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Oklahoma police searching for missing preacher's wife and her friend

The pair were going to pick up one of their children but never made it there, according to authorities.
Oklahoma police searching for missing preacher's wife and her friend
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Police say they are looking for two women whose empty car was found on the side of a road in rural Oklahoma in what they're calling a "suspicious disappearance."

Veronica Butler, 27, and Jillian Kelley, 39, were traveling together to "pick up children" but never made it to their location, according to a missing persons advisory issued by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The advisory does not say whose children they were picking up, but Kansas station KWCH reported Kelley was traveling with Butler to pick up Butler's children.

A Facebook post from Willow Christian Church in Indianola, Nebraska, described Kelley as the wife of its new minister and sister-in-law of a church member. The church said it held a gathering Sunday night to pray for the missing women. Attendees were invited to create notecards for the families.

"Please pray that Jillian and her friend Veronica are safe and that they are found quickly. God please bring these women home to their families that are so worried about them," the post said.

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The vehicle was found abandoned near Highway 95 and Road L in rural Texas County, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. It's not clear when the vehicle was found, but the Texas County Sheriff's Department on Saturday asked the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for help investigating.

Butler was last seen wearing a blue shirt, denim shorts and HEYDUDE slip-on shoes. She has tattoos including a Chinese symbol on her left forearm and a sunflower on her left shoulder. Kelley was last seen in white-washed blue jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and tan or beige shoes. She has a butterfly tattoo on her left forearm.

This story was originally published by Emanuella Grinberg on Court TV.


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