Alysa Adams: Babysitter arrested after Athena Brownfield, 4, goes missing and sister, 5, found wandering alone
CYRIL, OKLAHOMA: The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) arrested a caretaker of the missing four-year-old Athena Brownfield on Thursday, January 12. Alysa Adams, along with her husband, was responsible for the care of Athena and her five-year-old sister. The 31-year-old has been booked with two counts of child neglect, one for each of the children under her care.
As previously reported by MEAWW, Athena, who has blonde hair and was last seen wearing a butterfly hoodie, was reported missing on the afternoon of January 10 after a postal carrier found her five-year-old sister wandering around alone at the 200 block of West Nebraska in Cyril at around 2 pm. However, a Caddo County Sheriff’s Office deputy on January 12 told that the girl may have disappeared as early as January 6, reported Fox News.
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OSBI confirmed the caretaker is the primary caregiver for both sisters and that the search for Athena is still ongoing. They have affirmed everyone that they have been working on the case diligently. They said, "OSBI is following every tip that is received, which are coming in from Oklahoma, as well as other states," reported Fox 23.
OSBI is 'looking for her nonstop'
Brook Arbeitman, with OSBI, said, as quoted by Koco News, "We're still working on putting together the exact timeline. But again, I can confirm that this investigation really kicked off yesterday [January 10] at 2 pm when the postal carrier located the 5-year-old and contacted the police department. And then we got involved later that night. Then, of course, all of our law enforcement partners have joined us, and we've been looking for her nonstop since the original call came into the police department."
Meanwhile, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Eric Foster said, "Our ERT Team, which is a team specialty trained to go on foot in search of people and things, are out in coordination with civilians who have come and wanted to volunteer their time and effort." On the other hand, there is not much information provide about Athena's parents. However, her grandmother Penny Brownfield spoke on January 11 saying, as quoted by Oklahoma's News 4, "[I feel] heart wrenching chest pains [and] sick to my stomach."
Talking about the girl's parents, she said that the father was not in touch with the two girls since the mother left with the kids more than a year ago. The grandmother said she recently got to know that the two were staying with a relative instead. Penny said, "She abandoned her kids, she knew where I was." On the other hand, Arbeitman told that finding the parents is "part of the ongoing investigation." However, he added, "right now our top priority is locating [Athena]," reported ABC. If you have any information, call the OSBI tipline at (800) 522-8017, or email tips@osbi.ok.gov.