ELKHART, Kan. – Authorities in Texas County, Kansas are searching for two missing women, Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, whose car was discovered abandoned on the side of the road in Oklahoma. The Texas County Sheriff’s Department, in collaboration with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), has classified their disappearance as suspicious.
Butler and Kelley were en route to pick up children when they failed to arrive, according to local station KWCH 12 News in Kansas. The missing children were reportedly Butler’s. Their vehicle was found abandoned in a rural area near Highway 95 and Road L, just south of Elkhart, Kansas, close to the Oklahoma border.
The search intensifies for the missing women as friends, family, and community members rally to find them. Kelley, a resident of Hugoton, Kansas, is married to Heath Kelley, the incoming minister at Willow Christian Church in Indianola, Nebraska. Prayers and support poured in from the congregation of the church as they gathered in solidarity for the safe return of the two women.
Butler is described as being 5 foot 4 inches tall with red hair and green eyes. At the time she went missing, she was wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt, denim shorts, and HEYDUDE gym shoes. Kelley, on the other hand, has brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing white-washed blue jeans, a short-sleeve shirt, and tan or beige shoes.
Authorities have released a missing poster containing identifying information and distinctive tattoos present on each woman. Butler has a Chinese symbol on her left forearm and a sunflower on her left shoulder, while Kelley has a butterfly tattoo on her left forearm.
Investigators are urging anyone with information about their whereabouts to contact the OSBI immediately through their hotline at 1-800-522-8017 or via email at tips@osbi.ok.gov.
The search for Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley, the missing Kansas women, continues as law enforcement agencies collaborate to uncover the truth behind their disappearance.