206 Cases Solved. Advancing justice for missing persons, unsolved homicides, unidentified and unclaimed remains.
Case Description
Any updates on this case? Let us know!
Ellen Marie Hansen, a 20-year-old student at the University of California, Davis, tragically lost her life on March 29, 1981, while hiking with her boyfriend, Steven Russell Haertle, in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Felton, Santa Cruz County, California. The couple was ambushed by David Carpenter, infamously known as the Trailside Killer. Carpenter attempted to assault Hansen, and when she resisted, he shot her to death. Haertle was also shot but survived the attack and later provided cr ...Read More
Victim Details

Ellen Marie Hansen

Female

White / Caucasian

Santa-cruz

CA

1981-03-29

20

Ellen

Marie Hansen

11/21/2025