Remains of missing girl, 4, may have been found

Authorities searching for the body of a missing 4-year-old Oklahoma girl have found the remains of a child but have not yet identified them as Athena Brownfield, who authorities say was beaten to death Christmas night, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday.

“The remains will be transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Oklahoma City for positive identification,” according to an OSBI statement.

The remains were found near Rush Springs, about 15 miles from the Oklahoma community of Cyril, where Athena Brownfield was reported missing.

The child was allegedly beaten to death and buried by one of her caregivers, Ivon Adams, according to court documents released earlier Tuesday.

A postal carrier discovered the girl’s 5-year-old sister alone on Jan. 10 outside the home where they lived with Adams and his wife, Alysia Adams, in Cyril, about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.

Alysia Adams later told investigators that Ivon Adams beat the child at about midnight Dec. 25, according to an affidavit for the arrest of Ivon Adams.

Athena “was not moving and her eyes were barely open,” Alysia Adams said, according to the affidavit by OSBI Lt. Brenna Alvarez. Ivon Adams “then laid her on the ground and punched her at least three more times in the chest” and the child “never moved after that.”

The document does not reveal why Ivon Adams was beating the girl.

Ivon Adams has been charged with murder and child neglect, and Alysia Adams has been charged with two counts of child neglect in the case.

Ivon Adams, 36, was arrested last week in Arizona on murder and child neglect charges and awaits extradition. Alysia Adams, 31, is jailed in Oklahoma on child neglect charges after also being arrested last week.