It’s been seven months since Doren Sanford, Alaska, disappeared when he searched for his dog in Fairbanks last year, and his family and local authorities are appealing to those with information on his whereabouts.
“I’m convinced we’ve talked to the people who know what happened to Doren,” Lieutenant Jess Carson of the Alaska State Troopers told Dateline. ‘Specifically a young lady. It’s time for her to come forward and give us the information to find Doren and shut down his family. ”
Doren, who was 34 years old when he went missing, was last seen on August 28, 2020 in Fairbanks, Alaska. Lieutenant Carson added that since that date there has been no activity on his bank account or cell phone, but said there are evidence accounts that place him in the area around August 31st.
Doren grew up 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 Sanford Home Repair & Remodel business.
“He was always involved in some kind of project,” Doren’s cousin Jordan Sanford told Dateline. “He always built well, fixed things, traded things. This is just who he is. ”
Just a few weeks before his disappearance in August 2020, according to his cousin, Doren stayed with family friends in Fairbanks while looking at the property he wanted to buy.
Jordan told Dateline that their extended family in their Alaskan culture stays in close contact with each other every day. They spoke to Doren regularly when he checked in and made him aware of his plans to buy land, and when no one heard from him within two weeks, the family began to worry.
“He will not just disappear without contacting anyone, his mother, his brother, anyone,” Jordan told Dateline. “It was then that it became of concern to us.”
Jordan said her cousin was last seen on August 28, 2020 when he was looking for his dog, a Rottweiler named Groot, near Airport Road in Fairbanks. Doren was wearing a dark blue Tanana Chiefs conference jersey, a camouflage Lavelle’s Taphouse hat and was possibly wearing a backpack.
“He never went anywhere without Great,” Jordan said. “It was his companion.”
Lieutenant Carson told Dateline that troops early in the investigation followed a hint that Great was euthanized in the shelter in the area.
“After looking at it more closely, we are no longer sure that it was actually Great,” he said. “The shelter described the dog as violent and no one has ever described Great with such behavior.”
Lieutenant Carson added that he believes Groot’s finding could lead to more answers about Doren’s whereabouts, and asks the public to call authorities if he is spotted.
“If you have a tip or if a Rottweiler shows up in your area, with a tail not cut, let us know,” said lt. Carson said. “Any of the information will be very useful.”
Alaska troops have worked closely with the Village Public Safety Officers, the Fairbanks Police Department, the FBI, the Tanana Chiefs Conference, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Initiative.
But Lieutenant Carson told Dateline that information from the family and the community was the most useful and what he believes will lead to the detection of Doren.
“We could not have come this far without the help of the family,” said lt. Carson said. ‘People who are too scared to come to us with information will go to them and then they are convinced that it is safe to come to us. We can not do it alone and we want you to know that it is good to come to us. ‘
Lieutenant Carson told Dateline that troops believe foul play is suspected in Doren’s disappearance and reiterated that they believe they spoke to people who know what happened to him. Lieutenant Carson added that it included the young woman who he said gave information to people in the community who placed her with Doren and knew what had happened to him.
“It will take someone’s conscience to ask them to come forward so that we can resolve this matter,” Lt. Carson said. “It will be necessary for someone to want his family to close.”
Searches were conducted shortly after Doren was reported missing, but the harsh Alaska winter and snowfall halted all searches. Lieutenant Carson told Dateline that they would continue to search for Doren as soon as the snow melted in the spring.
During the months since Doren’s disappearance, dozens of tips have led troops to various locations, but lt. Carson would not give further details about it due to the ongoing investigation. But he said he believes it’s only a matter of time before the truth about what happened to Doren appears.
“We hope to know the truth soon,” said Lt. Col. Carson said. “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 would never stop looking for her son.
“On Facebook, we send out the photos, send the missing ones, not only to my son, but also everything that is missing,” Liz Webb said in the video. ‘So that it does not become silent. Because everyone keeps living, everyone continues. For us who have the missing loved one, we can move on, but we still have the void and therefore we cannot leave it. ”
She goes on to encourage the public to go to the authorities.
“It doesn’t matter how small the detail is or how deep it is, it’s my child, it’s my son, and I would like him to come home,” she said. “And I ask you to help me and my family. Thorn, he’s a person … He’s still a living person, he belongs to someone and he belongs to me and my family. All we ask is that you let us know … Where he is. We love him. Like that someone loves you. We love him. And we want him at home. ”
Doren’s mother closed the video with a plea to the community.
‘Just sit down for a moment which makes you worse, just pick up the phone and call the troops. And I’m very grateful if you do. I just hope and pray that everything that goes on in your life will turn you around and do you good. ”
Thorns are described as 5’10 ”long, weighing about 140-160 lbs, with brown hair and blue eyes. A Facebook page “Find Doren Sanford” has been created to share the development in the case.
Contact the Alaska State Troopers (907) 451-5100 for information on Doren’s whereabouts. A $ 10,000 reward is offered by the family for information leading to Doren.