Don't Look Behind You and Other True Cases (47 page)

Miss Des Moines, 1977, in her royal robes. Kandy had mother figures in her chaperones for the pageant, but it was too late; she had grown up too fast, without her mother.

Kandy Kay Hansen was an absolutely beautiful young woman. Bob Hansen was full of pride when he brought her to the Danish reunions he organized.

Kandy Hansen and her best friend since third grade—Barbara Kuehne Snyder. Bob Hansen embarrassed the girls when they were younger, and ruined prom for them. Barbara fought to save Kandy from the evil that was permeating her life—and she failed.

Nick Hansen felt he had disappointed his father because he wasn’t an athletic star—nor did he have much interest. In 1981 and 1982, he helped Bob build a cabin in Westport, Washington. That helped—but a bigger shock was coming after Nick married.

One of the last “family photos” with the Hansens. Left to right: Nick, Kandy Kay, Ty, and Bob share dinner at the Black Angus restaurant in Burien, Washington.

Bob Hansen was pleased when Nick married Melissa. Bob posed with his two sons: Nick (center), and Ty. It wasn’t long, however, before Bob reneged on his gift of a house to the newlyweds. That ended their relationship—forever.

If anyone could have saved Kandy Kay Hansen, it was Tom Yarbrough, who rescued her and loved her completely after she hit bottom in a broken-down car on the border of Utah and Nevada. Tom was old enough to be her father, but he was very kind and caring. Tom managed a casino. He wanted to marry Kandy, and, strangely, her father said yes. But their wedding was never to be.

Bob Hansen, at 61, discovered Costa Rica and it seemed the answer to everything he wanted. He hadn’t been successful in dating American women, but he discovered any number of dark-haired beauties in Costa Rica in their late teens and early twenties. He eventually bought a luxury condo there on March 7, 2007, for $250,000 and spent less and less time in the Northwest.

Bob Hansen’s second wife, Cecilia, a lovely young Costa Rican woman who celebrated her twenty-first birthday in November 1987.

Ty Hansen, in his late twenties, was a master mechanic, and sold a few cars. When he moved to a new location, a fast-talking con man walked into his office one day and convinced him to become “the Loan Arranger.” This was taken on his opening day in June 1988.

Bob Hansen, celebrating his sixty-fourth birthday in October 1988.

Bob Hansen expected to move into this plush condo, Los Amigos, in Rohrmoser, Costa Rica, and retire there forever. But he was denied citizenship and was shocked and disappointed.