Bills from 'D.B. Cooper' ransom for sale

MENA, Ark., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- An Arkansas man who found the only physical evidence in one of the great crime mysteries of modern times now wants to sell it.

Brian Ingram of Mena was preparing the ground for a fire while camping with his family in Washington State 25 years ago when he stumbled across a stash of $20 bills. They turned out to be a small part of the $200,000 turned over to "D.B. Cooper," the hijacker who escaped by parachute over the Columbia River valley in 1971.

Ingram, now 34, still has his share of the hoard, close to $3,000, of the $5,800 he found. He told the Arkansas Times that the bills are so deteriorated they are worthless as money.

But he believes that a collector would be willing to pay quite a premium for a tiny piece of the case. The hijacker was never seen again, so the money Ingram found is the only sign of what happened to him.

"I just think it is time to do something with them," Ingram said. "Our family had time to hold on to them for a while and look back on it."