On October 11, 1964, a crisp autumn Sunday in Salt Lake City, Utah, 15-year-old Reed Taylor Jeppson vanished without a trace, leaving behind a mystery that has endured for decades. After returning home from church with his family, the responsible and well-liked teenager told his sister he was going to feed and walk his two German shorthaired pointers. He promised to be back in half an hour, in time for dinner. Dressed in blue Levi's, a white cotton knit shirt, a reversible parka that was blue on one side and black on the other, and gym shoes, Reed headed out with his dogs, one of which was just a puppy. A friend later reported seeing him walking the dogs around 1:00 p.m. near the old St. Mary of the Wasatch building on the city's east bench. This would be the last known sighting of the boy and his two canine companions.
As the hours stretched on with no sign of Reed, his family grew increasingly worried. It was completely out of character for the dependable East High School sophomore and Eagle Scout to disappear without a word. His family insisted he had no reason to run away; he was a good student, a member of the school football team, and had left behind all his personal belongings, including money he had earned from his paper route. An extensive search was launched by the Salt Lake City Police Department, combing the surrounding foothills and neighborhoods, but yielded no clues as to what might have happened to Reed or his dogs. The complete absence of evidence was baffling to investigators and devastating for his parents and eleven siblings, who firmly believed he must have been abducted. The emotional toll on the family was immense; tragically, Reed's father passed away just over a year after his son's disappearance.
Years turned into decades, and Reed Jeppson's case became the oldest active missing person file in the Salt Lake City Police Department's records. Despite the passage of time, his surviving family members never gave up hope for answers. The case was officially closed in 1966 but was reopened in 2010 as part of a cold case initiative. This brought renewed attention to the mystery, and in 2012, a tip led police to excavate a gully near Reed's former home, though the search ultimately proved fruitless. Over the years, various leads and theories have been explored, including the possibility that he may have traveled to visit a girl he met one summer, but none have led to a resolution. Another theory involved a neighbor whose property adjoined the Jeppsons' backyard, but no conclusive evidence ever emerged. The discovery of animal bones on this former neighbor's property in 2012 briefly raised hopes, but they could not be definitively linked to Reed's missing dogs. The case of Reed Jeppson remains an unsolved and deeply felt loss for his family and the community, a quiet but persistent question mark in the city's history.
Last Seen: Oct 11, 1964
