The search for four-year-old Athena Brownfield, who has been missing for nearly a week, is now being considered a “recovery operation,” Oklahoma authorities said Monday.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said its agents, along with their partners at the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP), have searched areas of Caddo County for the boy’s remains.
Ivon Adams and Alysia Adams have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Oklahoma girl Athena Brownfield.
(MCSO, NCMEC and OSBI)
Brownfield was reported missing on January 10, 2023, after a mail carrier found her five-year-old sister, Alysia Adams, outside the family home in Cyril, Oklahoma, without adult supervision. The mail carrier notified the Cyril Police Department, which launched an investigation.
Brownfield caretaker Ivon Adams, 36, was arrested in Arizona on Thursday on a charge of child neglect. On Friday, Adams’ charges were upgraded to first-degree murder.
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Adams is being held at the Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix awaiting extradition to Oklahoma, OSBI said.
Oklahoma authorities previously arrested Alysia Adams, 31, on two counts of child neglect, the office said in a statement late Thursday. Alysia Adams, who OSBI said she is married to Ivon Adams, remained jailed in Oklahoma’s Caddo County Friday.
The office did not release further details about the arrests. It was not clear if Adams had an attorney to comment on her behalf.
Athena Brownfield, 4, has been missing since at least Tuesday and authorities continue to search for her.
(Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)
The girls had been in the care of Alysia and Ivon Adams, and Athena’s sister was taken into protective custody, the office said.
Authorities said they believe Athena was wearing a hoodie with a butterfly design when she went missing.
Volunteers and various law enforcement agencies were involved in the search, which included a helicopter, boats, all-terrain vehicles, a specially trained ground crew, and a review of surveillance video of Cyril’s surroundings.
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The city of Cyril has also suspended garbage service while investigators search for leads. The bureau said agents were following leads from Oklahoma and other states.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
