4 people have been arrested in connection with disappearance of 2 Kansas mothers
Four people were arrested on Saturday in connection with two mothers who went missing in rural Oklahoma over two weeks ago, authorities said, and two bodies were later located in the area on Sunday.
Tad Bert Cullum, 43, Tifany Machel Adams, 54, Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, were arrested and booked on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said on April 13.
Officials have not identified the bodies recovered in Texas County, Oklahoma, but the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said on April 14 both individuals would be transported to the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner's Office to "determine identification and cause and manner of death."
A news conference was scheduled for Monday morning to provide more details about the arrests in connection with the disappearance of Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39.
It is unclear if any of the suspects have attorneys who could speak on their behalf.
The search for Butler and Kelley began when the pair were reported missing on March 30 after driving from Hugoton, Kansas, to pick up their children.
That same day, their vehicle was found abandoned south of Elkhart, Kansas, just over the state line in Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
"OSBI special agents immediately began investigating the vehicle and determined there was evidence to indicate foul play," the bureau said.
Adams is the grandmother of Butler's children, NBC affiliate KFOR of Oklahoma City reported.
Butler and the father of her children were involved in an ongoing court battle over custody of their children, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
The case has been challenging due to the rural location, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation public information manager Hunter McKee told NBC News.
"There are not a lot of homes, no businesses, no other buildings," McKee said. "And usually you can use cameras and footage to see maybe what had occurred, or what had led up to that."
Debbie Nordling, a friend of Butler and Kelley's, told KFOR she and her community are still looking for answers.
"It’s like a black cloud is over the top of us, and you know, we want to know that they’re OK and they’re going to come back, but you know, as the days roll by, it’s just getting harder and harder to stay positive and keep the faith," Nordling said.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
