Patty Roberts realized there was nothing — and no one — to protect her. She was in a lost place in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but her clothes and a purse. Sure, there was the snow plow. Going the wrong direction. But he still had the gun. Always the gun. He was weak without it, no doubt, but dangerous nonetheless. Her one weapon was her voice. Her words. Her bond. Not much; it’s what she had.
Patty Roberts: “He still had the gun in his lap and I was scared. I think he was considering putting me out there over the bank. I promised him I wouldn’t say anything to anyone. I guess it convinced him as he untied my hands and we headed back.
“We kept going toward Anchorage until we got to Portage Cafe where he stopped and he bought some pop and some Hershey’s and other candy. He continued on toward Anchorage and stopped once more at a bar which I later saw and identified as Frankie’s Bar and Cafe.
Robert Hansen killed multiple women in the Seward area,
including an unknown victim at Summit Lake.
Roberts: “He continued on toward Anchorage and stopped once more at a bar which I later saw and identified as Frankie’s Bar and Cafe. He got into my purse and found my parents’ name and address and wrote it down on a piece of paper and my son’s name. He threatened me, my baby and my parents if I said anything to anyone and that he knew where my parents lived.
“We continued on to Anchorage, arriving some time between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. He let me out of the car about 3/4ths of a block from my car on East 13th. He told me that he wished he could have met me under different circumstances.
He told me that he wished he could have met me under different circumstances.
Patty Roberts
“I got into my car then and went to a friend’s house where I called my dad and told him what had happened.”
There are few things more intimate than a wallet or a purse. Patty Roberts’ purse happened to hold more than the usual cache. It also carried her biggest vulnerability. This was Hansen violating her all over again.
But with Robert Hansen, there was always a dose of the inane. Like a demented teen, he stopped for carbonated beverages and candy to fuel the end of their journey. Made a risky second stop to go through her purse. Gurgled an absurd wish that they’d met under different circumstances. Yeah, Bob, you were quite the romantic.
Copyright Leland E. Hale (2020). All rights reserved.
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