Hunted on Ice: The Search for Alaskan Serial Killer Robert Hansen Read Free Page B

explained that he was a happily married man with a family and a successful bakery in town. His wife and children were traveling in Europe, he said, while he stayed behind to run their business.
    He seemed to want to impress upon the lawmen that he was way above consorting with prostitutes. He was well liked and respected in the community, he asserted, which was probably why the ‘hooker’ was telling such a ridiculous story. It seemed obvious to him that it was nothing more than an attempt to shake him down for money.
    The police listened quietly as the man continued to fume. It was totally absurd, he insisted, “You can’t rape a prostitute can you?” he asked sarcastically.
     Police knew that you could, indeed, rape a prostitute, but they didn’t bother to point this out to their suspect. They found Robert Hansen to be arrogant and pretentious, and they disliked the man immediately. But they held their tongues. The baker seemed to be cooperative, even asking if they’d like to come in and search his house.
    They certainly would, the officers said. Making their way to the basement, the detectives were surprised to see that very little matched what the teen had told them. While it was furnished as the girl described, there were no animal heads mounted on the walls, no stuffed birds staring from the corner recesses, and no bear skin rug on the floor. They used flashlight to look above the beam they assumed was the one the girl was chained to, but they found no hook screwed into the ceiling, and no scratches as she had described.
    Thanking Bob Hansen for his help, the police next paid a visit to his two alibi witnesses. The two men corroborated what Hansen had told them, agreeing that he had been with them all evening.
    The Anchorage police were puzzled. The young prostitute had seemed so credible, so undeniably terrified and in shock, but now they were beginning to wonder. Could Bob Hansen be telling the truth? Could this girl be making the whole story up in an effort to extort money from him?
    Wanting to be sure, they asked the girl if she would be willing to take a polygraph, and when she refused, their doubts increased. As bad as that was, it would actually be the medical findings that would sink the girl’s case. Doctors reported finding no signs of bruising or tearing of her genitals, no semen, and no indication of rape at all.
    With no physical evidence against Bob Hansen, and two respected businessmen willing to give him an alibi, the case came down to the word of a 17-year-old prostitute against that of a well respected, married father. For the District Attorney, it was a no-brainer on who would win that one, and he quickly declined to press charges.

Chapter Three
     
    While some police officers chose to believe that the young prostitute was lying about being kidnapped by Bob Hansen, there were others who weren’t so sure. State Trooper Glenn Flothe was one of them. He believed the girl’s story, and was determined to keep an eye on Bob Hansen. 
    Less than two months after the young girl's kidnapping, on September 2, 1983, the body of 17-year-old Paula Golding was found buried in a shallow grave near the Knik River. The proximity of the remains, so close to the other murdered women, and the fact that police found an ace bandage and the casing from a .223 caliber bullet in the grave, finally convinced them that they were dealing with only one killer.
    Only a week later, 20-year-old DeLynn Frey was reported missing. Frey had not been seen since March, so could have vanished anytime between then and September. No one was really sure when she had gone missing, nor could they recall where she might have been going when she disappeared.
    Trooper Glenn Flothe was disheartened by the news that another girl had vanished, and he thought often about the young prostitute who had accused the Anchorage baker of kidnapping her. Although it had been nearly three months since he last saw Bob Hansen, Flothe had not forgotten