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More than 30 years after an Alaska man vanished without a trace, an anonymous confession breathed new life into the cold case and ultimately led investigators to the alleged killer.
Christopher Popps, 54, of Michigan, was arrested after Alaska State Troopers said they traced the confession back to him, accusing him of fatally shooting his former co-worker, Patrick Orville Dearth, in 1993 before dumping his body inside a barrel off a remote highway.
Dearth, 34, disappeared in November 1993 after he was reported missing to the Fairbanks Police Department. For decades, investigators had few answers.
The breakthrough came on Jan. 22, 2025, when Alaska State Troopers received an anonymous tip from someone claiming to have committed a murder in the Fairbanks area in 1993, according to the agency.
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Fairbanks Police Department involved in decades-old missing person investigation. (Fairbanks Police Department Facebook)
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation’s Cold Case Investigation Unit took over the case, but investigators couldn’t immediately search the area because it was buried under snow and daylight was limited, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel told Alaska Public Media.
When investigators returned in May 2025, they found human remains inside a barrel down a steep embankment near Mile 47 of the Steese Highway. The Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office later identified the remains as Dearth and ruled his death a homicide.
A Fairbanks Police Department patrol vehicle. Patrick Orville Dearth was reported missing to the department in November 1993 before his case went cold for more than three decades. (Fairbanks Police Department Facebook)
As investigators dug deeper, they identified the anonymous tipster as Popps.
McDaniel told Alaska Public Media that Popps had made multiple anonymous tips to different Alaska law enforcement agencies claiming responsibility for Dearth’s death.
Investigators have not said why they believe he began confessing more than three decades after the killing.
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Alaska wilderness near Fairbanks where troopers investigated the cold-case homicide. (Getty Images)
Authorities said Popps and Dearth worked together in Fairbanks and that an altercation at an auto shop ended with Popps allegedly shooting Dearth.
“Based on our investigation, we determined there was an altercation at an auto shop, which led Popps to shoot Dearth,” McDaniel told the outlet.
A Fairbanks grand jury indicted Popps on two counts of second-degree murder on June 25, 2026, and a warrant for his arrest was issued the same day, according to court records.
Michigan State Police arrested Popps near Kalamazoo on July 16. He remains jailed in Kalamazoo County awaiting extradition to Alaska.
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As of Friday, Popps did not have an attorney listed in Alaska court records, and no future hearings had been scheduled, according to Alaska Public Media.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Alaska State Troopers and Michigan State Police for additional information.