More than three decades after a Fairbanks man vanished, a Michigan resident is now at the center of a homicide case that refuses to stay buried. Authorities say a 54-year-old man from Michigan was arrested last Thursday on an active Alaska warrant after a Fairbanks grand jury indicted him in a 1993 cold-case killing. Investigators report that anonymous tips sent in 2025 led troopers to human remains hidden in a barrel beside the Steese Highway, later identified as those of Patrick Orville Dearth. The suspect, identified as Christopher Popps, was booked into the Kalamazoo County Jail and is awaiting extradition to Alaska.
According to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, state troopers received an anonymous call on Jan. 22, 2025, from someone claiming responsibility for a 1993 homicide in the Fairbanks area. Troopers and investigators traveled to the location in spring 2025 and discovered human remains inside a barrel near mile 47 of the Steese Highway. The State Medical Examiner's Office later identified the remains as Dearth, who had been reported missing in November 1993.
Court records show that a Fairbanks grand jury returned an indictment on June 25, charging Popps with two counts of second-degree murder. Michigan State Police arrested him near Kalamazoo on July 16, 2026, before he was remanded to the Kalamazoo County Jail pending extradition to Alaska. As reported by Local 12/WKRC-TV, authorities say the arrest followed an active warrant tied to the grand-jury indictment.
How investigators say the case unfolded
Troopers say the case roared back to life after the anonymous tip, kicking off months of work revisiting decades-old leads and tracking down people who had been around Fairbanks in the early 1990s. Austin McDaniel, a trooper's spokesman, told Alaska Public Media, “Based on our investigation, we determined there was an altercation at an auto shop, which led Popps to shoot Dearth.” McDaniel also said the tipster contacted multiple Alaska law enforcement agencies before investigators were ultimately able to locate the barrel.
Legal status and next steps
According to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, the grand-jury indictment lists two counts of murder in the second degree, and an arrest warrant was issued the same day the indictment was returned. Popps remains in custody in Kalamazoo while Michigan authorities process extradition paperwork. Once he is transferred to Alaska, he is expected to face arraignment in Fairbanks and further court proceedings under Alaska law.
Why the case moved after decades
Cold-case investigations often sit idle until a new lead breaks things open, and officials say the January 2025 tip provided the crucial direction troopers needed. The Alaska Public Media noted that investigators delayed a winter search because snow and limited daylight made the site inaccessible in January, then returned to recover the barrel during spring fieldwork in 2025. The State Medical Examiner ultimately ruled the discovery a homicide, closing a long-running missing-person file and prompting the grand-jury review that led to the indictment.
