary said "Removed a few suspects who don't hold up anymore as of June 2026"
Whether or not that's true, I don't think it's a valid reason to remove content from the article. Notability is not temporary.
This isn't a page for detectives trying to figure out who Cooper was, there's no obvious reason to cross people off the list.
Perhaps user:DisturbedTim90 had more in mind when they made that edit. But if the reason for removal was just that they were once notable suspects, but we now have decided it probably wasn't them, I'd argue that's not enough, and the change should be reverted. ApLundell (talk) 20:23, 8 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Barb is fine to stay IMO because of her notability within Cooper media. There are also a handful of people who truly do believe in Barb as Cooper.
List has about 150 pages devoted to him within the FBI’s Cooper files. So he was a legit suspect for a time. He is well justified to have a listing on here.
Mayfield is an entirely different story. Aside from the first hour or two of the hijacking, no one has ever actually suspected Mayfield. His inclusion on this list is demonstrably unnecessary and quite baffling. I have a spreadsheet of around 700 names of men whose names are mentioned in the FBI files. We may as well add all of them if we’re keeping Mayfield.
Mayfield is just clutter and should be removed IMO. His inclusion brings nothing to the page.
- Ryan Burns SillyRyno (talk) 14:55, 10 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]
WP:BLP applies here for any of the possible suspects. It doesn't matter how long the information has been presented on the article. – The Grid (talk) 15:29, 10 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Sketch section overhaul

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The section with the sketches contained wildly inaccurate information. Florence Schaffner stated that the INITIAL SKETCH was a poor likeness to Cooper, not Composite A. The initial sketch was a template sketch created the night of the hijacking by the sketch artist in DC, Roy Rose. He was just using written descriptions to create it and it was meant to serve as a template upon which modifications could be made at a later date. Two days later he was flown to Minneapolis to meet with the three stewardesses, where they collectively came up with Composite A. We know that Florence was talking about the initial sketch because of the date of the document (Nov 25, 71). Composite A was not even created until Nov 27. Additionally, the section states that "witnesses" jokingly called it "Bing". Not true. The first use of "Bing" is from Max Gunther's 1986 book where he says the sketch looks like "Bing Crosby in a seizure of boredom". The section also states that witnesses said "Composite A...did not resemble Cooper". This also isn't accurate. There were minor criticisms from a few witnesses who thought the nose should be broadened some, but there were no major complaints. We have original case file documentation for the creation of the sketches, and if someone has an issue with these changes, I'd advise them toward the actual case files. SillyRyno (talk) 18:45, 26 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]