The Alaska Department of Public Safety reports that human remains were found on the northwest shore of Fire Island, west of Anchorage, on July 24, 1989. Alaska State Trooper investigators responded to the scene and collected the remains. An autopsy concluded that the victim was a Caucasian male, estimated to be between 35 and 50 years of age. Evidence found on the remains indicated that the death was criminal in nature. An anthropologist estimated that the remains had been lying exposed on the beach for at least a year, but an approximate date of death couldn’t be determined. All efforts by troopers to identify the victim were unsuccessful. The victim’s remains were eventually interred at the Anchorage Municipal Cemetery.
In 2003, hair and tissue samples that were collected were sent to the FBI Laboratory in Virginia. A mitochondrial DNA profile was developed, which was entered into the national missing persons database, but no identification was made.
In 2021, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation Cold Case Investigation Unit reopened the investigation. Bone samples from the victim that had been retained by the State Medical Examiner’s Office were sent to a private forensic DNA laboratory in Texas. Scientists were able to extract DNA from the bone samples using forensic-grade genome sequencing to develop a comprehensive DNA profile. The profile was linked to other persons in the database, some of whom had ties to Alaska.
Subsequent genealogy research indicated that the victim may be Michael Allison Beavers, who had been reported missing to the Anchorage Police Department in January 1980, by his spouse. He was last seen alive in late 1979, at age 40, when he left his residence in Chugiak to travel by automobile to Seattle, WA to contact a business associate there.
Beavers was identified as a heavy equipment operator and owned an excavation business in Chugiak. Beavers never arrived in Seattle. No information was developed to indicate what had become of him and the investigation was closed in 1982. In 1992, Beavers was officially declared deceased.
Investigators with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation located a close blood relative of Beavers’ and obtained a DNA sample, which confirmed that the remains found on Fire Island were, in fact, those belonging to Beavers. The investigation into this incident is on-going.
If anyone has any information regarding Beavers’ disappearance and murder, contact the ABI Cold Case Investigation Unit at (907) 375 – 7728 or the main ABI number at (907) 269 – 5611.
