Authorities in Oklahoma have arrested four people on suspicion of kidnapping and murder in connection with the March disappearance of two women who remain missing.
The four, arrested and jailed Saturday, were identified as Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Tiffany Machel Adams, 54; Cole Earl Twombly, 50; and Cora Twombly, 44.
They were booked into the Texas County Jail in Oklahoma on suspicion of first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder, the state Bureau of Investigation said Saturday. of Oklahoma in a press release.
State court records did not appear to indicate any charges had been filed and the suspects’ names were not yet listed among active inmates. It was unclear whether the suspects had legal representation.
Authorities did not say what might have caused the disappearance, but said only that the four men were arrested in Texas and Cimarron counties, in the westernmost part of the Texas panhandle. Oklahoma.
“OSBI and local law enforcement are still working to locate the two victims,” the investigative office said.
Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, were the subject of an “endangered missing notice” issued by Texas county authorities on March 30 after a vehicle they were traveling in was found abandoned in a rural part of Texas County, south of Elkhart. Kansas, the office said.
“OSBI Special Agents immediately began investigating the vehicle and determined that there was evidence of foul play,” Saturday’s release said.
Office spokesman Hunter McKee previously said Texas County Sheriff’s Office deputies first came across the vehicle. They approached the vehicle, but “these women have disappeared and we cannot see them anywhere,” he said.
The investigation was challenged by the remoteness of the area, he said, with few or no homes and businesses where authorities could typically find security cameras.
Investigators have not revealed exactly what evidence suggested the possibility that a crime took place.
Both men were on their way to pick up their children, although it was unclear whether the children belonged to one, both, or neither woman. Bureau spokesman Hunter McKee said investigators believe the two men were friends.
Butler’s stepmother, Guadalupe Torres, said in an interview that Butler was in the middle of a heated custody dispute. Court records show she is a party to a custody petition that was first filed in 2021.
Even though bookings related to the investigation included allegations of murder, authorities have so far not said they are searching for bodies.
Anyone with information about the women’s plight is asked to contact the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at tips@osbi.ok.gov or 1-800-522-8017.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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