'She’s worth it': Family continues to seek answers in Saskatoon woman's death 60 years ago

Wednesday marks 60 years since the murder of Saskatoon woman Alexandra Wiwcharuk — and her family still hopes to find her killer.

“I believe it's worth it and she’s worth it and making sure that people do the right thing. People who know something. Because believe me, there are people out there who know and some of them, we know that you know,” Patty Storie told CTV News.

Storie, the niece of Wiwcharuk, was three when the 23-year-old nurse was killed.

She remembers her family’s devastation when the body was found beaten, sexually assaulted and buried in a shallow grave near the river. Storie, now living in Texas, has joined her two sisters living in different cities to keep the search alive for those responsible.

Storie is committed to the quest for justice because her grandmother and Wiwcharuk's mother, Anna Wiwcharuk, died in 1998 without any closure, which she says adds to the family’s heartache.

Storie says the family realizes the murderer may be old or even dead, but they still feel it’s important for the person to be exposed to the public and their family.

“They need to know that their loved one did this to Alexandra Wiwcharuk,” Storie said.

Each year on May 18, family and friends visit Wiwcharuk's gravesite at Woodlawn Cemetery for a memorial. Since the pandemic started, travel back to Saskatoon hasn’t been possible, but local friends Michelle Sanjenko and Jim Lucier have continued the tradition.

Saskatoon Police Service Staff Sgt. Grant Obst said they still get calls from the public with information about the death, but he can’t give any specifics about the case, which is still considered open.

“Just the fact that we’re at the anniversary date has generated at least two phone calls this morning from people who have seen this on the news,” Obst says.

Police face significant challenges with a case this old, but continue to look for clues that may solve it, he said.

“We know that many of the people that were involved or interviewed are no longer with us, but there may be somebody out there that has one little piece of information. We always hope that the bad guy is still alive and decide he doesn’t want to take this secret to his grave,” Obst said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.