US3 min(s) read
Published 12:24 27 Jan 2023 GMT
The remains of a missing four-year-old have been recovered and positively identified as new devastating details emerge.
CBS News reported that Athena Brownfield, from Oklahoma, had been declared missing this month after a postal worker discovered her younger five-year-old sister outside a home in Cyril without any adult supervision.
After the police were contacted, a widespread search for Athena began, with authorities finally positively identifying her remains 60 miles south of Oklahoma City.
Ivon Adams and his wife Alysia - Athena's caregivers - were arrested two days after she was declared missing. Alysia, 31, was charged with two counts of child neglect, while 36-year-old Ivon was charged with first-degree murder and child neglect.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) announced on January 17 that they had "recovered the remains of a child in rural Grady County outside of Rush Springs," close to where Athena's caretakers used to own property.
OSBI, however, did not positively determine the identity of the child's remains until this week following an autopsy, FOX News detailed.
"The Oklahoma Office of Chief Medical Examiner has positively identified the remains [OSBI] agents recovered on January 17, 2023 as those of Athena Brownfield, 4," the Bureau stated.
In court documents, it was alleged that Ivon had beaten Athena to death and buried her close to the family's old house, per CNN.
During a court hearing, Alysia entered a plea of not guilty to her charges. In an affidavit for Ivon's arrest, Alysia stated that her husband had beaten Athena on Christmas evening multiple times until she was unresponsive. Ivon then allegedly took her body and "buried her near a fence line" close to their previous home in Rush Springs.
OSBI Special Agent Brenna Alvarez stated (via FOX News) in a probable cause affidavit filed in Caddo County: "Alysia confessed that on December 25, 2022, around midnight that night, Ivon beat [Athena] and held her by her arms, [Athena] was not moving and her eyes were barely open [...] He then laid her on the ground and punched her chest at least more three times after that. [Athena] never moved after that."
It was then alleged that Ivon took Athena's body from the home on December 26. "When he arrived back, he told Alysia that he buried her near a fence line that was next to their old residence in Rush Springs," according to court documents.
The same documents allege that Ivon told his wife that be put a "large broken branch" on top of the site where the young child was buried.
Athena and her sister's biological mother had reportedly left the children with Ivon and Alysia two years ago, however, the pair had not enrolled the children in school or taken them to the doctors during that time, per NBC News.
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Published 11:43 05 Dec 2022 GMT
Athena Strand, a seven-year-old girl from Texas, has been found dead after allegedly being kidnapped by a FedEx delivery driver.
As reported by NBC News, Strand was reported missing from her father's home on Wednesday evening (November 30). The news of her disappearance started a community-wide search involving approximately 200 volunteers from the area.
Tragically, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin announced on Friday (December 2) night that the young girl's body was discovered southeast of the city of Boyd - roughly 11 miles away from her father's home.
Police officials said that a FedEx truck driver, Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, abducted Strand and that she likely died within an hour based on digital evidence and a confession, CBS News reported.
According to the Wise County Sheriff's Office, Strand was dropped off from school at her home in Paradise at 4:30 PM on Wednesday (November 30).
After being dropped off, her father left to go hunting, which was when the young girl and her stepmother allegedly got into an argument.
"We know that there was a little bit of an argument between her and her step-mom last night but it isn’t anything unusual," Akin said during a police search. "There was that argument, then step-mom went to fix dinner, came back to get Athena, and Athena wasn’t in her room."
Her stepmother reportedly called the police to report her missing around 6:40 PM that day when she didn't find Strand in her room. An Amber Alert was then issued the next day, which was when local volunteers joined officers in the overnight search for the young girl.
According to CNN, Horner was allegedly making a delivery to Strand's home at the time she disappeared. Authorities disclosed during a press conference that they received a tip that helped them determine the FedEx driver as the suspect who abducted the child.
"We knew early on in the investigation that there had been a FedEx driver, made a delivery in front of the house, about the same time that little Athena, seven-year-old Athena, came up missing," Akin told reporters.
However, officials did not indicate a possible motive and said that the suspect did not know the family or the child, per CNN. In addition to this, Strand's cause of death remains under investigation.
Read Athena Strand's mother's post:After confirmation of her death, Strand's mother, Maitlyn Presley Gandy, posted a devastating statement on social media calling her a "princess" and describing her murderer as a "cruel, sick monster".
"Athena is innocent, beautiful, kind, intelligent, and just the brightest, happiest soul you could ever meet. I don’t want her to be the girl known as the one murdered and discarded by a monster," she said.
"I want everyone to know, every single person in this world, that this is my baby and my baby was taken from me. I want everyone to know her face and her voice and just how wonderful of a person she is," she added.
In a statement to CNN, FedEx also expressed its condolences and sympathy to Strand's family. They also directed any further questions to law enforcement.
"Words cannot describe our shock and sorrow at the reports surrounding this tragic event. First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family during this most difficult time, and we continue to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities," the statement reads.
Horner is being held at the Wise County Jail on charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. He is expected in court on Monday (December 5) for a detention hearing and his bond is set at $ 1.5 million.
Furthermore, a GoFundMe titled "Athena's Justice" was created on Friday (December 2) by her mother, Maitlyn Presley Gandy. It has garnered $44,275 in donations at the time of writing - almost reaching its $50,000 goal - and will be "dedicated to seeking justice to the fullest extent".
Our thoughts go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.
us4 min(s) read
Published 18:09 03 Oct 2024 GMT
The remains of a mother have been found six months after she mysteriously disappeared.
Local authorities in Missouri found and identified the skeletal remains of 33-year-old Emily Strite in a wooded area - six months after she initially went missing.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the mom-of-four's remains had been discovered on September 28 in a statement published on Facebook.
"Sheriff Dave Marshak announces the discovery of the body of Emily Strite, a woman reported missing from Jefferson County, who was recently found deceased," the statement began.
"On September 28th, Deputies responded to a wooded area near the 4100 block of Frissell Road in De Soto for a report of human skeletal remains found by the property owner," it continued. "Through comparison to medical and dental records, investigators with the Regional Medical Examiner's Office determined the remains are those of Emily Strite."
After stating that Strite was reported as missing from the De Soto area, the authorities went on to say that they are unsure what the possible cause of death is at this time.
"At this time, Strite's cause of death is undetermined, and investigators are working to learn how her body ended up where it was found," the statement added before urging anyone with further information to come forward and aid in the investigation.
According to a previous missing persons report published on Facebook, Strite was last seen on the morning of April 12, wearing jeans and a hoodie as she was leaving a friend’s house on foot.
Her sister, Jess Strite, alleged to Fox2Now in June that Emily was "in and out of an abusive relationship for most of her adult life".
Additionally, her family says she disappeared as she was due to visit her three youngest children, who live with their father over the Missouri border in Cahokia, Illinois.
Strite's mother, Charlyn McCalin, said that she had spoken to her daughter on the morning she was last seen. "We only talked for about a minute, and she said, ‘I’m going to go see my kids,'" McCalin said of their last conversation.
Strite had reportedly been staying with a friend about 30 minutes from her mom's house, McCalin said.
According to Charlyn, whenever Strite saw her three children, their father - Steve Fults - would either pick her up or send someone else to collect her. "That was pretty routine," Charlyn told Dateline. "So my assumption was, 'Well, she’s at Steve’s now, and she’s staying there.'"
However, the mother grew increasingly concerned after she received a call from Steve asking her why she hadn't contacted her to fulfill plans to see their kids.
"Steve called me and said to me, ‘Have you heard from your daughter? It’s been, like, over a week now, and I haven’t seen or heard from your daughter,’” McClain told NBC News at the time. "He has never called me and questioned anything about Emily or to tell me anything about Emily."
“That’s why I panicked when he called me because he had never done that before," she added.
Fults told Dateline that his relationship with Emily ended in 2022, and their pair were now only connected by their children. He also described Emily as a "strong courageous woman and a great mom".
Police have said there is no evidence of foul play or a crime committed in either Strite’s disappearance or death, leaving the case with no suspects or persons of interest, the outlet reported, but there is an investigation into the matter in progress.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at 636-797-5515.
us3 min(s) read
Published 09:57 03 Dec 2022 GMT
A seven-year-old girl has been found dead in Texas after being kidnapped by a FedEx delivery driver, officials have said.
As reported by NBC News, Athena Strand was reported missing from her father's Paradise home on Wednesday evening (roughly 40 miles northwest of Fort Worth). The news of the girl's disappearance prompted a community-wide search involving approximately 200 volunteers from the area.
Tragically, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin announced on Friday night that Athena's body was found southeast of the city of Boyd, roughly 11 miles away from her father's home.
Per CBS News, Akin told reporters on Friday: "We do have a confession," prior to announcing the death of the child.
"We knew early on in the investigation that there had been a FedEx driver, made a delivery in front of the house, about the same time that little Athena, 7-year-old Athena, came up missing," Akin told reporters.
The sheriff then revealed that 31-year-old FedEx contract driver Tanner Lynn Horner has been arrested on the charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.
Officials have revealed that Horner - of Lake Worth, Texas - had delivered a package to the girl's home around the time she went missing.
CBS reports that Athena's stepmother reported her missing at around 6:40PM on Wednesday after the two had "an argument while her father was not home".
Investigators say that Athena is thought to have died "within the very hour or so" after going missing from her father's home.
Akin also indicated to reporters that Horner had confessed to the crime, with investigators reportedly obtaining "digital evidence" related to Athena's disappearance. No further details were provided.
Additionally, Akin did not state the exact location where the child's body was found, nor did he provide any motive or cause of death. It has been reported that Athena's body was located following a tip that investigators had received earlier in the day.
Horner is currently being held on $1.5 million bail at Wise County Jail.
FedEx is reportedly cooperating fully with investigators, CBS News notes.
As well as the hundreds of volunteers, the FBI, Texas Rangers Division, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, and the US Marshals Service all contributed to the search and investigation.
Our thoughts go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.
us4 min(s) read
Published 14:40 04 Dec 2022 GMT
The mom of seven-year-old Athena Strand has shared a chilling message to the man accused to kidnapping and killing her daughter.
On Wednesday, Athena's stepmother reported the child missing after Athena had disappeared from her father's home in Paradise, Wise County, Texas.
Per The Independent, Athena had returned from school that afternoon as usual, but after a disagreement with her stepmom, she reportedly left the family home. Athena's father was out on a hunting trip at the time.
However, when Athena's stepmother went to tell Athena that her dinner was ready, she noticed the child was not in her room, per Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin.
At approximately 6:40PM, the stepmother called 911 and alerted the authorities about Athena's disappearance.
Over the next few days, the local police and the Texas Department of Public Safety were joined by US Marshals, the FBI, Texas Rangers, and hundreds of volunteers to help find Athena.
Tragically, on Friday evening, Akin told reporters at a press conference that Athena's body was found southeast of the city of Boyd, roughly 11 miles away from her father's home.
The sheriff then revealed that 31-year-old FedEx contract driver Tanner Lynn Horner has been arrested on the charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. Officials have revealed that Horner - of Lake Worth, Texas - had delivered a package to the girl's home around the time she went missing.
NBC DFW has reported Horner has confessed to killing Athena, with authorities believing that Athena was taken from the family's driveway and killed within the hour.
Following the tragic news of her daughter's death, Athena's grieving mom, Maitlyn Gandy, has taken to social media to pay tribute to her "princess" and flood Facebook with images of her daughter.
Gandy has also penned a message aimed at Horner.
Sharing images of Horner's mugshot, Gandy wrote the following message:
"This is the monster that took my baby from me and this world. You will know her name, Tanner. Her name IS Athena Presley Monroe Strand. I know your DOB, 8/8/1991. Do you know hers? I will make damn sure you learn what you took from me and her daddy."
In another post, Gandy paid tribute to Athena, expressing her wish to have as many people as possible "know her face and her voice and just how wonderful of a person she is".
"I want the world to know my baby, my first baby, my first true love, the reason I breathe," she writes. "I love my daughter beyond words and I will always love her."
The mother's post continues: "I cannot describe the pain and absolute anger I feel. Missing her doesn’t cover how I feel. My daughters name is Athena Presley Monroe Strand, which she would happily announce to anyone listening, and anyone not listening she would make listen.
"My princess was taken from me from a sick, cruel monster for absolutely no reason.
"Athena is innocent, beautiful, kind, intelligent, and just the brightest, happiest soul you could ever meet. I don’t want her to be the girl known as the one murdered and discarded by a monster. I want everyone to know, every single person in this world, that this is my baby and my baby was taken from me."
"I want everyone to know her face and her voice and just how wonderful of a person she is," the mom concludes.
In another post, Gandy listed her late daughter's favorite things - noting that her "favorite color is pink. She loves to dress up as the princess we all know she is. When she grows up, she wants to be a Viking princess".
"Athena is loved by mommy and daddy, and all of her sisters, many many aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents," the mom adds.
Finally, mentioning the upcoming case into her daughter's death, Gandy wrote: "She no longer has a voice but I will be the best voice I can as a mother for her and I will not stop."
Horner is currently being held on a $1.5 million bond.
Our thoughts continue to go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.
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