CANADA Canada - Saskatoon, WhtFem 498UFSK, early 1900s murder victim, Jun'06

[UncoolNegated]

Also: "
Dear Shane,

Thank you for your email. It has been forwarded to Major Crime.



Sincerely," From the Saskatoon Police.

 

[Bit of hope]

Also: "
Dear Shane,

Thank you for your email. It has been forwarded to Major Crime.



Sincerely," From the Saskatoon Police.

IMAGINE How wonderful it would be....if you cracked the case.

 

[UncoolNegated]

IMAGINE How wonderful it would be....if you cracked the case.

I found the identity of the person who placed the classified advertisement. She was Isabelle McIntosh. Her maiden name was Isabelle Pearson and she was the sister of the person in the classified advertisement. Many updates on the article.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Fingers crossed! It might be exactly a hundred years ago since she was murdered, so it would be wonderful if the mystery was solved in the nearest future

 

[UncoolNegated]

Open call to Websleuths: try to find the date of death of an Agnes Goodall Pearson or any activity after 1924. She was born in 1870. Her parents were Alexander Pearson and Isabelle Pearson. Her sister was also named Isabelle Pearson before marrying.

Regarding Agnes Goodall Pearson:

• She was definitely born in 1870 in Forgan, Fife, Scotland
• She definitely appeared in the 1901 Scottish Census
• Her name definitely appears in a newspaper classified ad in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on August 9th, 1938 with a reference to the year 1922 as her last-heard-from time
• Possible connection: an Agnes Pearson appears in the Henderson (near Saskatoon) directory in 1913
• Possible connection: an Agnes Pearson appears in the 1923/24 Saskatoon directories
• She then disappears from the records (challenge: prove this wrong) meaning that she could be deceased
• She doesn't have a grave marker (challenge: prove me wrong, please)
• Possible connection: maybe she ended up in the well in 1924 with her last contact to her sister Isabelle coming in 1922

 

[Startover]

At least Jane Doe is listed on Doe network
498UFSK (doenetwork.org)
and Unidentied Wiki
Saskatoon Jane Doe | Unidentified Wiki | Fandom (wikia.org)

 

[Loralee]

Open call to Websleuths: try to find the date of death of an Agnes Goodall Pearson or any activity after 1924. She was born in 1870. Her parents were Alexander Pearson and Isabelle Pearson. Her sister was also named Isabelle Pearson before marrying.

Was anything else found in 2021? It looks like it's still an open case on the Doe network. If it hasn't been, I'll dig in and follow these genealogy leads and see if I can put any of those pieces together. I may be able to find some family members who have done DNA testing already as well.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Canada's Nameless - Saskatoon Jane Doe

Key Information:

Alias:
Saskatoon Jane Doe
The Lady in the Well

Location Found:
At the crossroads of Central Avenue and 108th Street,
East Saskatoon (previously Sutherland), Saskatchewan

Date Found:
June 29, 2006

Date of Death:
1920-1924, possibly in Spring or Autumn

Age:
25-35 yo

Sex:
Female

Race:
Caucasian

Hair Colour:
Red-brown

Eye Colour:
Unknown

Height:
5'1

Weight:
Unknown but stocky

Clothing:
Skirt
Blouse
Undergarment, possibly a corset
18 karat gold necklace, missing pendant, possibly from Montreal

Additional Information:
Periodontal disease

Dental / DNA:
Available


Circumstances of Finding:
Jane Doe's remains were found in an abandoned well during the excavation of gas barrels at a convenience store in the east side of Saskatoon.

Dental work and clothing suggests Jane Doe was middle or upper class. Her death is suspected to have occurred after 1914 when the well would have been abandoned due to the addition of pipeline water to the city. The well belonged to the Shore Hotel which was built in 1912 and stood abandoned from 1919 to 1927.


Circumstances of Death:
Jane Doe's injuries suggest foul play. There is evidence that her left arm had been sawed off in order to place her in the well. Jane Doe was found wrapped in burlap and in a wooden barrel. On top of her remains were a man's vest and pants suggesting she was killed on site. Broken bottles were also found near the body.


------------------------


If you have any information about Saskatoon Jane Doe please contact:

Saskatoon Police Service: 1(306) 975-8300

Crime Stoppers: 1(800) 222-8477

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

@othram just solved another Saskatchewan case, so here’s to hoping they’re being sneaky again and working on this case, too!

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Bumping with an article written last August

Remains Found In Abandoned Well Belong To Murdered Woman From Early 1900s

...and still hoping @othram is being sneaky, since you have solved Saskatchewan cases before

 

[lightofmine99]

Holy crap. Imagine finding a skeleton dressed in Victorian clothing in a well in 2006.

 

[lightofmine99]

Bumping Saskatoon Jane Doe again. I hope someone is working on this BTS.

 

[kara1218]

The Doe Network just added this case yesterday along with facial reconstructions. I remember this discussion a couple of months ago, so I am putting the case up on the board.


The Doe Network:
Case File 498UFSK
498UFSK

Reconstruction of Victim

Unidentified White Female

* The victim was discovered on June 29, 2006 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
* Estimated Date of Death: 1900-1920
* Skeletal Remains

Vital Statistics

* Estimated age: 25-35 years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 5'1"
* Distinguishing Characteristics: Auburn or strawberry blonde hair.
* Clothing: Skirt and blouse, undergarment, possibly a corset. Spring or Fall wear. An 18-karat gold necklace from European origin or an area of European influence, such as Montreal.
* Dentals: Available. Peridontal Disease.
* DNA: Available

Case History
The victim was located in an abandoned well by a work crew that was excavating gas tanks at a convenience store, on the east side of the city near Central Avenue and 108th Street. The remains were wrapped in burlap that looked like part of a bag. There was also evidence the woman's left upper arm had been sawed off.

The woman's time of death was placed in the 20 years between 1900 and 1920 by clothing and artifacts. It's believed the victim was middle or upper class, because of the clothing, jewelry and dental work found on her body. Police also found a man's vest and pants on top of the remains, leading investigators to believe the woman might have been killed at the well. The clothing the woman had been wearing was typical of the 1908 to 1916 period. At that time, Sutherland was a railway town of about 1,000 people.

The well the woman was found in must have been abandoned at the time of her death, which suggests it happened after 1914, when Sutherland started getting water piped in from Saskatoon. In 1912, the Shore Hotel was built on the site where the remains would later be found. The building stood empty from 1919 to at least 1927.

Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Saskatoon Police Service - Historical Crime Unit
306-975-8300
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

Agency Case Number:
2006-67978

I think she is the wife of a Chas (Charles) Reynolds. She was last seen in 1913, and was rumored to have "run away" with another man. I couldn't even so much as find her first name, but also couldn't find any proof of life after 1913.

Saskatoon 1913 : accessed 10 July 2025

Edmonton 1913 : accessed 10 July 2025

 

[Blurgle]

I think she is the wife of a Chas (Charles) Reynolds. She was last seen in 1913, and was rumored to have "run away" with another man. I couldn't even so much as find her first name, but also couldn't find any proof of life after 1913.

Saskatoon 1913 : accessed 10 July 2025

Edmonton 1913 : accessed 10 July 2025

Interesting!

For the record, it wouldn’t have been necessary for Mrs. Reynolds to travel to Ponoka or Calgary to take a train east to return to The Old Country. Sedgewick is on the CPR Strathcona line, which in the 1910s would have had passenger service running between Edmonton and...Saskatoon. I think Calgary and Ponoka were red herrings.

 

[musicaljoke]

I seriously doubt that they will ever identify her. The closest they will come is maybe a familial line identification via mtdna. They will be able to put a last name to her, probably never a first name. Too much time has passed.

I'm sure this would be a very difficult case to solve. I wonder if she had ever had any children.

Would @othram be willing to give this case a try?

 

[ABUnsolved]

The link has two reconstructions.

http://www.sacp.ca/missing/details.php?id=138

Name: Saskatoon Well UNKNOWN FEMALE
Date Last Seen: 2006-06-29
Last Seen Location Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Age: 30 Years Old
Date of Birth: Unknown
Race: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Height: Approx. 5'1"
Weight: Stocky Build
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Features: Peridontal Disease
Clothing Worn at time of disapearance: Skirt and blouse, undergarment possibly a corset. Spring or Fall wear. 18k Cable link gold chain. Era 1910 - 1920.
File #: 2006-67978
Agency: Saskatoon Police Service
Additional Information:
On the 29th of June, 2006, this caucasian female remains were discovered in an old well in Saskatoon, SK. Injuries to the remains suggest foul play. If you have any information regarding this case, please call 975-8334.

More articles:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/techn...ure+details+year+cold+case/1728566/story.html (with drawing)

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/techn...urder+committed+years+2006/1728630/story.html (how the body was found):

"Saskatoon police are investigating a 100-year-old murder mystery using modern-day science.

"This is totally solvable," said Saskatoon forensic archeologist Ernie Walker.

"We just need a name and the right circumstances."

Human remains were found in the city in June by construction workers removing old underground gasoline tanks at a convenience store at the corner of 108th Street and Central Avenue. Work stopped when the crew came upon a human skull in an abandoned well.

Walker and other investigators have determined the remains are that of a healthy Caucasian woman, who was 5-foot-1 and 25 to 35 years old at the time of her death.

"Surprisingly, we know quite a bit about her," Walker said at a news conference held at the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon.

The woman was of the middle class, at the very least. She was wearing an 18-carat gold chain necklace, which would have been uncommon in Western Canada in the early 1900s. The chain was likely made in Europe or somewhere with European influence at that time, such as Montreal, and it probably had an attached pendant that has been lost.

The woman had also seen a dentist. Despite missing teeth due to abscesses, the woman had one tooth that was filled and another one that needed attention.

She had some kind of injury that police will not divulge, due to the ongoing investigation. They haven't determined the cause of death.

Walker believes the woman was dead when she was thrown into the wooden well. The body landed on a piece of broken cribbing, which was lying diagonally in the square well. Over the past century, most of the body was under water or a mixture of water and gasoline. The site was formerly the location of a service station."

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/techn...e+investigation+March+2007/1728645/story.html

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/techn...+family+mystery+March+2007/1728648/story.html

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/techn...stery+body+case+April+2007/1728669/story.html

She has now been identified as Alice Spence. Saskatoon Police did a press conference today.

 

[The4TierBridge]

She has now been identified as Alice Spence. Saskatoon Police did a press conference today.

Link? I can't find this anywhere.

 

[The4TierBridge]

Found the press conference on Facebook; 17K views · 234 reactions | The Saskatoon Police Service announces a major development in an investigation. | Saskatoon Police Service

 

[Fake Protagonist]

Link? I can't find this anywhere.

It's on the Saskatoon Police Service Facebook page. I'm watching it there now.

Some info from the conference: Alice was born in September 1881 in Michigan as one of five children. She married Charles Spence in August 1904 and moved to Sutherland, Saskatchewan with him and their daughter in 1913. She disappeared sometime between 1916 and 1918 and was never reported missing or recorded as deceased. Alice was last recorded alive in the 1916 census. In 1918, the family's house burnt down without them inside. They lived just a few blocks away from where Alice's body was found. Her husband claimed to still be "married" (rather than "widower") in the next census record in 1921, by which time he and his daughter by Alice were living with a "housekeeper" and the housekeeper's son. The husband died of a heart attack in May 1923, and his death notice records him as a "widower" by then.

Edit to add more info: Police are now considering the case closed despite it being of a suspicious nature. Towards the end of the conference, they say they have "circumstantial evidence that we believe we know who did it, but it's a hundred years old and that person does not have the right to defend themselves in court today, so we're gonna leave it at that."

 

[MarziPanda]

After 19 Years, Canada's "Woman in the Well" is Identified

Saskatoon and Toronto Police Services Team with Othram to Identify Canada's "Woman in the Well"

dnasolves.com

Here's Othram's write up, they're the ones who cracked the case