6 of 6: Gone too Soon

Rachel Hansen was just starting her life when she was senselessly and tragically murdered. The person that killed Rachel is still out there, leaving her family with more questions than answers. This is episode six Gone to Soon. Kim and Todd Hansen have been working diligently for the past two years to bring more awareness to Rachel's case. It's unfortunate that they still don't have answers and they haven't received any support from the police through this investigation. Why is the Gilbert Police Department not working with her family now? I understand not wanting to jeopardize an investigation by sharing certain information, but there needs to be some kind of communication. Let me preface this by saying I am not against the detectives and the police departments that are involved in these investigations, but I do want to note that it's important to point out when an investigation is being mishandled and is not being properly investigated. Now, according to Kim and Todd, they haven't received any communication from the Gilbert Police Department since it's the initial investigation in twenty twenty two. Why have they seemingly dropped the ball on this case? The family deserves to have answers. Despite the current status of Rachel's case, there is something positive that has come out of this tragedy. One thing that Rachel always wanted was to start her own dog rescue. This was one dream of hers that was brought to life by her mother, Kim. In twenty twenty three. Kim started Rachel's Rescue in memory of her beloved daughter. Rachel's Rescue is a five oh one c three nonprofit dedicated to rescuing neglected and abused animals. Kim currently runs Rachel's Rescue at their home in Gilbert, Arizona. During COVID, Rachel and I together fostered for three or four different rescues because at that time we had six teenagers at home trying to do school online and you know, blowing up our Internet and all of that. Life was not happy during COVID. We just decided to do something happy and rescue a mama dog, large breathe, large litters that other people couldn't take. So she and I together did that for three or four different rescues and had different mama dogs and large litters and saw some things that we didn't agree with, didn't exactly like how the rescues did things. And so Rachel always said, Mom, let's just start. Our own rescue. Let's start a rescue together. And she even sat at the kitten table and drew logos. And was coming up with names and all these different things. And I kept that scrap paper because it but I told her, thank you for that vote of confidence, sweetheart. But absolutely I don't want to do the business side of things. I did not want to have. To be a figure out how to do a five oh one and C three and do the taxes and do the paperwork and all the record keeping. I just wanted to rescue copies. We never did that. But after we lost her, that first year of just trying to survive. The grieving process is just like nothing would ever wish on your worst enemy. It just it's very very hard and it's very very real. And I never would have known that. After a year, I realized I had to do something to get my head back in the game. Like I knew I was not okay. I was not okay for myself, I wasn't okay for our other kids. In any way. There were days I didn't even remember what I did or what day it was or you know, I would drive somewhere and I'd stop and I'd be like, how did I get here? Why am I here? And just it was bad. And so I thought, I've got to do something to. Ground myself because we don't have answers, and we don't know when we're going to get answers, and I cannot survive like this. So I decided, so June of twenty twenty three, actually got our five OHO one in June of twenty twenty three, and we officially started as Rachel's Rescue because I wanted to do something that would honor her, something that she loved, and she wanted to start a rescue, so I knew this would be something that she could smile down on. And I needed to just. Have something to occupy my mind and my heart, my time and everything so that I was more grounded and not just spending so much time just pondering how and why and this seems surreal, like she's going to walk in the door any minute. This this kind. Of thing doesn't happen, you know, especially in Gilbert. I had no idea how busy it would keep me a little bit too busy, maybe at times I have to kind of start to set some boundaries a little bit. But it's been so good because I am not. I don't have the ability to spend all my time just dwelling or why don't we have answers? Why does the police department? Why are they not continuing to search? They are not, and I can't. I just have to keep busy and just hope and pray and be positive that someday something will happen and we will have answers. But this keeps me busy in the meantime. It's saving puppies, saving lives. And I know that Rachel is smiling down on us, and that this would make her very happy. This is what she wanted. She would be absolutely loving this. She would be doing all the things. She'd be saying, mom, let me take these to my apartment, let me help you out. She would come over and take some of the older, rowdier ones, active ones. That we ended up with, and she would take them for a run. And because she was super active and healthy and fit, and she would take them out and run four or five miles with them and wear them out for me and come back. And so she would love this. Rachel was an amazing, beautiful and intelligent nineteen year old girl who was loved by so many. Despite her time here on earth, she made a positive impact on everyone that got the privilege of knowing her. I was working and actually bringing my own girls with. Me because I would have started my family at that time. But I went ahead just continued to help Kim on a weekly basis and bring my kids, and so we would have these amazing play dates while I kind of baby said, I guess you would say. So. Rachel was the same age as my middle and the three. Girls actually there was four of them. As everything came along, it kind of came like just this instant group of. Friends for my girls, and so yeah, so basically it was through helping out Kim, through. Babysitting and just. Going over there, and then all of our girls were basically within a year of each other, having you know, spent multiple days a week together, became friends. And so we called it the instant part because when my girls wanted to go do something or have a sleepover or something like that, all we had to do was not by and pick up Kim's girls. And so between her girls and mine we had we had an instant party of. Girls whenever she would come over to the house, and the girls always you know, these were little princesses that played dress up and played barbies. And you know, had all the you know, the polly pockets and all. The things, and so just her maturity at a young age playing with my girls is a fun memory, just because she was always kind of the dominant one in the group, but also you know, fun loving and kind of like life of the party, almost even at a young age. As she got older and became what we kind of talk about is the horse whisper, and became such an independent person but with such a god given gift with horses, and so it's more of an. All encompassing than that one moment. But it's just like. Watching her with horses is some of my favorite memories because I just never seen a young girl so connected to horses. And I think it was you know, therapy for her as much as she was for these you know, wild horses and things, but not that they were all wild, but you know, she did a lot of training and stuff, and so she just she had such a gift. So my favorite memory would be just watching her connect with horses. Rachel was a very sweet, very kind, very generous, very loving person. She was full of life, had a lot of energy. She was very strong willed, very ambitious to talk to me about. You know, she had recently gotten her real estate licenses and she wanted to get into the realty career, specifically dealing with horse ranches and things like that. Rachel just Rachel's life evolved around not only her family and friends, but around with horses. My favorite memory of Rachel has to be when she learns that Dash was pregnant. She was sitting on my table. Getting her lashes done and she kept having her phone start ringing, and she had me check it every single time, and finally her mom called her and she was like, Hey, can you pick up the phone for me, put it on speaker. I think my mom might know what's going on with Dash because the girl who took her to. Go get checked today has it called me. So I answered the phone and her mom is like, you will never guess what happened, like Dash is pregnant with twins. And she was like, oh my god, Dash is pregnant with twins. I was literally sitting here talking to my little brother the other day thinking how crazy that would be for it to be her first pregnancy, and we had ended up pregnant with twins, and she was so happy. She just about jumped off of my lash table. She was smiling so hard, and. It was just the cutest and sweet this conversation that she had with her mom, and it just felt so wholesome in the moment. She was so excited and then she was like, oh, my gosh, she's pregnant with twins. Do you know how rare this is, Shyanne, And we just got into it and we were talking about all of the different possibilities and if she wanted Dash to have a boy or a girl, and like how excited she was to have her Harthorse become a mama. It was definitely something I. Was very, very. Very excited for her in that moment, and I was so glad to be one of the first people to know like Dash was pregnant and was such like a rare thing to happen. Dash has a beautiful little girl. Her name is Danny. The d is for Dash and then Anne is for Rachel. Because her name was Rachel Anne Hanson. They decided to give her part of Rachel's name and then the why in it is for the. That Dash was bred too. Caring, passionate, and driven I think would be the three best words to describe her. She was definitely something. She was a force to be reckon with. There was nothing that could stop her. And when it came to her love for animals especially, she just lit up. I still question it to this day, Like what she meant in this. She came to me in a. Dream that I had one night, and it was in March, March of last year. And in this dream, she was walking up my driveway and I was like. What are you doing here? Like I have so many questions, and she's like, it's okay, I'm okay, and she was being so reassuring and she was just so happy to be there. And so we like went into my house and we were talking. We were sitting on the couch and we were talking in my dream, and I was like, I have so many questions for you, and she is like, and we have all the time in the world, but I poll promise you. I am okay, I promise. And I was like okay, and she was like, I want you to do something for. Me, Yanne, And I was like, I will literally do anything. What do you need me to do? And she said, I need you to go talk to my mom. And I said, what do you need me to go talk to your mom about? And she goes, just come to my mom's house and everything will make sense. And so in my dream, the next thing I know is I'm walking up to Kim's door and I knock on it and Kim is there with just the biggest smile, and she is so happy. And I'm like, is she here? And Kim goes, yeah, Yen, she's here, and you can just hear like the joy in her voice. And my dream of being able to see and talk to Rachel again. And so in my dream, we go into the backyard and all of a sudden, this was. Like the weirdest part about it. There's like a fin that. Just emerges up and out the ground that everybody's standing behind this sense, and we all have this flyer in our hand and it's got like the guess. Who picture of like a silhouette with. A question mark in it, and I, like nobody else knew who we were there to see. And then all of a sudden. The the like sence, the gate, whatever it was like comes back down and into the ground, and Rachel's just standing there absolutely being the biggest smile on her face, and she was sitting there saying, she was like, I want you guys to know every person here means so much to me, and I want to be able to speak with all of you, but I want to pull Chyana first because there's some things that we need to talk about. And so we go and we're sitting in this little secluded area a hammock, and we're just laying there together and I'm like, so, what do you want to talk to me about? And she says, I need you to visit my mom, Like I need you to actually come to my mom's house and visit my mom, because all together, with everything you guys have thought about speculated, you guys know everything. And I was like, what do you mean I know everything? And she said, you and my mom know everything. And that's all I can tell you. I can't tell you who, I can't tell you how, I don't I don't know, but you guys know. And I woke up and I had like tears in. My eyes and it was just like the craziest experience to have as a dream. Me and Kim we sat at the kitchen table for quite a while and we talked about everything, and it's just so frustrating that we potentially know, but we don't know who, We don't know what the what the circumstances were. We've speculated so much, will never truly know. The only person who truly knows is who did this until they come forward, like we will never have the answers that we deserve to know for her. One day there will be and I hope that they come sooner other than later, because this is not then an easy thing for very many people to deal with. Rachel's memory will continue to live on through her family, friends, and the rescue created in her honor. Despite the lack of evidence in her case, there is someone out there that knows something. Someone knows who killed Rachel Hanson, and it's only a matter of time before the truth is revealed, The Unseen Truth. If you have any information about the murder of Rachel Hanson, please contact Silent Witness at four eight zero nine four eight six three seven seven. You can also leave an anonymous tip at the Silent Witness website at silent witness dot com org. The Unseen Truth is a Reignited Media production and is hosted and produced by me Jhen Rivera. Make sure to follow Unseen Truth Podcast on social media and visit Unseen Truth podcast dot com for more case information and future seasons. If you'd like to support the show, please consider liking and sharing this podcast, and if you're enjoying it, please consider giving it a five star review so we can continue to reach the masses and I can continue my efforts in being a voice for the voiceless. 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