How a true crime podcast fan helped identify the 11-year-old remains of her former teacher

CONCORD, Mass. — Officials in Maine have identified remains found more than a decade ago as Massachusetts resident and teacher Christopher Roof, after a former student heard about the case on a true crime podcast.

The announcement comes 40 years after the remains of his hotel heiress mother were discovered in the woods of Washington state. 

According to Maine State Police and the state Medical Examiner’s Office, the decomposed remains were found by a hunter in the woods of Stacyville, Maine on Nov. 4, 2010.

The DNA of the unidentified body was entered into the database at the time, but did not match a missing person. Police released descriptions of the man’s clothing, including a blue knit hat that said “Chris” on it, but no leads came forward, as reported by The Bangor Daily News. 

Then on Aug. 9, 2021, a former acquaintance of Roof called with a tip. 

Sydney Copp graduated from Concord-Carlisle High School in 1997, where Roof had taught as a substitute. Copp also attended First Parish Church in Concord with Roof, where he taught Sunday School.

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"He was my favorite substitute teacher, he was everyone's favorite substitute and if we got him we were really psyched because you could get away with anything," Copp recalled. "He was the kindest, gentlest soul." 

Several of Roof's former students noticed his disappearance in 2011, and created a Facebook group called "Where is Mr. Roof?" hoping to find him.

Years went by without any news of Roof, who, according to Facebook posts, had turned in his apartment keys to his realtor on Aug. 30, 2010. Members of the group said they were unable to file a missing persons report because they had no evidence he was endangered. 

Then in March of this year, Copp was listening to a true crime podcast by Josh Hallmark when she heard the description of clothing of the John Doe found in Stacyville. Immediately, it caught her attention.

"They said something about his clothing was like somebody of higher means, not somebody who is homeless or had gone missing," Copp said. "The New Balance sneakers and the dress socks, the khakis, the briefcase that sounded to me like a teacher's bookbag. It all just seemed like Mr. Roof."

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Copp said after being encouraged by others who knew Roof, she worked up the courage to call the Maine State Police on Aug. 9. The detectives were able to match Roof's DNA to samples provided by his siblings, and a forensic anthropologist used a photograph of Roof to confirm that his bone structure was a match, Copp said. 

Roof’s family never reported him missing as they believed he was choosing to stay estranged, officials said. 

Due to the state of the remains, the cause and manner of death are listed as “undetermined," and it's unclear why Roof was in Maine.

Roof’s mother, Marcia Moore also died under mysterious circumstances. Born in Cambridge in 1928, she was the only daughter of Robert L. Moore, founder of the Sheraton Hotel chain. She married Simons Roof and had three children, including Christopher, and the family moved to Concord in 1950. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, Marcia Moore wrote books on astrology and yoga and remarried several times, eventually moving to Washington state with her husband Howard Alltounian. According to the biography, Marcia was interested in spiritualism and the occult, and the couple led a reclusive life.

Then in January 1979 Marcia Moore disappeared. Her partial remains were discovered in 1981 some distance from her Washington home, but the cause and circumstances of her death remain unknown.

Roof donated a collection of Moore's writing to the library in 2009, shortly before he disappeared.

After his body was publicly identified last week, several members of the Facebook group shared memories and tributes to Roof.

"Mr. Roof was an incredible educator; he went out of his way to connect with kids who were struggling academically or socially," Abby Marsh wrote. "Whether he knew it or not, he left a huge impact on so many, which was only made more evident by a decade-long search by those who cared for him."

Copp said she hopes to learn more about Roof and his quiet life before his passing. 

“It’s sadly satisfying to know where he is, to know that he is in fact gone," Copp said. "We're not still wondering."