Doren Lyle Sanford, 34, vanished from Fairbanks on August 29, 2020, while searching for his missing Rottweiler, Groot. An Anchorage resident originally from Tok, he was visiting friends and weighing a possible land purchase. He was last seen on Airport Road wearing blue jeans, a white shirt (possibly a sweater), white tennis shoes, colorful reflective sunglasses and carrying a blue backpack.

Sanford is an American Indian/Alaska Native male, 5 feet 9 inches and about 179 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes and distinctive tattoos including vertical tribal symbols on his side and a faded eagle and stars on his left arm. His family filed a missing person report on September 14, 2020, after there was no activity on his phone, bank accounts or social media. A tip about a Rottweiler euthanized at a shelter did not match Groot’s temperament, and both Doren and Groot remain missing.

Investigators have said they suspect foul play and believe people with key information are withholding it; they’ve specifically referenced a young woman who was reportedly with Sanford around the time he disappeared.