Christian B. Roper is an American explorer, television personality, filmmaker, and investigator of history’s enduring mysteries. A grandson of an Antarctic explorer, Roper was also inspired by his uncle’s discovery of cannons at the mouth of Panama’s Chagres River, potentially connected to the lost ships of privateer Henry Morgan. The discovery sparked a lifelong fascination with pirate history and maritime legends, eventually leading him to devote extensive research to the mysteries surrounding Colombia’s Isla Providencia.
Behind the camera, Roper is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has directed conservation and activism films, including Wild Majesty: Africa’s Circle of Life. He now devotes much of his filmmaking to exposing wrongful convictions on Texas Death Row, inspired by his cousin’s decades-long wrongful imprisonment and eventual release and exoneration.
Roper continues to pursue extraordinary stories wherever they lead, both on camera and behind it.
At 23, Roper was recruited by Rick and Marty Lagina as the first featured treasure hunter on HISTORY’s Beyond Oak Island. His television work has made him particularly known for pirate research and expeditions into Gulf piracy legends, especially those surrounding Jean Laffite, though his investigations have ranged from missing-person cases in the Pacific Northwest and Central America to cryptozoology and unexplained phenomena at Utah’s Skinwalker Ranch.
Although Roper has participated in physical searches and recoveries, he is equally fascinated by the stories behind the legends, tracing folklore through generations to uncover the historical events at their roots.
“AN AUTHORITY ON PIRATE TREASURE STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD”