New Search At Picher Property Offers Family Of 2 Missing Welch Girls Renewed Hope

A full day's search at an abandoned area in Picher came up empty but family members of two Welch girls missing since 1999 said this is just the start.

Tuesday, April 27th 2021, 9:44 pm

By: Kristen Weaver

PICHER, Oklahoma -

Search crews spent Tuesday digging on an abandoned property in Picher, trying to find a cellar that might contain the bodies of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman who disappeared more than 20 years ago.

The search wrapped up Tuesday afternoon, but family hopes this lead is the one that finally takes them to the girls.

A full day's search at an abandoned area in Picher came up empty but family members said this is just the start.

"Most people tell me they wouldn't have lasted this long," said Lauria's mother Lorene Bible. "It's by the power of the Lord and family and friends and prayer."

In 1999, Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman went missing after Ashley's parents were murdered. Investigators believe the girls' bodies were dumped somewhere in Picher.

Crews searched an area where suspect David Pennington used to live. He's now dead.

"We know our suspect David Pennington moved in here about two to three weeks after the murder. He suddenly left Chetopa," said DA Investigator Gary Stansill.

For years, News on 6 has reported the same story: search after search, in different areas around the county and across Picher, all without a trace of the girls' bodies.

But this time, the family has new hope after Pennington's stepdaughter, who's in her 30s now, told investigators Pennington banned her and her mom from ever going near a cellar on the property, so that's what crews are trying to find.

"There was something over here he didn't want them to see," Investigator Gary Stansill said.

Stansill said they dug this large hole and think they found a septic tank Tuesday.

Lauria’s mother Lorene is out of the hospital early after getting a liver transplant and finding the girls has become her life's mission.

"I already said I'd find my daughter and bring her home," Lorene said. "If that's what I have to do, that's what I have to do. Until I find Lauria and Ashley, that's my passion.”

Crews hope to search the area again at a later date.