OK OK, Veronica Butler 27 & Jilian Kelley 39, Vehicle Abandoned, Texas County, 30 Mar 2024

[nhmemorymaker]

I've always had the feeling that since it took days for LE to go from "suspicious disappearance" to "suspected foul play" that there wasn't as much evidence at the scene as we'd all like.

ya know... i agree.
All the folks that "feel" that something is coming down... kind of scares me.

Oh.. how I hope they are right and we are wrong.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Probably coincidence, but I find it interesting that this attack happened at a time when the dad apparently has a pretty much ironclad alibi. I know what I'd think if it was a murder mystery, but real life isn't usually like novels. Still it seems odd.

With the information of what we know the grandmother said about bio-dad/son............. I personally feel she gave up on him totally, and just went along her normal business without any care of him at all.
imo...
but based on the court records WE HAVE seen.... I don't think we have a strong maternal bond. Anymore.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 8, 2024

Hugoton filled with hope, grief over missing women

It’s been nine days since two women from Hugoton went missing.

www.ksn.com

[...]

KSN reached out to OSBI on Monday to ask where those children were when investigators were brought in and for what reason at the time, along with other questions. They say all of that is still under investigation, and they will tell KSN when they have additional information to release. They also declined to do an on-camera interview.

[...]

Every person KSN talked to said they were still trying to wrap their head around what happened and said their disappearance doesn’t make sense.

The town is now covered with yellow ribbons.

[...]

At the location where the abandoned car was found is a marker with yellow ribbons and sunflowers. The same ones that are lining the streets of Hugoton.

[...]

 

[carbuff]

With the information of what we know the grandmother said about bio-dad/son............. I personally feel she gave up on him totally, and just went along her normal business without any care of him at all.
imo...
but based on the court records WE HAVE seen.... I don't think we have a strong maternal bond. Anymore.

It seems almost like all that business with him is a red herring or distraction.

 

[whitelilac]

APR 8, 2024

Drone footage shows Oklahoma area of missing Kansas moms' case | Vargas Reports​

Pretty hard to do grid searches in such a vast featureless area. I wonder if they've searched buildings, barns, silos, wells etc. but owners would need to allow searches right?
For all we know too is they may have been taken clear out of the area to a neighboring state.

 

[lightofmine99]

What gets me is how many aspects strongly indicate premeditation, and that seems to he the prevailing theory about this, but there's still so much about this case that is very sloppy on the part of the perpetrators.

Only time will tell. The person responsible for the Setagaya family murder in Japan was very sloppy and they have still not been identified 24 years later.

 

[otto]

Has it been verified that a window was shattered? I know so many things have been accepted as actually happening - like a "pool of blood" which has never been verified as far as I know. Some woman claimed she was driving by and saw the car and it had a shattered window - but I've seen others discrediting her - saying the car's position and distance from the main road, it would make it nearly impossible to see the driver's window.

Agreed. The car was facing South. Anyone driving North or South on hwy 95 would see the passenger side window, not the driver side window.

A shattered window suggest violence, such as a gunshot through the window. I have seen links upthread to a shattered window. It might have been crimeonline, something like that. I'll look for the link. It was also said that the video was taken out of the right side of the local's car - the passenger side of the car.

The video was driving towards the car and may have captured a broken window as they neared the turnoff road where the car was found. We don't know which window was broken.

 

[nao]

Moo.. <modsnip; no source link>
In some ways, it seems too easy n obvious for this to be about custody.
Is this is the first time JK has done this run.?

 

[AliceInPain]

in a contentious custody situation it isn't just parents who can get overly zealous in their pursuit of getting things decided in a way that most benefits their own wishes MOO JMO

Yeah when I first read about the circumstances my first thought went to Sunday Blombergh. That was horrific!
Hopefully there will be more official information soon especially for the locals. I'd feel pretty uncomfortable living there right now.

 

[otto]

Moo..<modsnip: no source link>
In some ways, it seems too easy n obvious for this to be about custody.
Is this is the first time JK has done this run.?

<modsnip: quoted post was snipped>

We have motive - in the sense that Veronica seems to be the target. If she was the target, and someone planned to kidnap her along the highway (seems premeditated), then someone knew what she was driving, when she would be there, and who she was with. My impression is that someone planned this kidnapping with the intent to avoid surprises or accidents. Hopefully, someone brought along a cell phone anyway.

I believe it's possible to scan a cell phone triangulation region and take a snap shot of cell phone IDs that were in that specific area during a specific time interval. If someone who abducted the two women had a cell phone, that should be enough to trace the phone.

Hopefully a smart watch worn by either one of the women can offer more clues about their location.

 

[otto]

When the grandmother realized that mom would not arrive at the abandoned Four Corners building at 9:45-10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, with two children excited about having their birthday party with mom, were the children taken straight home? ... did the grandmother phone Jilian's husband? ... did she wait for Jilian until 10:45, until she heard from Jilian's husband that Veronica's car had been found? ... did the grandmother then go straight home worried and traumatized or did she take the children for ice cream at Elkhart to make up for missing the party? I'm curious.

 

[NDreu]

LE doesn't owe the public any kind of update about people the public assumes are suspects in an investigation.
In this awful case, no one has been named a suspect or POI yet, but when they are, LE will share that with the public.

jmo

Obviously no response is due the public.

The point of the OP was that this issue was raised over a week ago by OSBI via their Communications Officer and no follow up statement to clear a party adjacent to the missing mother of his children has been provided.

It’s not atypical in missing or other cases for LE to clear the deck of adjacent or family members associated with the missing/victims if they are found to not be part of the ongoing investigation.

Interesting that this usual tactic hasn’t been seen in this case as it enters week 2.

I thought this was curious and perhaps relevant.

MOO

 

[Rush4087]

Moo..<modsnip: no source link>
In some ways, it seems too easy n obvious for this to be about custody.
Is this is the first time JK has done this run.?

<modsnip: quoted post was snipped>

I don’t agree however that (again, if true) “in some ways it seems too easy n obvious for this to be about custody” - because at this point, that is exactly what I think this is about. But that is pure speculation and just my opinion. Hopefully there is a less sinister explanation and LE will provide an update soon.

Jmo

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“We wanna know that they’re OK and they’re gonna come back, but you know, as the days roll by, it’s just getting harder and harder to stay positive and keep the faith. It’s hard,” said Nordling.

A town forever changed and determinted to never stop searching for answers.

“You just realize that there’s an awful lot in life you can’t fix,” said Nordling. “They’re not forgotten, and that’s the most important thing.”

Regardless of the outcome, the town of Hugoton will support each other, but feel like they’ve lost the sense of safety they once felt.

Hugoton filled with hope, grief over missing women

It’s been nine days since two women from Hugoton went missing.

www.ksn.com

 

[charmingbetsy]

When the grandmother realized that mom would not arrive at the abandoned Four Corners building at 9:45-10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, with two children excited about having their birthday party with mom, were the children taken straight home? ... did the grandmother phone Jilian's husband? ... did she wait for Jilian until 10:45, until she heard from Jilian's husband that Veronica's car had been found? ... did the grandmother then go straight home worried and traumatized or did she take the children for ice cream at Elkhart to make up for missing the party? I'm curious.

IMO, a typical reaction from a missed visitation would have been to call VB a couple of times/leave voicemail and send a couple of texts while waiting and again when leaving with the kids. If grandmother had JK's contact info (and was expecting her to be the particular supervisor provided by VB that weekend), she would have also called and left a message. I doubt grandmother would call JK's husband and if she did, I'd be curious how she had his contact info. For good measure, grandmother might send a quick email to her attorney to further document the no-show.

I know it seems odd to us for a parent to miss visitation, but I don't think it's particularly unusual in some custody disputes. It wouldn't raise any red flags for me if grandmother acted as I described above and then took the kids out for ice cream or something.

However, due to the contentious nature of the custody dispute and the leverage a missed visit would provide grandmother, I think it *would* raise red flags in my mind if grandmother made any special effort to find out if VB was showing up or where she was, outside some bare minimum calls/texts.

 

[NDreu]

Not seeing any updated news on local morning shows.

News Nation now has local reporters on the ground in the area working this case.

 

[Cagle]

<modsnip: quoted post was snipped> I wanted to mention that if LE couldn't get in the vehicle, and saw something suspicious or concerning, it's possible they could have broken the window as well (if it was truly shattered).

 

[CuriousCricket]

It seems almost like all that business with him is a red herring or distraction.

It's interesting to me that people are discussing the children's father. He's not the one I am most interested in.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[NDreu]

White cross placed at location where the SUV was found.