More than three decades after an Alaska man disappeared without a trace, an anonymous confession has revived a long-dormant homicide investigation and led authorities to a suspect thousands of miles away in Michigan.
According to Fox News, Alaska State Troopers arrested 54-year-old Christopher Popps of Michigan after tracing a series of anonymous tips back to him and accusing him of killing his former co-worker, 34-year-old Patrick Orville Dearth, in 1993. Troopers allege Popps fatally shot Dearth in Fairbanks before disposing of his body in a barrel off a remote stretch of highway, a crime that went unsolved for years as Dearths family and the community were left without answers.
Dearth vanished in November 1993 and was reported missing to the Fairbanks Police Department, but for decades investigators had little to go on and no body to confirm what many suspected. That changed on Jan. 22, 2025, when Alaska State Troopers received an anonymous call from someone claiming to have committed a murder in the Fairbanks area in 1993, according to the agency.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigations Cold Case Investigation Unit assumed control of the case, but harsh winter conditions initially stalled the search effort, with deep snow cover and limited daylight hampering access to the suspected crime scene, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel told Alaska Public Media. When investigators finally returned in May 2025, they discovered human remains inside a barrel down a steep embankment near Mile 47 of the Steese Highway, and the Alaska State Medical Examiners Office later identified the remains as Dearth and ruled his death a homicide.
As detectives pressed forward, they concluded that the anonymous caller was Popps. McDaniel told Alaska Public Media that Popps had made multiple anonymous tips to different Alaska law enforcement agencies claiming responsibility for Dearths death.
Investigators have not disclosed what prompted Popps to begin confessing more than 30 years after the killing, leaving open questions about motive and remorse. Authorities said Popps and Dearth had worked together in Fairbanks and that a confrontation at an auto shop ended with Popps allegedly opening fire.
"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, and he remains jailed in Kalamazoo County as he awaits extradition to Alaska to face the charges. 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 reported that it reached out to the Alaska State Troopers and Michigan State Police for additional information, as the case now moves from a decades-old mystery into the courts, where due process and the rule of law will determine whether this long-delayed confession leads to long-delayed justice.
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