The panhandle of Oklahoma is a strip of land that is 166 miles long and 34 miles wide. It is comprised of three counties, moving east to west, Beaver, Texas, and Cimarron. The 2020, U.S. census found that a little fewer than 29,000 souls live in the panhandle, not quite half of them in Guymon, the seat of Texas County. These statistics are mentioned only to illustrate one point. In the panhandle of Oklahoma there is a whole lot of empty fucking space. It is, in fact, the very definition of the phrase, "the middle of no where."
At some point a week ago today two women, Veronica Butler, and Jilian Kelley drove into this void and then disappeared. Both women lived on the Kansas side of the state line, although Butler graduated from high school in, Oklahoma. (Hey, when you live in a place that is only 34 miles wide you don't have to go very far to move into another state.)
According to various reports the pair were either friends, or simply acquaintances who were headed to Eva, Oklahoma to pick up, "children," for a birthday party. One source reported the children were Butler's son and daughter. The Amarillo ABC outlet is saying the two kids were living with Butler's ex-mother in law. News Nation added that Kelley was along to help Butler with, "a custody issue." It is unknown at this time what that issue is, but according to both the Amarillo outlet and News Nation the ex mother in law alerted local authorities when they didn't show up.
Within a short time the car Butler and Kelley were driving in was found abandoned three, or four miles north of Eva. A few hours after the discovery of the car the Texas County Sheriff's Department realized it was in over its head and called in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
The OSBI immediately cut off the flow of information regarding the investigation. As one reporter said about them years ago, "They are notoriously tight lipped." Their reputation for crime solving is also, let's say, mixed. The organization was eviscerated by author John Grisham in his non fiction book, "The Innocent Man." It later became a Netflix documentary which featured the famous writer.
After releasing a statement that the OSBI's analysis of evidence found in the abandoned auto leads them believe the women were victims of foul play, bureau Public Information Manager, Hunter Mckee told the Amarillo ABC outlet, "We have every reason to believe they could be in danger."
You think, Hunter?
Meanwhile the media accounts of Butler and Kelley keep shifting subtly. Jilian Kelley, also a mother who has four children herself, has been described as being married to the pastor of Hugoton's First Christian Church. It is being reported she serves as the church secretary and a youth leader. Another report says her husband, Heath recently resigned and moved to Nebraska to be the minister at another Christian church. An early release said Butler attended another church and was active in it, while later reports say she attended the same church as the Kelleys and made no mention of any involvement except as a member of the congregation.
Other reports have said the ex mother in law called her son--whether before, or after she called the sheriff's department is unclear--and he and Heath Kelley drove to where the car was found together. Of course if Pastor Kelley really was in Nebraska that would be impossible. If the account is true, the only possible explanation is he also received a call from someone and rushed straight down from his new home.
Both missing victims were described as having visible tats which is highly unusual for evangelical women, unless they led completely different lives before being, "born again." Whether that is the case, or it is okay for the women of the First Christian Church of Hugoton to decorate their bodily temples is not known. In addition, the nearest school to the car, the one Butler graduated from, went into an unexplained lockdown on Tuesday as the investigation proceeded.
In other words, the whole picture of what happened, who is responsible, and who these women are, or were is garbled to the point of incoherence right now. And, thanks to the presence of the OSBI it will remain that way until they are convinced they've solved the mystery. If they ever do.
And, even then, if we are to believe John Grisham, we might not find out what really happened.
4-6-24
No comments:
Post a Comment