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## How the FBI Handled the Ransom
One of the most studied aspects of the Cooper case from a forensic standpoint is the ransom money itself—not just the Tena Bar bills, but the entire process by which the $200,000 was assembled, documented, and ultimately lost.
When Northwest Orient agreed to pay, the FBI arranged for Seattle First National Bank to assemble 10,000 twenty-dollar bills. The bureau’s response to the demand was thorough: before the bills were packaged and handed over, FBI agents photographed every single bill on microfilm, capturing each bill’s serial number and series date. The assembled package was then delivered to Cooper.
The majority of the bills were from a single Federal Reserve district. Most serial numbers began with the letter L, identifying them as having been issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. This created a relatively coherent set of serial numbers, which the FBI circulated to banks, businesses, and casinos throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
The distribution of that list was one of the most sustained aspects of the subsequent investigation. Banks were asked to check incoming twenties against the list. Casinos, which handle large quantities of cash, were given the serial numbers. Gas stations and other businesses that handled significant amounts of cash were informed. The expectation was that whoever had the money would eventually spend it—and that when they did, the bills would surface.
They did not surface. In more than fifty years of active and then passive monitoring, not a single bill from the Cooper ransom—outside the Tena Bar packets—has been reported through the banking system. This is an extraordinary fact. It means that either the money was never spent in a context where it would have been checked against the list, or it was all lost in circumstances from which none of it has been recovered.