Athena Brownfield: Search Continues for Missing 4-year-old, Mail Carrier Finds Her Sister Roaming Outside Unattended

The search for 4-year-old Oklahoma girl Athena Brownfield, reported missing last week by a Cyril mail carrier, continues.

As CrimeOnline previously reported,  a missing persons report was filed on Athena Brownfield at around 2 p.m. on January 11. A mail carrier in the area she was last seen, in the 200 block of West Nebraska in Cyril, reported seeing her 5-year-old sibling unattended, walking outside alone, prompting a call to Cyril police.

“At this point the investigation into her whereabouts continues. We are actually getting tips from across Oklahoma as well as multiple other states,” Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations (OSBI) spokesperson Brook Arbeitman said,

Arbeitman wouldn’t provide information regarding this children’s parents but said authorities would “get to that when the time’s right.”

A few days after she was reported missing, OSBI announced that caregiver Alysia Adams was arrested on two counts of child neglect related to the treatment of Athena and her sister.

Police then arrested Adams’ husband, Ivon Adams, in Phoenix, Arizona. The initial Arizona court filing says that evidence of “child homicide” was found on his cell phone. He’s now facing first-degree murder and child neglect charges, Oklahoma’s News 4 reports.

Multiple agencies responded and launched a search, and numerous volunteers have joined the efforts. So far, OSBI hasn’t named the search a recovery effort and continues to search properties and information associated with the two defendants.

The 5-year-old girl is now in the care of child protective services.

This is a developing story. Check back for more information.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.

[Featured image: L-R, Ivon Adams/Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Athena Brownfield/Cyril Police Department, Alysia Adams/Caddo County Sheriff’s Offfice]