Police and the 911 center have released a transcript of the call that led to the discovery of Cynthia Hansen’s murder March 11.
Hansen, 71, was found brutally assaulted in her Thompson Street fitness studio in Whiteville during the pre-dawn hours. A client arriving for an early morning workout saw an individual other than Hansen in the building, and went to their vehicle to call 911.
Emergency Services Director Kay Stephens said in an email today (April 28) that the transcript of the initial call is the “only information we have been authorized to release.” CCN requested a copy of the transcript on March 23.
“We have just begun releasing this information yesterday…Our office has received many records request (sic) for this event and we are reviewing all of these.”
The caller, whose name was redacted, contacted 911 at 5:31 a.m. The caller was scheduled to work out at Hansen’s studio, Stronger Body Fitness, and after walking inside, saw someone close the kitchen door. The caller then went back to their vehicle and called 911.
“I’m here to work out but I need a wellness check because I think I heard a man in there, but she doesn’t have a man come to exercise right now,” the caller said.
“You think there is a man in there?” the 911 operator replied.
“Yes, but there is usually a lady in there and when I walked in, they closed the door into the kitchen and I didn’t hear Cynthia. I need someone here quickly please.”
The caller confirmed that the man inside the studio went into the kitchen, “and I did not see my trainer, Cynthia.”
“And you’re supposed to meet with her?”
“Yes sir and when I called her she did not answer.”
The caller said no vehicles other than Hansen’s were at the studio.
“I’m in my car ‘cause I got too scared and I did not see Miss Cynthia,” the caller said. After describing their own vehicle, the caller said “they just turned off all the lights.”
“Oh my goodness they just opened the door and they just closed…” the caller said. “And they turned off all the lights in there…. I need someone here now because they turned off all the lights and that’s not like my trainer Miss Cynthia.”
The caller was describing Hansen’s vehicle when the suspect in the building exited.
“Oh my good – a man just walked—I can see a man outside walking but I’m not—he is walking the opposite way.” The caller asked if someone had turned the lights back on.
“No, they turned on the light back here, I mean they opened the door where I pull in and they closed it but they have all the lights off. Please she is a seventy something year old lady. She is my trainer.”
The caller was describing their own vehicle (so responding officers would be informed) when the subject exited the building again.
“Oh, I see a man that’s running the ah I’m not sure if he’s a runner I don’t—”
“OK,” the operator said. “We’ve got units dispatched out to you, OK? If anything changes or at all just give me a call back, alright?”
“OK,” the caller said and both the caller and operator disconnected.
Whiteville Police found Hansen in the kitchen area of the studio She has been badly beaten with what WPD Chief Paul Rockenbach called a “weapon of opportunity” from inside the studio.
Hansen was still alive when she was taken to Columbus Regional. Rockenbach confirmed that Hansen said a name before she passed, possibly identifying her assailant, but that name has not been released. He also said that Hansen mentioned the name “Daniel,” but that person has been cleared.
WPD has been working with the State Bureau of Investigation and now the FBI since minutes after Hansen was found. Despite a survey of homes and businesses in the area, only one grainy image has been found: video surveillance shows what may be a male with a limp, wearing a gray hoodie near the studio before the killing.
The county offices across Thompson Street no longer have video surveillance cameras. That lack of security may have contributed to a major break-in at the maintenance area, where thousands of dollars in tools and equipment were stolen earlier this year.
Hansen was a retired schoolteacher and popular personal trainer. She was a resident of Lake Waccamaw and a native of Hallsboro.
The governor’s office recently added $25,000 to the reward money already being offered by the police department, Sheriff Bill Rogers and private donors. The WPD also set up a GoFundMe to add to the reward.
Police are still seeking video and Ring camera footage from the area, and wish to speak with anyone who may have seen a male subject in a gray hoodie, walking with a limp, in the area of the hospital or nearby neighborhoods on the night or morning of the killing.
You can contact Whiteville Police at 910.642.511 or submit an anonymous tip through the sheriff’s office app.
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