Media Release 01/17/24

DB Cooper Update: Investigator and Family of Named Metallurgist
Push FBI to Allow Clip-on Tie to be Analyzed for DNA

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY 17, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC—An expert on the unsolved skyjacking of DB Cooper—who recently attempted to gain access to the legendary skyjacker’s clip-on tie via a federal lawsuit—is partnering with the family of late metallurgist Vince Petersen—a man Ulis has mentioned as a person-of-interest—in an effort to appeal to the FBI for access to the tie for DNA testing. The expectation is that DNA testing may definitively reveal the man behind the only unsolved skyjacking in US history.

 Julie Dunbar—daughter of Vince Petersen—does not believe her father was DB Cooper, but thinks it is possible he knew Cooper given the recent scientific analysis of particles pulled from the tie earlier—which appears to point to her father’s former employer, Crucible Steel, then-headquartered near Pittsburgh. With that in mind, Dunbar would like the FBI to allow for a DNA test of the tie.

 Ulis, who recently discovered three particles of an exceptionally rare titanium and antimony alloy, has stated that the scientific evidence points to Crucible’s titanium research lab. Notably, Crucible was a major supplier of specialty metals used by Boeing, and along with Boeing, experienced layoffs in 1971 related to a significant downturn in the aerospace sector that year.

 Dunbar has supplied an envelope her father sealed and stamped in 1961 (below), for the purpose of sequencing her father’s DNA profile. Moreover, Dunbar and Ulis are asking the FBI to grant Ulis and a DNA specialist access to DB Cooper’s tie for the purpose of sequencing Cooper’s DNA.

 Ulis commented, “Julie does not believe her father could have been DB Cooper. On the other hand, she sees testing the tie as an opportunity for her late-father to help solve the case.”

 The concerted effort will include a direct appeal to the FBI, as well as working with Members of Congress and others. Ulis said in closing, “This case may be solvable within the year. To that end, I have several specialists willing to help in this endeavor, utilizing private resources alone. We simply need the FBI to grant us access to the tie for 10 minutes. That’s it.”