Catching Sophie’s Killer: Cold Case Investigators Search For New Clues

Were you a UAF student in April, 1993? Did you live in Bartlett? Know somebody who was? Then you probably remember this story. Know something? THINK you know something? Then please call AST. They would love to talk to you!

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Sunday, April 26, is the 16th anniversary of the murder of Sophie Sergie, a 20-year-old from Pitkas Point who was found dead in a dormitory at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 1993. In the past few years, Cold Case Investigators have diligently sorted through old case files and gathered new information; however, they need the public's help in finding new leads and eliminating others in order to find Sophie's killer. Soldotna-based Cold Case Investigators Jim Stogsdill and Lindy Minnick, aided by other Cold Case investigators within the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Tim Hunyor and James Gallen, are trying to track anyone who was at UAF dormitory Bartlett Hall at the time of Sophie's death in the very early morning hours of April 26, 1993.

“We’d like everybody who was residing at Bartlett Hall in the spring of 1993, just simply call up and say, ‘Hey, I was
there, I was in whatever room number, this is what I heard, this is what I saw, this is what I heard people speak of afterwards,’”
Stogsdill said. “We can filter all that out.”
Interviewing people who might have something to add to the timeline leading up to Sophie’s death has been a challenge
from the start. Her murder occurred right around finals. Students quickly left for the summer, some of them never to return for
another semester at UAF. Investigators have the difficult task of tracking down people, some of whom have moved Outside or
joined the military in the almost 16 years since Sophie’s death.

Anyone who was in the area of Hess Commons or the Moore, Bartlett and Skarland Halls on April 26, 1993 can contact
Stogsdill at (907)260-2716; Minnick at (907)260-2710 or lindy.minnick@alaska.gov; Gallen or Hunyor in Anchorage at
(907)269-5611; or UAF Police Investigator Steve Goetz at (907)474-7721.

Please see the PDF version of the story for new information on the case, photos and contact numbers for the investigators.

Contact Beth Ipsen at (907)269-5654, (907)351-5191 or elizabeth.ipsen@alaska.gov for more information, or for a copy of a videotaped interview with Investigator Jim Stogsdill.