NH BEAR BROOK JANE DOE: WF, 2-4, found in gallon drum in Allenstown, NH - 9 May 2000 *REA RASMUSSEN*

802UFNH - Unidentified Female

Reconstructions of the victim by NCMEC; images that possibly depict this victim; Terrence Peder Rassmussen (the victim's father) throughout his years in prison; Rassmussen at a younger age.

Date of Discovery: May 9, 2000
Location of Discovery: Allenstown, Merrimack County, New Hampshire
Estimated Date of Death: Prior to 1981
State of Remains: Skeletal
Cause of Death: Homicide by beating

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 2-4 years old
Race: White with possible Native American ancestry.
Sex: Female
Height: 3'3" to 3'9"
Weight: Unknown
Hair: Light brown, slightly wavy, and approximately 5 inches long.
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Possibly anemic.

Identifiers
Dentals: Available. She had an overbite that might have been noticeable to others.
Fingerprints: Not Available.
DNA: Available.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery
On May 9, 2000, the child's skeletal remains, along with the remains of another female child, 801UFNH, was found in a 55-gallon drum off a wooded trail off Everwood Drive adjacent to Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire.

Fifteen years earlier, on November 10, 1985, a hunter discovered the skeletal remains of an adult female, 799UFNH, and a female child, 800UFNH, in an overturned 55-gallon metal drum approximately 100 yards from the 2000 discovery.

Advanced forensic testing revealed that she was likely born and spent the majority of her childhood in Arizona, California, Texas or Oregon. She was likely born between 1975 and 1977.

It was announced in late 2016 that the middle child, who is unrelated to the three others, was identified as the daughter of a convicted killer, Terry Peder Rasmussen, known as Robert or Bob Evans and several other aliases. He died in 2010 and is believed to be responsible for the murders of these four victims, along with his former girlfriend, Denise Beaudin, who disappeared in late 1981 after leaving the state with him. Rasmussen had taken Beaudin's daughter to San Bernardino County, California and later abandoned her there. Although alive, she was not identified until 2016. Rasmussen remained unidentified himself until 2017.

In June 2019, the other three victims were identified as Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch, Marie Elizabeth Vaughn and Sarah Marie McWaters, aged 24, 7 and 11 months when they were last seen in Los Angeles County, California during November 1978. Honeychurch had been dating Rassmussen at the time she disappeared and the pair moved to New Hampshire with her two daughters, fathered by different men.

Investigators are also trying to identify children in photographs taken at Marie Vaugh's birthday party, sometime in December of 1977 or 1978. Vaughn has been identified as the child in the white dress; the other children have yet to be identified. It is also unknown where the children were at the time they were photographed.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: New Hampshire State Medical Examiner's Office
Agency Contact Person: Kim Fallon
Agency Phone Number: 603-271-1235
Agency E-Mail: Kim.Fallon(at)hotmail.com
Agency Case Number: 85-1050

Agency Name: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Agency Contact Person: Carol Schweitzer
Agency Phone Number: 1-800-843-5678 OR 1-800-THE-LOST
Agency E-Mail: NCMECTips(at)ncmec.org
Agency Case Number: 1100662

Agency Name: FBI ViCap
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 800-634-4097
Agency E-Mail: vicap(at)leo.gov
Agency Case Number: Unknown

Agency Name: New Hampshire State Police
Agency Contact Person: John Sonia
Agency Phone Number: 603-223-3856
Agency E-Mail: coldcaseunit(at)dos.nh.gov
Agency Case Number: 85-148

Agency Name: Manchester, New Hampshire Police Department
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 603-271-1235
Agency E-Mail: MPDcoldcase(at)manchesterNH.gov
Agency Case Number: Unknown

NCIC Case Number: U600019598
NamUs Case Number: 2175
NCMEC Case Number: 1100662

Information Source(s)
Namus
NCMEC
Help ID Me
Wikipedia
Forensic Magazine
FBI
Boston Globe

802UFNH

Bear Brook Jane Doe

Bear Brook Jane Doe (also known posthumously as "Anita Moon" or "Angel") was a girl found dead in a 55 gallon drum barrel in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire in 2000. The other three victims were identified in June 2019. This child's father, Terry Rasmussen, is believed to have...

unidentified.wikia.org

This unidentified child was found along with other children and a woman in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire back in 2000.

The others were identified as being victims of Terry Peder Rassmussen. This girl still needs her name back! Fifteen years earlier, on November 10, 1985, a hunter discovered the skeletal remains of an adult female, 799UFNH, and a female child...

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[Kimster]

I’m surprised there hasn’t been more information come out since he was identified in the Bear Brook murders.

 

[Takeitfromme]

Ok so he was born in CO, raised in CO and AZ...moved to HI after military service... then after 1st marriage back to AZ... when first wife left him with the kids around 75 or 76 he showed up at their new home (in AZ) about 4 months later with a young woman, pretty, slender, long brown bouncy hair wearing glasses.... is this baby doe's mom?
(It seems like he was on the run already for some reason after this..... prior to ending up in NH as Bob Evans)
He then takes a job in TX then pops up in NH around 1977... He is there until he next pops up in Orange County Southern CA with several children and a woman in the 1980's .... He has "Lisa" with him (Denise Beaudin's daughter Dawn) as well...
1995 a woman is found murdered in a refrigerator in an irrigation ditch that is tied shut... shes bound and gagged with electrical tape and died from a blow to the head....could she be another victim of him? This is in Holt, CA (I want to look into this, I do not know if she has been id'd....
so apparently she died in 1994 and doesn't sound like Rasmussen as she met the unknown male at a rehab here's the link she is id'd....by Othram

'The lady in the fridge' identified in California cold case after almost 30 years, officials say

Amanda Lynn Schumann Deza was identified in a cold case as the woman whose remains were found nearly 30 years ago in a refrigerator, police said.

www.usatoday.com

different states at least 5 aliases just unreal....

who is this poor little girl....

at the end of this twisted tree of tragedy who is his unidentified daughter...
what happened to mom?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

25 years today.

 

[Takeitfromme]

25 years today.

her nickname in my family for me is My Baby........ she's just a Doe and deserves better..... God I pray the IGG they are doing leads to someone, grandparent, aunt uncle cousin someone!!!

 

[Kimster]

Meet REA!!!

 

[Kimster]

Do you wonder how they found out she had a name?

There’s more information at this link, including her mother’s information!

Bear Brook Jane Doe 2000 | DNA Doe Project

dnadoeproject.org

 

[Guess Who]

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

So glad they know who she is now! With her identity came the identity of her mother. But now, her mother is still missing.

Final victim in NH's Bear Brook murders is identified as killer's daughter

The final victim in New Hampshire’s infamous Bear Brook murders has been identified as killer Terry Peder Rasmussen’s daughter, officials said Sunday.

www.nbcboston.com

Rea Rasmussen, who was last seen in the late 1970s, has been identified as the final victim, state police and prosecutors announced. She'd previously been referred to as the "middle child."

Born in 1976 in Orange County, California, Rea was the daughter of Bear Brook murderer Terry Peder Rasmussen, officials said. Her mother, Pepper Reed, remains missing.


The DNA Doe Project said their team of genetic genealogists traced Rea's ancestry back to a couple born in the 18th Century, then to Reed in Houston, where Rasmussen had been living. That led to Rea's birth record in Orange County.

"Due to her young age and life circumstances, we were prepared for the possibility of only being able to identify her mother," DNA Doe Project investigative genetic genealogist Jeana Feehery said in a statement. "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."

 

[Guess Who]

Identification of Final Unidentified Victim in the Allenstown, NH Homicide Case (Bear Brook Murders) | New Hampshire Department of Justice

 

[ima.grandma]

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

The DNA Doe Project commended Firebird Forensics for working “tirelessly” on the case for years before state police began working with their org in January 2024. Updated bioinformatics generated a new DNA profile for Rea, which revealed that she was solely of European descent. It also provided an updated list of DNA matches, which 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,” the org said in a post. “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 (Rea), and building out their descendants led to a family of interest.”

A 2005 obituary of one of the great-great-great-granddaughters of the couple stated she was survived by a daughter named Reed. But the trail for Reed ended when she disappeared from records in the 1970s.

4th Body In ‘Allenstown 4’ Bear Brook State Park Murder Case ID’d; Info Sought On Missing TX Mom

Rea Rasmussen, the middle child, was born in 1976 in California; her mother, Pepper Reed, from Texas, has been missing since the late 1970s.

patch.com

 

[ima.grandma]

“This case has weighed on New Hampshire and the nation for decades,” Attorney General John Formella said in a statement announcing the news on Sunday afternoon. “With Rea Rasmussen’s identification, all four victims now have their names back.”

In 2024, the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit partnered with a group called the DNA Doe Project, which helped to identify Rea using extensive DNA analysis and genealogical research.

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

 

[ima.grandma]

By 2019, three victims were identified as Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughters, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters. The fourth victim, Rasmussen’s biological daughter, remained unidentified until now.

Initially, the identification of Rea Rasmussen was confirmed through DNA testing and documentary records on Friday, September 5.

“We never forgot Rea. We never stopped looking,” said New Hampshire State Police Detective Sergeant Christopher N. Elphick. “Naming her brings a sense of justice but also reminds us of the unanswered questions that remain.”

The investigation into the disappearance of Pepper Reed, Rea’s mother, remains active, and authorities continue to seek information about her whereabouts, alongside Terry Rasmussen’s movements during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Final victim of Bear Brooks murders identified, closing 40-year search for answers

The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit has identified the final victim in the Bear Brook murders as Rea Rasmussen, closing a 40-year search for answers in the notorious case.

www.boston25news.com

 

[Takeitfromme]

i prayed and prayed for this.... i'm so happy!!!!!!

 

[Kimster]

i prayed and prayed for this.... i'm so happy!!!!!!

I thought of you immediately when I saw that Ria had been identified!

 

[ima.grandma]

CONCORD, NH (ABC22/FOX44) – Authorities have identified the final recorded victim among four from the 1985/2000 Allenstown homicide case, also known as the Bear Brook murders.

This victim, which was previously deemed the “middle child” has since been identified as Rea Rasmussen. She was from Orange County, California, and was born in 1976.

Rasmussen was also the biological daughter of Terry Peder Rasmussen, who officers say is responsible for the murders, and Pepper Reed, who reportedly hasn’t been seen since the 1970s.

Terry Rasmussen died in prison in 2010, and was “a known serial offender”, according to NH Attorney General John Formella.

The first set of remains, an adult woman and a young girl, were found in a barrel at Bear Brook State Park in 1985. Years later, in 2000, a second nearby barrel containing two other girls was discovered.

Officials determined that these victims were killed in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Terry Rasmussen was not identified in connection to the case until 2017, when he was linked to one of the children. Three victims were later identified as Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughters, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters, in 2019.

To identify the fourth victim, New Hampshire’s State Police Cold Case Unit partnered with the DNA Doe Project in 2024 to use “advanced genetic genealogy” and research.

The identity of Rea Rasmussen was officially confirmed on September 5.

Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, who is Chief of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit, said that “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.”

The investigation into Pepper Reed’s disappearance remains active, and authorities believe she may have been a victim of Rasmussen. Those with possible information can contact the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit and/or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

“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,” Attorney General Formella concluded

https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/local-news/new-hampshire/victim-in-bear-brook-murders-cold-case-identified/

 

[Takeitfromme]

there is supposed to be a press conferencei'm gonna look for the link

 

[Takeitfromme]

I thought of you immediately when I saw that Ria had been identified!

NH is my home state and where I live.... Allenstown is about 30 40 mins away not far at all

 

[Takeitfromme]

LIVE at 11 a.m.: Investigators holding news conference after identifying final victim of NH killings

Investigators with the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit are scheduled to hold a news conference Monday morning regarding the breakthrough in the Terry Rasmussen case.

www.wmur.com

 

[ima.grandma]

NH investigators identify last Bear Brook murder victim — but a new mystery emerges​

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office says it has identified the last unknown victim in the high-profile cold case commonly known as the Bear Brook murders.

Rea Rasmussen was just a few years old when she was murdered by her father and then discarded in a barrel near Bear Brook State Park, likely between 1978 and 1981, authorities believe. Previously referred to by investigators as “the middle child,” she was one of four victims found in barrels near the state park.

The discovery has also led investigators to a missing woman — Rea’s mother, Pepper Reed, who has not been seen for decades — believed to have been murdered by the same man.

The case baffled investigators since the discovery of the first barrel 40 years ago and drew national attention as one of the first to be solved using a new technique called genetic genealogy, marking a turning point in how many cold cases are now investigated.

This technique was used to identify the suspected killer, Terry Peder Rasmussen, and the four victims: first, Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughters, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters, and now, Rea.

“This case has weighed on New Hampshire and the nation for decades,” Attorney General John Formella said in a statement announcing the news on Sunday afternoon. “With Rea Rasmussen’s identification, all four victims now have their names back.”

In 2024, the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit partnered with a group called the DNA Doe Project, which helped to identify Rea using extensive DNA analysis and genealogical research.

In an interview with NHPR ahead of the state announcement Sunday, New Hampshire State Police Detective Sergeant Chris Elphick said the state finally “got lucky” in June of this year. Investigators and the DNA Doe Project compiled a family tree with about 25,000 people in it, but Elphick said this summer, they finally found a key DNA match in the family tree that led them to Rea’s mother.

According to the DNA Doe Project, the match was a couple born in the 1870s. Next, the team says they found a 2005 obituary for one of the couple’s great-great-great-granddaughters, which said she was survived by a daughter named Pepper Reed.

The team could find no records for Reed after the 1970s, but the DNA Doe Project says once they had her name, they found a birth record for her daughter, Rea Rasmussen, within 30 minutes.

"To figure out the identity of our Jane Doe, we first had to find her mother”, the DNA Doe Project’s Matthew Waterfield said in a press release. “It took us almost 18 months to identify Pepper Reed, but once we knew her name, it led us right to her daughter."

From there, Elphick and the DNA Doe project staff tracked down Rea’s birth certificate, and through that, found and DNA tested a family member. They officially confirmed Rea’s identity on Friday, Sept. 5.

Authorities now know that Rea was born in 1976 in Orange County, California, and was the biological daughter of Terry Rasmussen and Pepper Reed. Reed was born in 1952, is originally from Texas, and has not been seen since the late 1970s, authorities said.

Rea Rasmussen and the three other victims were found inside two barrels on a wooded property just outside Bear Brook State Park. The first barrel was discovered in 1985. Police did not discover the second barrel, which was only 300 feet away, until 2000.

The three other victims, Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughters, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters, were identified in 2019, thanks to genetic genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter and volunteer investigator Becky Heath. Marie was estimated to be about 9 years old, and Sarah, about 2. Authorities referred to Rea as “the middle child” because she was estimated to be about 3 years old.

Authorities believe all four were murdered by Rasmussen, Rea’s biological father. Terry Rasmussen died in 2010 while serving a prison sentence for another murder. Terry Rasmussen is not biologically related to the other three victims.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office says it has identified the last unknown victim in the high-profile cold case commonly known as the Bear Brook murders.

Rea Rasmussen was just a few years old when she was murdered by her father and then discarded in a barrel near Bear Brook State Park, likely between 1978 and 1981, authorities believe. Previously referred to by investigators as “the middle child,” she was one of four victims found in barrels near the state park

https://www.fosters.com/story/news/state/2025/09/08/new-hampshire-last-bear-brook-murder-victim-new-mystery/86038174007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z119901e008300v119901b0099xxd119965&gca-ft=137&gca-ds=sophi

 

[Takeitfromme]

i'm in tears..... just to hear her name just what a relief she has her name..... now we hope to find mama Pepper and what her fate is and what Denise Beaudin's fate is.