Oklahoma police believe missing Kansas women Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelley met with “foul play.”
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case. “UPDATE- Based on the information obtained from the victim’s vehicle, our investigators believe there was evidence to indicate foul play,” the agency wrote in a post on X.
“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. The women disappeared on March 30. There is a Facebook group devoted to finding the women.
The women are from Hugoton, Kansas, according to KWCH. They disappeared in Oklahoma, reported KOCO-TV, adding that the women were involved in their church communities in Kansas.
Pastor Tim Singer told KOCO 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.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The Vehicle of Veronica Butler & Jillian Kelly Was ‘Found Abandoned’ Near Highway 95 & Road L, Near Elkhart, Kansas, Authorities Say
On March 30, the Texas County Sheriff’s Office requested that the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation begin investigating “the suspicious disappearance of 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jillian Kelley.”
According to a press release from OSBI, 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.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact the OSBI at tips@osbi.ok.gov or 1-800-522-8017. The OSBI wrote that it is “still an ongoing investigation.”
Kansas Police Say the 2 Women Were ‘Traveling Together to Pick Up Children’ When They Disappeared
Kansas policeVeronica Butler and Jillian Kelley missing person’s alert.
An endangered missing alert was released by the Hugoton Police Department.
“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.”
A woman who identified herself as Butler’s aunt wrote in a Facebook comment that Butler “was headed to Four Corners with Jillian to pick up Veronica’s two children for visitation. It’s unknown why her car was abandoned where it was by Yarbrough.”
Singer told KOCO-TV that the women were going to bring the kids back for a birthday party.
Ladonna Thompson, another aunt of one of the two missing women, wrote on Facebook, “Please, please, PLEASE continue to share this and please keep the prayers coming! We appreciate each one!! We appreciate everyone that has reached out to us and we appreciate those of you sharing with news outlets to get this out! We also appreciate each of the law enforcement agencies involved working this around the clock! WE WON’T STOP UNTIL THEY ARE FOUND!”
Members of the church community have asked for prayers for the women online. “Please pray for Heath Kelley & his family, the new preacher at The Willow Christian in Indianola, Nebraska. The woman on the right is his wife, Jillian Kelley. She was helping the other lady, Veronica Butler, by taking her to see her children in Oklahoma & both of them are now missing…” wrote one woman.
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