The woman in the well: Saskatoon police solve century

After almost two decades of work, Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) has solved a century-old mystery to uncover the identity of “the woman in the well.”

On June 29 in 2006, human remains were found in a well at a construction site in the Sutherland neighbourhood, and an autopsy confirmed the death was suspicious.

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In August 2025, through DNA testing SPS investigators identified the woman as Alice Spence, formerly Burke. The last record of her dates back to the early 1900s.

“Alice was never forgotten about and against what seemed like impossible odds, investigators continued to scour every avenue of investigation