Authorities in Oklahoma are starting a new search for two 16-year-old girls missing and presumed dead for nearly 20 years.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Rogers, Mayes and Craig Counties District Attorney’s Office are leading the search for the remains of Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible. The Quapaw Nation and Tulsa Police Department Dive Team are helping them comb an area in Picher, about 85 miles northeast of Tulsa and where authorities have said the girls' bodies are believed to have been dumped.
The search area contains collapsed mines that have turned into ponds, some 25 feet deep. Authorities are also using ground-penetrating radar to look for the girls’ remains.
The girls disappeared Dec. 30, 1999, from Freeman's home in nearby Welch. Freeman's parents, Danny and Kathy Freeman, were found fatally shot in the burned home.
In April 2018, authorities charged 68-year-old Ronnie Dean Busick with four counts of first-degree murder in the case and said two other suspects are dead.
Busick has denied involvement in the case and is undergoing a mental competency evaluation.
