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Maisie Thomas/News-Miner
Fairbanks City Mayor Jim Matherly, left, and members of the Fairbanks Police Department listen to Alaska State Trooper Cap. Eric Spitzer speak at the 2022 Gathering of Remembrance on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.
Rev. Shirley Lee and Rev. John Holz speak at a gathering in remembrance of Sophie Sergie and victims of unsolved homicides on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.
Maisie Thomas/News-Miner
Rev. John Holz, Tanana Chiefs Conference President Brian Ridley and Fairbanks Native Association Executive Director Steve Ginnis speak at the 2022 Gathering of Remembrance on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.
Maisie Thomas/News-Miner
Fairbanks City Mayor Jim Matherly, left, and members of the Fairbanks Police Department listen to Alaska State Trooper Cap. Eric Spitzer speak at the 2022 Gathering of Remembrance on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.
Maisie Thomas
Rev. Shirley Lee hands Alaska State Trooper Captain Eric Spitzer a wreath for Spitzer cast into the Chena River on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. The wreath was in honor of Sophie Sergie.
Fairbanksans came together Tuesday to recognize victims of unsolved homicides in the community during the 2022 Gathering of Remembrance. This year, the annual event included a memorial for Sophie Sergie, whose murderer was convicted in February.
“Today we’re here to remember Sophie Sergie and all the victims of unsolved homicides in the Fairbanks area,” Rev. Shirley Lee said. “And today we’re able to take Sophie’s name off the list.”
Alaska State Trooper Cap. Eric Spitzer cast Sergie’s wreath into the ice-covered Chena River.
It is fitting that Sergie was highlighted during the event as her then-unsolved murder was the inspiration the first Gathering of Remembrance over a decade ago, Lee said. Sergie’s mother asked for a gathering for continued public awareness of her daughter’s death.
While Sergie’s case has since been resolved, there are still many families left without closure. The names of each of the victims of unsolved homicides were read aloud, and attendees were encouraged to toss roses into the river in honor of the lost.
“Today is about the families who are still grieving, even decades after they have lost a loved one, and it is a good and right thing for the community to hold them up,” Lee said.
Sergie’s case provides hope for the families of other victims that they, too, may get closure.
“Sophie Sergie’s case is an example of never giving up hope,” Fairbanks Mayor Jim Matherly said.
The fact that Sergie’s murder was eventually resolved is evidence that these gatherings serve an important role. The goal of events such as the Gathering of Remembrance is to keep the focus on the missing and murdered in the Fairbanks community.
“Two words we hear a lot in this country are ‘Never forget’,” Matherly said. “One way we don’t forget is to gather like we are today, to talk about the people and to talk about the families.”
In addition to keeping the cold cases on the public’s radar, the annual gathering also helps to unite law enforcement with the families of the missing. Along with Matherly, the event included remarks from Fairbanks Native Association Executive Director Steve Ginnis, Tanana Chiefs Conference President Brian Ridley, Spitzer and representatives from the Fairbanks Police Department.
“I’m so happy that it brings together the families and law enforcement, so that we get a chance to remember these cases, and try to solve them,” Lee said of the Gathering of Remembrance.
Contact reporter Maisie Thomas at 907-459-7544 or mthomas@newsminer.com.
