<p>Despite an extensive manhunt, the perpetrator has never been identified. Now, 40 years on, the FBI says the only unsolved airline hijacking in American aviation history may be cracked soon, after it has revealed a new suspect in the case.<br /><br />Investigators have said that they are testing the fingerprints of the new suspect who they are hoping to link to a tie Cooper had left on the plane and cigarette butts in an ashtray using DNA testing and fingerprints.<br /><br />Hundreds of leads have been pursued in the ensuing years but no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced regarding Cooper’s true identity or whereabouts, and the bulk of the ransom money has never been recovered. But, the FBI has described the new lead as “looking like our most promising one to date”. “We do actually have a new suspect we’re looking at. It comes from a credible lead who came to our attention recently via a law enforcement colleague,” FBI spokesman Ayn Dietrich said.<br /><br />“The credible lead is somebody whose possible connection to the hijacker is strong. And the suspect is not a name that’s come up before,” she was quoted by ‘The Daily Telegraph’ online as saying.<br /><br />The FBI has said that an item belonging to the suspect was sent for testing at a forensics lab in Quantico, Virginia. “It would be a significant lead, the most promising to date,” she said. <br /></p>
<p>Despite an extensive manhunt, the perpetrator has never been identified. Now, 40 years on, the FBI says the only unsolved airline hijacking in American aviation history may be cracked soon, after it has revealed a new suspect in the case.<br /><br />Investigators have said that they are testing the fingerprints of the new suspect who they are hoping to link to a tie Cooper had left on the plane and cigarette butts in an ashtray using DNA testing and fingerprints.<br /><br />Hundreds of leads have been pursued in the ensuing years but no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced regarding Cooper’s true identity or whereabouts, and the bulk of the ransom money has never been recovered. But, the FBI has described the new lead as “looking like our most promising one to date”. “We do actually have a new suspect we’re looking at. It comes from a credible lead who came to our attention recently via a law enforcement colleague,” FBI spokesman Ayn Dietrich said.<br /><br />“The credible lead is somebody whose possible connection to the hijacker is strong. And the suspect is not a name that’s come up before,” she was quoted by ‘The Daily Telegraph’ online as saying.<br /><br />The FBI has said that an item belonging to the suspect was sent for testing at a forensics lab in Quantico, Virginia. “It would be a significant lead, the most promising to date,” she said. <br /></p>