UT UT - Reed Jeppson, 15, Salt Lake City, 11 Oct 1964

[chart75]

I love the idea of having a moderator or case insider approach SLPD and try and obtain more (any) information about the case. I wasn't aware that could be done. How do we go about requesting that?

Unless one or both of the dogs took off towards St. Mary's, I don't see Reed going that far either unless he was planning on running them both directions. Teenage boys can go brain dead, but I sense Reed was responsible and would have been back in time for dinner as well. A family that large requires order and they probably ate at the same time every Sunday.

 

[Satch]

LOL, is there an echo in here?

If there is, I hope that echo leads to answers as to what happened to Reed!

Satch

 

[Satch]

I love the idea of having a moderator or case insider approach SLPD and try and obtain more (any) information about the case. I wasn't aware that could be done. How do we go about requesting that?

Unless one or both of the dogs took off towards St. Mary's, I don't see Reed going that far either unless he was planning on running them both directions. Teenage boys can go brain dead, but I sense Reed was responsible and would have been back in time for dinner as well. A family that large requires order and they probably ate at the same time every Sunday.

Hi Chart,

The mods scan the forums regularly. But for direct questions and insight, there is a "Contact Us" at the bottom of the Webslurths page to send individual requests. Users would simply refer to this thread, by providing the URL in their Direct Message and summarize their questions or requests.

Satch

 

[cocomod]

Reed's gravestone sees to read "Beloved Son and Brother." Another article said that the grave marker read "Families are Forever." Although I don't see that on Reed's grave, if any family were to invent the phrase "Families are Forever!" It would be the Jeppson's!

I read that these were the most lovable, beautiful, amazing people any family could want. We really need to work to keep Reed's case alive. I am optimistic that it can be solved! We just haven't found that smoking gun yet.

Satch

Families are Forever is an LDS saying. They were likely of the LDS faith (especially being in Utah).

 

[Satch]

Guys,

Link to a Salt Lake City newspaper about Reed going missing five days after he went missing, October 16, 1964:

There is a contradiction here:

It says that Reed took $60 with him when he left the house to go feed his dogs." All the research that we have is that Reed's money was left untouched in his bedroom. Amount of money Reed had was $40-$60 according to the sources we have. This is the first clip that says Reed had money on him. Here is the link:

Clipping from Deseret News - Newspapers.com

Scroll down to read the whole clipping.

I Google searched, How much would $60 in 1964 be worth today? (2022) Below are the results of that search:

$60 in 1964 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $549.13 today, an increase of $489.13 over 58 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.89% per year between 1964 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 815.21%.

I hope we can get an insider on this case, because if Reed had money on him at that amount, this means a lot! Now I don't know what source to believe. I would love to hear the truth about the money. WOW! Did not know the inflation amount was that high! I am now so emotionally connected to Reed's case, that I feel like I knew him personally.

Satch

 

[Alleykins]

@Satch
The buying power of a buck back then would surprise a lot of people (at least some who were too young or weren't around) because we only know what it will buy for us today, which isn't much. We look at it through that lens.So when we hear about someone having 50-60 dollars on them back then, we dismiss it, interpreting its value by our standards. Like, you can hardly get a tank of gas and a loaf of bread for $50 in some areas now. But in 1964, that money would have gone a long way.
If it's true he had some cash on him, and add the possibility of selling the two dogs for more cash, it might change the nature of his disappearance.

 

[chart75]

Yes, there are a few contradictions in the news reports besides whether or not he had his savings with him or not.

• SL Trib Oct 17th 1964 reported he was last seen at 12:45 by his family
• SL Trib 2/27/1965 reported he was last seen about 1 pm in the vicinity of St Mary's
• SL Trib 5/20/1965 reported he was last seen about 1:30 pm behind (BBM) St. Mary's of the Wasatch (first time I've seen "behind" the school) The 1963 USGS map shows roads behind St Mary's so that is possible (I didn't think anything was behind the school until it was demo'd).

SL Trib from 11/4/1964 said "Reports that motorists who believed they had seen the dogs were checked out." What does that mean, checked out? Just the dogs, or did they see Reed too? That would be very important if they just saw the dogs without Reed. I thought it was one witness, not multiple? The same article states the Kansas City, MO police were "notified after information was received that the youth might be traveling to that city." (BBM) Where did that information come from?

The 5/7/1965 SL Trib article reported that Reed often used to climb in the foothills, explaining why the extensive search there.

More questions than answers.

 

[Satch]

Yes, there are a few contradictions in the news reports besides whether or not he had his savings with him or not.

• SL Trib Oct 17th 1964 reported he was last seen at 12:45 by his family
• SL Trib 2/27/1965 reported he was last seen about 1 pm in the vicinity of St Mary's
• SL Trib 5/20/1965 reported he was last seen about 1:30 pm behind (BBM) St. Mary's of the Wasatch (first time I've seen "behind" the school) The 1963 USGS map shows roads behind St Mary's so that is possible (I didn't think anything was behind the school until it was demo'd).

SL Trib from 11/4/1964 said "Reports that motorists who believed they had seen the dogs were checked out." What does that mean, checked out? Just the dogs, or did they see Reed too? That would be very important if they just saw the dogs without Reed. I thought it was one witness, not multiple? The same article states the Kansas City, MO police were "notified after information was received that the youth might be traveling to that city." (BBM) Where did that information come from?

The 5/7/1965 SL Trib article reported that Reed often used to climb in the foothills, explaining why the extensive search there.

More questions than answers.

I agree Chart. I think that there are many circumstances that played a role in the search. Reed's Dad, Dr, Jeppson, was highly respected and a very prominent physician in the community. A family this large that was respected, well-known, and was able to implement resources in searching for Reed that other families may not have been able to do under similar circumstances. Back in the day, literally all LE jurisdictions had a 24-hour wait period before you could even be considered a missing person. 24 hours time would be critical time lost, due to waiting, had this tragedy happened today.

The big problem is lack of information and difficulty in obtaining consistent and correct information with these older cases. I might be able to infer that the closest original published dates may be what actually happened. However, (Great work above, Chart!) look at the discrepancies in those dates!

1.) We don't know if Reed had savings account money on him or not. If he did. that opens up a whole new element of the case. If Reed took $60 with him, was he looking to buy something? Or meet up with someone to do something?

2.) Did Reed train dogs to bird-hunt as a hobby and than sell them when they were skilled enough to hunt? If this is true, it moves away from thinking of the dogs as family pets. Reed's brother Jon said in the video that he remembers training the dogs for 4H activities. Was Reed raising them for competitive/sport reasons and not as family pets? Or could they have been both?

3.) Very true Chart about all the inconsistencies- A witness/friend claims to see Reed behind Saint Mary's School around 1PM a half hour away. But nothing more is said. We don't get the "Behind the School" report until seven months after it happened! And than it takes another seven months to learn. "Oh yea, btw, Reed liked to go claiming in the foothills."

Today, we would not have information all over the place! These inconsistencies are only intensifying the pain for this poor family. Might as well think. "Anything could have happened to poor Reed out there." If this tragedy happened today, we would have accurate information, and could produce a report saying that this is what happened and this is the time frame that we have verified. The mystery deepens.

Satch

 

[MadMcGoo]

Guys,

Link to a Salt Lake City newspaper about Reed going missing five days after he went missing, October 16, 1964:

There is a contradiction here:

It says that Reed took $60 with him when he left the house to go feed his dogs." All the research that we have is that Reed's money was left untouched in his bedroom. Amount of money Reed had was $40-$60 according to the sources we have. This is the first clip that says Reed had money on him. Here is the link:

Clipping from Deseret News - Newspapers.com

Scroll down to read the whole clipping.

I Google searched, How much would $60 in 1964 be worth today? (2022) Below are the results of that search:

$60 in 1964 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $549.13 today, an increase of $489.13 over 58 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.89% per year between 1964 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 815.21%.

I hope we can get an insider on this case, because if Reed had money on him at that amount, this means a lot! Now I don't know what source to believe. I would love to hear the truth about the money. WOW! Did not know the inflation amount was that high! I am now so emotionally connected to Reed's case, that I feel like I knew him personally.

Satch

For those who can’t view the link:

 

[chart75]

I did contact a moderator and asked if they would reach out to SLPD and see if we could obtain clarification on some of the outstanding questions (witness?/witnesses?/creepy neighbor?/what prompted them to indicate "someone knows something?"/etc.).

 

[Satch]

I did contact a moderator and asked if they would reach out to SLPD and see if we could obtain clarification on some of the outstanding questions (witness?/witnesses?/creepy neighbor?/what prompted them to indicate "someone knows something?"/etc.).

Excellent!

And thank you in advance to any mod staff who are able to follow up on @chart75 's request. We really need clarification on all the inaccurate and unsure information that Chart and I posted above! Even as little as getting one insider to come participate in Reed's thread would be awesome! FYI- an "insider" is someone who goes through a special screening by Websleuths staff to verify that they have special connections to the case. This could be someone from LE or a family member. When they become a "Verified Insider" that distinction shows up in their Websleuths profile.

Hoping for an insider on the case if this happens, brings out grateful emotion for me, and I am sure so many others following Reed's case! We need to do this to help Reed! To bring closure for him and to help the Jeppson family! We know that Reed as the great humanitarian and devoted friend would help others in need, He was a proud, honorable, and noble Eagle Scout, great friend to all who knew him and a true brother to his family. If we can get an insider on this case, we will be giving some of the kindness and love back to Reed that he gave to so many for 15-years. Gone much too soon! Hope we can make it happen!

Satch

 

[Satch]

Another article:
https://www.thecriminaljournal.com/...r-old-boy-who-was-last-seen-walking-his-dogs/

More and more the question is raised. Why didn't or couldn't Reed have simply walked his dogs on the Jeppson's property? Reed's brother Keith actually had moved into the family home and the backyard area was huge. Keith had it converted into a paradise for his own family. (See Keith's link to his obit for further information earlier in this thread.)

Despite the inconsistencies in this case, it doesn't make sense that Reed would go so far away from home to walk his dogs if the school sighting is correct. No teen athlete that close to his family, as someone else said, is going to miss the main family meal.

We need to find out from a case insider, if walking his dogs over a mile away from home on a regular basis was a daily part of Reed's working with them and training them. Did he walk his dogs around the same time every day around 12:30 to 1:00 pm? If he did, it might make the explanation more plausible as this was his routine.

Also, how many customers did Reed and Jon have on their shared paper route? And the areas that their route covered? Suspicious people on the route?

Finally, an examination of any hazards in the area, or animals that might have spooked the dogs within Reed's walking distance leading to tragedy if Reed was not abducted? The other possibility Reed and/or the dogs getting struck by a car, and the driver panics hiding the body? A hitchhike home meeting up with a bad ride? Tracking down a ride that turned tragic due to some kind of injury to Reed and/or the dogs on the walk?

I am leaving no stones unturned in this case!

Satch

 

[chart75]

Satch, thanks for posting that. I can't get to the SL Trib article, but this has a stronger narrative:

• Came home, changed his clothes
• Fed the dogs
• Decided to take the dogs for a walk
• Told his sister he would be back in 30 minutes
• Spotted by a friend (BBM) near St Mary's of the Wasatch building, on the Wasatch Drive side, not behind it (the school was still active and not abandoned until the late 60's)
• Police wouldn't reveal why they searched the gully (which still seems to be the case)

No word back from the moderator but I would think it would take a while to get a response from SLPD.

 

[Satch]

Satch, thanks for posting that. I can't get to the SL Trib article, but this has a stronger narrative:

• Came home, changed his clothes
• Fed the dogs
• Decided to take the dogs for a walk
• Told his sister he would be back in 30 minutes
• Spotted by a friend (BBM) near St Mary's of the Wasatch building, on the Wasatch Drive side, not behind it (the school was still active and not abandoned until the late 60's)
• Police wouldn't reveal why they searched the gully (which still seems to be the case)

No word back from the moderator but I would think it would take a while to get a response from SLPD.

Great stuff Chart!

To add to that. Police AFAIK have never said those animal bones that they found near the Jeppson's home what animal they were from. If they were from the dogs, would there be a leash or collar nearby? I am not sure, but I think weather elements would have disintegrated that evidence long ago. But those animal bones would "hold" literally forever.

The point is that dog bones are dog bones. I don't think they can do DNA analysis for breed just by looking at the bones, or without tag identification. If those are dog bones, since they are so close to Reed's house, that could have been evidence that those were Reed's dogs.

From the maps we have, do we know exactly where the animal bones were found?

Satch

 

[chart75]

According to this SLTRIB article, the search was made at approximately 1400 S 1900 E which would be a half block away from the Jeppson residence. Search of Salt Lake City gully yields no sign of teen missing since 1964 - The Salt Lake Tribune (sltrib.com)

The tip that caused LE enforcement to dig there was given by a man who reported finding bones, and according to him, were that were of a large and small dog. He took pictures of the bones, then destroyed them, but provided the photos to LE. After analyzing the bones, the FBI subsequently indicated "they were those of a dog." Missing in Utah: Reed Jeppson simply vanished Pt. 2 | ABC4 Utah

The gully is to the west (left) of the Jeppson home, both marked in yellow.

 

[Satch]

According to this SLTRIB article, the search was made at approximately 1400 S 1900 E which would be a half block away from the Jeppson residence. Search of Salt Lake City gully yields no sign of teen missing since 1964 - The Salt Lake Tribune (sltrib.com)

The tip that caused LE enforcement to dig there was given by a man who reported finding bones, and according to him, were that were of a large and small dog. He took pictures of the bones, then destroyed them, but provided the photos to LE. After analyzing the bones, the FBI subsequently indicated "they were those of a dog." Missing in Utah: Reed Jeppson simply vanished Pt. 2 | ABC4 Utah

The gully is to the west (left) of the Jeppson home, both marked in yellow.

View attachment 339640

Thanks Chart so very much!

Do you think that those bones were specifically Reed's dogs? I think I missed the FBI confirming this. I would say probably yes.

Satch

 

[Satch]

Just throwing this out there, Hope it's not too blunt because this case is so painful and sad, but it's on my mind:

Could Reed's remains be in/under that gully? But buried so deeply that they were missed when they dug and had the search dogs examining the site in 2012? I have learned from other missing person's cases that dog scents and searches are far from perfect. Did Reed's dogs get trapped inside there? Could Reed have fallen in trying to save his dogs? Or some sicko killing him further out and burying his remains there? With those dog bones so close by, it brings these questions to the surface.

I hope very much that the Saint Mary's alleged sighting of Reed was not someone looking to get attention by getting their name in the paper! (A false sighting, or if a true sighting like I think Chart asked, are they sure that was Reed?) Could it be that in reality there was no sighting of Reed at the school at all? You would think that if there was, they would get his location right. We have "Near the school", "At the school", "behind the school", "in the vicinity of the school." Than, in other reports of Reed's case, there is no mention of a witness seeing Reed at all.

Another sadness of this case is how so much information was not fact-checked back than, leading to more questions than answers. But great credit to SLCPD and Reed's family for never giving up hope and keeping Reed's case active!

Satch

 

[chart75]

Satch,

Reed certainly could be buried in the gully. It's quite large. I can't tell from the MSM reports if the dogs were found in the gully, leading LE to search there, or they were found elsewhere, and the tip they received made them search the gully for Reed. If the dogs and Reed all fell into a pit or the earth collapsed underneath them, I think they would have found Reed's bones with the dogs.

The eyewitness account still has me stumped. Wrong day, right time? Wrong time, right day? One, two, three or more eyewitnesses? From the MSM accounts of the last sighting of Reed, he would have circled the school (entirely possible).

I re-read this account Missing in Utah: Reed Jeppson simply vanished Pt. 2 | ABC4 Utah

(BBM)

"In a police report, they questioned a known pedophile who lived nearby.

Here’s part of their questioning:

Man: “I’ll tell you one thing, I would appreciate your finding out who killed him.”
Police: “How does (man) know Reed was killed instead of running away?” Most of the gossip said that Reed was a runaway.”
Man: “Well, I know that this length of time, they’re never gonna find out”.

In the police report, police claimed the man was somewhat laughing as he said that.

But in the end, they found no evidence that tied him to the crime."

I find that troubling.

 

[Satch]

Yes, it is troubling:

• The alleged pedophile who had a conversation like that. But LE says no evidence.
• The inconsistencies of time, place, where the dog bones were found. Witness statements inconsistent.
• Reed taking his paper route savings with him or not? I tend to believe he did not. going with the family reports here.

Here's the thing with that gully,

Jon says the kids played there growing up and Reed and the dogs I am sure are out there many many times. If Reed is in the gully,w hat could have happened on that day to the gully forcing Reed to fall in trying to save the dogs? Can't see how it is safe for so many days and years, and than all of a sudden, on October 11, 1964, the gully opens up or something like that, the dogs explore it, get in trouble, can't get out, and Reed tries to save them and can't get out. You would think that someone would have seen something or heard something?

But, here's the thing again where LE won't come out and say fully why they searched the gully? The dog bones found by a man, that he sent over to the FBI, but later had destroyed seems to be a separate thing from the gully search. Do we have a confirmed report of where the dog bones were actually found? All I know is about half a block away from the Jeppson's house. And my understanding is that it takes about two minutes tops to leave the Jeppson's house to get to the gully.

Did that gully have a specific name where we could study it as a landmark? Maybe Google Earth/Google Maps could give us a close up of its size in proportion to the area? Just how safe or dangerous was the gully?

There are some things that LE seems apprehensive about releasing in this case.

Satch

 

[chart75]

Satch, you can search on "Wasatch Hollow Park," created in 2009. Wasatch Hollow Preserve | Public Lands Department (slc.gov) There's even a nice video showing the area from above, along with the hiking trails that did not exist back in the 60's. The Mormon church and Clayton Jr High to the east were both there in 64. The photos on Google Maps give you an insiders look.

I don't think LE searched the entire area as it is >11 acres.