The insurance angle also had a practical effect on the FBI’s investigation. Insurance companies have investigative arms, and the financial loss from the Cooper ransom meant that Royal Globe had institutional reasons to want the case resolved. Private investigators working for insurers have occasionally contributed to or complicated law enforcement investigations in similar cases. In the Cooper case, the insurance investigation ran alongside the FBI’s for a period, with the two bodies sharing some information.
Royal Globe Insurance does not appear to have made any significant independent contribution to identifying Cooper, and its investigative involvement in the case diminished over time as the prospects for recovery of the money reduced.
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## The FBI’s Relationship with Private Researchers
One of the distinctive features of the Cooper case’s long history is the sustained engagement between the FBI and independent researchers. The bureau has, at various points, accepted physical evidence submitted by private individuals, reviewed theories developed by outside researchers, and made case documents available that have allowed independent analysis.
This relationship has been productive in some ways and unproductive in others. The diatom analysis of the Tena Bar bills, the particle analysis of the tie, and several careful historical reconstructions of the case’s timeline were produced or contributed to by people working independently of the FBI. These analyses represent genuine contributions to the body of knowledge about the case.
The relationship has also produced noise: unsupported theories, unfounded accusations against specific individuals, claims of definitive identification that could not be substantiated. The Cooper case’s cultural prominence has attracted researchers with varying levels of rigor and honesty, and the FBI has had to evaluate claims ranging from the serious and well-documented to the obviously unfounded.