Coville met Jane Limm (also known as Jane Reth) while they were both students at La Sierra College in Riverside, California in the mid-1980s; he was studying biology and she was in the physical therapy program. A couple of years later, Coville dropped out of college and moved to Alaska, where he worked first in the commercial fishing industry and then in a pulp mill. Limm followed him to Alaska in early 1987, after she completed her degree. The couple married in a civil ceremony in October 1987, and had a church wedding in San Diego, California on February 1988. Coville told his mother the relationship was "fire and ice" and he and Limm had frequent arguments.

Coville's official date of disappearance is listed as April 12, 1988, his twenty-sixth birthday. His family hadn't heard from him for weeks before that, however. Coville's mother did get a Mother's Day card in May; it was signed "Love, Jane and Scott" in Limm's handwriting. The next time she tried to call his home in Sitka, Alaska, she discovered his number was disconnected. Coville's mother reported him missing sometime after that, when she realized no one had heard from him. Limm did not report her husband's disappearance to the police; neither did she call any of his relatives to ask if they had seen him.

Limm remarried after Coville's disappearance, got a divorce and moved to Illinois. In January 2010, she was arrested in Illinois and charged with first-degree murder and evidence tampering in Coville's case. A photo of her at the time of her arrest is posted below this case summary. Authorities believe Limm killed Coville around the time of his disappearance and disposed of his body, but they haven't disclosed much information about the case against her. She is awaiting extradition to Alaska and trial. Coville's body has not been recovered, but foul play is suspected in his case due to the circumstances involved.

Above: Jane Limm in 2010