Mystery lovers gather in Portland for D.B. Cooper event

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Mystery lovers and others gathered this weekend to discuss a common obsession – the infamous hijacker known as D.B. Cooper.

KGW-TV reports the “D.B. Cooper Con” conference held Saturday in Portland was dubbed as the first open investigative gathering in seven years.

The event also took place on the 47th anniversary of the unsolved crime.

On Nov. 24, 1971, a hijacker calling himself “Dan Cooper” parachuted from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 over the Pacific Northwest after receiving $200,000 in ransom. The fate of the man who became popularly known as “D.B. Cooper” remains unknown.

Former law enforcement officers, forensic specialists, cold case investigators, historians and others attended Saturday’s event.

Among attendees was Mark Meltzer, a parachute expert who says he is obsessed with the case.

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Information from: KGW-TV, http://www.kgw.com/