Veronica Butler, left, and Jilian Kelley were reported missing March 30 in Texas County, Oklahoma, when they were on their way to pick up Butler’s kids. Four people are facing murder and kidnapping charges. (Texas County Sheriff’s Office)
Authorities in Oklahoma believe they have found the bodies of two mothers who disappeared more than two weeks ago while on their way to pick up one of the mom’s kids.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced around 9 p.m. Sunday that the agency, along with the FBI and Texas County Sheriff’s Office, recovered the bodies of two women in rural Texas County. The bodies will be taken to the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner’s Office for positive identification as well as cause and manner of death. Cops did not release additional information but plan to have a press conference on Monday morning.
The location of the bodies brings to an end the large scale search for 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley. The two were traveling from southern Kansas to Texas County, Oklahoma, to pick up Butler’s kids on March 30 when they went missing. Authorities found their abandoned car along Highway 95 and Road L in Texas County, near the border with Kansas. The disappearance was considered suspicious and evidence reportedly indicated foul play.
NewsNation, citing unnamed sources, reported cops found the car about 1,000 feet off the road. The car had a small amount of blood in it and there were “puddles of blood” outside. Butler and Kelley are believed to have been shot, the outlet reported.
Clockwise from top left: Tad Bert Cullum, Tifany Machel Adams, Cora Twombly, Cole Earl Twombly. The four are facing murder and kidnapping charges in the disappearance of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley in rural Oklahoma. (Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation)
On Saturday, police arrested 43-year-old Tad Bert Cullum, 54-year-old Tifany Machel Adams, 50-year-old Cole Earl Twombly, and 44-year-old Cora Twombly. They are all facing two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first-degree, authorities said.
According to NewsNation, Adams is the paternal grandmother of Butler’s kids and Cullum is Adams’ boyfriend. The outlet also reported that Butler and the kids’ father were in a custody dispute and she had filed a petition with the court to have more visitation with the children.
ABC News reports the two women were picking up Butler’s kids for a birthday party in Kansas.
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