Attorney General John M. Formella and Colonel Mark B. Hall of the New Hampshire State Police announce a major development on behalf of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit in the investigation of the 1985/2000 Allenstown homicide case, widely referred to as the Bear Brook murders.

The final unidentified victim – previously known as the “middle child” – has been identified as Rea Rasmussen, born in 1976 in Orange County, California. Rea was the biological daughter of Terry Peder Rasmussen, the man responsible for the murders (who died in prison in 2010), and Pepper Reed, who was born in 1952, is originally from Texas, and has not been seen since the late 1970s.

This identification concludes a more than 40-year search to give names to all four victims found in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire.

“This case has weighed on New Hampshire and the nation for decades. With Rea Rasmussen’s identification, all four victims now have their names back. This development is the result of extraordinary perseverance by law enforcement, forensic experts, and our Cold Case Unit,” said Attorney General Formella. “Our commitment to uncovering the truth, no matter how long it takes, remains unwavering. We continue to seek answers about the disappearance of Pepper Reed.”

Case Background

In 1985, the remains of an adult woman and a young girl were discovered in a barrel in Bear Brook State Park. In 2000, a second barrel containing the remains of two more girls was found nearby. The victims were determined to have been killed in the late 1970s or early 1980s and placed in the park.

In 2017, investigators linked one of the children to Terry Rasmussen, a known serial offender who used aliases including “Bob Evans” and died in prison in 2010. He was later identified as the individual responsible for all four murders.

In 2019, three of the victims were identified as Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughters, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters, last seen in California in 1978. The fourth victim, Rasmussen’s biological daughter, remained unidentified until now.

“We never forgot Rea. We never stopped looking. This case has passed through the hands of many investigators, all of whom felt the weight of speaking for those who no longer could. Naming her brings a sense of justice but also reminds us of the unanswered questions that remain,” said New Hampshire State Police Detective Sergeant Christopher N. Elphick.

“I first worked on this case many years ago, and even then, we hoped one day we would be able to give this child her name. It is a testament to science, persistence, and teamwork that we have finally done that. It means a great deal—to all of us who have been part of this journey,” said Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin J. Agati, Chief, New Hampshire Department of Justice Homicide Unit.

Identification of Rea Rasmussen

In early 2024, the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit partnered with the DNA Doe Project to reinvestigate the unidentified child using advanced genetic genealogy. Through extensive DNA analysis and genealogical research, she was identified as Rea Rasmussen, daughter of Terry Rasmussen and Pepper Reed.

This identification was officially confirmed on September 5, through documentary records and DNA testing. It represents the final piece in identifying all the Bear Brook victims.

“The Bear Brook case was one of the first major cases to demonstrate the potential of genetic genealogy in identifying victims and solving crimes. We hope this final identification provides a measure of closure, even as the investigation into Rasmussen’s full scope of crimes continues,” said Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, Chief of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit.

Ongoing Investigation

Although all four Bear Brook victims have now been identified, the investigation into the disappearance of Pepper Reed—Rea’s mother—remains active. Authorities believe she may have also been a victim of Rasmussen.

Above, photo of Pepper Reed

Investigators continue to seek information regarding:

• The whereabouts and fate of Pepper Reed, last seen in the late 1970s
• Terry Rasmussen’s movements between 1974 and 1985, particularly in New Hampshire, California, Arizona, Texas, Oregon, and Virginia

Anyone with relevant information is encouraged to contact:

• New Hampshire Cold Case Unit
  Phone: (800) 525-5555 / (603) 271-2663
  Email: coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
  Phone: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)
  Email: ncmectips@ncmec.org

Acknowledgments

The successful identification of Rea Rasmussen was made possible through the work of the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit, the New Hampshire Department of Justice, and law enforcement agencies across the country. Special thanks are extended to the DNA Doe Project, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Firebird Forensics, Astrea Forensics, the BODE Technology Group, and all others whose contributions and dedication led to this resolution.

DNA Doe Project volunteers identify ‘The Middle Child’ as Rea Rasmussen

Allenstown, NH – It’s one of the most well-known Doe cases in the United States, and one that has haunted amateur sleuths, podcasters, and the public for more than two decades. Now, the DNA Doe Project has determined the identity of the little girl found in a barrel in Bear Brook State Park in 2000. Her name was Rea Rasmussen, daughter of Terry Rasmussen and Pepper Reed. Terry Rasmussen, a serial killer believed to be responsible for the Bear Brook murders, may have also murdered Pepper Reed, who went missing in the late 1970s.

In the year 2000, the bodies of two young girls were found in a barrel in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire. Fifteen years prior to this, the bodies of a woman and a girl had been discovered in a separate barrel nearby. It was later determined that all four of them had been murdered and their bodies left in the park sometime around 1980. None of these individuals could be identified and the case became known as the Bear Brook murders.

Beginning in 2017, the mystery began to unravel. DNA testing proved that one of the girls was the daughter of Terry Rasmussen, a convicted murderer who had died in prison in 2011. Having established this link, investigators determined that Rasmussen was responsible for the Bear Brook murders. Two years later, three of the victims were identified – the woman was Marlyse Honeychurch and the oldest and youngest girls were her daughters Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters. But the identity of Rasmussen’s daughter, ‘The Middle Child’, remained unknown.

Firebird Forensics worked tirelessly on this case for years before the New Hampshire State Police brought it to the DNA Doe Project in January 2024. Updated bioinformatics produced a new DNA profile for the unidentified girl, which showed that she was solely of European descent and provided an updated list of DNA matches that researchers used to build her family tree.

A team of expert investigative genetic genealogists was assigned to the case but their research was complicated by a lack of DNA matches and a number of misattributed parentage events. As a result, they had to build family trees many generations back in time to make connections, ultimately amassing a tree containing 25,000 people. Eventually, they were able to identify a couple born in the 1780s as likely ancestors of the Jane Doe, and building out their descendants led to a family of interest.

A 2005 obituary for one of the great great great granddaughters of the couple stated that she was survived by a daughter called Pepper Reed, but further research indicated that Pepper had disappeared from the records in the 1970s. Pepper was born in 1952 and was from Houston, where Terry Rasmussen was known to be living in the 1970s. The team then found additional connections between Pepper’s ancestors and the unidentified girl’s DNA matches, which confirmed that Pepper Reed had to be the mother of Jane Doe.

“To figure out the identity of our Jane Doe, we first had to find her mother”, said team leader Matthew Waterfield. “It took us almost 18 months to identify Pepper Reed, but once we knew her name, it led us right to her daughter.”

Within half an hour of identifying Pepper Reed as the child’s mother, the team made a shocking discovery. They found a birth record for a girl named Rea Rasmussen in Orange County, California in 1976 – to a mother with the maiden name of Reed. There were hundreds of girls with the surname Rasmussen born in the late 1970s in California alone, but with the Reed connection now known, a member of the team drove to Orange County to retrieve a copy of the birth certificate. This certificate listed Rea’s parents as Terry Rasmussen and Pepper Reed, proving that the girl known for 25 years as ‘The Middle Child’ was in fact Rea Rasmussen.

“Due to her young age and life circumstances, we were prepared for the possibility of only being able to identify her mother,” said investigative genetic genealogist Jeana Feehery. “Returning both Pepper and Rea’s names to them, their families, and the greater community is the best possible outcome we could have hoped for.”

The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the New Hampshire State Police, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for providing publicity and investigative support from the very beginning; Firebird Forensics, who previously worked on this case; Astrea Forensics for DNA extraction and sequencing; Kevin Lord for updated bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro and FamilyTreeDNA.com for providing their databases; and the DNA Doe Project’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.

https://dnadoeproject.org/case/bear-brook-jane-doe-2000

About the DNA Doe Project

The DNA Doe Project is a volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to identify John and Jane Does and return them to their families and communities. Investigative genetic genealogy research is provided pro bono to our partners in law enforcement, but the organization relies on donations to fund lab costs and operational support of our volunteers. To date, DDP has helped resolve more than 150 cases of unidentified human remains. For more about our work and to join our mission, visit our website: https://dnadoeprojec