The search for Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible continues, 25 years later

PICHER, Okla. — This month marks 25 years since Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible went missing. Today, Lauria's mother began preparing for this grim milestone.

Lorene Bible spent the day cleaning up the memorial marker in Picher - where her daughter Lauria and best friend Ashley Freeman were reportedly killed.

The bodies of the Welch girls, as they are known, have never been found.

Both of Ashley's parents were killed when their mobile home was set on fire in the early morning hours of December 30, 1999.

The girls were never heard from again.

But Lorene Bible has never given up searching for the girls' remains.

She says there will be a service to commemorate the passing of the last 25 years, but her resolve to continue the search has never faltered.

Officials from multiple law enforcement agencies held a meeting today to discuss the logistics of future searches.

Lorene says a memorial service is set for December 30, at 6:30 pm at the Welch Civic Center.

“We have met with multiple agencies and individuals to look into our search efforts,” said Gary Stansill, lead investigator.

Stansill declined to release details of today’s meeting so as not to jeopardize or compromise the search efforts