OK - Athena Brownfield, 4, found deceased, Cyril, 10 Jan 2023 *Arrest*


Looks like IA is facing first degree murder charge and some evidence was recovered from his phone.
Oh wow. :(

According to the initial court filings, Ivon Adams was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant for Murder in the First Degree and Child Neglect.

Arizona officials say evidence was found on his cell phone.

Meanwhile, the search continues for Athena.

The OSBI has not called the search a recovery as they continue to comb through properties associated with the caretakers.
 
Just catching up on this case, so these were from a couple of days ago.

TRANSCRIPTION OF BOTH PRESS CONFERENCES

11TH DECEMBER.

MORNING PRESSER

LE
- There is a missing 3 yr. old girl, here in Cyril, that we are involved in searching for her with a lot of our law enforcement partners. This started yesterday about 2:00 o'clock, when the missing girl's sister was located by a postal carrier, who knew that she wasn't where she was supposed to be and notified the police, and at that time, we realised that there was another child missing. We got involved at the request of Cyril PD last night and have been out here, in town, searching for her since that time.

Reporter - Now, I understand that the parent's, they are in contact with OSBI. Can you talk anything more about that situation? Were they home at the time? What's going on with the parent's, the family?

LE - Well, what I'll tell you guys at this point in time is, obviously this is a very active and ongoing investigation and, right now, our top priority is locating her and sorting out who's responsible will come next, but we need to find this little girl.

Reporter - At this time, do you believe that she is in danger?

LE - There's not anything to indicate that, other than she's a little child and she's missing and she's on her own in the elements and so, you know, is that in danger? Yeah, but is she the victim of physical harm? That's yet to be determined.

Reporter - And many people have been saying she's autistic and non verbal. Can you confirm that she's autistic?

LE - Well, I can say she has limited verbal skills.

Reporter - There were pictures of her circling on social media, bruises on her eyes. Can you tell me, before, was she previously hurt? Anything about the parents?

LE - I don't have any information on that.

Reporter - We saw heavy law enforcement presence at the house. That was a search warrant happening. Anything about that?

LE - Yeah, so that's just standard procedure. The child is missing and so we're executing a search warrant at the scene, right now, at the home, to try to find any clues as to her whereabouts, it's just pretty common. And the crime scene tape doesn't indicate a crime occurred there, it's merely a way for us to keep everybody out that needs to be out so that we can execute our search warrant.

Reporter - And you all have asked people to call the tip line if they have any information. How has that gone?

LE - Yeah. So that's very helpful when anybody who saw anything or has seen anything unusual, to call us. We're also requesting that anybody in town, not just a neighbour - if they have a ring doorbell camera or any camera on their property or residence, to come down to the church, where our command post is. Let us look at that video, it could be helpful. Also, we would like for residents in town to search their properties and if they have a property next door that might be abandoned or something like that, to go ahead and search that property. We will gladly accept volunteers to help us search with all of our law enforcement partners, but we don't want them to do it on their own. We want them to come down here and have it be a coordinated search, but ring doorbell cameras and searching your own property - think of a place where a 3 yr. old could crawl into, look in all those places and if you find anything, please notify us.

Reporter - And we've seen pictures of the little girl on (inaudible) Facebook's page. Any idea what she was wearing yesterday that can maybe help people?

LE - At this time we're still working through that, yeah. I do wanna give a lot of thanks to our partners, we're not in this alone. OHP has flown their helicopter for about 3 hrs. They were out here for 2 hrs. overnight and had to refuel and came back. We have search and rescue crews, we have police departments, we have volunteer groups that are running dogs. So this is a coordinated effort and we really appreciate all of their help.

Reporter - How many hours would you say that law enforcement has been working this case?

LE - You know, Cyril PD was working it before they requested us. That started, initially, when the postal carrier notified them that she found the little girl. We've been out here since about 9:00 o'clock, so 9 to whatever it is now. Everybody's been out here overnight and not slept yet and so it's just a priority that we find her.

Reporter - About that interaction with the postal carrier and the little girl. How was it? Did the little girl frantically go running to her or did she just come across her?

LE - It's my understanding, at this point in the investigation, which again, I want to encourage you guys that it's still very early and we're still, again, prioritising finding her over how we got here, but it's my understanding the postal carrier found her and realised that she was not in.. where she should be and then notified police, so I don't know about frantic, I don't...

Reporter - But she was spotted right across from her home?

LE - I don't that yet. I can find out.

Reporter - Are both parents over here? Or is there another parent elsewhere?

LE - Again, that's part of the ongoing investigation and, right now, our priority is to find her so.. that's all I have for you guys right now. We'll have another press briefing this afternoon.



AFTERNOON PRESSER

LE
- As far as any updates from the briefing this morning we've added some additional partners who've come in to assist with the investigation, including the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, they're helping us out. The Comanche Nation is coming to help as well. Fort Sill is providing some soldiers for the search operations that OHP is running with their ERT's.

We've been out all day conducting those grid searches with volunteers and we really appreciate their support along with OHP support in managing that effort. We are collecting items that could be relevant. I'm not going to call them evidence, but we are finding things around town that could be helpful in this case. One of the questions from this morning was about the health and condition of the 5 yr. old that was found yesterday. We can report that she did not require medical care at the time, of course she was frightened, that goes without saying, when you're a 5 yr. old. She's currently in protective custody with the state, but she did not require any sort of medical care at the time.

We really appreciate all the tips that have been called into our tip line. We encourage anybody in town, whether you're a business owner or a resident, that if you have any sort of video cameras or ring doorbell systems, if you can come down to the church and provide that to law enforcement, it will be very beneficial.

We're still working on putting together the exact timeline, but again, I can confirm that this investigation really kicked off yesterday, about 2:00 p.m. when the postal carrier located the 5 yr. old and contacted the Police Department, and then we got involved later that night and then, of course, all of our law enforcement partners have joined us and we've been looking for her non-stop since the original call came into the Police Department. With that, I'm going to let Trooper Foster answer some questions about OHP resources that are out here and also address the Amber Alert.

Trooper - So the Oklahoma Highway Patrol was requested last night and obviously we're here to assist and so we brought all of the resources that are available to be able to come and assist. We've been in the air with helicopter with infrared. We've been on the ground, obviously you've seen, around town, there are a lot of grid searches on foot going around and on 4 wheelers, things like that. And so our ERT team, which is a team specially 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, and that's really a great thing to see, especially in Oklahoma, we see that all the time. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol also is utilising boats on some of these small ponds out here to make sure that we check waterways and check those thoroughly to make sure all of that is done appropriately. With sonar and things like that, we can see in the water. And so, The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is very much involved in just assisting, whatever needs to be done that is requested from OSBI and the city of Cyril. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved and I reach out and say - pray for all of those involved, not just on the law enforcement side, but there are a lot of people, there are a lot of civilians, there are a lot of resources being put into this that this is done appropriately.

To answer the Amber Alert question - There have been a lot of questions on the Amber Alert. The Amber Alert has specific guidelines that we have to adhere to, to push out the Amber Alerts, specifically. The Amber Alert goes out nationwide, so 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, and so that wasn't done. So the next best thing that we could do was a missing and endangered notification, that went out in a 15 mile radius in, around, where we knew that the person was missing. And so, that's why you didn't get it Statewide, those emergency alerts didn't go Statewide, it went locally and that was really the important timeframe that we needed to get that out. And it was pushed on social media, all of the news outlets were able to get that immediately and so it was done in a very efficient way, by guidelines. And there are reasons for those guidelines, The Department of Justice puts out those guidelines to help us, kind of, put that together. And so that's kind of the answer on that.

LE - I just want to conclude with a couple of things. There's a lot of talk about this investigation on social media. Obviously, we can't stop that, but it can be counterproductive to the investigation. So I would encourage people not to report or spread rumours or innuendos that they see on social media. And lastly, I think on behalf of all of us here and involved, all of the volunteers, we would like to thank the Community. If you haven't been inside, there's just been an outpouring of food and water for the law enforcement and the searchers here and the volunteers that are giving their time and energy to finding her, the restaurants, the churches, the volunteers here, we really appreciate them and obviously couldn't continue this investigation without their help.

We'll take a few questions. I'm just going to be honest guys, that's pretty much what we know, at this point in time, so I don't know how many questions we'll be able to answer, but certainly you can try.

Reporter - How old is Athena? We've seen 3 and we've seen 4.

LE - We can confirm she's 4. Originally we thought she was 3, but she is 4.

Reporter - Where are the parent's right now?

LE - That's part of the ongoing investigation.

Grandmother - I'm the paternal grandmother, my son's dealing with what he needs to deal with.

LE - (speaks to grandmother) Okay.

Reporter - I have another question. So when was she last seen? We've seen Sunday, we've seen Friday. When was the last time she was last seen?

LE - Well, as I mentioned, we're still building that timeline and we're working and talking to witnesses and neighbours and people in town to build out that timeline. What I can confirm to you, that is not rumor or innuendo, is that this investigation began at 2:00 o'clock yesterday, when her 5 yr. old sister was located by the postal carrier.

Grandmother - That's when we found out.

Reporter - Has today's search progress (inaudible) picked up scent from railroad tracks, anything like that?

LE - Nothing at this point that I can confirm. We're still very actively looking for her, using all of our tools, thanks to OHP and our other law enforcement partners. Like I did say, we are finding things that we hope might give us clues as to where she is. We're still actively looking for her.

Reporter - Is there a chance that this investigation will spread outside of this area, outside of just the city in general?

LE - At this point time, we're here, we're staying in town, we're looking in town and we'll see what happens as the investigation progresses.

Reporter - Does temperature or terrain pose any kind of concern right now?

LE - Well, you're talking about a toddler who's been on her own, so I would say yes.

Reporter - Can you give a description of her and what she might have been wearing?

LE - Description is difficult. I believe we were last told she was wearing a butterfly hoodie. She's blonde, she's 4, her pictures on social media, I can confirm that's her, if you want to share that, but that's what we've got so far.

Reporter - What will the search effort look like going forward?

LE - That's an excellent question. It's obviously going to be ongoing. We're going to be here until it moves into a different phase.

I think that's pretty much all I've got. We definitely want, on behalf of all of us, to thank everybody that's out here looking and helping find her and thank you guys for your coverage, it helps get the word out.
 
HE LEFT HIS WIFE TO FACE CHARGES ON HER ON OWN?
They are either seperated or divorced. I believe they both took off in different directions. My question is who was the last 'caregiver' on site who chose to walk out of that house without those two girls. I hope the 4 biological kids of these two have loving and mature family members who can take care of them. So disgusted and now sad for these kids as well.
 
<modsnip> Phone evidence : Possibly admitting that he knew she was gone, and with the murder charge ... he may have snapped and killed little Athena ?

I wanted to say that the first photo on page one looks like she had small bruises on her face in various stages of healing ?
At first it looked like a little dirt or food... but those spots look greenish and she does not look happy or healthy at all.
So sorry for Athena !
M00.
 
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Oh wow. :(

According to the initial court filings, Ivon Adams was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant for Murder in the First Degree and Child Neglect.

Arizona officials say evidence was found on his cell phone.

Meanwhile, the search continues for Athena.

The OSBI has not called the search a recovery as they continue to comb through properties associated with the caretakers.
I missed these charges in real time. But, were they always for homicide or did that change after arrest?

What is his record like? Anybody see? The docs show him as former military - which is just disgraceful.
 
<modsnip> The Arizona document lists "Child homicide charge from Oklahoma" as a reason under question number 6 asking if there is a reason the defendant will flee if released. I take it to be related to Athena. Or at least I hope he hasn't murdered any other child.

Under question 2 asking about prior arrests and convictions something is blacked out. I wonder what his criminal history is...

 
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Good! I’m glad some of these adults who failed this girl are getting some repercussions!
Agreed ! ^^^

Makes me so angry, and this is frustrating , all a small child wants in life is to be loved and cared for.
Not a fancy home, vacations, or the most expensive toys ... they only want to be loved.
Imo.
 
Could willfully and knowingly abandoning a child be homicide if the child dies because of wandering off/lack of supervision? I think the female took off with the boyfriend. I think the male was resentful. Could have texted her, saying he is taking their kids to visit relatives and he was leaving. She could come get the two others. That would be evidence of abandonment on the cell phone. Perhaps the two girls were related to her by blood and he was playing games with her, welfare of the remaining two be darned. Since there were two of them left behind, I am thinking this is the case? Horrible.
 
They are either seperated or divorced. I believe they both took off in different directions. My question is who was the last 'caregiver' on site who chose to walk out of that house without those two girls. I hope the 4 biological kids of these two have loving and mature family members who can take care of them. So disgusted and now sad for these kids as well.
Thank you for clarifying.
 
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is searching for a missing 4-year-old girl in the area near a home that belonged the caregivers in Rush Springs.

Property records showed that a home in the area belonged to the caregivers of Athena Brownfield.
Video of the search is in the link:
 
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I've tried to refrain from following another missing child case, because after Quinton recently, it sometimes becomes too overwhelmingly awful.

This one caught my attention, though. So heartwrenching.

I have nothing intelligent to add to what's already been posted here.

I guess the biggest gut punch right now is that IA is already charged with child homicide. That doesn't leave much room for hope, IMO.

God bless that alert postal worker who was at least able to rescue the sister, and alert LE to the unfolding crisis.

@Allabouttrial thank you for the transcript of the press conferences. It helped me to catch up on the intricacies of this sickening case.
 
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Is the box left unchecked on that form about the warrant he was picked up on, and not about the actual child homicide charge? That would make the most sense, since the first info on the form is that the charge he was picked up on was the fugitive of justice. Unlikely the form would specify multiple times that homicide victim was a child, yet not check off the box for that. The child homicide charge is extra info that pertains to the fugitive of justice charge. Imo.

Eta a word
Edit again to add that i am confusing myself since just above that box it mentions the charge relates to injuring (killing) someone. Not sure what’s going on with that form
 
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Honestly, we don't know what she has been able to tell LE. Personally, I don't see this as odd, it's been days, she's 5 and hungry and confused and scared. IMO

I'm editing to add.. KUDO'S to the postal worker who was most certainly on point!!!
She may simply have blocked it out of her mind and memory. If so, she may well remember it later. SMH.
 

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