Police in Canada have identified the remains of a woman — previously known only as the “woman in the well” — who died more than 100 years ago.
Using DNA testing, investigators were able to identify the remains as Alice Spence, nee Burke. She is believed to have moved in 1913 from St. Louis, Minnesota to Sutherland, a neighborhood of Saskatoon, in Canada’s province of Saskatchewan.
Canadian police discovered the remains in June 2006 when the site of a former gas station was being excavated.
Bones were discovered in a burlap sack in a wooden barrel that had been dropped down a well, Dr. Ernie Walker, a forensic anthropologist, said at a Monday press conference.
Her remains were well-preserved, allowing investigators to sample DNA from two teeth and hair, Walker said.
“Unknown to the individual that dropped it, a piece of cribbing of the well had broken loose and blocked the barrel from going all the way down to the bottom,” Walker continued.
Authorities were then able to identify Spence after tracking down family members and developing family trees.
That tree included Spence’s closest living relative, Cindy Camp, her great granddaughter.
“Today, as we stand here, we feel a deep sense of connection not only to Alice, but to the generations of women who have come before her. Women whose stories deserve to be known,” Camp said at the press conference. “It’s truly amazing how something as powerful as genetic genealogy can help solve long-forgotten mysteries and bring closure to families like ours.”
Police believe Alice’s death was “suspicious” in nature, noting they think foul play was involved, Sgt. Darren Funk said, but he didn’t elaborate further.
“We have circumstantial evidence that 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 so we’re going to leave it at that,” Funk said.
She’s believed to have been born in Michigan in 1881 and died between 1916, when she was named in a census record, and 1918, when a fire destroyed the home she lived in with her husband Charles and daughter Idella.
Information from 1921 states Charles was living with Idella, a housekeeper and her son.
Camp’s grandmother was Idella. “Knowing what we know now, I wish I could talk with my grandmother even for an hour, to hear her side of the story,” she said.
This case is believed to be the oldest investigation in Canada to be solved with the assistance of Investigative Genetic Genealogy.
Alice’s remains were buried in an unmarked grave in Woodland Cemetery on September 29, 2006.
