A Michigan man has been charged with murder in the 1993 disappearance of an Alaska man after police traced an anonymous confession back to him. Christopher Popps, 54, was arrested in Michigan on July 16, 2026, following an indictment for the killing of Patrick Orville Dearth, whose remains were found in a barrel near Fairbanks.
Anonymous tip revives 30-year-old Alaska cold case
Alaska State Troopers received an anonymous call on Jan. 22, 2025, from someone claiming responsibility for a 1993 homicide in the Fairbanks area. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation’s Cold Case Unit took over, but winter conditions delayed the search. In May 2025, investigators discovered human remains inside a barrel off the Steese Highway at Mile 47. The Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed the remains belonged to Dearth, 34, and ruled his death a homicide.
Investigators identified the tipster as Popps, who had made multiple anonymous confessions to Alaska law enforcement agencies. Authorities allege Popps shot Dearth during an altercation at an auto shop where they worked together in Fairbanks. “Based on our investigation, we determined there was an altercation at an auto shop, which led Popps to shoot Dearth,” Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel told Alaska Public Media.
Indictment and arrest in 1993 Fairbanks murder
A Fairbanks grand jury indicted Popps on two counts of second-degree murder on June 25, 2026. A warrant for his arrest was issued the same day. Michigan State Police apprehended Popps near Kalamazoo on July 16. He remains jailed in Kalamazoo County awaiting extradition to Alaska.
As of Friday, Popps had no attorney listed in Alaska court records, and no future hearings had been scheduled, according to Alaska Public Media. Authorities have not disclosed why Popps allegedly began confessing more than three decades after the killing.
