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Authorities in Oklahoma have arrested and charged four people on suspicion of kidnapping and murder in connection with the March disappearance of two Kansas mothers, who were last seen driving through the Oklahoma panhandle last month.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced that Tad Bert Cullum, 43, Tifany Machel Adams, 54, Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, were taken into custody on Saturday; they are suspected of kidnapping and murdering Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, before they vanished on March 30. The four were booked into the Texas County Jail in Oklahoma on suspicion of first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder. Adams is the grandmother of Butler’s children, and Cullum is her boyfriend; while Cole and Cora Twombly have been in an eight-year relationship and are friends with Adams on Facebook.

Butler and Kelley were the subjects of an “endangered missing advisory” issued by Texas County authorities on March 30 after a vehicle they were traveling in was found abandoned in a rural part of Texas County south of Elkhart, Kansas, the bureau said. The women were only reported missing when the car they were driving was found 1,000 feet off Oklahoma State Highway 95, approximately 3 miles away from its destination. Butler and Kelley were considered acquaintances, as Kelley supervised Butler’s visits with her children. The women were traveling to Eva, Okla. to pick up Butler’s children who have been living with their paternal grandfather, according to NewsNation.

Butler and Kelley have yet to be found; Butler was in the middle of a bitter custody battle with the father of her children, seeking more visitation time, as she sought full custody of the children. KFOR reported that Adams is said to have had custody of the children at the time of Butler’s disappearance.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the women is asked to contact the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at tips@osbi.ok.gov or 1-800-522-8017.

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A mass shooting in a south Chicago neighborhood on Saturday night has left one child dead, and 10 people wounded, according to police.

CBS Chicago reported that three other children were among the 10 injured during a shooting in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood around 9:20 p.m., near West 52nd Street and South Damen Avenue. Chicago police said that the victims were at a family gathering when the shooting took place.

Chicago police said they responded to a Shotspotter alert of 18 rounds fired and found multiple victims with gunshot wounds at the scene. According to Chicago Police Area One Deputy Chief Don Jerome, officers then began providing life-saving care, including tourniquets and chest seals.

Chicago Police Area One Deputy Chief Don Jerome said the shooting was targeted and likely gang-related, with witnesses telling police they saw a black sedan pull up in the area, and an unidentified person started shooting into the crowd before fleeing. Jerome said: “The offenders’ actions, make no mistake, are horrific and unacceptable in our city.”

An 9-year-old girl was shot in the head and died, according to police and her family, who identified her as Ariana Molina. Two boys ages 1 and 8 were in critical condition, and one 9-year-old-boy suffered minor injuries. Officials said the ages of the adult victims ranged from 19 to 40.

Area One detectives are investigating the incident, with police stating that they believe two people committed the shooting. As of press time,  no one has been taken into custody.

Editorial credit: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com