10/01/2025
100-Year-Old Saskatoon Mystery Solved: Woman in the Well Identified
After nearly a century, one of Saskatoon’s oldest mysteries has finally been solved.
Police confirmed that human remains discovered in 2006 inside a well at Central Avenue and 108th Street belong to Alice Spence, a woman last recorded in the 1916 census.
Spence’s body had been wrapped in burlap, placed in a barrel, and dropped down the well, where it was discovered by a work crew almost 90 years later. For years, her identity remained unknown.
In 2022, investigators turned to Investigative Genetic Genealogy, combining DNA analysis with genealogical research. By August 2025, DNA matches from relatives confirmed Spence’s identity.
Police believe Spence died between 1916 and 1918. While investigators say they have circumstantial evidence pointing to who was responsible, the suspect cannot be named due to the passage of time. The case is now considered closed.
Born in Michigan in 1881, Spence married Charles Spence in 1904 and moved to Saskatoon with their daughter in 1913. The last known record of her life is the 1916 census. Her husband later died in 1923, listed as a widower.
For Spence’s descendants, the identification has brought long-awaited answers. “Learning about Alice’s life and the way she had been hidden away from history for so long is both surreal and emotional,” said her great-granddaughter, Cindy Camp.
