On the evening of May 18, 1962, 23-year-old Alexandra (Alex) Wiwcharuk vanished while taking a walk. Nearly two weeks later, her body was found buried along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. More than 60 years later, her case remains unsolved.
Alexandra Wiwcharuk was born on April 20, 1939. She was the youngest of 10 children in a traditional Ukrainian family. They grew up on a farm in Endeavor, Saskatchewan.
According to her family, Alex had won multiple beauty contests by the time she was 21. In 1960, she was voted queen of the Kinette Skating Carnival in Yorkton, and she was Yorkton’s chosen entrant in the Saskatchewan Wheat Queen Contest.
She was described as beautiful, friendly, outgoing, and happy.
In 1961, Alex graduated from the Yorkton Union Hospital School of Nursing. She started working at City Hospital in Saskatoon and lived in a basement apartment with three other nurses.
That same year, the singer Johnny Cash was set to perform in Saskatoon. Alex ended up winning a radio contest for the chance to be serenaded by Cash while he sang “Girl in Saskatoon.” She met the singer and took a picture with him.
Cash later heard about Alex’s murder while he was performing on stage. He stopped the show to have a few minutes of silence for her. It is said that he never performed “Girl in Saskatoon” live in concert again.
On May 18, 1962, at around 8:00 p.m., Alex left her apartment to go for a walk before her night shift at the hospital. Before she left, she told her roommates that she was going to mail two letters, one to her sister and one to a friend. Between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m., she was spotted at a nearby drugstore.
She was supposed to work at City Hospital at 11:30 p.m., but she never showed up for her shift. It was uncharacteristic of her to miss work, so the hospital called her roommates. They told the hospital they didn’t know where she was. They had assumed she had gone straight to work after her walk.
But Alex still wasn’t home the next morning. One of Alex’s roommates reported her missing on May 19, 1962, at 10:15 a.m. The police began interviewing people and searched the river for any trace of her.
On May 31, at around 9:00 p.m., two brothers were playing by the river when they discovered her body buried in the riverbank. They ran to their father, who was fishing nearby, and told him what they had found.
One of Alex’s hands was partially sticking out of a shallow grave. She was unclothed from the waist down, and the clothing she did have on was ripped. She was last seen wearing a black sweater, a green cardigan, and lime green slacks. Her roommates identified her clothing.
The cause of her death was believed to be a skull fracture that resulted in a brain hemorrhage. She had multiple injuries on her scalp, face, skin, and private parts, indicating that she had been assaulted. So far, her killer hasn’t been brought to justice.
In 1992, 1995, and 2003, efforts were made to gather DNA evidence from her case, but the attempts were unsuccessful due to improper storage. In 2004, Alex’s body was exhumed to test for DNA samples. A sample was found on her body in 2007.
In May 2008, Alex’s nieces put up a billboard in downtown Saskatoon asking for tips in the case. The family has been working diligently to seek answers. They refuse to give up and are even passing their work down to the next generation.
Anyone with information about the murder of Alexandra Wiwcharuk is urged to contact the Saskatoon Police Service at 306-975-8300.
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By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
