Final victim of 40-year-old cold case where girls were found dead and stuffed in barrels is identified
For decades, she was known as Jane Allenstown Doe 2000, a nameless child discovered inside a rusted 55-gallon barrel near Bear Brook State Park in New Hampshire.
One of four victims found in the barrels, investigators called her “the middle child,” and she was the only one who had not been identified – a little girl with no name, no family, and no answers. Until now.
On Sunday, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and State Police announced that the final unidentified victim in the infamous Bear Brook murders has been identified through advanced DNA and genealogical research as Rea Rasmussen.
“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. “With Rea Rasmussen’s identification, all four victims now have their names back.”
Rea, who was between two and four years old when she was murdered, likely between 1978 and 1981, was born in 1976 in Orange County, California, to Pepper Reed and Terry Rasmussen – the serial killer later revealed to be the man responsible for the Bear Brook murders.
But while one mystery has been solved, another remains. Rea’s mother Pepper Reed vanished in the late 1970s and has has never been found.
“This development is the result of extraordinary perseverance by law enforcement, forensic experts, and our Cold Case Unit,” Formella said about Rea’s case. “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.”
“We never forgot Rea. We never stopped looking,” said Detective Sergeant Christopher N. Elphick of the New Hampshire State Police added. “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 [Rea] brings a sense of justice but also reminds us of the unanswered questions that remain.”
A mystery spanning generations
The Bear Brook case first gripped New Hampshire in 1985, when hunters discovered a barrel in the woods containing the remains of an adult woman and a child.
Fifteen years later, a state trooper found another barrel nearby, holding the remains of two more girls.
For years, their identities remained a mystery.
In 2017, investigators connected the killings to Rasmussen, known as “the Chameleon Killer” for the many aliases he used while evading detection.
Rasmussen died in prison in 2010 while serving a 15-year prison sentence for murdering his girlfriend.
By 2019, three victims were identified as Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughters, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters.
According to previous reporting by the Boston Globe, Honeychurch and Vaughn died of blunt force trauma to the head and appeared to have been partially dismembered to fit into the steel drum their bodies were found in.
The cause of death for Rea and Sarah McWaters could not be determined.
Cracking the final piece
The breakthrough in Rea’s case came after the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit partnered with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project in 2024.
Through “extensive DNA analysis and genealogical research,” officials traced the child to Reed, who had been pregnant when last seen by family in Texas in 1975.
Records later confirmed the birth of a baby girl in California in 1976 – Rea Rasmussen.
Her identity was officially confirmed on September 5 through DNA testing and documentation.
“For 25 years, Rea’s story has been defined by tragedy, rather than her name,” said Carol Schweitzer of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“This moment reflects years of persistence, innovation and collaboration across agencies who never gave up hope. Today, we can finally speak Rea’s name and provide long-awaited answers to her family and the community who has loved her.”
The questions that remain
While investigators have now identified all four victims of the Bear Brook murders, they continue to search for what happened to Rea’s mother, Pepper Reed.
Officials believe she may have also been a victim of Rasmussen, who is suspected of killing additional women and children across the country.
R. Christopher Knowles, chief of the Cold Case Unit, said the identification underscores the growing power of forensic genealogy.
“We hope this final identification provides a measure of closure,” Knowles said, “even as the investigation into Rasmussen’s full scope of crimes continues.”
Anyone with information about Pepper Reed or Terry Rasmussen’s movements in the 1970s and 1980s is urged to contact the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit.
