DB Cooper agent says case is open & it’s ‘a conceivable possibility’ FBI are re-testing tie as the agency stays silent

THE DB Cooper investigation was never really closed, and there's a strong likelihood the FBI is re-testing the evidence it has in the unsolved skyjacking in light of new developments, the ex-lead agent on the case says.

Retired FBI Agent Larry Carr told The U.S. Sun it's a "conceivable possibility" that DB Cooper's clip-on tie and other items left behind by the infamous crook aboard Northwestern Flight 305 are now being re-examined by investigators for DNA.

"I think it's very much a conceivable possibility," said Carr, who retired from the Bureau in 2022.

"They may be testing everything as a final full-court press.

"If I was still overseeing the case [...] I'd do one last full-court press and take everything that could possibly contain DNA - the parachute we have, the tie, Cooper's ticket - and just see what we can come up with.

"And if the FBI [labs] wouldn't do it, I know there are private labs that have volunteered to do it in the past."

Carr's comments come in response to a series of recent developments in the case uncovered by independent investigator, Eric Ulis, who's been trying to unmask the elusive Cooper for the last 13 years.

Earlier this week, Ulis exclusively revealed to The U.S. Sun that he had secured a sample of Cooper's DNA from a scientist named Tom Kaye who tested his tie in 2011.

He is planning to send the sample to a state-of-the-art lab to conduct metagenomic DNA analysis, an advanced kind of analysis that enables scientists to separate individual strands of DNA.

Ulis also sued the FBI for supervised access to the tie last year to test a mental spindle built into the knot of the accessory that he believes was likely overlooked by investigators when it was first tested for DNA in 2001.

Touch DNA was a relatively new technology at the time and recovering trace DNA from metal surfaces remains a notoriously tricky practice.

Ulis' lawsuit was tossed by a judge last month but he is continuing to lobby the Bureau for access to test the tie.

The FBI officially closed its investigation into Cooper's heist in 2016, rendering it the only unsolved crime of its kind in US history.

However, Ulis believes the bureau's unwillingness to grant him access to evidence in a decades-old case they're supposedly no longer investigating suggests to him they've decided to quietly re-test the tie for themselves.

He said, "I think it speaks to the truth of the matter and it begins to make a lot of sense as to why the FBI has resisted giving access to the tie for 10 minutes to a DNA specialist to test this spindle that could well contain an uncontaminated DNA sample for Cooper and be the silver bullet in solving this case.

"There's nothing else that really makes sense [...] but it pleases me to think the FBI actually took note of something that was presented to them, which is a bombshell in many respects, and potentially acted on it.

"Officially the FBI won't confirm anything, and Larry Carr isn't going to confirm anything [...] but based on conversations I've had with some people privately and based on what Larry has said publicly, I do believe they are re-testing the evidence."

CASE WAS 'NEVER' CLOSED

A spokesperson for the FBI issued a blanket "no comment" to all questions about the status of the Cooper probe and Ulis' findings.

Carr, while agreeing Ulis' theory could be plausible, said it's his understanding the Cooper file was never truly closed, despite the FBI's 2016 announcement.

He oversaw the case between 2007 and 2010 before he moved from Seattle to Washington for a promotion.

When he returned to Seattle in 2019, he was handed the reigns to the Cooper case once again despite it supposedly being closed three years prior.

"I don’t understand them calling it closed because I was assigned the case when I came back, it was more administratively closed rather than slammed shut," Carr explained.

"I think even if the case was ‘closed’, there would’ve been an agent on the squad that had that case, and if something came in they’d be told to follow up on it.

"People think if a case is closed they’re never going to look at it again. Well, that’s not true, because a case can be administratively closed but still very much open."

A source with knowledge of the matter told The U.S. Sun that after the Cooper investigation ceased in 2016, all the evidence in the case was moved from Seattle to Washington, before being moved back to Seattle sometime after for reasons unknown.

Carr confirmed the account, saying the evidence was back with the FBI's Seattle branch by the time of his return in 2019, though he is unsure why the evidence was sent back.

For the FBI to officially reopen the case, Carr said it would take something significant, such as someone finding one of Cooper's parachutes, uncovering more of his ransom money, or sharing a compelling story that could be verified by cops.

However, Ulis believes his discovery of the potentially untested spindle in the knot of the tie meets the same threshold - and he's convinced its discovery spurred the FBI back into action.

"The only time the tie was tested for DNA was in 2001, and the DNA technology we have available today is light years ahead of what it was back then," Ulis said.

"And the FBI said themselves they weren't going to go any further with the case unless they came up with something akin to finding the money or the parachutes, so I think it speaks to the veracity of the spindle find that they seem to be reacting.

"What I've been saying all along is the answer to this crime may have been sitting right under their noses.

"All they have to do is pull the tie out of the drawer, twist the spindle, and let an expert swab that area quickly.

"Then it could be case closed, finally, after almost 53 years."

PUSHING FOR ANSWERS

If the spindle still contains Cooper's DNA, Ulis said investigators would only need two viable skin cells to build a genetic profile for Cooper.

Ulis discovered the spindle last year after analyzing US Patent and Trademark documents for the tie and buying a replica of Cooper's.

He says he has spoken to numerous investigators who worked the Cooper case and all of them told him they were unaware of the spindle's existence.

Carr said he would be surprised if FBI forensic investigators failed to examine the device but he couldn't confirm whether they had or not.

Cooper's tie has long been seen as the key to cracking the case.

When it was tested by the FBI for DNA two decades ago, investigators were able to glean a partial DNA profile but the sample was inconclusive and could only be used to discredit potential matches, rather than identify the culprit, Carr said.

Ulis recently obtained a sample of Cooper's DNA from a scientist who tested the tie in 2011.

Hoping to utilize more modern technology to solve the mystery, he is planning to submit the sample to a state-of-the-art lab to conduct metagenomic DNA analysis.

Metagenomic DNA analysis allows scientists to separate individual strands of DNA.

Once all of the DNA strands from the tie are separated, Kaye and Ulis will be able to build a genetic profile of Cooper to compare with outstanding suspects and also use it for forensic genealogy.

Ulis called metagenomic DNA analysis the "holy grail" for the DB Cooper case and voiced confidence the bomb-wielding thief's days of anonymity are numbered.

Carr, meanwhile, said if he was still overseeing the case he'd urge the FBI to conduct one last "full court press" and retest all the evidence they have, if they aren't already.

"I think at this point in time it’s going to be extremely difficult to solve. I don’t know how it could be solved unless something happens with DNA," said Carr.

"The FBI does want to solve this case, but they of course have other priorities.

"But I would do one last push on the DNA because I think that’s the only chance we have to solve it."

Carr, just like the legions of amateur sleuths attempting to solve the case online, is desperate to know who DB Cooper is - or was.

"I am no different than everybody else," laughed Carr.

"The whole book has been written all these characters have been thrown in over the years, and no one knows what the final chapter is. I want to know what that final chapter is just like everybody else.

"I don't care who solves it, I just want to know who it was."