100-year-old Saskatoon mystery solved: ‘Woman in the well’ identified as Alice Spence

Saskatoon police have now identified the 'Woman in the well,' closing the book on a 100-year-old mystery for the city.

After nearly a century, one of Saskatoon’s oldest mysteries has been solved.

The woman whose remains were discovered in a well in 2006 has been identified as Alice Spence.

“Alice Spence is not invisible anymore,” forensic anthropologist Dr. Ernie Walker said at a police press conference, announcing the discovery.

On June 29, 2006, a work crew digging at Central Avenue and 108th Street uncovered an old well.

Inside were human bones, clothing, bottles, and parts of a wooden barrel.

Walker said Spence’s body had been wrapped in burlap, placed in a barrel, and dropped down the well.

“Unknown to the individual that dropped it, a piece of the cribbing of the well had broken loose and blocked the barrel from going all the way down to the bottom,” Walker said.

For decades, investigators couldn’t identify the remains.

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In 2022, investigators turned to Investigative Genetic Genealogy — a relatively new tool that combines traditional genealogy research with DNA analysis.

Saskatoon police partnered with the Toronto Police Service to build out Spence’s family tree.

In August 2025, DNA testing from relatives confirmed Spence’s identity.

Cindy Camp, Spence’s great-granddaughter, admitted she first thought the investigators’ calls were a scam.

“The idea that someone was reaching out to us about a relative we didn’t know under such unusual circumstances seemed too strange to be true,” Camp said.

Camp said she’s grateful to have her great-grandmother’s story finally come to light. She said her grandmother (Spence’s daughter) never spoke about her family.

“Learning about Alice’s life and the way she had been hidden away from history for so long is both surreal and emotional,” she said.

Who killed Alice Spence?

Saskatoon police believe Spence died some time between 1916 and 1918.

Sgt. Darren Funk said he has “circumstantial evidence” of who was involved in Spence’s death, but refused to share the name.

“We believe we know who did it, but it’s 100 years old. That person does not have the right to defend themselves in court today,” Funk said.

“We’re going to consider the case closed.”

Funk said this investigation shows the value of persistence, and new technology in policing.

“We’re never going to give up. Technology is always changing. A case that you thought might not have been solvable two days ago might be solvable tomorrow,” he said.

Few details recorded about Alice Spence’s life

Spence was born in 1881 in Michigan, according to Saskatoon police.

She married Charles Spence in 1904, and the couple welcomed their daughter, Idella, the following year.

In 1913, the family moved to Saskatchewan.

A 1916 census places them in Saskatoon — the last record of Alice.

A newspaper article from 1918 notes the Spence home burned down while the family was away. The house was blocks from where Spence’s body was eventually found.

Spence’s husband died of a heart attack in 1923. His obituary listed him as a widower.

Camp said she plans to have a gravestone made to honour her great-grandmother — whose story, she now knows.

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