The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is seeking information from landowners near Barrhead regarding the 1990 disappearance of a senior who is believed to have been murdered.
Ruth Clarke, 83, was last heard from on Nov. 1, 1990. On Nov. 12, police were called to conduct a welfare check at her residence, which she shared with her 42-year-old son Ronald Clarke. Ruth was not located, so her disappearance was deemed suspicious and the EPS Homicide Unit began investigating immediately.
In the years following, detectives conducted multiple interviews and searches for her remains, but were unable to find enough evidence to lay charges for her murder.
Now, police believe Clarke’s remains may have been hidden in a hand-dug water well in a rural area less than an hour north of St. Albert. Investigators believe this well would likely be located on a farmstead, where trails lead through brush to two hand-dug water wells about 50-60 feet deep. One should be lined with wood, and the other with brick; one or both may be filled and/or covered with brush or other debris.
Multiple potential sites have been searched in recent years, but have been unsuccessful, resulting in EPS turning to the public.
Wells searched by police in recent years. In the image on the right, the well had been filled to prevent people and animals from falling in. (Supplied)
“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 Staff Sgt. Kevin Harrison, with the EPS Historical Crimes Section.
If you are familiar with the Barrhead, Morinville, Westlock, Rochester or Redwater areas, police ask you to come forward with any information about an abandoned well that matches the description above.
A map of the area where the abandoned well is believed to be located. (Supplied)
Investigators would also welcome information about Clarke and her immediate family’s activities around the time of her disappearance. Please contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone if you have any relevant information.
“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,” comments Richard Wetmore, Clarke’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. (Supplied)
