TEXAS COUNTY, Okla. – Law enforcement authorities in Oklahoma believe the two missing Kansas women, Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelley, met with “foul play.”
According to an update from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), information obtained from the victim’s vehicle has led investigators to believe there is evidence of “foul play,” the agency wrote in a post on social media.
“We are still searching for these victims and there are no arrests at this time. We ask that anyone with additional information to contact us,” OSBI wrote.
UPDATE- Based on the information obtained from the victim’s vehicle, our investigators believe there was evidence to indicate foul play.
We are still searching for these victims and there are no arrests at this time. We ask that anyone with additional information to contact us. https://t.co/OOtgoy5CUt
— OSBI (@OSBI_OK) April 3, 2024
The women are from Hugoton, Kansas. They disappeared on Saturday, according to KWCH.
On March 30, the Texas County Sheriff’s Office requested that OSBI begin investigating “the suspicious disappearance of 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jillian Kelley.”
According to the initial OSBI press release, the women’s vehicle “was found abandoned near Highway 95 and Road L south of Elkhart, Kansas, in rural Texas County. OSBI special agents, along with local law enforcement agencies, are currently working to locate these individuals.”
“Veronica and Jillian were traveling together to pick up children,” it says. “They never made it to the pick-up location. Their car was located abandoned on the side of the road. Veronica has several tattoos, a Chinese symbol on her left forearm, a sunflower on her left shoulder. Jillian has a butterfly tattoo on her left forearm.”
The car was found empty near a school where Butler graduated in 2015.
The pair of women were involved in their church communities in Kansas, reported KOCO-TV.
Pastor Tim Singer told the news outlet that Kelley “is the wife of a pastor here in our community. Also an employee of the church, First Christian Church.” He added, “It appears this was not a willing incident on their own to have taken off or anything of that nature. I think it’s something more involved.”
Butler’s family said the women were traveling to Eva, Oklahoma, to pick up Butler’s two children, according to NewsNation. The kids may be living with her ex-husband’s mother, who may have custody.
Singer said the women were going to bring the kids back for a birthday party, heavy.com reported.
Sources told NewsNation that Kelley might have accompanied Butler to assist her with a custody matter. The two women were described as more “acquaintances” than “friends.”
Butler is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and has red hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt, denim shorts and HEYDUDE shoes.
Kelley has brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a long-sleeved shirt, white-washed blue jeans and tan or beige shoes.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call OSBI at 1-800-522-8017 or contact [email protected].
