Philip Fraser

Status:

Open

Offense Location:

Stewart, British Columbia

Summary:

Philip Innes Fraser was born January 3, 1965 in Anchorage, Alaska and died June 18, 1988 in Stewart, British Columbia, Canada. He was the son of two physicians and was a 23-year-old preparing to begin pre-med studies at Evergreen College in Washington State. After picking up a mysterious hitchhiker, authorities believe the hitchhiker murdered him to steal his identity. The perpetrator remains unidentified, and the case continues to be investigated as an unsolved homicide.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

On June 14, 1988, Philip Fraser packed his belongings, including two locked handguns, into his 1983 Volkswagen Jetta to begin the 2,300-mile journey to Olympia, Washington. Philip entered Canada at the Alcan-Beaver Creek Border Crossing on June 17. At the border crossing, Philip disclosed that he was traveling with two handguns and was forced to turn the guns over, as it was illegal for Americans to bring firearms into Canada. The trip from Beaver Creek to Dease Lake would have taken him approximately 14 or 15 hours. In the early afternoon the following day, June 18, Philip was seen stopping at the 40 Mile Flats Café. Prior to Philip's arrival, the café's owner, Gaye Frocklage, and her daughter, Tina, had observed a truck drop off a man in front of the café. The truck then drove away, and the man, who appeared to be a transient, entered the café. Both Gaye and Tina immediately got a bad feeling about him. The car sat for a few minutes and then he pulled ahead like he had second thoughts. The hitchhiker just ran beside him and pulled the door open and the young man in the car proceeded to let him enter. Face down in the mud was the bullet riddled body of 23 year-old Philip Innes Fraser. His body was found on July 27th, 1988, in a gravel pit off of Highway 37A near Stewart, British Columbia. He had been shot to death with a handgun and left there. It was determined that he had likely died right around the same time he'd gone missing, based on his body's advanced state of decomposition.

Additional Details:

Philip Innes Fraser was born on January 3rd, 1965, in Anchorage, Alaska, to parents Robert and Shirley, both prominent doctors. Robert was director of the Alaska State Public Health Tuberculosis Control center and Shirley was a neurologist. Philip grew up to be outdoorsy like his parents. He also loved literature and had become a skilled violinist at an early age. His dream was to follow in his parents' footsteps and become a doctor, so he enrolled in the pre-med program at his father's alma mater, Western Maryland College. Philip left Anchorage between 11 AM and 3 PM June 14, 1988. He called his parents that evening informing them that he was setting up camp near Tok, Alaska due to car trouble, which set him back two days. About 200 miles down the highway, near Kitwanga, the hitchhiker asked for help at Eddie and Pauline Olson's farm. He introduced himself as Philip Fraser, carried two wallets, and spoke urgently. The Olsons let him stay overnight in their guest room and agreed to fix his car's fan belt. Early the next morning, the man drove off in the Jetta, leaving the Olsons stunned when they later learned the real Philip Fraser was missing. Later that night, around 9:30 p.m., firefighters responded to calls of a car fire at the Car Pool Car Wash on 3rd Avenue in Prince George, British Columbia, approximately 300 miles southeast of Kitwanga. His 1983 black Volkswagen Jetta was found abandoned in downtown Prince George and had been set ablaze inside the bay of the car wash. Police were able to determine ownership of the car using the VIN number, which showed that the vehicle belonged to Philip Fraser. After tracing Philip to the address of his parents' home, a patrol car arrived there for a midnight welfare check, at which point Robert and Shirley learned the shocking news about their son's car. The last they had heard from Philip was when he was having car trouble, less than a week prior. They had no idea what he'd been up to since then or why his vehicle would turn up charred. Despite this chilling turn of events, they tried to hold out hope that their son was alive. An extensive investigation into Philip's murder was conducted by the RCMP, which soon led them to the Frocklages' café in Beaver Creek. Gaye and Tina told the police their story about the strange man who'd come into their establishment that night and how he had left with a person who looked like Philip Fraser. A composite sketch of the hitchhiker was generated and released. The RCMP continued to publicize Philip's picture and story, hoping that more people would come forward and possibly help them to identify and locate his killer. The suspect is a Caucasian male, 5'9", weighs 225 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes. Witnesses saw him biting his nails, and described him as speaking slowly and as walking with a waddle, which led some to suspect that he may have had a mental impairment. He was also described as having a foul body odor and rotten teeth. Authorities believe Philip Fraser's killer is familiar with Toronto and Seattle. He is Caucasian, and in 1988 stood approximately five-feet-nine inches tall and weighed roughly two-hundred-twenty-five pounds. He had brown hair and brown eyes. Among his noted physical attributes were his bad teeth and the classic beer belly overhanging his midsection. He had light facial hair, frequently bit his fingernails, spoke in a slow, slurred manner without an accent, and had bad body odor. Following the discovery of his body in July of 1988, Philip Innes Fraser was cremated. His ashes were scattered over Otter Lake in his hometown of Anchorage, a spot he had visited with his family numerous times. Philip's father died in 2014, never having seen his son's killer brought to justice. The Canadian Royal Mounted Police stated in 2008 that there had been no significant developments to the case since the airing of the Unsolved Mysteries segment.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 05, 2026