Troopers looking for hand-gun

Scott Christiansen-Frontiersman staff

ANCHORAGE -- The Alaska State Troopers believe they have solved a homicide from the 1980s and are looking for a weapon investigators believe was used in the murder.

Troopers are asking for assistance from the public in recovering a Ruger Speed Six .357 revolver, serial number 159-13540. AST released photos of Speed Six revolvers on their Web site last week. AST is offering a $1,000 cash reward for the weapon. Troopers believe the weapon was used in March 1985 in two separate crimes on the Kenai Peninsula.

Last week, troopers announced that AST's special "cold case" investigation unit had made progress in the investigation of the murder of 65-year-old Opal Fairchild of Soldotna. Former Soldotna resident Barry McCormack, 52, was indicted on charges related to the murder by a grand jury in Kenai on March 21. He was arrested in Poteau, Okla. three days later. McCormack was indicted on one count of first-degree murder and one count second-degree murder.

Fairchild was killed March 20, 1985. Another Peninsula resident, Melvin Anderson, 48, was shot by an armed robber in his wood stove retail store at Mile 83 Sterling Hwy. Anderson was shot in the head but survived. The Anderson shooting took place 12 days before Fairchild was killed.

Bullets from the two crimes were recovered by troopers and matched during ballistics tests conducted by the FBI. Fingerprints from both crime scenes were recovered and, years later, McCormack became a suspect after fingerprints he submitted when applying for a job as a bus driver job were matched with fingerprints from the Fairchild crime scene. McCormack applied for the bus driver job in 1991, but the match came years later when the cold case unit used new fingerprint matching data base technology.

The Ruger Speed Six is a type of gun known to match bullets from both crime scenes. The particular Speed Six that trooper's are looking for is known to have been owned by an acquaintance of McCormack's and is also known to have been pawned in Anchorage in 1991, according to AST.

The serial number on the Speed Six revolver can be found on the bottom of the handle. According to records employees at Ruger the weapon that troopers are looking -- serial number 159-13540 -- is a blued steel model and was manufactured in 1982 with wood grips. If the gun still has the factory grips, the serial number should be clearly visible.

If the gun has after-market grips, such as the plastic grips shown in the trooper's photo, the grips must be removed from the handle to view the serial number. Anyone with information about the weapon is asked to contact Alaska State Troopers in Anchorage at (907) 269-5611.