A man detained in Arizona faces a murder charge in connection with the disappearance of a four-year-old Oklahoma girl he cared for while searching for the missing child.
Ivon Adams, 36, and his estranged wife Alysia Adams, 31, were caring for missing Athena Brownfield, 4, and her older sister Adina, 5, when she disappeared.
Adams was arrested Thursday in Arizona on child neglect charges in the Athena Brownfield case, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations said.
Police said in a post on Facebook on Friday night that 36-year-old Adams now faces a case of first-degree murder, but gave no further details on what led to the charges.
Ivon Adams (left), who was jailed in Arizona in connection with the disappearance of a four-year-old girl, is now facing murder charges. Authorities previously said they had arrested Alysia Adams (right), 31, on two counts of child neglect – police say the couple are married
The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations continues to search for Athena Brownfield. The four-year-old was reported to have disappeared on January 6 and was reported missing on Tuesday January 10
Adams is being held at the Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix pending extradition to Oklahoma.
Authorities earlier said they arrested Alysia Adams, 31, on two counts of child neglect. OSBI said the 31-year-old is married to Adams.
The office has not released any further details about the arrests and it is not clear if either have sought legal counsel.
While authorities have announced that the pair are married, the pair appear to have since split, with Alysia enjoying a romantic weekend with her boyfriend just days after Athena’s disappearance.
Athena and her five-year-old sister Adina were cared for by Alysia. Adina was found by a postal worker wandering the streets outside her Oklahoma home.
Police said Athena may have disappeared for four days on January 6 before being reported missing on Tuesday January 10.
Athena is shown with her older sister Adina, who was found Tuesday wandering outside the house where the girls had lived
Athena’s grandmother, Penny Brownfield, said the family is trying to remain hopeful
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol was seen searching for Athena in a body of water near her home
The child disappeared from this home in Cyril, Oklahoma – authorities said her disappearance was not reported until four days after her alleged disappearance
While authorities said Ivon and Alysia are married, it appears the couple have split. When this happened is unclear. You have four biological children yourself
When the worker said she checked the house, no one appeared to be home, she claimed.
Adina reportedly told the worker she was hungry and couldn’t find Athena, who is described as “very shy”.
Law enforcement told Fox News that Athena may have been missing since Jan. 6, four days before the postal worker found her sister.
Over the weekend of January 7th and 8th, Alysia, who had the guardianship of the sisters, was seen enjoying a trip to the movies and a meal with her new boyfriend, Blayden Davis, over an hour away in Oklahoma City.
Alysia was taken into custody on Thursday on child neglect charges while Ivon was arrested on Friday.
Athena’s caregiver Alysia spent the weekend romantically dating her new boyfriend, Blayden Davis
Alysia describes herself as a “beauty influencer”. She regularly uploads videos to TikTok, but the children are never shown
Over the weekend of January 7-8, Alysia — who had guardianship of the sisters with her estranged husband Ivon — enjoyed a trip to the movies and a meal with Davis in Oklahoma City, over an hour away
It remains unclear why Ivon was in state or why he and Alysia had custody of the sisters. Adina is now being cared for by the state.
Alysia regularly shares videos of herself rapping on TikTok, singing along to the N-word and making joke clips about her life as a busy mom.
She has four children of her own who are regularly featured on her Instagram account, but Athena and Adina are never shown. How the girls ended up in their care is still unclear.
The children’s paternal grandmother, Penny Brownfield, is based in Cyril, Oklahoma and has joined the search for her missing grandchild — the girls’ birth parents are yet to be named.
Part of the police investigation is trying to determine the whereabouts of the parents, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation said Friday.
Police are now searching bodies of water near the child’s home. They have given no indication that she is no longer alive.