Century-old ‘woman in the well’ mystery solved by DNA breakthrough

Canadian authorities have officially solved the mystery of “woman in the well” who died around 100 years ago through DNA technology.

The investigators identified the remains who they discovered in June 2006 as Alice Spence, nee Burke, by using DNA testing.

As per official reports, she was born in September 1881 and believed to move to Canada from Minnesota in 1913.

Her remains were found during the excavation of the former gas station site in 2006. The bones were discovered in a sack inside a wooden barrel that was retrieved from a well, according to Dr. Ernie Walker, a forensic anthropologist.

The well-preserved nature of remains allowed the police officials to perform DNA testing and they collected the DNA sample from hair and two teeth.

"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 said.

Law enforcement officials identified Spence after developing family histories and tracking living relatives. The search led to Spence's closest living relative, her great granddaughter, Cindy Camp.

According to police investigation, Alice’s death was not natural, in fact it was suspected to be ridden with foul play.

“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,” Sgt. Darren Funk said.

This “woman in the well” case is believed to be the oldest one in Canada which is solved with the help of Investigative Genetic Genealogy.