Officers from state and federal agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation search for two Welch, Oklahoma, girls who have been missing since 1999.

 

On Monday, agents from the FBI along with law enforcement agencies from Oklahoma and Kansas began a new search along the state line near Treece and Picher for Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible. The two girls went missing on December 30, 1999, during a sleepover at the Freeman house near Welch. Their absence was discovered after a fire was reported at the home. In the remains of the house, the bodies of Ashley's parents Danny and Kathy Freeman were discovered. Both had been shot execution style. Investigators believe the two girls were kidnapped and murdered but their bodies have never been found.

 

Three men were identified in the case. In 2020, Ronnie Busick was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the case, but he was released in 2023. The other two suspects, David Pennington and Phil Welch, have since died.

 

The FBI is being assisted in this most recent search by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Cherokee County, Kansas, Sheriff's Office, the Craig County, Oklahoma Sheriff's Office, the Miami Nation, the Cherokee Nation, the Quapaw Nation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

 

Anyone with information on the case of Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible is asked to contact the O-S-B-I at 1-800-522-8017 or email tips@osbi.ok.gov