Shivangi Sinha
In 1983, Cindy Paulson was working as a sex worker in Anchorage, Alaska, and earning a living for herself. One day, a man approached her and asked her to get into his car. However, once she did, he threatened her with a gun and forced her back to his home, where she was restrained. As he was attempting to get her onto his private plane and fly her to a remote cabin in the wilderness, Cindy seized the opportunity to escape and run for help. In ID’s ‘Very Scary People,’ particularly the episode ‘The Butcher Baker: Terror in the Wilderness,’ her ordeal and the aftermath of the crime that changed her life are examined in detail.
Cindy Paulson Was Still Handcuffed When the Police Found Her in the Motel
Cindy Paulson grew up in Yakima, Washington, but her childhood was far from peaceful. She has claimed that she was allegedly sexually molested on multiple occasions while growing up. However, the revelation that affected her most came when she was 12 years old. Cindy overheard a conversation and discovered that the people she had always known as her parents were actually her grandparents, while the young woman she believed to be her older sister was, in fact, her biological mother. According to Cindy, the family had adopted her in order to avoid societal scrutiny surrounding her mother’s young age. When she learned the truth, she felt deeply betrayed and believed that everyone around her had been lying to her for years.
At the age of 12, Cindy left home and spent the following years moving between different states on her own. She stayed in motels, relied on friends she met along the way, and gradually learned how to support herself. By 1983, she was 17 years old and living in Anchorage, Alaska. On June 13, 1983, Cindy got into a car with a man, but he immediately threatened her with a gun and took her to his home in the Muldoon neighborhood. She was tied up in the basement as she was sexually assaulted many times. The following day, the man told her that they would be traveling to a remote cabin near the Knik River by plane. When they arrived at the airstrip, Cindy noticed that he was distracted while preparing the aircraft. Seeing an opportunity, she ran from the area barefoot and handcuffed.
Cindy later recalled that the man briefly chased after her, but she managed to make it to Sixth Avenue, where a truck driver noticed and offered her a ride. She asked to be dropped off at the Mush Inn and did not initially explain what had happened. Concerned by her condition, the driver contacted the police. By that point, Cindy had taken a cab to the Big Timber Motel. Officers located her there and found her visibly shaken, with handcuffs still on her wrists. At first, she was reluctant to provide details, but after speaking with investigators, she described the events she said she had experienced and provided information about the small aircraft involved. She was also able to identify the plane. Using aviation records and other evidence, investigators traced the aircraft to Robert Hansen.
Cindy Paulson Helped the Police to Bring Her Perpetrator to Justice
Although Cindy Paulson knew she had taken a risk by coming forward, investigators assured her that her allegations would be taken seriously. However, the case did not move forward immediately. Robert Hansen provided alibis through two acquaintances who stated that he had been with them during the relevant period. With little apparent progress being made, Cindy eventually left Anchorage and moved to Portland, Oregon. She was twice arrested for soliciting and eventually made her way back to Anchorage. Detective Glenn Folthe earned her trust and she started working with them as well.
Meanwhile, detectives continued investigating a series of unsolved killings in the area and had begun to suspect that a serial offender might be responsible. The discoveries of victims, including Sherry Morrow, Paula Golding, and Joanna Messina, along with the unidentified woman who was given the name Eklutna Annie, increased the urgency of the investigation. As the evidence mounted, local authorities sought assistance from the FBI in an effort to identify the person responsible. The federal agency assisted investigators in developing a profile of the suspected killer, and detectives once again turned their attention to Hansen.
In October 1983, search warrants were executed at his home, his cabin, and his vehicle. Investigators found that the details Cindy had provided about the residence closely matched what they observed during the search. Authorities also recovered firearms that were later connected to some victims. In addition, they discovered a collection of jewelry that detectives suspected had been kept as souvenirs, with some items later being linked to known victims. As the evidence against him mounted, Hansen ultimately confessed to multiple crimes. He was subsequently charged in connection with several murders, as well as the abduction and rape of Cindy.
Cindy Paulson is Slowly Opening Up About Her Story Today
Robert Hansen was ultimately convicted on the charges connected to Cindy Paulson’s case, and Cindy was present at his sentencing in February 1984. She has recalled that the experience was extremely frightening and that she felt uneasy sitting in a courtroom filled with people while reliving events that had changed her life. In the years that followed, Cindy moved back to Yakima, Washington, where she married and focused on building a new life. Raising her three children became central to her life as she worked to move forward from the trauma she had experienced. In 2013, the thriller ‘The Frozen Ground’ was released, drawing inspiration from her story and the role her escape played in the investigation.
For many years, Cindy largely stayed out of the public eye, but she shared her experiences in her first public interview on the podcast ‘Mind of a Monster.’ Cindy said that she had been sober for 10 years by then and that it was only after Hansen’s death in 2014 that she was finally able to feel a sense of relief. She explained that for years she had lived with the fear that he might somehow send an associate after her, and with his passing, that fear also disappeared. Cindy also spoke about the life she had built for herself, one that was by then filled with the love and laughter of her three sons and many grandchildren.
During the interview, she said that she believed God had brought her into the world for a reason, and that reason was to help get a killer caught. In her view, that was exactly what she had done. In May 2026, she was interviewed by People magazine, where she spoke at length about her past, her life, and the crime that had such a profound impact on her at a young age. Otherwise, Cindy has continued to keep a low profile and has shared very little about her personal life in public.
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