Overview

Family last contact: December 12–18, 1975
Location: Houston, Texas
Later evidence she was alive: June 15, 1976, Orange County, California, when her daughter Rea Rasmussen was born
Age at disappearance: 23
Date of birth: September 6, 1952
Status: Missing; authorities believe she may have been a victim of Terry Peder Rasmussen

Main circumstances: Pepper introduced Terry Rasmussen to members of her family in Houston in December 1975 and told them she was pregnant with his child. After Christmas, Pepper reportedly went with Rasmussen to California. Their daughter, Rea Rasmussen, was born in Orange County on June 15, 1976. Pepper subsequently disappeared from the public record and her family never saw her again. Decades later, investigators identified Rea as the previously unidentified child victim known as the “middle child” in the Bear Brook murders.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Pepper Reed Missing Person Case: 1975 Disappearance, California Connection and Latest Investigation

Pepper Reed was 23 years old when her family last saw her in Houston, Texas, in December 1975. At the time, she was pregnant and had introduced her family to her boyfriend, Terry Peder Rasmussen. Within months, Pepper was connected to Orange County, California, where her daughter, Rea Rasmussen, was born in 1976. After that, Pepper disappeared from public records and was never heard from by her family again.

Brief Case Summary

California’s missing-person database lists December 12, 1975, as Pepper’s date of last contact and identifies the Anaheim Police Department as the reporting agency. Other investigative material places her family’s last contact within approximately December 12–18, 1975.

Pepper Reed’s Disappearance

Pepper Reed was originally from Texas. Her family reported seeing her in Houston during December 1975, when she was pregnant. During that period, Pepper introduced her mother and brother to Terry Rasmussen and told them Rasmussen was the father of her unborn child.

After the Christmas period, Pepper reportedly went to California with Rasmussen. Her family never saw her again. A birth record later discovered in Orange County established that Pepper and Rasmussen had a daughter named Rea Rasmussen, born June 15, 1976.

The existence of that birth record became enormously important nearly five decades later. Investigators trying to identify an unknown child murdered in New Hampshire eventually traced the child’s maternal family tree to Pepper Reed. Once genealogists found Pepper’s name, they quickly located Rea’s California birth record.

The Connection to Terry Peder Rasmussen

Terry Peder Rasmussen was a convicted murderer who used numerous identities while moving around the United States. He is responsible for the killings associated with the Bear Brook murders in New Hampshire and was convicted in California of murdering Eunsoon Jun. Rasmussen died in prison in 2010.

Pepper’s disappearance is particularly concerning because of what investigators later learned about Rasmussen’s relationships with women and children.

Authorities believe Pepper may have become another of Rasmussen’s victims. However, this remains an investigative conclusion rather than a formally solved homicide. Pepper’s body has not been identified, and investigators continue seeking information about what happened to her.

Rea Rasmussen and the Bear Brook Murders

In 1985, human remains belonging to a woman and a young girl were discovered inside a barrel near Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire. Two additional girls were found in another barrel nearby in 2000.

Three victims were eventually identified as Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughters Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters. One child remained unidentified for decades.

DNA had already established that this unidentified girl was Rasmussen’s biological daughter. The mystery was identifying her mother—and ultimately identifying the child herself.

In January 2024, the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit began working with the DNA Doe Project on renewed investigative genetic genealogy. Researchers constructed a massive family tree containing approximately 25,000 people. Their work eventually led to a family line containing a woman named Pepper Reed.

Researchers discovered that Pepper essentially disappeared from available records during the 1970s. They then located the Orange County birth record for Rea Rasmussen, listing Terry Rasmussen and Pepper Reed as her parents.

DNA testing of Pepper’s surviving family ultimately confirmed the connection.

On September 5, 2025, investigators formally confirmed that the unidentified Bear Brook child was Rea Rasmussen, Pepper Reed’s daughter. Her identity was publicly announced on September 7, 2025. Rea was approximately two to four years old when she was killed.

The Identification of Rea Created a New Focus on Pepper

Solving Rea’s identity did not end the investigation. Instead, it brought Pepper Reed’s disappearance directly into the spotlight.

The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit announced that the investigation into Pepper’s disappearance remained active and said authorities believe she may also have been killed by Rasmussen. Investigators specifically requested information about Pepper’s whereabouts and Rasmussen’s movements between 1974 and 1985.

Authorities are particularly interested in Rasmussen’s activities in California, Texas, New Hampshire, Arizona, Oregon and Virginia during that period.

Pepper’s family released a statement following Rea’s identification saying Pepper remained deeply loved and missed while expressing gratitude to investigators and genetic genealogists who helped identify Rea.

Latest Investigation Information

As of September 13, 2026, Pepper Reed continues to appear in the California Department of Justice missing-person database. Anaheim Police Department is listed as the reporting agency under case number 25129982.

Her NamUs case was created in September 2025 following the breakthrough in the Bear Brook investigation. The NamUs identifier publicly associated with Pepper is MP150118.

The Doe Network subsequently added Pepper to its database as 5331DFCA.

No later official announcement located through September 13, 2026, reports that Pepper has been found or that her remains have been identified. The current California record continues to classify her as missing, while the New Hampshire investigation has publicly described the search for answers about her fate as active.

Investigators are therefore still trying to answer the central question created by Rea Rasmussen’s identification: What happened to Pepper Reed after she went to California with Terry Rasmussen?

Anyone who knew Pepper, encountered her or Rasmussen during the relevant period, remembers where the couple lived, or has information concerning Rasmussen’s travels may possess information investigators have been missing for decades.