Saskatoon police announce the resolution of a century-old mystery involving the discovery of human remains in a well shaft within Saskatoon’s Sutherland neighborhood in 2006. The unidentified female has now been identified as Alice Spence (nee Burke), a woman of Irish descent who was approximately 35 years old at the time of her demise.
Alice, a former resident of Sutherland, is believed to have met with foul play sometime between 1916 and 1918. Cindy Camp, Alice’s great-granddaughter residing in Sherwood Park, Alberta, shared her shock upon learning about Alice’s fate during a recent media briefing. Camp recounted the surprising phone call from Toronto police requesting a DNA sample on July 16.
Reflecting on her grandmother Idella’s silence regarding her mother, Camp expressed a desire to converse with Idella and learn more about her family history. Grateful for the relentless efforts of numerous individuals over the years, Camp acknowledged the emotional journey to unveil the identity of the long-unknown “woman in the well.”
The breakthrough in the case emerged through advancements in genetic science nearly two decades after the initial discovery. Collaborating with Toronto police’s investigative genetic genealogy team, Saskatoon police successfully traced potential relatives of Alice, ultimately constructing a detailed family tree with the assistance of Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy company.
Alice had resided in close proximity to the well, having moved to Sutherland in 1913 with her husband Charles and their daughter Idella from St. Louis, Minnesota. Evidence of injuries on the body suggested that Alice had been assaulted prior to her tragic death.
Although the perpetrator remains unidentified, police confirmed that Alice had been murdered and concealed in the well. The investigation was rejuvenated by the discovery of Alice’s remains during excavation work at a former gas station site, leading to a meticulous forensic examination by anthropologist Ernie Walker.
Following the official identification of Alice, Saskatoon police have concluded the case, attributing closure to the now-deceased suspect. Alice was laid to rest in Woodlawn Cemetery in 2009, and plans are underway for a headstone bearing her name and birth details. The police announcement also shed light on Alice’s background, detailing her life journey from birth in Michigan in 1881 to her tragic demise in Saskatoon. This resolution marks a significant milestone in Canadian investigative history achieved through the application of investigative genetic genealogy.