Investigators Begin New Search For 2 Welch Girls Missing Since 1999

On Friday, investigators will conduct another search for the remains of two girls from Welch who went missing more than 20 years ago.

Friday, October 8th 2021, 10:23 am

By: Amy Slanchik

Clarification: It was originally reported by the OSBI and the Craig County District Attorney that this search would begin in a new location. It has since been determined that Friday's dig location is the same one that crews searched in April.

Investigators on Friday renewed the search for the two missing girls from Welch.

Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible were kidnapped, sexually abused, and murdered back in 1999 while having a sleepover.

Information from family members of one of the dead suspects led investigators to an old property.

Investigators with the OSBI and the District 12 District Attorney’s Office went back to David Pennington’s old property and picked up where they left off in April. This time, K9s were on the ground, doing their job to help.

On suspect David Pennington's old property, there is a renewed sense of urgency in the search for Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman.

"We just wanna make sure that we go at it this time and we don't leave anything unturned,” OSBI Special Agent Tammy Ferrari said.

Lauria's mom, Lorene, noticeably stronger than she was a few months ago after a liver transplant, is still steadfast in her faith.

“We're hopeful that we will find the girls today, but if not we can mark it off that the girls are not here,” Lorene said.

Investigators said information from the only living suspect, Ronnie Busick, coupled with information from Pennington's stepdaughter, is what led them here in the first place. The stepdaughter, who is now in her 30s, told investigators Pennington never wanted her, or her mom, to go anywhere near a cellar on the property.

"Even after April, we had other people that were kind of unsolicited that came forward and said 'hey I know about that location. I played there. I know that this structure did exist. And so that's why we were like 'ok we have to go back out there and do the search again,” Ferrari said.

"These were two 16-year-old girls that had the rest of their life and people took it upon themselves to end their story. They didn't get to go on and graduate high school, go to college, get married, have children, have careers,” Bible said.

Investigators said beyond this search, there are still a few other locations they would like to look for the girls.