William Michael Christian Missing Person Case

Jan 24, 2026

Jan 24, 2026

William

Michael Christian

76

17

Unknown inches

White

Male

In the autumn of 1966, a young man's life was tragically cut short, leaving a family with decades of unanswered questions. On the evening of November 3, 17-year-old William Michael Christian, known to his friends and family as Mike, was last seen in Anchorage, Alaska. After leaving his parents' home on North Star Road, he spent the evening running errands and went to a drive-in movie. Following the film, he called his girlfriend, sounding cheerful and outlining his plans to wash his prized 1963 Chevrolet Impala before attending a car club meeting and then heading home. However, Mike never made it to the meeting, and he never returned to the safety of his family's home. The following day, his cherished Impala was discovered abandoned, prompting his concerned parents to report him missing. Initially, law enforcement considered the possibility that he was a runaway, a theory that seemed unlikely given that he had left his beloved car behind. For years, the case remained cold, a painful mystery for all who knew and loved Mike. A significant breakthrough finally occurred in 1974, nearly eight years after his disappearance. The crucial information came from an unexpected source: a former high school classmate named James Ronald Ethridge, who was applying for a police job in Spokane, Washington. During his interview, when asked if he knew of any unsolved felonies, Ethridge recounted the chilling story of William Michael Christian's murder. He revealed that a jealous classmate, Roger Padie, was upset that Christian had dated a girl he was also interested in. On the night Mike vanished, he and Padie had arranged to meet on Sand Lake Road to resolve the conflict. According to Ethridge's account, the meeting turned fatal. Padie confronted Christian, telling him to stay away from the girl, and then retrieved a .22 pistol from his car. When Christian attempted to wrestle the gun away, Padie shot him in the head and then shot him again after he fell. Following the murder, Padie placed Mike's body in his car trunk. After getting a flat tire, he enlisted the help of Ethridge and another classmate, Arthur Melickian. The group ultimately buried William's body in a shallow grave near Eagle River. This confession led Anchorage police to reopen the investigation, and in May 1975, Roger Padie was arrested and indicted for first-degree murder. The other students involved were not indicted because the statute of limitations for their roles had expired. After his first trial ended in a mistrial, Padie eventually pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Despite the conviction, the case remains partially unresolved; although Padie led authorities to the area where he claimed they buried the body, an extensive search yielded no results, and William Michael Christian's remains have never been found.

Nov 03, 1966

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage

Alaska State Troopers

06/30/2026