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May 22, 1977 |
We met Barbara Dayton at Thun Field in Puyallup. She was 51 and we were in our early 30's |
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July, 1977 |
After much prodding, Barbara began coming to our house to visit on Sunday eveneings. We continued to visit her on weekends at Thun Field and at her apartment in West Seattle and she continued to visit us at our home on Sundays throught 1988. |
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Feb, 1978 |
Told us about the gender re-assignment surgery she had on December 4, 1969 at the University of Washington in Seattle. |
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Apr 29, 1978 |
Ron noticed Barb detouring detouring over Woodburn, Oregon while they were flying South in their Cessna 140's. She gave no explanation for the detour. |
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Summer, 1979 |
Ron jokingly accused Barbara of being D. B. Cooper while they and a group of other pilots were having lunch at Sanderson, Airport. The joke was made because of Barbara's knowledge of the details of the jump and her defense of the skyjacker when people suggested he was a fool and was likely dead. |
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November, 1979 |
Barbara told us she was actually D. B. Cooper and continued adding details of the jump for the next few months. |
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Feb, 1980 |
Barbara told us the D. B. Cooper story was just a dream. Throughout our friendship she told us many fantastic stories about her life as a man. We were certain the stories were exaggerated, so it was easy to believe that Barbara was not D. B. Cooper. |
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May 2, 1980 |
Barbara took a second detour over Woodburn while flying. Ron thought this odd because she had told us that was where the jump had occurred. We dismissed it as part of Barbara's eccentric behavior. |
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June 1980 |
Barbara lost her pilots license due to medical problems but she continued to fly regularly. |
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June, 1984 |
Our daughter stayed with Barb at her apartment in Seattle while she was an apprentice at a public relations office. |
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Aug, 1988 |
Barbara retired from the Suzzalo Library where she worked as a research clerk. Moved to Puyallup and became half owner of a small aircraft restoration shop at Thun Field. Her partner was a long time friend, Bob Birch. Barbara lived at the facility and we began seeing less and less of her. |
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1990 |
Due to her lack of a license and mechanical problems with her airplanes, Barbara sold her airplanes and bought a boat. She was planning on living on the boat, but never did. |
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Dec, 1992 |
Barbara and Bob Birch sold the restoration business. She moved in with Bob in Tacoma, WA. We still saw her occassionally, but not frequently and always with Bob. |
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Dec, 1997 |
Bob Birch died and Barbara disappeared within hours. She settled near Carson City, Nevada a few months later. She did not let us or other friends know where she was. |
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2000 |
Researched Barb's location on the Internet |
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Summer, 2000 |
Ron visited Barb in Wellington, Nevada. He jokingly asked Barb if the money was still in it's original hiding place. She said, "Maybe" |
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Summer, 2000 |
On the way home from Nevada, Ron drove through Woodburn. He found a field that was exactly like the field Barb had described as the jump site. Next to the field was a hazel nut farm and a house like she had described. There were covers for cisterns that could have been the hiding spot for the money. |
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Feb 20, 2002 |
Barbara Dayton dies of natural causes. |