CANADA Canada-Ruth Clarke, 83, ret nurse, believed murdered in Edmonton, AB, 1990, Ruth’s remains poss. in hand-dug water well, St. Albert,*New initiative*

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Ruth CLARKE

www.edmontonpolice.ca

''Ruth was described as 5’6”, 100 lbs. with blue eyes and grey hair. She would normally wear glasses and use a cane. At the time of the press releases for Ruth, police urged people to check their yards, fields, acreages and buildings for anything suspicious, especially in outlying areas.''

Police seek assistance locating remains of senior believed to have been murdered in 1990

For Immediate Release: 22-Oct-2025 @ 11:30 AM
MRU #: HC25R002
Police continue to search for the body of Ruth Clarke, a senior who was suspected to have been murdered in 1990.
Family and friends last heard from Ruth Clarke, 83, on Nov. 1, 1990. On Nov. 12, 1990, police were called to conduct a welfare check at Ruth’s residence, which she shared with her 42-year-old son, Ronald Clarke.

Investigators were unable to locate Ruth, and as her disappearance was deemed suspicious, the EPS Homicide Unit immediately began investigating.

In the years following Ruth’s disappearance, homicide detectives conducted multiple interviews and searches for her remains. Despite a lengthy, thorough investigation, detectives were never able to obtain enough evidence to lay charges in her murder.

Police now believe that Ruth’s remains were hidden in a hand-dug water well in a rural area less than an hour north of St. Albert. The well police are looking for is believed to be located on a farmstead where trails lead through brush to two old, hand-dug water wells approximately 50-60 feet deep, one lined with wood, the other lined with brick. One or both wells may be filled and/or covered with brush or debris.
In recent years, investigators consulted with Government of Alberta ground water well specialists, interviewed landowners, and conducted several extensive searches of possible well sites, but have been unsuccessful in locating Ruth’s remains.''

Well searched by police in recent years

The well had been filled and covered to prevent people and animals from falling in
Police continue to investigate Ruth’s murder, and are asking for the public’s assistance. “Because of the vast area of land that may contain old hand-dug wells, we are reaching out to the public for assistance in hopes of finding Ruth’s remains,” says S/Sgt. Kevin Harrison, with EPS Historical Crimes Section.
Police are asking landowners and anyone else familiar with the areas approximately an hour’s drive north of St. Albert, including areas surrounding Morinville, Barrhead, Westlock, Rochester and Redwater, to come forward if they have any information about an abandoned well that matches the description above.''

Map of area where abandoned well is believed to be located
“It is our hope that locating Ruth’s remains will bring some measure of resolution to those who knew and loved her, and have suffered through decades of ambiguous loss,” adds S/Sgt. Harrison.

“We’d like to thank all the detectives and officers and everyone in the Edmonton Police Service who have worked so hard to find out what happened to our aunt,” says Richard Wetmore, Ruth’s nephew. “We are very appreciative for all that has been done, and that they continue to want to find her remains so that our family may be able to lay her to rest next to her husband, as she wanted.”

Ruth Clarke
Anyone with information about a well that matches the description above, or anyone with information about Ruth and her immediate family’s activities around the time of Ruth’s disappearance is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone.''

 

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Oct 22, 2025 #ctvnews #ctvnationalnews #canadiannews
The Edmonton Police Service says it is searching for the remains of 83-year-old Ruth Clarke, who disappeared in 1990, in a rural area north of Edmonton, Alta. Anyone who owns property with an old well in the area is asked to contact EPS.