Police have asked the public to help in the investigation into a four-year-old girl from Cyril, Oklahoma, who disappeared earlier this week.
Athena Brownfield was reported missing at around 2 p.m. Tuesday. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) have deployed infrared helicopters, four-wheelers, boats and personnel on the ground to search the surrounding area, according to the OHP Trooper Eric Foster.
‘Our Emergency Response Team (ERT), which is specially trained to go on foot in search of people and things, are out in coordination with civilians who have come and wanted to volunteer their time and effort,’ Foster said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon, FOX 25 reported.
The bureau’s PIO Brook Arbeitman confirmed this information, adding: ‘We are still very actively looking for her using all of our tools. We are finding things that we hope might give us clues as to where she is, but we are still actively looking for her.’
Athena Brownfield (pictured) was reported missing at around 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
A locator map for missing Athena Brownfield
Authorities also used Oklahoma Department of Corrections dogs to assist the search, the report notes.
‘This is a very active and ongoing investigation, and right now our top priority is locating her. And sorting out who is responsible will come next. We need to find this little girl,’ Arbeitman said. ‘She’s on her own in the elements. So, is that endangered? Yeah. But is she the victim of physical harm? That’s yet to be determined.’
This ground search continued all of Wednesday but concluded after volunteers searched ‘the entire town,’ Arbeitman said.
‘Today at 4 p.m., the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) Emergency Response Team (ERT) concluded a grid search with local volunteers. Those volunteers have been released after searching the entire town, every known vacant house and local waterways,’ OSBI added in a separate statement Wednesday afternoon.’
It added: ‘Currently, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) has search dogs in the area and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (OBNDD) flew their drones over the community.’
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation have deployed infrared helicopters, four-wheelers, boats and personnel on the ground to search the surrounding area, according to the OHP Trooper Eric Foster
Athena was reported missing after a postal worker found her five-year-old sister alone near their residence in Cyril, around 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
The older girl was described as frightened but not requiring medical assistance.
It is not clear how long she had been missing before her disappearance was reported.
‘We’re still working on putting together an exact timeline,’ Arbeitman said.
Details regarding the property where the girls were staying are also not immediately clear and the whereabouts of the girls’ parents or guardians at the time of Athena’s disappearance are not known.
‘That’s part of the ongoing investigation,’ Arbeitman said on Wednesday morning when asked about who was supposed to be watching the girls, according to KOCO News.
Law enforcement officials are continuing to conduct interviews and are reviewing surveillance videos in the area. They are also asking anyone with doorbell cameras or footage of the area near the 200 block of West Nebraska to hand it in
The five-year-old has been placed in protective custody.
Several details about the four-year-old, who authorities initially said was three but have since corrected, are not known. Foster said an Amber Alert has not been issued as her disappearance does not meet specific guidelines.
He added: ‘Not every part of that guideline came into play in this. So the next best thing that we could do was issue a Missing and Endangered notification that went out in a 15-mile radius from where she went missing.’
Law enforcement officials are continuing to conduct interviews and are reviewing surveillance videos in the area. They are also asking anyone with doorbell cameras or footage of the area near the 200 block of West Nebraska to hand it in.
‘The entire law enforcement community assisting with locating Athena appreciates local volunteers, restaurants, churches and all the tips that have been phoned in,’ the OSBI said.
Residents are also encouraged to search their own property for Athena.
Fox News Digital is aware of social media posts regarding Athena’s parents or details surrounding her living situation but the OSBI is advising people and outlets not to share unconfirmed details as it could hinder the investigation.
Anyone with information about Athena Brownfield’s disappearance is asked to contact the Cyril Police Department directly at (580) 464-2216, the OSBI tip line at 800-522-8017 or email [email protected]
