Authorities in a rural Oklahoma county have recovered two bodies, believed to be connected to the disappearance of two Kansas women back in March. The bodies were found in Texas County, and will be taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office for identification and to determine the cause and manner of death, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
The two missing women, Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, from Hugoton, Kansas, were last seen driving through the Oklahoma panhandle on their way to pick up Butler’s children for a birthday party in Kansas. However, they never arrived at their destination. Their vehicle was later discovered abandoned on a rural highway in Texas County, Oklahoma, near the state line with Kansas.
The Texas County Sheriff's Office sought assistance from the state bureau of investigation after finding evidence of foul play in the abandoned vehicle. Subsequently, four individuals were arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree.
The area where the vehicle was found is located approximately 260 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The investigation into the case is ongoing as authorities work to confirm the identities of the recovered bodies and gather more information related to the tragic incident.
