Blood found near vehicle where Kansas moms were last seen: Sources

Editor’s note: NewsNation’s Brian Entin confirmed with a medical examiner that the women were not shot as previously reported. A cause of death is still pending.

(NewsNation) — As authorities continue to investigate the case of two missing Kansas mothers, sources tell NewsNation that police suspect the women were shot and blood was found near the vehicle they were last seen in.

Investigators haven’t confirmed those details.

Police say Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley of Hugoton, Kansas, disappeared after their car was found 1,000 feet off of Oklahoma State Highway 95 along a dirt path March 30.

NewsNation previously reported that a small amount of blood was found inside the vehicle, but sources now say that there were also separate puddles of blood outside of the vehicle.

Police have described the two women as more acquaintances than friends. NewsNation reported that Kelley was the supervisor of the childhood visits for Butler. Family members, who have been asked to postpone media interviews until the police tell them otherwise, say the two women were involved in their community and their churches.

The car the two women were traveling in was found in a vast, open area near Yarbrough School, from which Butler graduated in 2015. Despite investigators believing foul play could be involved in the women’s disappearance, there have been few visible signs of an active, large-scale search.

Butler’s family says the two were traveling together to Eva, Oklahoma, to pick up Butler’s two children. NewsNation has learned Butler’s children may be living with their paternal grandmother, who is currently watching the kids.

NewsNation previously reported Butler and the father of her children were embroiled in a bitter custody battle, and that just 10 days before the women went missing, Butler had filed a petition in court for more visitation with her children and was seeking full custody.

The court filings said things had not been going well between Butler and the grandmother.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said it is conducting a search for the women and will provide updates when they become available. NewsNation previously reported that the FBI is lending resources to the search.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the OSBI at tips@osbi.ok.gov or 1-800-522-8017.

Digital content producer Sean Noone contributed to this report.