Case Update- The Unidentified Middle Child

On March 23, 2023, I published a post about the case of the Unidentified Middle Child, one of four victims of the Bear Brook Murders. While the other 3 victims were identified in 2019 as 24 year old Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughter’s 7 year old Marie Vaughn and 11 month old Sarah McWaters, the second child remained unidentified until September 2025. The once unidentified middle child has been identified as 3 year old Rea Rasmussen, who was also the biological daughter of the perpetrator Terry Rasmussen.

On November 10, 1985, a hunter found a 55-gallon drum near an old burned down building in at Bear Brooke State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire. Inside of the drum were 2 decomposing bodies wrapped in plastic. Autopsy revealed that the bodies were that of a young woman and child. The woman was thought to be between 23-33 and the child was thought to be between 8-10; both victims died by blunt force trauma.

Nearly 15 years later, on May 9, 2000, another drum was found near the original discovery site. Inside the second drum were 2 more decaying bodies. The next autopsy determined that the remains were that of a young girl between the ages of 2-4 and an infant female child; their causes of death were also blunt force trauma. Despite the second drum being found years later, investigators determined that the murders occurred at the same time. The reason that the second drum wasn’t found sooner was because it was outside the proximity of the first drum.

In June 2013, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released updated versions of facial reconstructions of the 4 victims. Another updated version of the facial reconstructions were again released in November 2015. In 2014, DNA testing revealed that the oldest victim, second victim, and youngest victim were all maternally related. In 2015, it was found that the oldest victim was the mother of the 2 girls, and they were primarily from the NorthEastern United States.

The middle child was not related to the other victims, but it was found that she was primarily from the NorthEast or Upper Midwest United States. However, further testing in 2019 revealed that the child could also possibly be from Arizona, Texas, California, or Oregon.

In 2017, a break in the case came when Denise Beaudin was connected to the murders. Denise Beaudin was a woman from Manchester, New Hampshire, who went missing along with her daughter in 1981 after leaving with her boyfriend Bob Evans. Denise eventually went missing and Bob Evans later abandoned the young girl nicknamed “Lisa” at a campsite, and she never saw Bob or her mother again. Beaudin was not reported missing until 2016 when her daughter resurfaced in 2016 and was found to be alive and well living in California. Beaudin, however, remains missing.

Investigators soon found that Bob Evans’s real identity was Terry Peder Rasmussen, and he was the father of the Unidentified Middle Child of the Bear Brook Murders. Authorities then believed that Rasmussen was responsible for the Bear Brook Murders. Unfortunately, Terry Rasmussen died in prison in December 2010 after being convicted of the 2002 murder and dismemberment of his wife Eunsoon Jun, a chemist from California.

Further investigation found that Terry Rasmussen was born in 1943 in Denver, Colorado. He got married in 1979 and had 4 children. His wife left him in 1973, and his family last saw him in 1974. DNA samples provided by one of his sons confirmed his identity in June 2017. It was found that Rasmussen used up to 5, and possibly more, false identifies, leading him to be known as the Chameleon Killer.

In 1999, a young man created a post on Ancestry.com in hopes to find his half sister whom he shared a father with but never met. It was stated that the girl was born in Hawaiian Gardens, California. Nothing came of this post at first.

Nearly 20 years later, on June 6, 2019, New Hampshire investigators announced the identities of the young woman and her 2 children. It was revealed that the woman was 24 year old Marlyse Honeychurch, and her daughters 7 year old Marie Vaughn and 11 month old Sarah McWaters. They were last seen around Thanksgiving in 1978 in La Puente, California.

Marlyse left her home after having an argument with her mother and never contacted her relatives again. She was dating Terry Rasmussen at this time and was believed to have used the alias Elizabeth Evans at some point while with him. It was found that it was Sarah’s younger half brother who made the Ancestry post in hopes to find her. At some point in their lives, both Marie and Sarah’s fathers had custody of them, but eventually Marlyse regained custody of them sometime before their deaths. Marlyse and her daughters were all laid to rest in funeral services sometime in 2019.

The Middle Child’s identity remained the most mysterious of all the identifications in this case. Although DNA testing linked her as the daughter of Terry Rasmussen, as well as the possible locations she grew up in, difficulties with identifying the child’s mother put a big halt on the investigation.

On September 5, 2025, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office announced that with the assistance of DNA Doe Project, they have identified the middle child as Rea Rasmussen. Rea Rasmussen was born in Orange County, California on June 15, 1976 to Terry Rasmussen and 24 year old Pepper Reed. Genealogical researchers created a family tree dating as far back as the 1700s to track down Reed’s ancestry. Once they were able narrow down identities and determine Reed’s name, they were able to quickly find Rea Rasmussen’s birth records.

According to authorities, Pepper Reed, whom was originally from Texas, has not been seen since the late 1970s. She was last seen by her family in Texas around Christmas-time in 1975 while pregnant with Rea. While the investigation into Reed’s disappearance remains active, authorities believe she is likely another victim of Rasmussen.

Authorizes are continuing to look into Terry Rasmussen’s activities between 1974 and 1985, particularly in New Hampshire, California, Arizona, Texas, Oregon, and Virginia.

Terry Rasmussen is possibly one of the most mysterious and prolific serial killers to have existed. It seems that more layers of his crimes continue to be brought to light as each of his crimes are solved. Thanks to genetic testing, another innocent victim has their name back.