Once in Glendale, Vernon and Helen met up with Fred Olar, who acted as their guide on this trip, as he had every year for the previous five years. Fred also built the Long Lake cabin and was a well-respected family man in the area. His later testimony would be important at the inquest and the trial.

Upon arriving in Canada on Oct. 16, 1937, Vernon Spencer and Helen Grier checked into the Algonquin Hotel in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, registering under an assumed name as husband and wife. Eleven days later, Helen would be dead. Photo courtesy of the Sault Ste. Marie Museum.

Long Lake. Hard to believe this respite was ever home to the murder of a 28-year-old stenographer.

Loons on Long Lake.

A cow moose crossing Ranger Lake Road, and two bull moose caught on camera at Leishman Lake (Long Lake). Photos courtesy of Deanne Avery.

After having breakfast with Helen Grier, Vernon Spencer went looking for moose tracks. Upon his return to the cabin, he found Helen lying dead in the kitchen. The swampy south end of Long Lake would be where Vernon would have gone, looking for signs of moose such as tracks and chewed twigs.

Calling all #Searchmont Ontario folks -- if you've heard of the Doyle farm or Doyle farm road, leave a comment!

The accused: Vernon Spencer. The victim: Helen Grier. Co-author: Amanda Capper The book: A Fatal Affair: The Murder of Helen Grier Launch date: October 28, 2026 Follow our journey on @afatalaffair.bsky.social Daily posts. Endlessly fascinating :-) #truecrime #SaultSteMarie

The Crane Lumber Company once had a thriving logging operation in Glendale. To reach the Long Lake cabin, Helen and Vernon (and other visitors to Long Lake), would have to pass through a toll gate, sign a liability release, and pay $3 to continue on their journey. www.searchmonthistory.ca

Spencer's wife, Gertrude, may have been a society page darling before her marriage to Vernon, but she was camera-shy. A rare shot of the woman who stood by her man throughout his incarceration and trial. eporter described her as "a short, plump, pretty woman with large dark brown eyes." Photo 1938.

Calling all potential followers! Love #truecrime? #coldcases? We've got it all. Oct. 28, 1937: Helen Grier's body was discovered by her married lover, Vernon Spencer, at a hunt camp in Algoma, Ontario. Did Spencer get away with murder? You be the judge. Find us at @afatalaffair.bsky.social

Vernon Spencer's wife, Gertrude, grew up in an affluent household. Her father, William, is referred to as a "wealthy financier" in newspapers of the day, This article, dated Oct. 18, 1914, values this Detroit home at $16,000, the equivalent of about $525,000 USD today.

The approximate location of Vernon Spencer's 340-acre dairy farm in Wixom, Michigan. The farm is still located on Pontiac Trail (formerly Fourteen Line Road). At the time of his arrest, Vernon owned 50 Black Swiss cattle. Map ca. 1936. #wixom

Yet another random fact discovered during our research: Helen Grier's uncle, Henry Balser, was entrusted to take care of her funeral arrangements. A lawyer from Pontiac, Michigan, Balser ran for Circuit Court Commissioner under the Republican Primaries in August 1919. PS: Henry didn't win.

September 1936: When Sudbury native Thomas Crawford was transferred to Sault Ste. Marie, he may not even have heard of Long Lake. Two years and two months later, he would be the lead investigator in the murder of Helen Grier.

Attention authors: mailchi.mp/thrillerwrit...

Roach Farmhouse: Part 1 Thanks to this 1931 census, we were able to determine that Bill Roach (Billy), 12 at the time of the census, was still a teenager when Vernon Spencer rapped on the Roach family farmhouse door and announced "There's been a murder at Long Lake!" #researchingtruecrime

Came upon this Sault Star photo when researching the roads that Helen and Vernon would have driven to reach the hunt camp on Long Lake. One of our questions: Was Hwy. 556 paved in 1937? This 1966 photo taken on the #Searchmont Road would indicate otherwise.

Great fun yesterday at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. It was really nice to get away from my computer and endless trial documents as my research with co-author Amanda Capper continues.

The logging industry employed many men in Northern Ontario, providing valuable income during the lean years of the Depression. It's estimated there were 60-70 men working, or looking for work, in close proximity to the Holcomb cabin at the time of Helen's death. From www.searchmonthistory.ca

The Lombard Steam Log Hauler was used in the #Glendale Saw mills to haul Logs down the Ranger Lake Road, Hope Lumber Co., Crane Lumber Co. and Dam Creek Lumber Co. Read more about the history of the Lombard Steam Hauler at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombard... Photo courtesy of a private collection.

A short month with lots of views on our Facebook page. Same pix there as here on @bsky.app! Follow us to see what the buzz is about.

When staying at the camp, Helen and Vernon hunted around three lakes: Long Lake, Island Lake, and Dam Lake. They would not have ventured too far off the trails (outlined in black marker) without a guide. Map courtesy of a private collection.

No relation. Never knew her. And yet, we feel the need to tell Helen Grier's story.

Ranger Lake Road and its surrounding terrain plays a large part in A Fatal Affair, as do the bushmen in the vicinity of Searchmont. We hope to explore the collection, meet the historical committee—and maybe even meet some relatives of those 1930s loggers on February 28. #searchmont

As a young girl, Helen Grier often performed in plays, religious in nature, for her church, Maple Street Methodist, Battle Creek, Michigan. Her most notable role, well lauded in the local paper, was that of Golden Lily, in the church’s June 1924 rendition of The Honorable Mrs. Ling’s Conversion.

Vernon Spencer spent months incarcerated in the #saultstemarieontario jail. No longer in operation, the jail is now rented out by Set Scouter for on location film shoots.

The Long Lake cabin was built for, and owned by, Dr. A. A. Holcomb. This ca. 1893-94 Queen Anne style house in Northville, Michigan was in Holcomb's family for about 70 years, and was used by Dr. Holcomb for his home and medical practice. The house is now a commercial building.

Without new news, interest in Helen Grier wanes, though The Sault Star attempted to revive the story once a week. Shown are headlines from Nov 18, Nov 22, Nov 27 and Dec 7, all speculating on when the inquest would be held. HINT: They're going to have to wait a little while longer.

Built in 1922, the Sault Ste. Marie Courthouse was designed by Francis (Frank) R. Heakes at the height of his career as Chief Architect of the Ontario Department of Works. It is considered an exceptional example of Beaux-Arts Classicism.

Photo op with graphic artist and jewelry designer Cassie Amond. Cassie will be designing our cover.

Monday, February 16 is Family Day in Ontario. While we are not related by blood, Deanne Avery and Bill McCulloch are an integral part of our A FATAL AFFAIR book family. Shown here at Bill's Long Lake (Leishman Lake) camp in #algomaontario.

Researching the history of the Saul Ste. Marie Jail led us to this fun fact: The 2011 film "Citizen Gangster" (about the infamous Boyd Gang) was filmed in #saultstemarieontario. Trivia: The movie features a young Kelly Riley (Beth in Yellowstone) as Edwin Boyd's wife. www.imdb.com/title/tt1709...

Happy Valentine's Day! Spencer’s wife, Gertrude, stood by her man, visiting her husband in jail, attending the trial, and always maintaining his innocence.

Speculation begins...

The Sault Daily Star, November 3 & 4, 1937. Dr. E. R. Frankish, medico-legal expert for the Ontario Attorney General finally arrives in the Soo to perform the post-mortem on Helen Griers...and quickly becomes the talk of the town.

DID YOU KNOW (this piece of #Algoma history)? Long Lake was renamed Leishman Lake: the decision was made on January 21, 1960, although the official renaming may have taken place sometime later. Surrounding lakes were also renamed. Photo source: geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/search-place...

Our source documents state that "several boxes of Peters .22 ammunition" were found in the Long Lake cabin. This vintage ad from June 1938 is currently listed on eBay by Vintage Paper Ads. www.ebay.com/itm/28396817...

It can be a bit like panning for gold! #research

In 1920, Vernon Spencer was 24, and would have needed a passport to travel to Canada while playing pro baseball. Interesting to note that his height is listed at 5'6" (his baseball stats say 5'7"). It also serves to demonstrate that Spencer was well-versed in obtaining a passport early in his life

Our January 2026 stats on Facebook are impressive. Our @bsky.app not so much. Help us grow and spread the word! www.facebook.com/profile.php?...

Look at us! We are the lead story on Kevin Tipple's new weekly series , Thursday Treats, on Kevin's Corner. Kevin is a blogger and book reviewer based in Dallas, Texas, and has won Best Review Site multiple times on the Critters Annual Readers Poll. kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2026/01/thur...

Clean up after completing the build, and a view of the finished cabin from across the lake, c 1932. Each log would have been cut from trees further down Long Lake, loaded onto a boom, rowed back individually to the building site, then pulled up with a horse. Photos courtesy of a private collection.

Another interesting find: the hunt camp at Long Lake was likely completed about 1932. Here are some pix of the construction process as it nears completion (note the broadaxe used for cutting the logs). Photos courtesy of a private collection.

Helen's birth certificate is a recent find. Two interesting things learned: 1) her middle name was Almera, unusual & we can find no info on how her parents decided upon it and 2) her father was Canadian, from Hastings County, ON (approx. 750 km/465 miles from Charlotte, MI). www.hastingscounty.com

The Algonquin Hotel was designated a historic site in June 1995. Find out more about the hotel's history on HistoricPlaces.ca: www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/p... #saultstemarieontario

Helen Grier was raised in Battle Creek, Michigan and the Battle Creek Enquirer covered her death from the beginning. This clipping from the October 30, 1937 issue.

A group shot: Top: The camp at Long Lake, 1937 Bottom (L to R): Dr. E. Frankish, medical examiner, Helen Grier, Vernon Spencer

From the Sault Star, November 3, 1937

Continuing our research on @afatalaffair.bsky.social On the other hand...this rabbit hole did pique our interest, because it adds to our understanding of the area in and around Long Lake. If you have any info on the Postal Cabins that were located in #Glendale in #Algoma, please leave a comment.