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More than three decades after an Alaska man disappeared, a chilling anonymous confession reopened a cold case that had long frustrated investigators — and eventually pointed authorities to a suspect.
Alaska State Troopers said 54-year-old Christopher Popps of Michigan was arrested after detectives linked him to the confession. He is accused of fatally shooting former co-worker Patrick Orville Dearth in 1993 and leaving his body inside a barrel along a remote stretch of highway.
Dearth, 34, was reported missing to the Fairbanks Police Department in November 1993. For years, the case offered little in the way of solid leads, leaving his disappearance unresolved.
That changed on Jan. 22, 2025, when Alaska State Troopers said they received an anonymous tip from someone who claimed to have committed a murder in the Fairbanks area in 1993.
Fairbanks Police Department involved in decades-old missing person investigation. (Fairbanks Police Department Facebook)
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation’s Cold Case Investigation Unit then took on the case. However, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel told Alaska Public Media that investigators could not immediately search the location because snow covered the area and limited daylight made conditions difficult.
When investigators returned in May 2025, they discovered human remains inside a barrel down a steep embankment near Mile 47 of the Steese Highway. The Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed the remains belonged to Dearth and classified his death as 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.
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.
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.
INC News reached out to the Alaska State Troopers and Michigan State Police for additional information.
