Salt Lake police reopen case of boy missing for 45 years

SALT LAKE CITY — Taylor Jeppson has been licensed to practice medicine in several cities, including Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City, where he currently has a family practice.

"Every time I go into the emergency room, it flashed through my mind, 'Will I see my brother?' — and it's constant pain," he said Tuesday.

Reed Jeppson was 15 when he was last seen on Oct. 11, 1964. His family had just returned home from church, and Reed was going out to feed and walk his two dogs. That was the last time his family ever saw him.

"Our brother Reed did not run away. He was taken against his will," said his sister, Suzanne Tate.

On Tuesday, surrounded by many of Reed's 11 brothers and sisters, Salt Lake police announced they would be looking again at the case of Reed Jeppson, who has been missing for 45 years.

It is the oldest active missing person case in the department. Despite an initial intense search effort and media coverage, Salt Lake police detective Cody Lougy said investigators had not actively looked at the case since 1966.

"We don't know what happened to him," said Lougy, who noted there was currently no evidence of criminal activity.

Another of Reed's brothers, Dan Jeppson, was 12 when his older brother disappeared. He recalled how Reed loved the outdoors and loved training his dogs. Those dogs, two German shorthair pointers, one of them a puppy, have also never been found.

"We used to wrestle together. He was just a great brother," he said. "He was like my bodyguard, always there to protect me."

Dan Jeppson said he's constantly "haunted" by not knowing what happened to his brother. And every time there is a high-profile missing-person case in Utah, such as those of Elizabeth Smart or Susan Powell, "everything just all comes back to you again."

The Jeppson family recently placed a headstone for Reed at a local cemetery, listing his birth date and the date he went missing. Also inscribed on the headstone are the words, "Families are forever."

Reed lived near Emigration Canyon, near 1400 South and 3000 East. The area where he kept his dogs was about 200 yards from the main house. A friend later reported seeing him walking his dogs near the old St. Mary of the Wasatch building near Wasatch Boulevard. That was the last reported sighting of Reed.

Reed had just scored his first touchdown for the East High School sophomore football team when he disappeared, Suzanne Tate recalled. He left all his personal belongings in his room. It's because of this and other reasons that the Jeppson family does not believe Reed ran away.

"Our family has suffered a terrible loss from 45 years ago," she said. "We're still anxious to find out what happened to him."