Episode 231: The Life and Death of Drew Thornton and Cocaine Bear - Part 2

He leapt out of a plane at 7,000 feet with a giant bag of cocaine strapped to his waist. What happened next has become the stuff of legends. A federal investigation, a tourist attraction, and now a major motion picture. What happened to the real cocaine bear and what is the legacy of the man who created it? This week’s episode is The Life and Death of Drew Thornton and Cocaine Bear - Part 2

SOURCES

Part 1 Sources: https://www.sinisterhood.com/shownotes/episode-230-drew-thornton-and-cocain-bear 

Chute tie to drug mystery probed, The Knoxville News Sentinel (October 17, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Cocaine Bear, Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall Official Website: https://kyforky.com/collections/cocaine-bear

 Cocaine Bear, The Numbers: https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cocaine-Bear-(2023)#tab=summary

 ‘Cocaine Bear’ at Lexington store is not the real bear; sources confirm, WAVE News: https://www.wave3.com/2022/12/19/cocaine-bear-lexington-store-is-not-real-bear-sources-confirm/

 Cocaine killed parachutist, Fort Worth Star Telegram (December 12, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Cocaine-laden parachutist falls to his death, The Courier-Journal (September 12, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Crashed plane, chutist linked, Knoxville News-Sentinel (September 12, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Decision in delayed in evidence hearing, The Messenger (February 10, 1988), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Don't eulogize Thornton, Lexington Herald-Leader (October 14, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Drew Thornton: adventurer, loyal friend, chilling enemy, Lexington Herald Leader (September 29, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Drew Thornton's Last Adventure, Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/10/20/drew-thorntons-last-adventure/982df601-7c8c-4955-a09c-b6d1f3b0a426/

 Drug Probe Strings Together A Tangled Web of Intrigue, The Charlotte Observer (October 14, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Ex-policeman carrying $14 million in cocaine killed in plane jump, Messenger-Inquirer (September 12, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Ex-policeman is arrested in N. Carolina, Lexington Herald-Leader (January 31, 1982), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Georgia parachute linked to Thornton, The Daily News-Journal (October 18, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 How Universal Made Moviegoers Addicted To ‘Cocaine Bear’: Elizabeth Banks Horror Comedy Opens To $23M, Deadline: https://deadline.com/2023/02/cocaine-bear-box-office-opening-marketing-universal-1235271850/

 Kentucky man claims he was air companion to ill-fated parachutist, Johnson City Press (March 19, 1990), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Lawyer gets 6-month term in drug case, The Courier-Journal (June 3, 1982), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Lexington woman faces trial in cocaine-parachutist case, The Advocate Messenger (February 8, 1988), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Mystery surrounds smuggler's thinking, Knox parachute jump, Knoxville News-Sentinel (September 12, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Puzzle of chutist's death unsolved, Johnson City Press (January 2, 1986), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Rebecca Sharp drug prosecution to be dropped, The Courier Journal (February 20, 1980), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Statements ruled out in parachutist case, Johnson City Press (February 14, 1988), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Thornton's past included police work, drug charges, Lexington Herald-Leader (September 12, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Thornton's beneficiaries include politicians, legal figures, The Courier-Journal (October 19, 1985), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Two accused of plot to smuggle cocaine, The Atlanta Constitution (November 10, 1987), Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

 Waylon Jennings and the Cocaine Bear, Saving Country Music: https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/waylon-jennings-and-the-cocaine-bear-country-history-x/

 Welcome to the Cocaine Bear superstore. Life-size bear on Aisle 1., Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/03/02/cocaine-bear-kentucky/