Search for 4-year-old Athena Brownfield now a ‘recovery operation,’ Oklahoma cops say

The search for a 4-year-old girl who has been missing for nearly a week in rural Oklahoma is now considered a “recovery operation,” authorities said.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Monday, Jan. 16, it is now searching for the remains of Athena Brownfield.

Authorities said the search is concentrated in Caddo County, where the case initiated.

A postal carrier found Athena’s 5-year-old sister unattended outside her home on Jan. 10, but Athena was nowhere to be found, McClatchy News reported.

As crews continued to search for Athena, police arrested her caretaker, 31-year-old Alysia Adams, McClatchy reported Jan. 13. Adams is charged with two counts of child neglect.

Adams’ husband, Ivon Adams, has been charged with first-degree murder and child neglect, according to investigators.

Police said Athena’s biological parents are cooperating in the investigation.

The announcement that the search has moved to a recovery mission comes two days after the Cyril community held a vigil for the safe return of Athena, KFOR reported.

“All this is to gather everyone and pray to get her to come home,” vigil organizer Candie Jones told KFOR. “We just want everybody to know that we know she’s coming home to us. We are just gathering as a community to pray and to let everybody know that that she will be home.”

Athena was last seen wearing a pink butterfly sweater and pink pants, investigators said.

Cyril is about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.

This story was originally published January 16, 2023 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Search for 4-year-old Athena Brownfield now a ‘recovery operation,’ Oklahoma cops say."