Pepper Reed (b. September 6, 1952) was last seen by relatives in her home state of Texas in December 1975, in the company of Terry Rasmussen (AKA Robert/Bob Evans, Gordon Jensen, Curtis Mayo Kimball, Lawrence/Larry Vanner. After this visit with family members, Pepper would relocate with Rasmussen to Orange County, California, where they had their child, Rea Rasmussen on June 15, 1976. December 1975 would be the last time Pepper's family would ever see her again.
Pepper has not been seen or heard from after June 1976, and it is assumed that she was murdered by Rasmussen around that time. Despite not appearing on any public records since that time, it is possible that she may have still been alive up to the time that Rea would have initially joined Rasmussen and Marlyse Honeychurch (b. January 28, 1954), and Honeychurch’s daughters, Marie Vaughn (b. December 6, 1971) and Sarah McWaters (b. December 13, 1977). Rasmussen met Honeychurch and her daughters in California. It is not known when Rea joined Rasmussen and Honeychurch, and Rea was not with them when Marlyse brought Rasmussen to meet her family in November 1978 in the city of La Puente. Pepper’s disappearance did not come to public and law enforcement attention until the September 2025 identification of Rea, who is believed to have been murdered around 1980 with Honeychurch and her two daughters in Allenstown, New Hampshire. The bodies of Marlyse Honeychurch and Marie Vaughn were discovered on November 10, 1985 in the Bear Brook National Park, but Rea Rasmussen and Sarah McWaters would not be discovered until May 9th, 2000, because the barrel containing their bodies were missed by law enforcement at the initial crime scene in 1985. It was initially believed that the then-unidentified Rea was related to the other victims, but later DNA testing showed that she was unrelated to the then-unidentified Marlyse, Marie, and Sarah, who were confirmed to be related.
At this time, Pepper Reed has no entries on NAMUS, DoeNetwork, or Charley Project. There are currently no known photographs of Rea Rasmussen, but it is possible that she may be in the photos from Marie Vaughn's birthday party.
The Little Girl in the Barrel: A Bear Brook Mystery Solved
Twenty-five years after the body of an unidentified little girl was discovered in a 55-gallon drum...
www.missingkids.org
Pepper Reed (1952-1976) - Find a Grave Memorial
Date of birth and location provided by Ancestry.com. Records are confirmed to be her based on parents names matching information given from identification. Missing Person. On May 9, 2000, in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire, a barrel containing the bodies of two little girls...
www.findagrave.com
Investigators identify last remaining Bear Brook murder victim — but a new mystery emerges
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office announced it has finally identified the victim known as “the middle child,” one of four bodies found in barrels in Bear Brook State Park decades ago.
www.nhpr.org
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