Athena Brownfield and Harmony Montgomery: Striking similarities in 2 'missing child' cases will blow your mind!
CYRIL, OKLAHOMA: More than a week after four-year-old Athena Brownfield went missing on January 10 from the 200 block of West Nebraska in Cyril, the remains of the child have been discovered in rural Grady County outside of Rush Springs, Oklahoma. The update comes after Ivon Adams, 36, Athena’s caretaker, was arrested on one count of first-degree murder and child neglect in the case on January 12. His estranged wife Alysia Adams was also arrested and charged with two counts of child neglect.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) said in a press release on Tuesday, January 17, "OSBI has recovered the remains of a child in rural Grady County outside of Rush Springs. At this time, the OSBI cannot confirm the remains are those of Athena Brownfield. The remains will be transported to the Medical Examiner's Office in Oklahoma City for positive identification. This is a active homicide investigation and until the remains are positively identified, the OSBI will not be commenting further."
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However, with the case at its last leg, there are a few striking similarities between Athena and Harmony Montgomery, who was five when she disappeared between November 28 and December 10 in 2019. Not just that they both were around the same age but also had blue eyes. Further, there were several instances that were common to both cases. Keep reading to find out more.
No amber alert
For both the cases, no amber alert was issued. As per NBC Boston, Harmony's disappearance did not issue the alert because investigators didn't have enough information about whom she may be with or a vehicle that she might be in, explained Police Chief Allen Aldenberg in January 2022. He further added, "We're not searching for any adult. We're not searching for anybody other than Harmony."
While talking about Athena, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Eric Foster said the circumstances surrounding her disappearance did not warrant an Amber Alert. He said, "The Amber Alert has specific guidelines that we have to adhere to push out the Amber Alert specifically. The Amber Alert goes out nationwide. Once we push that button, it goes all the way to Washington, DC, and goes out like that. So, there's specific things and guidelines that we have to follow. Not every part of that guideline came into play in this, so that wasn't done," quoted The Sun.
Two arrests
In the case of Athena, her caretaker Ivon got arrested, along with estranged wife Alysia. Similarly, Adam and his second wife, Kayla Montgomery, got arrested in Montgomery's missing case. While Adam was arrested in October 2022 on a charge of second-degree assault, Kayla got arrested on a charge of welfare fraud.
Separated parents
Crystal Sorey and Adam Montgomery, who is accused of striking Harmony in the face in July 2019, are biological parents of missing Harmony and her younger brother, Jamison. As per Law&Crime, both Sorey and Adam struggled with addiction issues in their lives and both their children were often placed in foster care. Following their separation, Adam received Harmony’s custody while Jamison was adopted by Washington-based TV anchor Blair Miller and his husband, Johnathon, as per Boston 25 News.
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. Also, it is urged that anyone with information about Harmony's disappearance should call or text a 24-hour tip line at 603-203-6060.