CYRIL, Oklahoma (AP) — Oklahoma authorities searching for a missing 4-year-old girl say they have arrested a caretaker of the child for investigation of child neglect.
Alysia Adams, 31, was arrested at the Grady County Sheriff’s Office and booked into jail in Caddo County on two counts of child neglect, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement late Thursday.
The bureau said the arrest is related to the ongoing search for Athena Brownfield, who was first reported missing on Tuesday from her home in Cyril, about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
A postal carrier found Athena’s 5-year-old sister wandering alone outside Adams’ home on Monday afternoon and alerted Cyril police. Authorities later determined Athena was missing. The girls were in the care of Adams and her husband, and Athena’s sister was taken into protective custody, the bureau said Wednesday.
The bureau released no additional information about Adams’ arrest, and it was not immediately known if she had an attorney who could comment for her.
Authorities said they believe Athena was wearing a hoodie with a butterfly design when she went missing.
The bureau said it was working with other law enforcement agencies and volunteers in the search, which included using a helicopter and a specially trained ground team as well as reviewing surveillace video from around Cyril. It said agents were following up on tips coming from Oklahoma and other states.