Missing Mom and Preacher's Wife Vanish, Picking up Kids: Car Just Found

6:15 PM Saturday: Oklahoma Highway Patrol issues a ‘Missing Endangered’ Alert for Veronica Butler and Jillian Kelley on behalf of the Texas County Sheriffs.

By Sunday evening, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announces they are joining the investigation into the women's “suspicious disappearance.”

Jillian Kelley, a mom of four, serves as a secretary at Hugoton, Kansas First Christian Church, where her husband, Heath Kelley is the pastor. Veronica Butler has been locked in a years long custody battle with her children’s dad.

Cole and Kendyl are with their paternal grandmother. Butler plans to host a birthday party for Kendyl’s birthday and makes the 45-minute drive to her hometown to pick them up. Kelley rides along.   

Butler and Kelley miss their expected return home. Pastor Heath Kelley and Pastor Tim Singer drive in the direction they believe the women traveled. 

South of Elkhart, Kansas, just three miles from the women’s destination,  the men see law enforcement surrounding Butler’s cars on the side of the road. They learn that Texas County Sheriff officers found the car abandoned.  

Joining Nancy Grace Today:

Kathleen Murphy -  Attorney at TriangleDivorceLawyers.com 

Dr. Nicole Vienna – Forensic Psychologist (specializing in trauma and neurodevelopmental disorders), CEO: Vienna Psychological Group, Inc.; Instagram: @drnicolevienna, Facebook: @vienna_psych_group

Dan Corsentino – Former Police Chief, Former Sheriff (served on US Homeland Security Senior Advisory Board), and Private Investigator; Expert witness certified in Federal and State courts in the area of Police Policy

John Elwood – Deputy Chief, Manatee County Search and Rescue; Twitter: @KarmatheSARdog; Principal Evaluator for the National Search Dog Alliance; Instructor/Evaluator National Association of Search and Rescue, 35 Years With Sarasota County Fire Department  

Nicole Partin - Crimeonline.com investigative reporter

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