Kids Missing for Up to 10 Years: Austin and Edward Bryant/Mother sentenced to 42 years/Dad cops a plea, sentenced to thirty years

Colorado authorities have launched a search for two boys who have not been seen for as long as 10 years.
Colorado Springs sheriff's spokeswoman Lari Sevene said Wednesday the boys' adoptive are now in the El Paso County jail on $1 million bail each.
Edward Bryant, 58, and Linda Bryant, 54, face theft, conspiracy, forgery and other charges stemming from collecting subsidies from the El Paso County Department of Human Services. They 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 El Paso County Sheriff's Office took a report Jan. 22 about a suspicious incident involving the disappearance of Austin Bryant, kktv.com reports. Upon further investigation, authorities found that Austin was last seen some time between 2003 and 2005, according to the website. 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.

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.

No missing persons report for the two boys was ever filed with police.
The Bryants lived in the Monument area north of Colorado Springs between 1999 and 2005. The couple was reportedly living in Denton, Texas, at the time of their arrest. They were extradited back to Colorado.
"I don't really remember them, but they seemed like shady people," one of the Bryants' neighbors told the website. "Something just wasn't quite right."
It remains unclear why it took 10 years for authorities to discover that the children were missing.
Anyone with information on the boys is being asked to call the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at 719-390-5555.


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Poor little boys! What cutie-pies they are (or were?)! I wonder what happened to them...

How can kids not be missed in 10 years time?

Evidently, these low-lifes were receiving some sort of "adoption subsistence" all these years, but had gotten rid of the boys years ago...There is a special place in Hell for scumbags like them...

The investigation started Jan. 22 when authorities were approached by two former foster children of Linda Bryant's biological daughter. They had been talking about the missing boys and noted contradictions in what they were told, Maketa said.

Edward Bryant allegedly said the younger Edward ran away in 2001 and Austin ran away in January 2003, while Linda Bryant allegedly said both boys ran away in May 2003, Maketa said.

No missing person report for the boys had ever been filed with her department or any law-enforcement agencies in the surrounding area, sheriff's officials said.

The boys' adopted brother James Bryant, who was interviewed at Fort Campbell, Ky., told investigators Austin was sometimes denied food as a means of punishment and that Austin often ate from a garbage can because he was hungry, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

He also told officers Austin was spanked, restrained by being tightly rolled "like a burrito" and possibly handcuffed, the affidavit said.

One of the two people who came forward Jan. 22 said Austin had told him he was sometimes rolled up in blankets, according to the affidavit.

Linda Bryant denied killing the boys and denied most of the abuse allegations but allegedly acknowledged "delaying food" for Edward and Austin, the affidavit said.

State adoption records are sealed, said Liz McDonough, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Human Services. An El Paso County Department of Human Services spokesman didn't return phone messages.

The elder Edward Bryant was arrested in Denton, Texas, and Linda Bryant was arrested in Lake Kiowa, Texas.

John Cabrales, public information officer for the city of Denton, said Edward Bryant has worked for the city's electric utility, Denton Municipal Electric, since February 2006. He is an engineering technician, a job that requires him to survey building sites, the spokesman said.

Sheriff's deputies conducted a preliminary search of the Bryants' former home in Monument Thursday in a neighborhood set amid an evergreen forest against the foothills. Narrow paved roads lead to homes nestled in the trees.

A neighbor who didn't want her name published said the Bryants had kept to themselves and that her interaction with them was mostly just waving to them.

"We as a neighborhood are circling the wagons" to protect the family who lives in the home now, she said.

A spokeswoman for the public school district in the area said she couldn't release information on whether the boys had attended its schools.

In a similar case in neighboring Kansas, a couple has been charged with fraudulently collecting $52,800 in state adoption subsidies for a son who disappeared. Their lawyer has called the allegation a technical financial matter.

The family in that case said the boy ran away in 1999. Authorities learned of his absence when his older sister contacted them in December 2008.

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DENTON - While two young boys disappeared nearly a decade ago, no one spoke up until now.

In the last few hours, News 8 has obtained the arrest affidavit for the adoptive parents of Austin Eugene Bryant and Edward Dylan Bryant. The documents paint a disturbing picture of alleged discipline that included the use of a Taser and being locked in a trunk.

Authorities believe Edward vanished in 2001 when he was nine. Austin vanished in 2003 when he was seven. They would now be 18 and 15.

Their adoptive parents, 54-year-old Linda Bryant and 58-year-old Edward Bryant, have been arrested. Mrs. Bryant was taken into custody at a lake-front house near Gainesville; her husband was arrested at a Denton house. They are both being held on $1 million bail each on charges, including theft and forgery.

Edward and Linda Bryant moved with their six foster children to Lake Kiowa near Gainesville in 2005, without either of the missing boys. The Bryants, who are now separated but still married, lived in Monument, Colorado near Colorado Springs between 1999 and 2005.

The affidavit says the couple made up stories to explain where the boys were, and that money may have been the true motivator. Records show the Bryants had as many as nine children, most of which were adopted. They received checks each month for the children.
El Paso County sheriff's investigators in Colorado have accused the Bryants of receiving almost $175,000 in government payments to support the boys, even though the biological brothers were not living with the couple for most of the decade.

They have not been charged in the disappearances of Austin and Edward. It was not immediately clear whether they have attorneys.

The adoptive father admitted he and his wife "concocted stories" to cover up their missing boys. When Gainesville police contacted his wife, she said the boys were "doing fine and living with her." She later changed her story to say they "ran away as early as 2003," but she never made a report. The documents say she also admitted to "falsified documents" because she came "to rely on the money" Colorado offered families who adopt. She denied killing the boys.

In the affidavit obtained by News 8, two other adopted children who lived with the Bryants recalled the torture Austin allegedly endured.

The 14-page arrest affidavit from Colorado said the couple regularly abused Austin when he lived with them outside Colorado Springs. The accusations say Austin was handcuffed, Tased and often locked in a trunk. He was allegedly denied food, leading him to eat from the garbage because he was hungry.

One foster son told police he thinks the Bryants caused Austin's death.

What happened to Austin's brother, Edward, is less clear. It's not detailed in the affidavit.

Thursday afternoon, police searched the wooded area near the Bryants' old home near Colorado Springs.

"The point is to get the word out about these two kids," said El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa. "Someone may know something ... It may be old."

When asked if he thinks the boys are still alive, Maketa said: "You know, that's a very difficult question. What I can say is each day that passes, the faith of finding them alive diminishes."

The investigation started Jan. 22 when authorities were approached by two former foster children of Linda Bryant's biological daughter. They had been talking about the missing boys and noted contradictions in what they were told, Maketa said.

As revealing as the affidavit is, it never suggested a motive in Austin or Edward's disappearance.
Five children who were living with the mother are in the custody of Texas officials. Another adopted child is in the military, and one is incarcerated.

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It is so sad that these boys didn't mean enough to anybody that they were even missed for 10 years. Every person is precious to God...My heart just breaks for what they must have gone through.

Theft, Forgery Charges Filed Against Adoptive Parents of Missing Colorado Boys

Prosecutors in Colorado have charged the adoptive parents of two missing brothers with theft and forgery.
Fifty-eight-year-old Edward Bryant and 54-year-old Linda Bryant are accused of collecting nearly $175,000 in government payments for the care of the boys, even though the children haven't been in their household for years.
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. Authorities learned of their disappearance this year, and the boys are still missing.
Prosecutors filed the charges Thursday as the Bryants made their first court appearance since being arrested in Texas last week.
They both wore orange jail jumpsuits and their hands were cuffed behind them. Bail has been set at $1 million each.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Action but no answers in missing-boys case

It’s been a year since the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement that two Monument boys had gone missing. It’s been nine to 11 years since they disappeared into thin air.
The sheriff’s office is not any closer to finding Edward Dylan and Austin Eugene Bryant, but they are not giving up on the boys who last left any known paper trail in late 2003.
“It is still an active investigation. We continue to follow up on leads,” said Sgt. Mike Schaller, public information officer for the sheriff’s office.
Schaller said he would not speculate on whether or not he thinks the boys are alive. The two boys resided in Monument with their adoptive parents, Edward and Linda Bryant, several other adopted siblings and a younger biological brother. The Bryants moved to Texas more than seven years ago.
It was in January 2011 when two brothers, who were once foster children of Linda Bryant’s daughter, went to the sheriff’s office with concerns as to the whereabouts of the Bryant boys.
The young men alleged that the Bryants were abusive towards Austin and that they never knew Edward because they were told he went to live with his grandparents before they moved in with Linda Bryant’s daughter.
One of the young men moved back in with Linda’s daughter in 2008, and another of the Bryant adoptive children said he had not seen Austin and he alleged that harm had come to Austin by the Bryants.
The Bryants were arrested in Texas a year ago after the EPCSO questioned them and it was discovered that they were continuing to receive a financial subsidy from El Paso County Department of Human Services even though the boys had not been living with them for several years.
Edward Bryant told authorities that Edward Dylan ran away in 2001 and Austin ran away in May 2003. However, Linda Bryant said both boys ran away in May 2003.
It is believed that the boys were age 7 and 9 when they disappeared, making them 16 and 19 now. Despite the arrest and inconsistencies in their stories, the couple has not been charged in the disappearance of the boys.
Edward Bryant faces two counts of felony theft, 19 counts of attempting to influence a public official, 19 counts of offering a false instrument for recording and 19 counts of forgery. He is scheduled to stand trial April 23.
Linda Bryant was also facing two counts of felony theft and 46 counts each for the other three charges. But in a plea agreement on Jan. 12, she pleaded guilty to four counts of felony theft, two counts of conspiracy to commit theft and 48 counts of attempting to influence a public official. She will be sentenced on March 30 and could face a possible prison sentence of six-648 years following the plea.
Shortly after learning of the boys disappearance, the sheriff’s office searched the area where the Bryants had lived near Mount Herman Road for inconsistencies in the soil using GIS imagery. During a March 10, 2011, press conference EPC Sheriff Terry Maketa said, “Each day that passes, the faith of finding them alive diminishes.”
The sheriff’s office is not ready to give up that search, however, and asks that if anyone has any information to contact them at 719-520-7209.
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A former Colorado woman accused of pocketing more than $150,000 in government support for her adoptive sons without reporting the boys' disappearance years earlier has been sentenced to 42 years in prison.

The Gazette (http://bit.ly/GKzMpl ) reports District Judge Timothy J. Schutz sentenced former Monument-area resident Linda K. Bryant on Friday. Bryant, 55, pleaded guilty in January to four counts of theft, two counts of conspiracy to commit theft and 48 counts of attempting to influence a public servant.

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

Bryant's estranged husband, Edward Bryant, 58, is scheduled to go on trial in April on similar charges.

Prosecutors say the Bryants' adoptive sons, Edward Dylan Bryant and Austin Eugene Bryant, had disappeared by 2003, when Austin would have been 7 and Edward 11, but the couple continued receiving welfare payments for the boys' support, even after moving to Texas around 2005.

An investigation into the boys' disappearance started about a year ago after former foster children of Linda Bryant's daughter approached authorities. They told authorities that they had uncovered contradictions in what they were told about why the boys were no longer with the Bryants.

Linda and Edward Bryant told investigators the boys ran away from home but gave conflicting answers as to when.

The boys' whereabouts are still unknown, and no criminal charges have been filed in connection with how they disappeared.
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Those two boys were probably killed by these low-lives...So glad that she will probably never be out of prison again. I hope it is an absolute 42 years--no parole possibility...At least that is some justice for the poor little guys.

At least that is some justice for the poor little guys.

Amen!! Better than nothing! What low lives!

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A man accused receiving government support for his two adopted sons for years after they disappeared from his home has pleaded guilty to five counts.
Edward Bryant and his wife moved from Colorado to North Texas in 2005 after two young brothers they had adopted disappeared.
Edward Bryant pleaded guilty Thursday in Colorado Springs to influencing a public servant, two counts of theft and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft. A plea agreement stipulates a 30-year prison sentence.
Bryant's estranged wife, Linda, already was sentenced to 42 years in prison after pleading guilty in January to four counts of theft, two counts of conspiracy and 48 counts of attempting to influence a public servant.
Authorities believe their adopted sons Austin and Edward Bryant Jr. disappeared at least seven years ago, but the couple continued receiving support for them. They were arrested in Texas last year.
The boys' whereabouts remain unknown.
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This reminds me of the Skeleton case where the three little boys have been missing up near Toledo and the "father" refuses to say where they are.