The history of Craig County Oklahoma is filled with stories of sadness and chaos.
Today we will be discussing another time that blood was spilled on the dirt of Craig County, but this time there was no massive conflict or war, this was an entirely different kind of modern tragedy for two families in late December of 1999. It was an exciting time, not only was it one of their 16th birthdays but they were on the precipice of new millennium, an exciting new year. To celebrate this the girls planned a sleepover. The night was supposed to be filled with whispered secrets, junk food and laughter, but instead it encompassed their final hours, which were marked by unimaginable terror. 

Sources:
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2002/04/18/records-released-in-shooting-death/62098673007/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/662257052/?match=1&terms=shane%20freeman
https://www.newson6.com/story/67731da48a4b0cd5008f7dd9/25-years-later:-the-1999-disappearance-of-lauria-bible-and-ashley-freeman
https://unsolved.com/gallery/lauria-bible-ashley-freeman/
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2002/04/18/records-released-in-shooting-death/62098673007/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13038073/kathy-eleta-freeman
https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/outreach/awareness-months/more-than-12-people-kept-silent-after-oklahoma-girls-disappeared-in-1999-prosecutors-say/520-b2f75c47-9eea-48fa-b88f-31a7b5797532
https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=PI002
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/lauria-bible-and-ashley-freeman-murder-mystery-dark-forces-at-work/2XAINSQXRXXVT4NKWFNS22R3OQ/
https://people.com/crime/people-magazine-investigates-overlooked-clue-broke-open-1999-murder-case/
https://web.archive.org/web/20180926224748/https://www.tulsaworld.com/specialreports/missingwelchgirls/
https://odcr.com/detail?court=018-&casekey=018-CF++1800056
https://www.okhouse.gov/posts/news-20250312_5
https://www.koamnewsnow.com/phil-welch-mug/image_2e20efd4-f88a-11ef-8546-eb0aed0f10dc.html
https://kfor.com/news/local/25-years-later-families-continue-search-for-missing-oklahoma-teens/
https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-welch-girls-cold-case-picher-ashley-freeman-lauria-bible/41759447
Hell in the Heartland Murder, Meth, and the Case of Two Missing Girls By Jax Miller