It has been seven months since Alaskan native Doren Sanford disappeared while looking for his dog in Fairbanks last August, and his family and local authorities are calling those with information about his whereabouts.
“I am convinced that we have already talked to people who know what happened to Doren,” Lt. Jess Carson of Alaska State Troopers told Dateline. “Specifically, a young girl. It’s time for her to introduce herself and give us the information we need to find Doren and terminate her family. “
Doren, who was 34 when he disappeared, was last seen on August 28, 2020 in Fairbanks, Alaska. Lieutenant Carson added that there had been no activity on his bank account or cell phone since that date, but said there were reports of witnesses who put him in the area around 31 August.
Doren was raised in Tok with his large extended family and lived in Anchorage, where he worked as a heavy equipment operator / worker and recently started his own business, Sanford Home Repair & Remodel.
“He’s always been involved in some kind of project,” Doren’s cousin, Jordan Sanford, told Dateline. “He was always building things, fixing things, changing things. It’s just who he is. “
Just a few weeks before his disappearance in August 2020, Doren was staying with friends of the family in Fairbanks while looking at a property he was interested in buying, according to his cousin.
Jordan told Dateline that in his native Alaskan culture, his family remains in close contact with each other every day. They spoke to Doren frequently when he checked in and were informed of his plans to buy land, so when no one heard from him in two weeks, the family started to worry.
“He wouldn’t just disappear without contacting someone, his mother, his brother, someone,” Jordan told Dateline. “That’s when it became alarming for us.”
Jordan said his cousin was last seen on August 28, 2020, as he walked through the Airport Road area of Fairbanks in search of his dog, a Rottweiler named Groot. Doren was wearing a navy blue sweatshirt from the Tanana Chiefs’ Conference, a Lavelle camouflaged Taphouse cap and may be carrying a backpack.
“He never went anywhere without Groot,” said Jordan. “That was his mate.”
Lieutenant Carson told Dateline that at the beginning of the investigation, the soldiers followed a lead that Groot had been sacrificed at the shelter in the area.
“After reviewing this more closely, we are no longer sure it was really Groot,” he said. “The shelter described the dog as being very violent – and no one has ever described Groot with this type of behavior.”
Lieutenant Carson added that he believes that finding Groot may lead to more answers about Doren’s whereabouts and is asking the public to call the authorities if he is located.
“If you have a tip or if a rottweiler shows up in your area, with the tail not clipped, let us know,” said Lt. Carson. “Any of that information would be very useful.”
Alaskan law enforcement officers have worked closely with the Village Public Security Officers, the Fairbanks Police Department, the FBI, the Tanana Chiefs’ Conference and the Murdered and Missing Indigenous People Initiative.
But Lieutenant Carson told Dateline that family and community information was the most useful and will be, what he believes, what will lead him to locate Doren.
“We couldn’t have made it this far without the help of the family,” said Lieutenant Carson. “People who are too afraid to come to us with information will come to them and then they are convinced that it is safe to come to us. We can’t do this on our own and we want you to know that it’s okay to come to us. “
Lieutenant Carson told Dateline soldiers that they believe there is a suspicion of crime in Doren’s disappearance and reiterated that they believe they have spoken to people who know what happened to him. Lieutenant Carson added that this includes the young woman who, according to him, gave information to people in the community who put her with Doren and knows what happened to him.
“It will take the conscience of someone telling them to come so that we can resolve this case,” said Lieutenant Carson. “It will be necessary for someone to want their family to have a closure.”
The searches were carried out shortly after Doren’s disappearance, but the harsh Alaskan winter and snowfall interrupted all searches. Lieutenant Carson told Dateline that they will continue to look for Doren as soon as the snow melts this spring.
In the months since Doren’s disappearance, dozens of tips have taken soldiers to different locations, but Lieutenant Carson declined to go into details due to the ongoing investigation. But he said he believed it was only a matter of time before the truth about what happened to Doren was revealed.
“We hope to know the truth soon,” said Lieutenant Carson. “We want to find out what happened to his family.”
Doren Sanford’s mother, Liz Webb, spoke in a video released by the Tanana Chiefs Conference, saying she will never give up looking for her son, who she describes as someone with an adventurous spirit who loves the outdoors and would help anyone in need.
“On Facebook, we send the photos, we send the missing, not just about my son, but all who are missing,” said Liz Webb in the video. “So that it doesn’t stay quiet. Because everyone continues to live, everyone moves on. For us, who have a missing loved one, we can move on, but we still have that emptiness and that is why we cannot let it be. “
She continued, encouraging the public to go to the authorities.
“No matter how small the detail or the depth, this is my son, this is my son, and I would very much like him to come home,” she said. “And I ask that you help me and my family. Doren, he is a person … He is still a living person, he belongs to someone, he belongs to me and my family. All we ask is for you to tell us … where he is. We love him. As if you were loved by someone. We love him. And we want you at home. “
Doren’s mother ended the video with an appeal to the community.
“For a moment, just put down what’s annoying you and just pick up the phone and call the soldiers. And I am very grateful if you do this. I just hope and pray that whatever is going on in your life, you will recover and do well. “
Doren is described as being 5’10 ”tall, weighing approximately 140-160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. A Facebook page “Find Doren Sanford” was created to share developments in the case.
If you have any information about Doren’s whereabouts, contact the Alaska State Troopers at (907) 451-5100. A $ 10,000 reward is being offered by the family for information leading to Doren.