Filipino leader’s 1993 murder remains Kodiak, Alaska’s only cold case

Carlos Medina, seen here with son, Carlo, was murdered in Kodiak, Alaska in 1993. The case remains Kodiak Police Department’s only cold case. TWITTER

On May 2, 1993, law enforcement officers found Carlos Medina’s body on Pillar Mountain overlooking Kodiak, Alaska. He had been reported missing by his family. An autopsy showed that he had been beaten to death.

Thirty years later, his killer has yet to be found. The 36-year-old’s murder is the only cold case of the Kodiak Police Department.

An immigrant from the Philippines, Medina had become a well-known figure in Kodiak. He was a Filipino community leader and a rising businessman, having just opened Asia House restaurant. He was also buying a house and planning to run for City Council, according to a Kodiak Daily Mirror article by Caleb Oswell.

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Medina’s son, Carlo, who was only 3 years old at the time of the murder, and Medina’s brother, Jerry, have not given up on finding the killer. Both Carlo and Jerry believe that a relative may have been involved in the crime.

Rolando Vizcarra-Medina in 1998 was charged with theft of life insurance money from Carlos’ widow. Murder charges were dropped after DNA findings failed to support them. The case was last reviewed in 2019. Although the original investigators of the case have retired, an officer is always kept familiarized with its details, Kodiak Daily Mirror reported.

Carlo and Jerry Medina continue to press Kodiak police to keep the investigation going. Police Chief Tim Putney told Kodiak Daily Mirror that advances in forensic science and technology since the1990s could still produce important new leads.