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BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) — A man authorities say anonymously admitted to a decades-old murder nearly 3,000 miles away in Alaska is under arrest and awaiting extradition, Michigan State Police say.
On Thursday, MSP troopers arrested 54-year-old Christopher Popps in Battle Creek following a request for assistance from the Alaska Bureau of Investigation’s Cold Case Investigation Unit. He was arrested without incident, MSP said in a release.
In January 2025, Alaska State Troopers received an anonymous tip from someone claiming to have committed a murder near Fairbanks in 1993.
The cold case unit subsequently opened an investigation and months later, once enough snow had cleared, traveled to a remote area north of Fairbanks where the anonymous tipster said he had left the body, Alaska state troopers said in a release. There, inside a barrel down a steep embankment off the side of a highway, they found remains later identified as belonging to 34-year-old Patrick Dearth.
Dearth had been reported missing from the Fairbanks area in November 1993, troopers said.
Fairbanks murder: Victim Patrick Dearth coworkers with Christopher Popps
Following an investigation into Dearth’s death and the anonymous tip, law enforcement identified Popps as a suspect. In June 2026, a month after the remains were discovered, a grand jury indicted Popps and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
A spokesperson for the Alaska State Troopers told Alaska Public Media that Popps and Dearth were coworkers.
“Based on our investigation, we determined there was an altercation at an auto shop, which led Popps to shoot Dearth,” McDaniel said.
According to McDaniel, Popps submitted multiple anonymous tips to several Alaska law enforcement agencies saying he was responsible for Dearth’s killing. The spokesperson said he did not know why Popps made the admissions or subsequently failed to turn himself in.
Popps is currently being held at the Kalamazoo County Jail awaiting extradition to Alaska to face second-degree murder charges.
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