AUSTIN - 7 yo (2003) and EDWARD - 9 yo (2001) BRYANT - Colorado Springs CO

Colorado authorities have launched a search for two young boys who have been unaccounted for up to 10 years.
Colorado Springs
sheriff's spokeswoman Lari Sevene said Wednesday the boys' adoptive
parents were in Texas and are now in the El Paso County jail on $1
million bail each. Fifty-eight-year-old Edward Bryant and 54-year-old Linda Bryant haven't been charged in the disappearances of Austin Eugene Bryant and Edward Dylan Bryant.
Austin may have disappeared as early as 2003, when he was 7, and Edward may have disappeared in 2001, when he was 9.
The Bryants
face theft, conspiracy, forgery and other charges stemming from
collecting subsidies from the El Paso County Department of Human
Services. They lived in the Monument area north of Colorado Springs
between 1999 and 2005.

Two children have been discovered missing and an investigation shows they could have been
missing already for more than a decade. Their adoptive parents are now under arrest.


On January 22, 2011 the El Paso County Sheriff's
Office took a report of a suspicious incident involving the alleged
disappearance of a child identified as Austin Bryant. Investigation into
this matter revealed Austin was last seen sometime between 2003 and 2005.

Through interviews with other family members,
detectives discovered there was a second child in the family who is also
unaccounted for named Edward Bryant. No missing persons report has
ever been filed with the Sheriff's Office or surrounding law enforcement
agencies for these two children.

Austin Eugene Bryant, who would be 15 years old. Austin is said to have disappeared as early as 2003
when he was 7 years old. Edward Dylan Bryant would be 18 years old now.
Edward is believed to have gone missing as early as 2001 when he would have been 9 years old.

Austin and Edward are the adoptive children of
58-year-old Edward Bryant and 54-year-old Linda Bryant, of Texas. The
Bryants lived in a home located in the 18000 block of Granite Circle in
Monument from 1999 to 2005.

Linda and Edward Bryant have been contacted and
arrested in Texas for receiving an ongoing financial subsidy from the El
Paso County Department of Human Services despite the fact Austin and
Edward were not residing with them. They have been extradited to back to
Colorado and are in custody at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center.

Edward Eugene Bryant has been charged with Felony
Theft (2 counts), Conspiracy, Attempt to Influence a Public Official (19
counts), Offering a False Instrument for Recording (19 counts), Forgery
(19 counts). Bond has been set at $1 million.

Linda Kay Bryant has been charged with Felony Theft (2 counts),
Conspiracy, Attempt to Influence a Public Official (46 counts),
Offering a False Instrument for Recording (46 counts), Forgery (46 counts).
Bond has been set at $1 million.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office will be
conducting a neighborhood canvass and following other investigative
leads to try to determine more details surrounding the disappearance of these children.

If anyone has information regarding Austin Bryant or
Edward Bryant, please contact the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at 719-390-5555.

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/117698873.html

OMG! Unbelievable!

Childhood friend reports missing boy endured electric shocks, starvation, beatings

El Paso County Sheriff's investigators are looking into pursuing a
homicide investigation into a former Monument couple whose two adopted
children haven't been seen since early last decade, according to an
affidavit released Thursday afternoon in the case against Edward and
Linda Bryant.
The affidavit provides a grim picture of the time leading up to the last known whereabouts of young Austin and Edward Bryant.
It alleges, in part, that Austin was locked in a trunk, starved,
beaten, handcuffed, possibly even tasered by his adoptive parents.
This week, investigators with the sheriff's office are searching the area surrounding the Bryant's former home west of Monument.
They utilized search dogs to sniff for any hints as to what may have happened to Austin and Edward Bryant.
Their adoptive parents, Edward and Linda Bryant, are accused of
collecting welfare benefits for them since they were adopted in 2000.
Court papers allege they collected nearly $175,000 from the El Paso
County Department of Human Services during the period they're accused of
fraud and theft.
Papers also reveal Edward and Austin were classified by DHS as
children that had special needs and because of that the adopted parents
were eligible to receive money every month for the children even after
adoption.
The classification does require them to report to DHS once a month,
which records indicate they did even though the couple moved from
Monument to Texas in 2005.
Sheriff Terry Maketa says there's virtually nothing to indicate the young brothers went with them.
"As each day passes, the faith of finding them alive diminishes," he says.
When questioned by investigators, both adoptive parents said that
Edward and Austin had run away in 2003, but gave inconsistent accounts
of exactly when.
Curiously, last October, Linda Bryant provided documentation stating
that Edward Bryant was scheduled to graduate in June of this year, it's
the only documentation pertaining to either child since 2003.
The last known verifiable time that Austin was alive was from his
dis-enrollment paperwork from Monument Academy to be home schooled on
October 28, 2003.
When confronted by police, Linda Bryant said the boys ran away and
"she hoped that a family had found them and taken them in," even though
she never looked for them or called police.
Then she told police, "she had to falsify records and take the money
so that nobody would question the whereabouts of the children,"
according to the arrest affidavit.
Then she told police she left Southern Colorado and moved to Texas for a "fresh start".
The Bryant's have seven other adopted children who are now in the custody of Texas child welfare officials.
One is the third biological brother to the missing Austin and Edward Bryant.
According to the court documents, "he confirmed that he can not
remember the last time he saw his brothers alive and he wished he could
see them.
"http://www.newsfirst5.com/news/childhood-friend-reports-missing-boy-endured-electric-shocks-starvation-beatings/

The adoptive parents of two missing brothers
are going to court in Colorado on charges of collecting nearly $175,000
in government payments for their care, even though the boys haven't
been in the parents' household for years.
Fifty-eight-year-old Edward Bryant and 54-year-old Linda Bryant
are due in state court in Colorado Springs Thursday.
The Bryants allegedly told authorities that
the boys, Austin Eugene Bryant and Edward Dylan Bryant, had run away in
2003, when they would have been 7 and 11 years old. Officials say the
parents have given conflicting information. The boys weren't reported missing until January.
The Bryants haven't been charged in the boys' disappearance but are charged with theft and forgery.
Law enforcement sources told FoxNews.com
last week that the boys haven't been seen for at least 10 years.
Colorado Springs sheriff's spokeswoman Lari Sevene said in an interview
that the boys had been living with their adoptive parents in the
Monument area north of Colorado Springs. The boys were enrolled in a
school but had been taken out to be home-schooled, Sevene said.




Fifty-eight-year-old Edward Bryant and 54-year-old
Linda Bryant, the boys' adoptive parents, are being held in the El Paso
County jail on $1 million bail each.

Authorities are trying to determine how the whereabouts
of the boys went unnoticed for up to a decade.
"That’s part of what we’re trying to
determine -- to see why that wasn't reported," Sevene said. "There are a
lot of questions that need to be answered."
Edward and Linda Bryant were arrested in
Texas and extradited to Colorado last week. Both are being held in the
El Paso County jail on $1 million bail each, facing theft, conspiracy,
forgery and other charges stemming from collecting subsidies from the El
Paso County Department of Human Services.
Sevene said the investigation began when the
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office in Colorado received a "suspicious
incident report" on Jan. 22 involving the disappearance of Austin Bryant.
Upon further investigation, authorities
found that Austin was last seen some time between 2003 and 2005.
Investigators then discovered that a second child, identified as Edward
Dylan Bryant, was also unaccounted for. Edward is believed to be missing
since as early as 2001.
The Bryants lived in the Monument area north
of Colorado Springs between 1999 and 2005. Edward Bryant was living in
Denton, Texas, at the time of his arrest, while Linda Bryant was living
in Gainesville, Texas.
Anyone with information on the boys is being asked to call the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at 719-390-5555.

Read more: http://foxnews.com/us/2011/03/17/adoptive-parents-missing-colorado-brothers-appear-court-theft-forgery-charges/#ixzz1Gs8YpX3P

twinkletoes wrote:In Florida a couple of years ago we had a little girl disappear and the foster mother continued to collect state funds for her. LE could never find her body and the woman is in prison for fraud. They know she killed her but need evidence to prosecute.

This looks to be the same thing. Hopefully they can get evidence of the murders.

I continue to be shocked at how evil some people are.

If people are given funds for care of these children, the agencies should inquire into their well-being from time to time--imo. I'm not saying it's the agencies fault that this has happened but the $$ kept it a secret for 10 years! What if this had not been found until the children had "aged out" of the system--or worse--never?

just_a_mom wrote:

twinkletoes wrote:In Florida a couple of years ago we had a little girl disappear and the foster mother continued to collect state funds for her. LE could never find her body and the woman is in prison for fraud. They know she killed her but need evidence to prosecute.

This looks to be the same thing. Hopefully they can get evidence of the murders.

I continue to be shocked at how evil some people are.

If people are given funds for care of these children, the agencies should inquire into their well-being from time to time--imo. I'm not saying it's the agencies fault that this has happened but the $$ kept it a secret for 10 years! What if this had not been found until the children had "aged out" of the system--or worse--never?

Here they are required to check on these kids. The caseworker falsified her reports claiming she had seen the little girl and she was healthy and happy. She lost her job and IIRC was also prosecuted. Someone needs to care about these kids and a paid state worker is being paid to care. Sad, just sad.

You're right, I'm sure there are lots of cases that are just like what you described, aged out with no one ever knowing they were dead.

Investigators trying to find two brothers last
seen at least six years ago have released portraits showing what they
might look like today.Austin and Edward Bryant have not been seen for more than six years.According
to detectives, Austin was last seen sometime between 2003 and 2005. His
disappearance did not come to light until family members contacted
investigators in January.


A second child, Edward Bryant, is also unaccounted for.The new
age progression images of the boys were generated by experts at the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The photos show
Austin at age 15 and Edward at 18.The boys were adopted by Edward
and Linda Bryant. Most recently, the couple had been living in Texas,
but they resided in Monument from 1999 to 2005.The parents told
investigators the boys ran away by 2003. The Bryant's were arrested in
Texas this year and are accused of defrauding the El Paso County
Department of Human Services. The charges allege that the Bryants
collected years worth of financial subsidies for the two boys, even
though they did not live in the home.The couple has been extradited back to Colorado, where they are awaiting trial on fraud charges.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/27595200/detail.html

The adoptive mother of two missing Monument boys pleaded guilty Thursday to charges she pocketed nearly $200,000 in El Paso County welfare support without reporting the children’s disappearance.

Linda K. Bryant faces between four and 648 years in prison — with the unusually wide sentencing range due to the number of counts to which she pleaded guilty. Fourth Judicial District Judge Timothy J. Schutz is expected to impose her sentence March 30.

Left unresolved are the whereabouts of Edward Dylan Bryant and Austin Eugene Bryant, adolescent boys who vanished nearly a decade ago from the Monument-area home of Linda Bryant and her husband Edward Bryant. The couple adopted the boys in 2001.

Austin may have gone missing as early as 2003, when he was 7, and Edward as early as 2001, when he was 9, authorities said.

Prosecutors say the Bryants never reported the boys missing but continued to receive welfare for their support, even after moving to Texas in 2005, raising questions over how closely the El Paso County Department of Human Services monitors its payments to clients.

The Bryants have not been charged in the boys’ disappearance, though investigators long ago labeled them as possible suspects.

After a settlement conference Thursday, Linda Bryant, 54, pleaded guilty to four counts of felony theft, two counts of conspiracy to commit theft, and 48 counts of attempting to influence a public servant, all felonies.

Her attorneys Sarah Christensen and Tom Hammond couldn’t be reached Thursday for comment.

Edward Bryant, 58, who faces similar charges, is due for an April 23 trial.

Linda Bryant’s plea deal contained no sentencing concessions, and no agreement that she testify against her husband, from whom she was apparently separated at the time of the couple’s April 2010 arrests in separate Texas towns.

The Bryants lived in the 18000 block of Granite Circle near Monument from 1999 to 2005, according to the El Paso County sheriff’s office. Edward Bryant was a city employee in Denton and Linda Bryant, who lived in Lake Kiowa, listed her occupation as a homemaker, The Associated Press has reported.

The AP said five other adopted children were living with Linda Bryant.

A sheriff’s spokeswoman recently said she could provide no updates on the case.

A boyhood friend of the missing children told authorities they were abused before they went missing.

The Bryants reportedly claimed the boys ran away.

Anyone with information about Austin or Edward Bryant is asked to contact the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office at 719-390-5555.


Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/guilty-131659-missing-welfare.html#ixzz1jLfWmyUv

I hope this disgusting caretaker gets at least 50 years. It sounds to me like they killed those boys but even if they didn't, they should serve the rest of their lives in jail for not reporting the boys running away. The youngest was only 7! How can boys that age make it on their own. They can't. These monsters probably murdered and buried them somewhere. How do these people live with themselves?

Babyj, I don't think these boys ran away. I think they are dead, murdered by these two POSs. They need to get at least the 50 years you suggested. I'm hoping the judge gives them the max.

A former Monument woman accused of pocketing more than $150,000 in
welfare support while for years concealing the disappearance of two
adopted boys was sentenced Friday to 42 years in prison.

Linda K. Bryant, 55, is unlikely “to see or even breathe free air
again,” prosecutor Jennifer Viehmann said, calling it an appropriate
fate, but adding that it doesn’t address the case’s central mystery.

“This case will never truly be over until we find these two boys,” she said.

The fate of Edward Dylan Bryant and Austin Bryant remains unknown
despite efforts by El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies, who searched an
area near Monument with cadaver dogs, went over aerial photography to
look for soil disruptions and widely circulated age-progression photos.

Linda Bryant’s estranged husband, Edward Bryant, 58, faces an April
30 trial on similar welfare fraud charges. Neither was charged in the
boys’ disappearances – but rather for a decade-spanning ruse in which
they allegedly collected adoption support checks while falsely telling
authorities the boys remained in their care.

The couple moved to Texas in 2005, shortly after authorities believe Austin went missing.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office investigated after receiving a
call from a former neighbor of the Bryants who questioned their
explanation about the boys’ disappearance.

The couple were estranged and living in separate Texas towns when they were arrested in March 2011.

At the time, Linda Bryant was living with five adopted children, who are now in the custody of a Texas child protective agency.

The missing boys were adopted in 2000, according to testimony at
Friday’s hearing. The oldest, Edward Dylan Bryant, was last seen in
2001; Austin Bryant went missing as late as 2005. Each would have been 9
at the time.

Linda Bryant provided a variety of explanations for their disappearances, prosecutor J. Christian Lampe told the court.

Some of her relatives were told that Edward had gone to Arizona to
help care for her 82-year-old father. Others were told he had been sent
to a boot camp for bad behavior. One relative testified at the
sentencing that Linda Bryant told her Austin was sent to an insane
asylum in Colorado.

El Paso County sheriff’s deputy William Otto, the lead detective,
told the court that another relative had lodged a complaint over
Edward’s disappearance with the El Paso County Department of Human
Services.

The detective said that “for some reason” a case worker was never sent.

Prosecutors say Linda Bryant was ready for a visit. One of her
adopted children told investigators she asked him to have a friend come
over and pretend to be Edward if a case worker ever came by.

DHS couldn’t be reached for comment because the sentencing ended
after regular business hours. The agency generally declines to discuss
investigations.

The Bryants left Colorado for Texas within two months of when
authorities believe the second boy disappeared, Lampe said in court
Friday.

In her Gainesville, Tex., home Linda Bryant hung color photographs
printed from the Internet, telling the other adopted children they were
Austin and Edward.

As a sheriff’s detective searched the residence, she told him: “This
is the kind of thing that ends up on Nancy Grace,” a reference to a
television program focused on sensational crime stories.

Bryant lived in a gated community in Texas, near a lake and a golf
course — leading to Lampe’s charge she favored money over her children.

Bryant’s attorneys, Sarah Christiansen and Tom Hammond, and were unavailable for comment Friday.

Linda Bryant faced between 4 and 648 years in prison – an unusually
wide sentencing range due to the number of counts, 56, to which she
pleaded guilty.

In handing down his sentence, 4th Judicial District Judge Timothy J.
Schutz rejected the prosecution’s call for a “triple-digit sentence,”
saying it would exceed the penalty for many homicide sentences in El Paso County.

At the same time, he told Bryant her crime was more severe than
similar financial crimes because it required a systematic lie about
missing children.

Schutz said her crime threatened to erode public support for adoption
programs that help the community’s “most vulnerable citizens.”

The foster parents who properly care for such children, he said, “do
some of the most important and difficult work that we ask of members of
society.”


Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/bryant-135748-counts-welfare.html#ixzz1q2ZQM73u

While I am tempted to move this to Adjudicated, the conviction was not about the boys welfare. This was about theft.
I will leave this in Missing until something about them is discovered.

The only way they will ever be found is if someone accidentally stumbles upon their bones in coming years.

We've had some 50 plus year old cases resolved recently. Hope this one doesn't take that long.

Maybe she will do some talking in prison.