She Vanished With Her Daughters in 1978. Decades Later, They Were Found in Barrels

In the quiet woods of Bear Brook State Park, New Hampshire, a rusted barrel lay hidden beneath a thin veil of fallen leaves. It seemed like trash - an industrial relic discarded in nature. But when investigators opened it in November 1985, they uncovered a disturbing secret: the decomposed remains of a woman and a young girl. They didn’t know who they were. They didn’t know who had put them there. And worse - they didn’t know that it wasn’t over.

A Mystery Buried in Metal

The first barrel stunned investigators. The scene was grim - badly decomposed bodies, no identification, and no clear leads. For 15 years, the mystery lingered.

Then, in 2000, a second barrel was found just a short distance away. Inside were two more girls, both unidentified and both believed to have been killed in the same way: blunt force trauma to the head.

For decades, no one could name the victims, and no one could name the killer. But clues slowly emerged - thanks to evolving DNA technology, tireless detectives, and one unexpected amateur sleuth.

The Man With Too Many Names

In 2017, investigators made a breakthrough: the man long known as “Bob Evans,” who had worked as an electrician in New Hampshire, was actually Terry Peder Rasmussen, a career criminal and drifter with a long history of aliases and suspicious disappearances. Rasmussen had already been convicted of killing Eunsoon Jun, a California chemist, in 2003. Her body was found buried under cat litter in her basement.

Rasmussen had gone by many names - Curtis Kimball, Gordon Jenson, Larry Vanner - but police now believed he was also responsible for the Bear Brook murders. He had slipped into families and communities, blending in just long enough to inflict irreversible damage.

A Breakthrough From a Librarian

The case took an unexpected turn in 2018, thanks to Rebekah Heath, a Connecticut librarian passionate about solving missing persons cases. While browsing a genealogy website, Heath spotted a post from someone searching for a missing woman named Marlyse and her two daughters. The names and details aligned eerily well with what Heath had heard in a podcast about the Bear Brook mystery. She reached out, and soon the pieces began falling into place.

By 2019, DNA testing confirmed the identities of three of the victims: Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch and her daughters, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters. They had last been seen in 1978 after a family argument - one that ended with them leaving with Rasmussen, never to be seen again.

What Happened to the Fourth Girl?

While three of the four bodies found in the barrels have been identified, the fourth remains a mystery. DNA tests show the child was Rasmussen’s biological daughter. Yet her identity remains unknown. Investigators continue to search for answers, even as the years stretch on.

Marlyse and Marie were buried together in New Hampshire. Sarah body’s was buried in Connecticut near her paternal relatives.

The Legacy of a Serial Killer - and the Ones He Left Behind

Terry Rasmussen died in prison in 2010, serving a sentence for Jun’s murder. He was never tried for the Bear Brook killings, nor was he charged in other suspected cases. But DNA, interviews, and timelines all point to him as the primary suspect in multiple disappearances.

For now, Rasmussen’s story remains a chilling reminder of how a monster can hide in plain sight - and how decades-old cold cases can still be solved with persistence, science, and the sharp memory of someone who simply cared enough to keep asking questions.

References: A Serial Killer ‘Tried to Erase His Victims’ | Serial Killer Terry Rasmussen’s Victims, Known and Unknown | Daughter of Alleged Bear Brook Killer Speaks