On a chilly December night in 1999, a trailer in Welch, Oklahoma, went up in flames. It was Ashley Freeman’s sixteenth birthday. By the time the embers cooled, her parents, Danny and Kathy Freeman, were dead from gunshot wounds.
But the two girls who had been having a sleepover? Gone.
The disappearance of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman isn't just another cold case that eventually got a lucky break. It’s a messy, heartbreaking saga of missed opportunities, small-town rumors, and a box of polaroids that sat in a police closet for nearly two decades. Honestly, if you grew up in the 90s or followed true crime back then, this case felt like a ghost story. Two teenagers literally vanishing into the black Oklahoma night while a house burned behind them.
For years, the Bible family lived in a state of suspended animation. Lorene Bible, Lauria’s mother, became a powerhouse of advocacy. She refused to let the world forget her daughter. She kept the pressure on law enforcement when the trail went ice-cold. She was right to be skeptical.
The investigation was botched from day one.
When the fire was first put out, investigators only found one body—Kathy’s. They actually missed Danny’s body, which was found the next day by the Bibles themselves when they went back to the scene to look for clues. That’s a staggering level of oversight. It set the tone for twenty years of "what ifs."
What Really Happened to Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman?
For ages, the theories were wild. People thought the girls ran away. People thought Danny Freeman was involved in some local drug trade gone wrong. Some even wondered if the girls had committed the murders.
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They hadn't.
The truth was much darker and involved a trio of men: Ronnie Busick, Warren "Phil" Welch, and David Pennington. These weren't criminal masterminds. They were localized predators. According to later testimony and court documents, the men went to the Freeman trailer over a debt—likely related to meth. They killed the parents and took the girls.
What followed was a nightmare.
The girls were taken to Welch’s mobile home. They were held captive, tortured, and eventually murdered. The most chilling part? The killers took "trophy" photos of the girls. These polaroids were rumored to exist for years, whispered about in the underbelly of Craig County.
The Breakthrough That Changed Everything
So, why did it take until 2018 to make an arrest?
Part of it was fear. Welch, who died in 2007, was a terrifying figure in the community. People knew what he was capable of. It wasn't until investigators started digging back through old files—specifically an insurance folder and notes from private investigators—that they realized just how many people had actually told the police about Welch years prior.
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The lead that finally broke the dam came from a woman who had lived with Welch. She provided details that only someone involved could know. This led to the arrest of Ronnie Busick, the only surviving member of the trio.
He eventually pleaded guilty to accessory to first-degree murder.
The Search for the Girls Still Continues
Even with a conviction, there is a gaping hole in this story. We still don't have the bodies of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman.
Busick claimed they were thrown down a mine shaft near Picher, Oklahoma. If you’ve never seen Picher, it’s a literal wasteland—a Superfund site filled with chat piles and thousands of abandoned, unstable lead mines. It’s a needle in a haystack made of toxic sludge.
Search teams have spent months out there. They've used heavy machinery and sonar. They’ve dug through tons of earth.
Nothing.
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It’s frustrating. It's gut-wrenching for the families. You have a confession, you have a motive, and you have a location, but the earth refuses to give them back. Some experts believe the geography of the area, specifically the way the mines flood and shift, may have moved the remains over the last quarter-century.
Why This Case Matters Today
This isn't just about a 1999 crime. It’s a case study in how rural law enforcement can fail victims and how DNA isn't always the magic bullet. In the case of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman, the solution was sitting in witness statements that were ignored for twenty years.
It’s also a testament to a mother’s resolve. Lorene Bible basically did the work of a detective for two decades. She kept records. She tracked leads. She didn't let the "missing" label become a permanent status without a fight.
Lessons from the Freeman-Bible Investigation
If you are following a missing person case or trying to help someone who is, there are a few brutal but necessary takeaways from this story:
- Document Everything Personally: Don't assume the police notes are complete. The Bibles found a body the police missed. Keep your own logs of who you talked to and when.
- Pressure Works: Cold cases get dusty because no one is looking. Media attention keeps the file on the top of the desk.
- Witness Credibility is Subjective: In this case, many early witnesses were "fringe" characters—people involved in the drug scene. Police often discounted them. If you’re investigating, remember that the people who know what happened to criminals are often other criminals.
- Geography is a Factor: In places like Picher, the landscape changes. Understanding the physical environment of where a crime occurred 20 years later requires geologists, not just cops.
The story of Lauria and Ashley is a reminder that the truth is often hiding in plain sight, buried under layers of silence and bureaucratic negligence. While Ronnie Busick is behind bars, the mission remains the same as it was in 2000: bring the girls home.
To help or stay informed, you can follow the official "Find Lauria Bible" social media pages, which are still actively managed by the family. They continue to seek tips regarding the specific location of the remains in the Picher area. If you have information about any of the abandoned mine sites used by Welch, Pennington, or Busick in the late 90s, contacting the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is the most direct way to contribute to the recovery effort.