Exclusive: A Career Inspired by Loss

BEAUMONT, Texas — The sprawling ranch stretches across thousands of acres near Beaumont. Cattle roam the fields, horses graze beneath towering oak trees and generations of family history remain rooted in the land.

“This ranch has been in the family since 1885,” Brittany Pipkin said.

However, the peaceful setting hides a lifetime of unanswered questions for Pipkin.

In March 1986, her mother, Rebecca Beard, disappeared while Pipkin was still a baby.

As a result, she grew up searching for answers about the tragedy that changed her family forever.

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Before Brittany Pipkin became a police officer, she was a daughter growing up without answers. Family photos and memories helped her piece together who Rebecca Beard was before her disappearance in 1986.

Growing Up Without Rebecca Beard

Before Brittany Pipkin began searching for answers, she first had to learn who her mother was.

To do that, she relied on family stories, old photographs and memories shared by her father, Darrell Beard.

According to Darrell, Rebecca was full of life and always made people laugh.

“She was fun loving,” Darrell recalled. “She loved to have fun. It was laughter, you know, a lot. Just having fun.”

Years before Rebecca’s disappearance, the couple met as teenagers and quickly fell in love.

Soon afterward, they began building a life together and dreamed of raising a family.

“She wanted a family,” Darrell said. “She wanted the same things I did.”

One memory stands out more than most.

After long days at work, Darrell would come home and spend time with his young daughter.

“When I came in from work, I’d take a shower and lay her on my bare chest,” he said. “That’s really what calmed her down.”

Although Brittany has few memories of her mother, those stories helped her understand the woman Rebecca was before her life was cut short.

Years later, Darrell wrote down memories of Rebecca for Brittany. As a result, she gained a deeper connection to the mother she never had the chance to know.

Today, those memories remain an important part of the family’s search for answers and their effort to keep Rebecca’s story alive.

Growing Up Without Rebecca Beard

Pipkin says she grew up hearing different stories about what happened to her mother.

For years, she believed Rebecca had been kidnapped.

As a result, she became determined to find answers.

“I wanted to hunt them down. I wanted to go find my mom,” Pipkin said.

Whenever she visited family, she asked questions about Rebecca and what happened to her.

Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding her mother’s disappearance continued to grow.

“I always asked all the questions,” she said. “I just had this need to know. I still have this need to know because we don’t have all the details yet.”

Over time, that need for answers became part of who she was.

Eventually, those unanswered questions followed her into adulthood and helped shape her future career.

A Career Inspired by Loss

Because of those unanswered questions, Pipkin chose a career in law enforcement.

The loss of her mother ultimately inspired Pipkin to pursue a career in law enforcement.

“My goal is I want to work murders,” she recalled telling a police chief during an early job interview. “I want to work crimes against women and children.”

Pipkin spent two years on patrol before moving into investigations.

While she helped other families find answers, she never stopped searching for answers in her own mother’s case.

That professional experience would later prove valuable as her family began reviewing decades of records connected to Rebecca Beard’s disappearance.

A Family Still Searching

More than four decades later, the family’s goal remains simple.

They want to bring Rebecca home.

“We just want to bring my mom home,” Pipkin said. “We want to have a place where we can visit, bring her flowers and honor her memory.”

Rebecca’s disappearance continues to affect multiple generations of her family.

Pipkin says she often thinks about the moments she missed growing up without her mother.

Shopping trips.

Boyfriends.

Mother’s Day celebrations.

The ordinary experiences many daughters take for granted.

“I still have this need to know,” she said.

Related Coverage

Read our previous coverage of the Rebecca Beard investigation:
https://www.chopperrose.com/tag/rebecca-beard/

Learn more about missing persons investigations through the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Coming Next

In Part Two, Brittany Pipkin explains how police records, evidence photographs and court documents uncovered new questions in the Rebecca Beard case.

Editor’s Note: This story is Part One of a three-part series examining Rebecca Beard’s disappearance, the unanswered questions that remain and her family’s continuing search for answers.