Utah’s Oldest Cold Case: The Unusual Case of Reed Jeppson

Cold cases are not unusual and many a true crime podcast covers them. 

In the early 1960s in Salt Lake City, a teenager would go out to feed his dogs after church and vanish. 

Reed Jeppson had just gotten home from attending church with his family. When they got home, he went to change his clothes and go and feed his dogs, two German Shorthaired Pointers. He and the dogs were never seen again. 

Several possibilities came up during the initial investigation. One was that he left the state to visit a girl he met while working at a ranch in Wyoming, which turned out to be a dead end. Another was that he and the dogs had an accident during a walk, which also turned out to be a dead end, and another was foul play, but no proof could be found. 

With no leads, the case was closed in 1966 and would remain closed until 2010. A few tips were received in 2010, one of those was from the next-door neighbors who had found dog bones in their backyard. 

The neighbors had moved into a home that was being built by an orthopedic surgeon at the time of Reed Jepson’s disappearance. The doctor who has not been named, would become a suspect in the disappearance and has since died. 

Reed Jeppson would now be in his 70s. When he went missing, he had medium blonde hair, blue eyes, and was 5’6”, and had braces on his upper and lower teeth. If you have any information on Reed Jeppson, you can contact the Salt Lake City police at 801-799-3000. 

You can listen to the Crime Junkie podcast that covers Reed Jeppson's case below.

https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/