Working with McHenry County Coroner Anne Majewski, a cardiac pathologist at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago studied Ryan Hanson’s heart tissue and determined the cause of death – a weakening of heart tissue that often leads to heart failure.
“These findings are seen more often in older individuals and are rare in younger people,”Steven M. White wrote in a cardiac pathology report.
In the years before his death, Ryan showed no signs of poor health, his family said. He always had yearly checkups. He was an Eagle Scout and multisport athlete in high school, running in cross country and track and field.
“He was never dizzy and never short of breath,” said his mother, Lori. “He played tennis in the spring.”
Ryan’s death has led his family to participate in a genetic research study at the Lurie Children’s Hospital. His father has participated in tests and donated tissue, blood and DNA to contribute to the study.
“Going forward,” Michael Hanson said, “we could help someone else detect this.” Hanson’s family has been trying to piece together what led Ryan to a cornfield near Woodstock, where police found his body, and they think they have a pretty good idea of what happened.
Ryan went missing about 2 a.m. Sept. 4. He had a 2 a.m. curfew Monday. Ryan had been hanging out with his girlfriend, who had just asked him to homecoming. He left her house at 1:30 a.m., his family said, but Ryan never made it home.
Ryan was reported missing about 6 p.m. Sept. 4, and sheriff's deputies later found his 2003 Honda CRV pulled into a farm access point in the 12100 block of Charles Road. K-9 units found his body in a cornfield about 1,100 feet from his car.
An autopsy revealed no evidence of trauma or suspicious findings, and the cause of his death remained a mystery until Lurie Children’s Hospital returned test results in October. Hanson’s family recently got back his computer and cellphone from authorities and started digging to find clues to reconstruct his final hours.
Ryan’s electronics revealed few clues. But inside his car, his family found a toy soldier, a monkey, an alligator and a My Little Pony figure – trinkets his family believes came from one of Ryan’s geocaching adventures.
Ryan was interested in the real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game. Participants use GPS devices to navigate specific coordinates to find a geocache – or container – hidden in that location.
Hanson’s family believe geocache coordinates led Ryan to the cornfield.
“He was an adventurer,” said his sister, Sam Hanson.
Ryan’s family has found comfort knowing their son and brother passed away on a calm, cloudless night doing what he enjoyed.
“It was a beautiful place,” Michael Hanson said.
“It was quick and painless, and he didn’t even know what happened,” said Rachel Hanson, Ryan’s sister.
Hanson was enrolled in a cooperative program between McHenry County College and the University of Illinois for engineering, computer science and mathematics.
He also was an aspiring filmmaker. Under the handle Bobalon711, Ryan uploaded homemade movies he shot and edited himself. His family’s favorite is titled “Closets.” Ryan described the video this way: “Me going in and out of closets. And more …”
A self-proclaimed nerd, Ryan enjoyed computers and excelled in mathematics. He tutored others in math, as well, and competed in the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering program all four years of high school.
Memories of Ryan have brought his family closer together.
“He was the coolest nerd we knew,” his father said. “He was a nerd, and he was proud of it. And so were we.”