If you have watched the latest true-crime series DB Cooper Where Are You? on Netflix, then you might be having the same questions, if Robert Rackstraw was the real culprit or if you are just getting swayed by Thomas/Tom Colbert’s strong conviction. Whatever might be the case, a big portion of the documentary series was focused on him but was he really the ‘one’?
The series looks at the 50-year quest to find the mysterious man who hijacked a Northwest Airlines passenger jet in November 1971 and escaped with $200,000, never to be seen again. Five decades. Few clues. Too many suspects. The identity of skyjacker D.B. Cooper remains one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century.
Who Was Robert Rackstraw?
Robert Rackstraw was a former Army pilot and ex-convict who earned multiple awards for gallant chopper rescues during the Vietnam War. After dropping out of high school, he became a US Army paratrooper and explosives expert. He worked closely with the CIA on dangerous missions.
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His friends call him a mad man who enjoyed the thrill. But after serving for 7 years he was kicked out for Domestic Violence in 1970. He had also lied about his qualifications and had forged his credentials. He came back home quite angry as the Army didn’t provide anything after dismissal, at that time.
It is believed that he must have highjacked the plane soon after in 1971. However, the heist wasn’t the end of his crimes, later on, he was charged with and ultimately acquitted of murdering his stepfather. But he showed up in court in a wheelchair and claimed to be handicapped and thus released from all the charges.
Then again in 1978, he was charged with and convicted of stealing a plane and forging checks. He then spent roughly two years in prison. During this period FBI suspected him to be the hijacker but couldn’t prove anything. His background eerily matches what the skyjacker could have been like, trained army personnel with knowledge of planes. But never confessed or denied the claims.
He always gave a diplomatic answer when asked if he was DB Cooper. His ambiguity put him in the grey area, where many independent researchers and fanatics solely believed him to be the culprit. Even his wife of 2 years was suspicious of what he did for work. According to her he would always carry a black briefcase and would often take her on plane rides and to different places.
They weren’t that well-off but she didn’t know where the money came from. In fact, once she saw the briefcase unlocked and saw that there was a moustache and a toupee in it. Could it be possible that he was disguising himself to commit other crimes? But according to the series he is believed to have lived a clean life after serving time.
The Main Culprit or Caught in an Obsession?
In the documentary, many claims that the author Tom Colbert had become obsessed with his theory about Robert and was going after it like chasing a windmill. Tom even met up with Rackstraw, and offered him money, a book and a film deal with lawyers but couldn’t get what he wanted from him. But it is certain that the suspect enjoyed the attention and thrill of manipulating others.
Even his close friend Jim Forbes, who confronted Rackstraw turned his back on him when they were working on History Channel Documentary on the same subject and the witnessing air hostess denied that Rackstraw doesn’t look anything like the skyjacker. Whether Tom has been on the right path or just trying to prove his investigation to be correct, can never be confirmed since the suspected man is now no more.
If only the investigation were done in the right way and the police hadn’t lost the cigarette butts found from the plane, we could have long done the DNA test of all the suspects and would have either found the culprit or deducted the existing ones, so that investigators could look for other leads. Also, since a half-century has passed, it’s unlikely that we will find the man unless he reveals himself on his own or sends a sign from the afterlife.
DB Cooper Where Are You? is streaming on Netflix.
Also Read: DB Cooper Where Are You? A Look At Many Identities of the Mysterious Skyjacker