Vanishing Of 2 Indiana Moms Raises Tension, Questions

Two nearby communities in the Midwest have been rocked by the seemingly-unrelated disappearances of two young mothers this summer.

The first occurrence happened July 9, when Joelle Lockwood, 30, left her friend’s house and hasn’t been seen since. Evansville Police Department Sgt. Jason Cullum said the mother-of-two “left the house on foot, and then, no one saw her again."

Lockwood’s relatives have set up a Facebook page aiming for her safe return; the woman, who has tattoos of a tribal emblem (back) and the Playboy bunny (right shoulder) was last seen wearing denim shorts and pink Nikes.

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Weeks later, on Aug. 15, 27-year-old Kristy Kelley, who also has two children, went off the grid after she left a Boonville, Indiana bar at 1:30 a.m in her 2003 Nissan Xterra.

Monte Fetter, the woman’s great-uncle, told the magazine Kelley’s “not the type to just disappear” with two kids, a job and “a life that she wouldn't just walk away from."

"There has been no trace of her, her car or her clothing … we're very worried about her,” he said of the woman, who also has a Facebook page set up in hopes of her recovery.

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Sgt. Cullum told People while “there are a lot of similarities” in the cases “on the surface … there are many things that are strikingly different” in the cases.

“They're single white mothers who disappeared 18 miles apart, a month apart,” he said. “However, we see a lot of things that are different. One was at a private residence, the other at a bar. They don't seem to have any mutual acquaintances."

“They lived different lifestyles … it could be just a coincidence."

He added that local authorities handling the cases “are in contact every day” hoping to suss out any clues to help bring both of the women home safely.

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"We don't want people looking for a bogeyman who took two women — what we want is for everyone to have their eyes open for these two women,” the lawman said. “Everybody needs to be looking for them both so we can bring them back home."

Those who have seen Lockwood or have information about her disappearance, are asked to contact the Evansville Police Department at 812-436-7979. Those with information about Kelley are asked to contact the Warrick County Sheriff's Department at 812-897-6180.