Identified! AK - Juneau, WhtMale UP59410, Pre70, bullet hole in head, 25 July 2019 *id'd Aug 2025 - Archpriest Alexander Valentinovich Popov*

[MadMcGoo]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, WHITE/CAUCASIAN
NAMUS UP59410

Date Body Found: July 25, 2019
Location Found: Juneau, Alaska
GPS Coordinates: 58.691739, -134.932400
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 70
Measured Height: 5' 7" (67 inches)
Measured Weight: 151 lbs.
Hair Color: Sandy
Left Eye Color: Missing Eye
Right Eye Color: Missing Eye
Circumstances of Recovery: Decomposing body found along the shoreline with a bullet hole in the head.

Investigating Agency
Alaska Medical Examiner's Office
Charlie Seidl, Investigator III: (907) 334-2200

Agency Case Number: 2019-01136

0 Missing Person Exclusions

 

[Melt71]

This case smacks of someone being taken out in a boat and shot, with the hope the body would not wash up ashore.

The most logical Namus match would be MP66812 61yo John Godfrey, missing from Juneau since one month before these remains were found. However Mr Godfrey was 5'11 according to Namus, whereas the remains were estimated at 5'7. Mr Godfrey's hair is listed as brown with the unidentified as 'sandy' but it's not possible to see Mr G's hair in the Namus photo as he is wearing a cap.

Also - assume LE has ruled out known/local cases. No ruleouts are listed.

 

[Melt71]

Namus has recently been updated, no ruleouts listed.

 

[iulia]

His NamUs page has been removed.

 

[Melt71]

His NamUs page has been removed.

Great news. Possibly a coincidence but the Namus record for the person I mentioned upthread was updated this month, though it is still active.

 

[The4TierBridge]

Identified as 57-yo-old Alexander Valentinovich Popov of Kirovgrad, Russia.

Alaska: Body of John Doe from 2019 identified as priest from St. Petersburg

After nearly six years, the body of a man dubbed “Juneau John Doe” was identified as Archpriest Alexander Valentinovich Popov from near St. Petersburg, Russia, though his cause of death remains unclear.

orthochristian.com

 

[Rikissa]

From the link in the post above:

Fr. Alexander, born July 5, 1961, was either 57 or 58 when he died. He was ordained to the diaconate on December 3, 1989, and the priesthood on October 17, 1990. He was elevated to the rank of archpriest in 2005. He was released from his full-time duties on May 28, 2019, and soon thereafter went to Alaska, where he died.

If he left Russia some time after 28 May 2019, and was found dead in Alaska on 25 July 2019, just two months later, I wonder what the cause of his death was.

 

[wary]

From the link in the post above:

If he left Russia some time after 28 May 2019, and was found dead in Alaska on 25 July 2019, just two months later, I wonder what the cause of his death was.

Well, the first post in this thread says that he was found with a bullet hole in his head. That’s fairly strong circumstantial evidence as to the cause of his heath. A lot of questions remain unanswered, of course.

 

[Rikissa]

Well, the first post in this thread says that he was found with a bullet hole in his head. That’s fairly strong circumstantial evidence as to the cause of his heath. A lot of questions remain unanswered, of course.

Had he been an "ordinary" man, then my first thought would have been suicide, but for a man who had been a Orthodox priest for 30 years, how likely would suicide have been an option, something that still often is considered a sin. In that article in post #6 there are a few interesting comments from a US history professor, who had corresponded with, and met, Fr. Alexander.

 

[wary]

Had he been an "ordinary" man, then my first thought would have been suicide, but for a man who had been a Orthodox priest for 30 years, how likely would suicide have been an option, something that still often is considered a sin. In that article in post #6 there are a few interesting comments from a US history professor, who had corresponded with, and met, Fr. Alexander.

Thank you. Looking at post #6, there seems to be considerable doubt about whether he actually was shot in the head, with police seeming to say that there was no sign of foul play. Of course, the police could have been referring to another person who was found, too.

And there’s possibly some mystery about why he decided that he wanted to live in Alaska. He said he wanted to take up fishing….