Up to four people have been arrested and charged in connection with the disappearance of two Kansas women. The two mothers were last spotted driving through the Oklahoma Panhandle last month. They had been joined by the grandmother of one of the women’s children.
The vehicle in which Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, were last seen was subsequently discovered abandoned along a highway in a rural area of Texas County, Oklahoma. The remains of the two women have also been discovered, but have yet to be recognized, according to CBS News.
In a Facebook post, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation stated, “On April 14, the OSBI, FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), Texas County Sheriff’s Department, and the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner recovered two deceased persons in rural Texas County. Both individuals will be transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office for identification, as well as the cause and manner of death. This is still an ongoing investigation.”
Tad Bert Cullum, 43, Tiffany Machel Adams, 54, Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, were arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and kidnapping, as well as one count of a first-degree murder conspiracy.
Authorities have yet to reveal additional details, such as the suspects’ motives, connections to the victims, or the evidence that led to their arrest. They are suspected of kidnapping and murdering Butler and Kelley, according to the New York Post. The mothers went missing on March 30.