Scott Coville Missing Person Case

Sep 11, 2015

Nov 17, 2023

Scott

Coville

64

26

73 inches

150 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

In the spring of 1988, a 26-year-old man named Scott Michael Coville disappeared from his life in Sitka, Alaska. He and his wife of less than a year, Jane, had moved to the small fishing village after meeting in California where they were both students. Scott, pursuing his passion for marine biology, had taken on work in a factory and as a fisherman. The last time anyone reportedly had contact with him was around April 13, 1988. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach her son, especially following his 26th birthday, Scott's mother grew worried and reported him missing in May. For years, her questions about her son's whereabouts would remain unanswered, a painful silence that left the family grappling with the unknown. For nearly two decades, the case of Scott Coville's disappearance lay dormant, a cold case with no new leads. Jane Coville eventually left Alaska, remarried in 2000, and settled into a quiet life in Illinois under the name Jane Reth. The investigation into Scott's vanishing was officially reopened in 2007 by the Alaska State Troopers' Cold Case Unit. A significant breakthrough came with the cooperation of Jane's second husband, from whom she was divorced. He assisted investigators in recording a phone call during which Jane confessed to killing Scott. This recording became a pivotal piece of evidence, prompting authorities to travel to Illinois to question her directly. Faced with the recorded confession, Jane Reth eventually admitted to the details of what happened to her husband in April 1988. She disclosed that she had shot Scott with a .357 Magnum while he was asleep in their bed in their Sitka trailer. Following the murder, she dismembered his body, placed the remains in trash bags, and disposed of them in the city's solid waste incinerator. Investigators who later examined the old trailer found blood stains on the walls and sub-floor of the bedroom, which, through DNA comparison with samples from Scott's mother and his saved wisdom teeth, were confirmed to be his. In 2010, Jane Reth was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. She ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder and in March 2011 was sentenced to 36 years in prison. Scott Coville's body has never been recovered. This case, which began as a missing person report, evolved into a homicide investigation that spanned over two decades, ultimately brought to a close through persistent cold case work and a startling confession that revealed a grim and hidden truth.

Apr 13, 1988

Sitka

Alaska

Sitka Borough

Sitka

No

31625

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

070047146

Alaska State Troopers

Blond/Strawberry

Green

Green

Yes

07/14/2026