The carer of a missing Oklahoma child, aged 4, was arrested in Arizona on Friday and accused of her murder.
Late on Friday, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced that 35-year-old Ivon Adams, who had been detained on Thursday for child negligence in connection with Athena Brownfield's disappearance, had been charged with murder.
According to The Associated Press, authorities did not provide any explanation for the additional accusation. Adams is in the process of being extradited to Oklahoma.
His 31-year-old wife, Alysia Adams, was also detained after the youngster went missing on Tuesday.
As of right now, Alysia Adams, one of Brownfield's caretakers, is still being held on two charges of child negligence at the Caddo County, Oklahoma, prison.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced in a statement on Thursday that "the hunt for Athena continues." The OSBI is investigating all tips submitted by citizens of Oklahoma and other states. The Cyril garbage collection was combed through for information on where Athena could be.
As an added measure, "analysts are scrutinizing security footage from the Cyril area and looking for additional clues that might assist in finding Athena."
During the afternoon of Tuesday, a postal worker in Cyril, Oklahoma, discovered Athena's younger sister, who is five years old, walking the streets alone.
Athena's disappearance was first reported to authorities when a mail carrier saw that the girl "wasn't where she was supposed to be an informed police," according to OSBI public relations officer Brook Arbeitman, who spoke at a news conference on Wednesday.
The deputy with the Caddo County Sheriff's Office informed FOX 25 Oklahoma City on Thursday that Brownfield may have gone missing on January 6.
Citizens "with a dwelling or business in Cyril that has a video doorbell camera" are being asked in a press statement from the agency that went out on Wednesday to report to the command post set up at the Family Life Church in Cyril.
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