In the late autumn of 1993, a family’s life was irrevocably altered when Patrick Orville Dearth, a 34-year-old male, vanished from Fairbanks, Alaska. He was last seen on November 22, 1993, and what began as a day like any other ended in a mystery that would span decades. Known to his friends and family by the nicknames Pat, Orville, or Barth, he was a physically distinct man, standing at 6 feet 2 inches and weighing around 210 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
His appearance was further marked by a scar on his forehead, another on his left wrist, and a tattoo of a broken heart on his left arm. In the immediate aftermath of his disappearance, information was scarce, and the circumstances surrounding why he went missing were unclear, leaving his loved ones with unanswered questions and a profound sense of loss.
As days turned into weeks, and weeks into years, the case of Patrick Dearth grew cold. His disappearance became one of the many lingering, unresolved missing person cases that have troubled the Fairbanks area. For a long time, there were no significant leads or public updates to provide any hope or closure for his family. The investigation remained open but stagnant. In an effort to bring renewed attention to his case, his information was officially entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System on March 17, 2020, nearly 27 years after he was last seen. This step ensured that his details were accessible to a national audience of law enforcement agencies and amateur sleuths, a modern attempt to solve a decades-old puzzle.
A significant development in the long-dormant case occurred in the spring of 2025. On May 8, human remains were discovered inside a 55-gallon drum within the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the same county where Patrick was last seen. Authorities made a potential connection between these remains and the long-missing man. This discovery brought his case back into the public eye and represented the first substantial lead in over thirty years. Following this finding, the case has since been officially closed, bringing a sorrowful end to the search. Patrick Dearth, after decades of uncertainty, was located deceased. The case represents a long and arduous journey for answers, beginning with a sudden disappearance in 1993, followed by many years of silence, and culminating in a tragic discovery that finally provided a painful, yet definitive, resolution.Last Seen: Nov 22, 1993
