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 Tina Mucklow, left, in 2010, according to attorney Galen Cook. At right, then-flight attendant Mucklow after the 1971 hijacking.
September 1st, 2011
08:00 AM ET
Secret life of D.B. Cooper hijacking witness includes disappearing to a nunneryBy Thom Patterson, CNN (CNN) - Four decades after the hijacker known as D.B. Cooper jumped from a 727 over the Pacific Northwest with $200,000 in ransom, the identity of the infamous skydiver in a dark suit and glasses remains a mystery. After he plunged out the rear door of Northwest Flight 305 that cold November night in 1971, the cigarette smoking hijacker was never seen or heard from again. Some amateur investigators believe he died in the jump. Others say he may have survived. Last month, the FBI shot down a woman's claim that her late uncle, L.D. Cooper, pulled off what is the only unsolved hijacking in U.S. history. No DNA match for man who was alleged to be D.B. Cooper But Cooper's fate isn't the only unresolved question that lingers from the crime. Lately, buffs who follow and blog about the case have been wondering: What happened to the investigation's most valuable witness, former flight attendant Tina Mucklow? It turns out that the hijacking that would vault Mucklow into the media spotlight would be followed by unusual developments that add yet another layer of intrigue to the D.B. Cooper case. Hijacking spurs wave of amateur sleuths Mucklow, whom the FBI said spent more time with the hijacker than any other crew member, had complied with Cooper’s demands after he revealed what he said was a bomb. He had bought his ticket under the name Dan Cooper, but press reports later misidentified the hijacker as D.B. Cooper, and the name stuck. During the flight, Mucklow served him a bourbon and water, passed notes to the pilots and showed the hijacker how to operate the aircraft's rear door, through which he eventually jumped. "He seemed rather nice. He was never cruel or nasty. He was thoughtful and calm," the 22-year-old Mucklow was quoted as saying about the hijacker, according to Trutv.com. Investigative reporter Bruce Smith, who has researched the Cooper case for three years, said, "Mucklow was the brains of the crew." Smith said the pilot of Flight 305 told him that Mucklow's actions during the flight saved his and the passengers’ lives. "She kept Cooper cool, calm and collected," Smith said. Although Mucklow and other crew members spoke at a news conference immediately after the hijacking, she soon stopped talking to the media about it. Then around 1979 or 1980, close to a decade after the hijacking, Mucklow cut herself off from the world and turned to a life of solitude. She entered the Maria Regina Convent, a Carmelite Catholic nunnery outside Eugene, Oregon. There, Mucklow immersed herself in prayer, austerity and manual labor. Carmelite nuns rarely leave the grounds of their convents. Stricter Carmelite communities allow one or two nuns to exit the compound to bring back food and other necessities. A woman who answered a phone last week at Maria Regina said Mucklow "left in about 1991 or 1992. I'm not going to say any more about it." She hung up the phone without giving her name. Mucklow's sudden departure continues to gnaw at Cooper buffs, many of whom say they’ve become obsessed with the case. Galen Cook, a 57-year-old former private investigator who has been following the Cooper case most of his life, said the unique details of the case have pulled him in. He called it “The Vortex.” Cook said he’s in touch with the FBI on the case and is writing a book about it. “Why did Tina leave the convent?” asked Cook, who visited the compound not long ago and met briefly with one of the nunnery's leaders. "I'm reiterating the exact words from the head sister there: 'She no longer fit in,'" Cook, an Alaska-based lawyer, said in a phone interview. "I found this very interesting that she didn't fit in, even though she had already been there 12 years." Leaving under those circumstances would be "very, very unusual," said Chris Hart, a secular Carmelite who has been visiting Maria Regina since 1994. Maria Regina’s nuns must undergo a regimented six-to-eight-year process that ends with each nun choosing cloistered living as a permanent way of life. After a dozen years, departing for not fitting in would be virtually unheard of, "unless there was illness or something along those lines," said Hart. Mucklow now lives in central Oregon under another name, apparently to hide from curiosity seekers and the news media. She didn't return repeated phone calls from CNN. CNN has chosen not to identify the city where Mucklow lives or the name she’s living under. But Smith, who reports for his own online news magazine, The Mountain News, said he was able to track her down in person this summer. He spoke briefly with Mucklow in July on the doorstep of her well-kept home in a working-class neighborhood. When Mucklow came to the door, "She seemed stunned to see me," Smith said. Mucklow looked into Smith's eyes for a moment – then, realizing he was a reporter, her eyes narrowed to a squint. "You need to leave now," she commanded, slamming the door shut. "It is my working opinion that Tina has been traumatized by something or someone," said Smith, who worked as a therapist for 14 years. "I don't think it was just the skyjacking, I think it was the skyjacking plus." By all accounts, Mucklow remains close to her Catholic faith. She serves her parish as a Eucharistic minister, helping distribute wine and consecrated bread to worshippers during the holy sacrament of communion, said her former priest, the Rev. Roy Antunez. "She's kind of a private person, in a sense," said Antunez, the priest at Mucklow's church about six months ago. "Maybe that's what attracted her to the Carmelites, I don't know." During a private moment, Mucklow told Antunez that she’d been a Carmelite. But she said nothing more about it, according to the priest. But other clues in Mucklow's past point to a life of religious devotion. News photos from the night of the hijacking showed Mucklow clutching a Bible. Antunez visited Mucklow's home, but said she never confided in him about her experience aboard Northwest Flight 305. "I'm sure her faith sustained her," said Antunez. "She's a very religious - I would say a holy person, but she would probably deny that." Antunez wouldn't speculate about Mucklow’s reasons for joining or leaving a convent, but said he doubted it had to do with the hijacking. "You don't take somebody who's wanting to get over some trauma or having psychological or behavioral difficulties," he said. "People might look at the cloistered lifestyle and say, 'That must be really hard.' But if someone isn't happy, they shouldn't be there," he said. "You'll just be a pain in the ass." The Maria Regina convent belongs to the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, a Roman Catholic group that traces its history to founder Saint Therese of Avila in 16th century Spain, according to the order's website. Nuns at Maria Regina begin a typical day at 6 a.m. by gathering in a convent chapel, followed by an hour of silent, private prayer and then community prayer and a chapel service. Much of their work involves making bread, which is sold to become consecrated host for communion. "They make their own income," said Hart. "They have to make their own money to support themselves." The day includes manual labor such as cooking, cleaning, sewing and laundry and two hours of recreation. Nuns have access to TV, radio and phone, but not the Internet, Hart said. There are eight or nine women living there, she said. In the two decades since Mucklow left the nunnery, she has remained cooperative with the investigation, FBI spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich told CNN. Agents questioned her immediately after the hijacking, but Cooper case buffs want to know more about her current relationship with federal authorities. That includes wanting to know if investigators asked Mucklow to examine photos of L.D. Cooper - the man whose niece claimed her uncle was the hijacker. It was only a few days after a woman named Marla Cooper told CNN that her uncle L.D. Cooper was the hijacker that the FBI knocked down that claim. "The extent to which (Mucklow) is cooperative is part of our pending investigation and I can't comment on that - and it's also a matter of her privacy," said Dietrich. Cooper case buffs have other questions, too. Was there a connection between Mucklow's status as an eyewitness to a federal crime and her entering the convent? Was she seeking refuge from the public eye? Was Mucklow's time there - as Cook believes - part of some kind of "witness protection program"? Cook also wonders why the nuns at Maria Regina have been so reluctant to talk about the case. In a sense, Cook said, they're still protecting her. These are just theories. "They're part of this D.B. Cooper mystery,” Cook said, “that just doesn't go away."
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Wonder if RobertMBlevins would survive in a cell with other guys doing time for pedaphilia?
Pediphilia is a chronic condition stemming from very deep childhood issues. Certainly fits the pattern of Robert Blev, who obvioulsy has his own boatload of pschological problems.
Tomorrow is "little Penis time" at Adventure Books. We all sit around in a circle and listen to RobertMBlevins who reads to us and then shows us his little penis. It's in the contract.
And I will be serving pancakes while I'm demonstrating myself to AB's circle group. This is all part of the Blevin's Fan Club. Everyone's asking to see my little Penis Thingie. Even the little kiddies.
Correction, Robert's #2 seller is, "I Don't Do Dick," which is an attempt to throw off the Bureau from further investigations about pediphilia. AB sold three books to the Bureau last week. Storyline is about lesbians and gov't workers, two groups Robert despises.
RobertMBlevins does do dick. Everything he says is a lie and bigger'n life, except for his little penis. Gayla really does know!
Blast is #3 in sales with four books in Feb. Our #2 book is, "I Don't Know Dick," with five sold in Feb. and our #1 book is "Revenge of Robert Blevins Little Penis." This is in our children's section. All the grade schools in Auburn, WA have on order. It's my best work to date.
RMB
Mr. Blevins, what were you doing down at the Auburn Elementary School last night? We saw you handing out copies of your #1 best seller to the kiddies. Does Gayla know about this?
You know, I'm feeling like a dwarf......little penis thingie and all. Sure I whine. If you were stranded in the mts, the ocean, and the desert, lived, and still had a micro dick after all those he-man adventures, you'ld be whining too. Jo's dick is probably bigger than mine.
Does this mean that you won't be picking me up at my grade school anymore, Mr. Blevins?
Johnnie, can't right now. I'm such a boring person, I know. But I have to tend to book sales at AB. Blast is now our #3 seller. We sold seven more books since 11/2010 and I'm really busy autographing them. But I'll be back to pick you up soon.
Robert.
Robert's out trolling tonight. Took the little Nissan down by the schoolgrounds. Robert......!! Robert..............................
RobertMBlevins here, master writer, publisher, whiner and owner of the LPT. I'm looking for HELP, not trolling. Please HELP me, as my LPT is really getting to me (and to GAYLA). Can someone get me more psychotropics?? These kids lack of respect is really making me depressed. HELP. please HELP.
Robert.
This Is RobertMBlevins trying to spread the love to everybody. Ain't love grand. Mostly, I love myself......and my Little Penis Thingie.
Not for fish, but kids. I love kids, PETA and myself. I wish all you folks would GET IT!!
I confiss that it was meyeself who stoll the Palmer Report frum ralf himmelsbach and sent acopy to Robert blevins. I told Robert to destroy the report as soon as he read it but he left it at the bathroom of one of his cleening jobs. Now I gotta go back and git it from him. Dumb Blevins.
Jerry
RobertMBlevins was cleaning the toilets at my house over the weekend and I caught him putting rubber bands around his little penis thingie, in attempt to induce great pleasure to himself, while under the pressure of some rubber bands (that he stole from me). I'm paying him for this activity? I should say not. I kicked him out of my house. The toilet is still dirty too. Can RobertMBlevins do anything right?
hit me like a ton of bricks. Blevins was my student in high school and I too remember him using rubber bands. Caught him in study hall, cinching up on rubberbands that were wrapped around his little penis. Guess he thought he could make it twirl like a helicopter when he let go. Robert didn't understand than when you take your hand off the collect, everything goes to hell. This is Robert's life, past and present.
Yes that was me. I can't help it if I like playing with myself. I finally found my best friend.
RobertMBlevins
ps. I wish he were bigger, though.
What's in a name? I'm RobertMBlevins, world famous author, detective, troll, publisher..........oh and did I mention I love little boys too?
Mr. Blevins we've checked the s. offender records and it shows that a Robert M. Blevins of Auburn, Washington was admitted in the clinic for a blown-out sphincter muscle. There's other things too, but we can't publish here. Could Newsvine publish our findings?
We've decided to just publish on this site. 250,000 hits can't be all that bad. RMB is almost famous, along with his LPT.
Blevins keeps talking about young kids. Should we be concerned for them?
Yes, you should be. But I'm more concerned about Robert's work history and future SS payments. He lives in a fantasy world and cleans toilets for a living. How do you think I feel??? I already sent his resume to Carnival Lines.
Yes you should be concerned because I do like young kids, especially boys about 8 years old. They are trolling bait for me. I'm certifiable, you can check the s. offender's directory. D.B. Cooper is where I hide.
When is Robert going to call and interview me?
Robert always uses his excuse of taking a few days off into the mts, so that he can troll down at the local schoolyard. This issue of little kids must stop, Robert. You are sick, Robert.
I just moved all of the Blevins crap over here where I thought it was more appropriate.
Fine with me, Regina. I make my living cleaning crap.
Anyone know where we can contact Mr. Blevins? BIG job calling.
Carnival Lines
CEO/ Clean-up Crew
keep the crap coming Robert. you make our day. funniest site on the internet.............and huge # of hits.
I new it. geof gray is as cheep and dum as robirt blevins, but hes also gay too. this explanes why gray and blevins were so chumy in portland. birds of a fether chirp togeter.
Jerry
Jerry, most intelligent post to date. Yur spellin gettin better too.
Me and Blevins compared penis's back in 2011. Been trying to get Blevins to come see me in the Village, but he's too cheap. All my gay friends really want to meet RMB.
dont call me agin, geof. im not kweer.
I am an expert on the little penis thingie.
you sure do!
Yes, RobertMBlevins is an expert on everything, but he really does qualify as a super expert on the little penis thingie. That was the first thing he showed me after he drove 250 miles over the mountains to see me.
and I thought my penis was little, until I saw Blevins'.
and Blev tried to throw me his bone. "That's all it is? Woof. Grow something Blev. I've seen bigger ones on poodles."
So, when do I get a crack at the Little Penis Thingie?
we're doing a book on the Little Penis Thingie, Robert MBlevins. its gonna be huge. the book, not the LPT
substance? what is that? I'm only in this to create messes and find kids.
Blevins was that you cruisin down by the elementary school yesterday? Trying to give ABooks away to little kiddies? Not smart, Blevins. Not smart.
Blevins next book is "Robert's Fantasy with Children." Only AB will publish. Blevins hopes to make $$$$$'s.
wouldn't this be in true crime section?
You know there will be little kids around in any Kenny Christianson movie. Why do you think Blevins will consult. Birds of a feather!!
RobertMBlevins says.....sure is good to be hunting and trolling on line again. This is my life!!!
Jerry Thomas (posting below)....... what you smokin, Jerry? Learn to spell. Least Blev can spell. He just don't know the meaning of his words. Ha. Guess he's too busy with the children.
Gayla you leave me alone with the little kids all the time. What is your problem. I am not a troll. I have needs.
RobertMBlevins
not sayin robert blev is a kweer or ped but he sur blows lots of smocke up everywones asses