Roger Culp Missing Person Case

Sep 12, 2018

Mar 26, 2024

Roger

Culp

76

34

74 inches

180 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

In the vast and unforgiving landscape of Fairbanks, Alaska, 34-year-old Roger Francis Culp disappeared on April 28, 1984. He was last observed walking into the cabin of his neighbor, Michael Alan Silka. Shortly after Culp entered the residence, witnesses reported hearing a series of gunshots. When Alaska State Troopers initially investigated, Silka claimed that blood found in the snow outside his cabin was from a moose hide. At the time, law enforcement was operating under the impression they were investigating if Silka himself had been a victim. This explanation was accepted, and troopers left the scene. Culp, a man with brown hair, hazel eyes, and a stature of six feet two inches, was never seen again. He was reportedly wearing a Carhartt-style construction vest at the time of his disappearance. The investigation into Roger Culp's disappearance quickly became entangled with a larger, more horrifying series of events. Three weeks after Culp went missing, Silka, a 25-year-old drifter with a history of firearm-related encounters with the law, resurfaced in the small village of Manley Hot Springs, about 150 miles west of Fairbanks. There, he presented himself as a self-sufficient "mountain man," impressing some residents with his wilderness skills. The trust of the small community was shattered when, on May 17, 1984, a number of its residents vanished after heading to the boat landing on the Tanana River where Silka was often seen. Among the missing were Albert Hagen, Joyce Hefnerklein, and her two-year-old son, Marshall Klein. The search for the missing villagers soon merged with the manhunt for Silka, who was by then the primary suspect in the presumed murder of Roger Culp. The tragic saga reached its conclusion on May 19, 1984, in a deadly shootout on the Zitziana River. When located by Alaska State Troopers from a helicopter, Silka opened fire, killing Trooper Troy L. Duncan. An officer on board returned fire, killing Silka. With Silka's death, the full scope of his violence became clearer, though his motives remain unknown. Authorities believe Culp was Silka's first victim and that his body, like those of the Manley Hot Springs victims, was disposed of in the vast and icy Tanana River to prevent discovery. Despite extensive searches by friends, family, and law enforcement, Roger Culp's remains have never been found, leaving his case an open and painful chapter in one of Alaska's most notorious killing sprees.

Apr 28, 1984

Fairbanks

Alaska

Fairbanks North Star Borough

No

40949

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

8402224

1984-04-29

Alaska State Troopers

10637

Brown

Hazel

Hazel

07/15/2026