4 people are facing murder charges in Oklahoma as authorities search for 2 missing women

Apr 14, 2024, 5:00 PM

Jilian Kelley and Veronica Butler were driving with one another to pick up children, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. ( Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via CNN Newsource)

( Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via CNN Newsource)

BY CHRIS BOYETTE, CNN

KSLNewsRadio

Originally Published: 14 APR 24 15:25 ET

(CNN) — Four people have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of two women who went missing last month while travelling through rural Oklahoma to pick up children, authorities said.

The missing women, 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley were driving together but never made it to the pickup location, the Texas County Sheriff’s Department said in an “endangered missing advisory” posted March 30.

Authorities arrested 43-year-old Tad Bert Cullum, 54-year-old Tifany Machel Adams, 50-year-old Cole Earl Twombly and 44-year-old Cora Twombly in Texas and Cimarron counties Saturday, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.

“All four individuals were booked into the Texas County Jail on two counts of First-Degree Murder, two counts of Kidnapping, and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree,” the release said.

The car Butler and Kelley were travelling in was found abandoned near Highway 95 south of the Kansas and Oklahoma border in rural Texas County, the agency said

Agents investigated the vehicle and found evidence of foul play, the bureau said.

CNN has reached out to police for information regarding any relationship between the suspects and the missing women.

Oklahoma court records do not show charges filed against any of the suspects and their names have not been entered into the state’s inmate database. It’s unclear if they have legal representation or have made an initial court appearance.