Wednesday, January 18th 2023, 6:52 am
The state medical examiner is working to determine whether child remains found Tuesday in Rush Springs are those of four-year-old Athena Brownfield.
The discovery comes as state investigators work to bring the man wanted in connection with her death back to Oklahoma.
Ivon Adams is expected to be booked into the Caddo County Jail in the coming days on a first-degree murder and child neglect warrant.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Adams killed Athena on Christmas Day in Cyril, then buried her near a home Adams and his estranged wife Alysia used to live at in Rush Springs.
RELATED: Caretaker Says Athena Brownfield Was Murdered On Christmas Day
Alysia Adams, who investigators said witnessed the act, is being held on two child neglect complaints.
While the OSBI said Athena died on Christmas, the search for the little girl started on Jan. 10 when a letter carrier noticed Athena's five-year-old sister was wandering around outside the family's home in Cyril.
Court documents said she told the post office employee "she was tired of being alone."
What followed was days of searches mobilized by the Cyril Police Department and the entire community.
"We don't have a lot of resources here, being a small town," Cyril Police Chief Garrett Raney said. "So we've tried to bring in every option that we have available."
The search, which covered both Caddo and Grady Counties, transitioned into a recovery effort just before 12 p.m. on Monday.
Investigators said they were able to locate human remains on a property which Ivon and Alysia Adams used to own in Rush Springs, and are working to identify them.
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