4 arrested in disappearance of 2 women from Oklahoma

Oklahoma authorities have booked four people on suspicion of kidnapping and murder in connection with the disappearance of two women who disappeared in March and are still missing.

The four, who were arrested and booked on Saturday, were identified as Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Tiffany Marshall Adams, 54; Cole Earl Twombly, 50; and Cora Twombly, 44.

They are being held at the Texas County Jail in Oklahoma on suspicion of first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement Saturday.

State court records do not appear to show charges have been filed, and the suspect’s name is not listed among active inmates. It was unclear whether the suspect had legal representation.

Authorities did not reveal the reasons behind the disappearances, saying only that the four were arrested in Texas and Cimarron counties in the westernmost part of the Oklahoma Panhandle.

“OSBI and local law enforcement are still working to locate both victims,” ​​the Bureau said.

Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, were the subject of an Endangered Missing Advisory issued by Texas county authorities on March 30 after the vehicle they were traveling in was found abandoned in a rural area south of Elkhart, Texas County. Kansas, the bureau said.

“OSBI agents immediately began investigating the vehicle and determined there was evidence to suggest foul play,” the OSBI said in a statement Saturday.

Deputies with the Texas County Sheriff’s Office first spotted the vehicle, department spokesman Hunter McKee previously said. They approached the vehicle, but “the women had disappeared and were nowhere to be found,” he said.

The challenge with the investigation, he said, is that the area is so remote that there are few, if any, homes and businesses where authorities can typically find security cameras.

Investigators have not disclosed specifically what evidence suggests a crime may have occurred.

The two were on their way to pick up their children, but it was unclear whether the children belonged to one, both or both women. Bureau spokesman Hunter McKee said investigators believe the two were friends.

Butler’s stepmother, Guadalupe Torres, said in an interview that Butler was in the middle of a bitter custody dispute. Court records show she was a party to a custody claim first filed in 2021.

Although bookings related to the investigation include murder charges, authorities have so far not said they are looking for a body.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of these women is asked to contact the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at tips@osbi.ok.gov or 1-800-522-8017.