More than three decades after a Fairbanks man disappeared, an anonymous confession has led to an arrest in one of Alaska’s long-running cold cases.
Christopher Popps, 54, of Michigan, was taken into custody following a joint investigation that traced an anonymous murder admission back to him.
Authorities accuse Popps of shooting former co-worker Patrick Orville Dearth in 1993 and disposing of his body in a barrel off a remote highway.
Dearth, 34, was reported missing in November 1993, and for years investigators found few leads in his disappearance.
The case reopened on Jan. 22, 2025, when state troopers received an anonymous tip from someone claiming responsibility for a 1993 killing in the Fairbanks area.
The Cold Case Investigation Unit assumed control of the matter, but winter conditions delayed a physical search of the reported site.
In May 2025, investigators located human remains inside a barrel down a steep embankment near Mile 47 of the Steese Highway.
The state medical examiner later confirmed the remains belonged to Dearth and classified the death as a homicide.
Further investigation identified the anonymous tipster as Popps, who had submitted multiple admissions to separate law enforcement agencies.
Investigators have not disclosed a motive for the delayed confessions more than 30 years after the killing.
Authorities said the two men worked together in Fairbanks and that a dispute at an auto shop culminated in the shooting.
A Fairbanks grand jury indicted Popps on two counts of second-degree murder on June 25, 2026, and a warrant was issued the same day.
Michigan State Police arrested him near Kalamazoo on July 16, where he remains jailed pending extradition to Alaska.
No attorney is listed for Popps in Alaska court records, and no future hearings have been scheduled.
