Caretakers Arrested in Case of 4-Year-Old Declared Missing After 5-Year-Old Sister Found Alone, 'Frightened'

The caretakers of a 4-year-old girl declared missing after her 5-year-old sister was found wandering alone in Oklahoma have been arrested on child neglect charges, authorities said.

Alysia Adams, 32, was arrested late Thursday by special agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, a spokeswoman said. Her husband, Ivon Adams, 36, was arrested in Arizona and was being held on a fugitive from justice warrant awaiting extradition to Oklahoma, authorities said.

Little has been publicly disclosed by investigators in the strange case of 4-year-old Athena Brownfield, who was declared missing Tuesday in the small Oklahoma town of Cyril after her older sister was found roaming alone by a postal worker near Adams' house, authorities said.

Late Thursday, the state Bureau of Investigation announced Alysia Adams had been arrested on child neglect charges and was the caretaker, along with her husband, of the two little girls. No information has been released about the parents of the two sisters.

On Friday, authorities announced the arrest of Ivon Adams in Arizona's Maricopa County. 

Cyril police were notified by the mail carrier that she had found a 5-year-old "frightened" and alone, authorities said. State agents later took the lead in searching for Athena, and those efforts continued Friday, aided by K-9 teams, infrared helicopters and scores of volunteers.

"At this point, the investigation into her whereabouts continues," Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Brook Arbeitman said in a statement.. "We are actually getting tips from across Oklahoma as well as multiple other states."

On Thursday, the town of Cyril suspended all trash collections.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Cyril Police Department at (580) 464-2216, the OSBI tip line at 800-522-8017 or email tips@osbi.ok.gov.

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