OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Investigators are on the hunt for two missing women from Kansas, recognized as Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39. Their vehicle was abandoned near a rural area off Highway 95 and Road L, south of Elkhart, Kansas, stated the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).
The Texas County Sheriff’s Department is actively participating in the search operations. According to the department, Butler and Kelley were traveling to pick up Butler’s children. It was confirmed that the women never arrived at their destination.
Bringing the case under its purview, the OSBI has categorized the event as a “suspicious disappearance.” Detailed descriptions of the women have been released to aid in the search. While Butler is a 5-foot-4 redhead with green eyes, Kelley sports brown hair and blue eyes.
When last seen, Butler was wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt, denim shorts, and HEYDUDE gym shoes. Kelley wore white-washed blue jeans, a short-sleeve shirt, and beige shoes. Both women have distinctive tattoos.
The Kansas City Star revealed that Kelley, a resident of Hugoton, Kansas, is the wife of Heath Kelley, the future minister at Indianola, Nebraska’s Willow Christian Church. The church congregation has rallied in prayer for the safe return of the missing women, as shared on the church’s Sunday Facebook post.
With the search ongoing, the OSBI is urging anyone with information about the case to contact them.