Is double disappearance of Indiana mothers linked? Police probing connection after two women vanish just 20 miles apart

Joelle Lockwood, 30, and Kristy Kelley, 27, from Indiana vanished just 20 miles apart



Ms Lockwood was last seen leaving a party on July 9 in Evansville



Meanwhile, Ms Kelley was last seen leaving a Boonville club on August 15



Indiana police have said that there is no concrete evidence to link their disappearances

But officers have noted the stark similarities and are comparing notes

The unexplained disappearance of two Indiana moms who vanished within weeks of each other could be linked, according to police.



Joelle Lockwood, 30 and Kristy Kelley, 27, from southwest Indiana vanished within five weeks of each other just 20 miles apart.



Sheriff Brett Kruse from Warrick County police said: ‘It doesn’t happen frequently that we have two women of the same age group that go missing around the same time.’

Missing: Joelle Lockwood, 30, left, and Kristy Kelley, 27, right, from Indiana have both vanished



Ms Kelley: According to police, Ms Kelley was last seen at 1:30 a.m. Friday August 15 leaving a Boonville VFW club

However, while there is no material evidence to link the two women’s disappearances, police confirm that they are are sharing vital information from both investigations.

Both have two children. And both were last seen wearing tank tops and blue jean shorts.



‘[The similarities are] something both agencies have to keep in mind, you don’t ever want to rule anything like that out,’ Sgt. Jason Cullum of the Evansville Police Department told The Huffington Post.

According to police, Ms Kelley was last seen at 1:30am on Friday August 15 leaving a Boonville VFW club.



Surveillance footage from a local ice cream parlor and a church --shows what police believe is Ms Kelley’s car heading in the direction of her home.



But the footage is 'blurry' according to relatives who have viewed it.



According to Ms Kelley's father, Todd Scales, she had been hanging out with friends at the VFW, a lounge and headed out about 15 minutes after they left.

She left in her 2003 Nissan Xterra, but didn't make it back to her parents' house just two miles away.

And oddly, investigators said she left her cell phone behind at VFW which was very uncharacteristic.

Ms Kelley's distraught mother has expressed disbelief that her daughter is missing without a trace.



Kathy Scales told Abc news: ‘I just can’t explain the pit that I have in my stomach. And just knowing that our daughter is out there and we can’t get to her. It’s very, very, very rough.’



Sheriff Kruse said: ' There has been no activity on Ms Kelley’s bank accounts, and no evidence pointing towards any type of struggle.'



But her parents said they became concerned when she did not return home to them and her children aged 3 and 6 or show up at her job at a local CVS pharmacy.



Meanwhile, Ms Lockwood was last seen on July 9 leaving a party in Evansville, about 20 miles away. She was walking in the area of Park Street and Florida Street in Evansville.



Her worried mother, Candace Lockwood has told of her utter grief over her daughter’s disappearance.



Worry: Ms Lockwood's worried mother, Candace Lockwood has told of her utter grief over the disappearance of her daughter, pictured here

Please help: A missing poster with Joelle Ann Lockwood's photograph has been put out to help the search for her

Without a trace: Ms Lockwood, pictured, was last seen July 9 leaving a party in Evansville

She said: ‘She’s faced a lot of different challenges in her life, and we’re very worried for her right now.’



‘It’s been difficult to keep one foot in front of the other, But we are doing that, and we will find our daughter.

Her friend, Amanda Crowe, said the missing mom has two children, ages 9 and 12. She described her friend as ‘tiny, petite,’ with no known enemies.

Both women’s families are appealing to the public to help find the missing moms.

