Paula Goulding, a 21-year-old white woman, was reported missing in late April 1983; the date associated with her death is April 25, 1983, near Palmer, Alaska. Investigators linked her to the Anchorage nightlife scene in the weeks before she vanished and later concluded she met Robert Hansen, a small-business owner and hunter, who lured her under the pretense of a paid modeling date. Hansen is said to have flown her north of Anchorage in his private plane, where she attempted to flee, was shot with a high-powered rifle and buried in a shallow grave.

On September 2, 1983, road work in the Knik River area of Matanuska-Susitna Borough uncovered human remains identified as Paula. Evidence at the grave included a .223 cartridge; the body had a gunshot wound to the back and clothing without bullet damage, suggesting she may have been shot before being dressed and buried. The discovery matched other clandestine burials that led investigators to suspect a serial offender. Building on a surviving witness, ballistic links and a suspect profile, Alaska State Troopers arrested Robert Hansen on October 27, 1983; he later admitted to multiple abductions and killings and was charged with first-degree murder, including Paula’s. If anyone knew Paula, where she worked or who she was with in Anchorage that April, please share what is known.