51 replies to this topic

[Lori Davis]

Endangered Missing
AYLA REYNOLDS



DOB:  Apr 4, 2010
Missing:  Dec 16, 2011
Sex:  Female
Race:  White
Hair:  Blonde
Eyes:  Blue
Height:  2'9" (84 cm)
Weight:  30 lbs (14 kg)
Missing From:
WATERVILLE
ME
United States

Both photos shown are of Ayla. She was last seen at home on December 16, 2011. Ayla's left arm is in a sling. Ayla was last seen wearing green pajamas with polka-dots and "Daddy's Princess" written on the front.

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)
Waterville Police Department (Maine) 1-207-872-5551

[Lori Davis]

Missing child cases often difficult to investigate
How and why of evidence-gathering hard to decipher without inside knowledge

By Kelley Bouchard
Staff Writer
Posted: January 1, 2011
Updated: January 1, 2011 at 10:04 PM



Six days into the search for 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds, investigators strung bright-yellow crime-scene ribbon around the perimeter of the little gray house in Waterville where she was last seen tucked in her bed in mid-December.

The man then in charge of the investigation, Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey, downplayed the action, telling reporters that the plastic ribbon was "just an additional barrier" to secure the site. He emphasized that the girl's disappearance was still considered a missing-child case, though abduction or some other wrongdoing was possible from the start.

The case escalated late Friday, when Massey announced that police now suspect "foul play" in Ayla's disappearance.

Read more: http://www.onlinesen...2011-12-31.html

[Lori Davis]

Grandfather of Maine toddler who disappeared 2 weeks ago pleads for her safe return

Article by: DAVID SHARP , Associated Press Updated: December 31, 2011 - 5:46 PM

PORTLAND, Maine - A day after police declared a 20-month-old girl's disappearance a crime, her grandfather pleaded Saturday for her return, urging anyone with information to come forward.

"We're all out here begging and pleading for the return of our baby girl, safe and sound. Call the state police," Ronald Reynolds, grandfather of Ayla Reynolds, said outside his home.

"What did they do to my little girl? What did they do to Ayla? What did they do to a helpless defenseless child?" asked Reynolds, who wore a green ribbon, the symbol for missing children.

Read more: http://www.startribu.../136481318.html

[Lori Davis]

Former FBI profiler weighs in on Ayla Reynolds case

9:46 AM, Jan 1, 2012
Written by Sarah Delage

WATERVILLE, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- State police continue their investigation into the disappearance of toddler Ayla Reynolds.

They took over the investigation Fridy, after announcing that the case had become a criminal investigation. State Police were still at 29 Violette Avenue, the home in Waterville where the toddler was last seen on December 17th.

Detectives spent the day Saturday removing more items from the house and loading them into an evidence truck.

Read more: http://www.wcsh6.com...a-Reynolds-case

[Lori Davis]

Grandmother says family had nothing to do with toddler's disappearance

By Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt, CNN
updated 5:37 AM EST, Sat January 7, 2012

(CNN) -- The grandmother of a missing Maine toddler says no family members in the home the night the girl vanished had anything to do with her disappearance.

"I feel violated. Somebody came into my home and took my granddaughter who was sleeping," Phoebe DiPietro said during her first television interview about Ayla Reynolds, the now 21-month-old toddler.

Ayla disappeared December 17. Police have said they believe foul play was involved. They also say the DiPietros have fully co-operated in the investigation.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2...girl/index.html

[Lori Davis]

Father explains missing Maine girl's broken arm

Posted: Saturday, January 7, 2012 11:35 am | Updated: 1:02 pm, Sat Jan 7, 2012.
Associated Press

A 20-month-old Maine girl who's been missing for three weeks broke her arm in November when her father, who was carrying groceries in one arm and her in the other, accidentally slipped and fell on top of her, he said.

Justin DiPietro said he is coming forth with details of the accident to end speculation on how his daughter, Ayla Reynolds, broke her arm. Police continue to investigate her disappearance.

"There's value in explaining it," DiPietro told the Morning Sentinel of Waterville.

Read more: http://www.timesonli...5c332a75cf.html

[Lori Davis]

New details emerge as search for missing Maine toddler enters fourth week

By Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt, CNN
updated 11:56 AM EST, Mon January 9, 2012

Waterville, Maine (CNN) -- As the search for missing Maine toddler Ayla Reynolds enters a fourth week, the grandmother of the 21-month-old girl offered new information to CNN on Sunday about the night Ayla disappeared.

Ayla's grandmother, Phoebe DiPietro, who first spoke exclusively with CNN on Friday, said she now wants to clarify a detail about her interview.

DiPietro now tells CNN she was not among the adults at the home from which Ayla disappeared that night but instead was at another location that she wouldn't publicly disclose.

DiPietro said she told police about her whereabouts that night from the very start.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2...dler/index.html

[Lori Davis]

Divers Search Icy Kennebec River for Missing Waterville Tot

01/11/2012  Reported By: Susan Sharon

Divers from the Maine Warden Service and the Maine State Police searched the icy waters of the Kennebec River between the old Hathaway Shirt factory and the Carter Memorial Bridge in Waterville today, looking for signs of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds. They say the search was not prompted by a particular tip. But they have received 600 tips in the three weeks since Ayla disappeared, and remain hopeful that they will find her.

Wearing dry suits and tethered to a safety line on shore or to a dive boat, nearly 20 divers took turns searching the chilly river where visibility was between four to six feet.

Read more: http://www.mpbn.net/...52/Default.aspx

[Lori Davis]

Divers search icy river for Maine tot gone 3 weeks

By GLENN ADAMS Associated Press
January 11, 2012 22:27 GMT


WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) -- Divers searched a half-mile stretch of an icy river Wednesday for any sign of a toddler who's been missing for more than three weeks, and authorities said investigators are considering all possibilities related to the girl's disappearance.

The number of tips on the possible whereabouts of 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds has now topped 600, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

"We have ruled out no scenario. We have ruled out no one," McCausland told reporters gathered at a command post alongside the Kennebec River Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.wgme.com/....wgme.com.shtml

[Lori Davis]

Ayla's father took polygraph exam

Posted: 01/13/2012 at 5:30 PM
Updated: 01/13/2012 at 5:37 PM

Ben McCanna / Morning Sentinel Staff Writer

WATERVILLE — The father of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds took a polygraph exam shortly after she disappeared, but neither he nor the police will say how he did.

It was four weeks ago Saturday that Justin DiPietro reported his 21-month-old missing.

“I asked for a polygraph on day one,” DiPietro said today during an interview with the Morning Sentinel. “I’ve taken one, and the results, I was never allowed to see them. It’s something you’re going to have to ask law enforcement about.”

Read more: http://www.kjonline....graph-exam.html

[Lori Davis]

Ayla Reynold’s father attends vigil in honor of missing toddler

By Christopher Cousins / Bangor Daily News, Maine
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
 
WATERVILLE, Maine -- No amount of attention is too much attention when it comes to Ayla Reynolds, the missing toddler whose blue eyes, smiling face and blond hair are recognized throughout Maine and far beyond.

That’s the theory under which members of the Waterville community gathered Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil at the First Congregational Church. As the intense search by investigators and nationwide media frenzy with Ayla at its center reached the one-month point Tuesday, there are some who are worried that the public’s attention is waning. Danielle Bartz, who organized Tuesday’s vigil, won’t let that happen.

Read more: http://www.bostonher...position=recent

[Jenn]

Missing Ayla's mother unable to complete lie detector test - because of 'medical condition'

By BETH STEBNER
Last updated at 6:37 PM on 20th January 2012

The mother of a toddler reported missing from her father's home in Maine a month ago says she was unable to finish a lie detector test because of a medical condition.

Trista Reynolds, the mother of one-year-old Ayla, didn't specify what the condition was that prevented her from completing the test.

The mother said  on her website that she would be willing to complete the test after treatment by a doctor, but added that investigators were content with the incomplete results.


Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1k1lrHe35

[Lori Davis]

Request for 911 call on missing girl is denied

Posted: January 27, 2012
Updated: January 27, 2012 at 1:13 AM
By BEN McCANNA Morning Sentinel

WATERVILLE - Police have denied a request by the Morning Sentinel for an audio recording and a written transcript of the 911 call in which Ayla Reynolds was reported missing, saying it could hinder the investigation.

Last week, a Morning Sentinel reporter submitted a written request to police. On Wednesday, Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey responded by letter, saying the police denied it "after consultation with City Solicitor William Lee and careful consideration."

Ayla Reynolds was reported missing at 8:51 a.m. Dec. 17 in a 911 call, according to police records. During a press conference on Dec. 18, Police Chief Joseph Massey said Ayla's father, Justin DiPietro, placed the call.

Read more: http://www.presshera...2012-01-27.html

[Lori Davis]

Blood found inside home of missing Maine toddler

By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 1:42 PM EST, Sat January 28, 2012

(CNN) -- Blood has been discovered inside the home of missing Maine toddler Ayla Reynolds, Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Saturday.

But authorities did not say whether they've determined whose blood was found.

Ayla, 21 months old, was reported missing by her father the morning of December 17.

Police said earlier that the girl's father, Justin DiPietro, told them that he put his daughter to bed at 8 p.m. the night before.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2...dler/index.html

[Lori Davis]

Ayla Reynolds Case: Parents Meet for First Time Since Toddler's Disappearance

By KATTI GRAY
Jan. 29, 2012

The parents of missing Maine toddler Ayla Bell Reynolds met at a vigil Saturday for the first time since their daughter's disappearance, as police wait for test results for blood found in the toddler's father's home.

Blood was found in the Maine home from which the 20-month-old toddler disappeared on Dec. 17, according to her father, Justin DiPietro.

But DiPietro isn't talking.

"I'm not here to answer any questions, just to support Ayla," DePietro said at the vigil.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.co...87#.TyXiScVWpQI

[Lori Davis]

Retired police chief: The Ayla Reynolds case will be solved

Jan 31, 2012 5:00pm

(NECN: Amy Sinclair) – The search for the missing toddler from Maine narrowed this week as police ruled out abduction and set their sights on the people who were in the house the night Ayla Reynolds disappeared.

Veteran homicide investigator and retired deputy Portland Police Chief Joe Loughlin talked about where the case that's gripped New England will go from here.

When 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds was first reported missing by her father Justin DiPietro, police weren't sure what they were dealing with.

Retired Portland police detective Joe Loughlin likens the early stages of a missing person’s case to a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Read more: http://www.necn.com/...132&feedID=4206

[Lori Davis]

The Grandfather Of Ayla Reynolds Pleas For Someone To Come Forward

Friday, February 3 2012, 04:43 PM EST

Not a minute goes by that Ayla's grandfather, Ron Reynolds, doesn't think about and picture his granddaughter, Ayla.  Ron says "She's right there.  Right in front of my mind every day.  Like right now talking to you, I can see her face, smiling."

Read more: http://www.wgme.com/...vid_10756.shtml

[Lori Davis]

Police Turn Up The Heat On Father Of Ayla Reynolds

By Lauren Leamanczyk, WBZ-TV's New Hampshire Bureau Chief
February 3, 2012 6:01 PM

WATERVILLE, ME (CBS) – Divers were back in the icy Kennebec River Friday continuing to search for Ayla Reynolds.

It was the same area they searched January 11th, but officials insisted the new effort was not the result of the tip. Their efforts in both searches came up empty. The missing one year old has not been seen since she was reported Missing on December 17th.

Read more: http://boston.cbsloc...-ayla-reynolds/

[Lori Davis]

Divers out again as search for Ayla hits 48 days

By John Zaremba
Saturday, February 4, 2012

Investigators in the increasingly desperate search for missing Maine toddler Ayla Reynolds plunged into the icy Kennebec River and another stream yesterday, finding no clues and reiterating their plea for the public’s help and their insistence that someone close to the child is holding back potentially vital information.

“I’ll be candid. It’s been 48 days and our concern grows every day,” said Steve McCausland, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. “But we remain hopeful that we’ll find Ayla.”

Divers, who had previously searched the Kennebec in Waterville on Jan. 11, found only a backpack and a knife, neither of which is connected to 20-month-old Ayla’s disappearance, McCausland said.

Read more: http://bostonherald....la_hits_48_days

[Lori Davis]

Police Investigate Broken Windows At DiPietro House In Waterville
Police: Justin DiPietro's Mother Reported Windows Being Damaged

POSTED: 9:55 am EST February 4, 2012
UPDATED: 11:53 am EST February 4, 2012

WATERVILLE, Maine -- Waterville police said they received a call at 11:13 p.m. Friday that someone was breaking windows at the home at 29 Violette Ave.

That is the home where missing toddler Ayla Reynolds was last seen by her father, Justin DiPietro, on December 16.

According to Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey, the call came from Phoebe DiPietro, who owns the home at 29 Violette Ave.

DiPietro said someone was throwing things through the window of the home.

Read more: http://www.wmtw.com/...l#ixzz1lRFzdW1C

[Lori Davis]

Ayla Reynolds Update: Grandfather Questions Missing Toddler's Father Justin DiPietro

First Posted: 02/17/2012 3:55 pm Updated: 02/17/2012 3:55 pm

The grandfather of a child who went missing exactly two months ago claims the girl's father didn't do enough to protect her.

“That eats me up every day,” Ron Reynolds maternal grandfather of Ayla Reynolds, told the Associated Press on Thursday. “Why didn’t they protect her? Why didn’t he protect her? He was responsible for her safety and welfare.”

Reynolds' father Justin DiPietro reported the 20-month-old girl missing just before 9 a.m., on Dec. 17, 2011.

Read more: http://www.huffingto..._n_1284991.html

[Lori Davis]

http://www.kjonline....2012-03-03.html

Ayla's relatives thank vigil attendees

03/03/2012 at 1:00 AM
By Ben McCanna
Staff Writer

WATERVILLE -- The paternal grandmother of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds stood Saturday on the City Hall stairs and tearfully addressed a crowd of about 100 people at an outdoor vigil.

"I'd like to thank the Waterville community and the ladies that put this on for Ayla today," Phoebe DiPietro said. "I love her very much, and I want to thank everyone's efforts for trying to bring her home. I pray that she will be home."

It was the fourth vigil in Waterville for Ayla, who was reported missing by her father, Justin DiPietro, on Dec. 17.

DiPietro's sister, Elisha DiPietro, stood in the crowd with her young daughter. She said she was pleased to see the community rally together.

"I'm glad that people are helping to keep Ayla's name out there in the media, and they're still supporting Ayla," she said.

DiPietro said the past few months have been difficult for her family. They are dealing with a child's absence, and public opinion is often against them.

"It's hard to see how many people hate my family without actually knowing my family. We didn't do anything wrong, and we just want Ayla home. We love Ayla, and we want her home," she said.

Heidi Tudela, a friend of Justin DiPietro, attended the vigil with members of her family. She said DiPietro wanted to attend the vigil, but he was advised that his safety might be at risk at the public event.

"He's received verbal threats and letters," she said.

Tudela declined to say who advised him. DiPietro couldn't be reached for comment.

The Teddy Bear Vigil was organized by Ayla's Angels, a Facebook group of nearly 500 members, which was started by Waterville resident Laurie Bingham.

Participants brought about 100 teddy bears, which later were doanated to the Waterville Police Department in Ayla's name.

Bingham said police could give teddy bears to children during times of family crisis or other emergencies.

[Lori Davis]

http://www.onlinesen...a-Reynolds.html

During today's Ayla Reynolds search, a 2004 body discovered
By Ben McCanna
Staff Writer
03/24/2012 at 4:28 PM

WATERVILLE – The body of a missing man was found Saturday during a search for a missing toddler, but searchers did not find any clues that would lead them to Ayla Reynolds.

On the banks of the Messalonskee Stream, volunteer searchers located the skeletal remains of a man whom investigators believe to be Steven Brandon, 53, a Waterville resident who has been missing since Feb. 2004.

Brandon's identification was found among the remains, police said, and they do not believe foul play was involved in his death, according to Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland.

The remains will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office to confirm the man’s identity and cause of death.

Lt. Kevin Adam of the Maine Warden Service said about 100 searchers from the warden service, Maine State Police, the Kennebec County Emergency Management Agency, volunteer search-and-rescue groups and cadaver dogs took advantage of the early spring weather in conducting their search.

The search areas included parts of Waterville, Oakland, Sidney, Norridgewock and Fairfield.

Adam said searches in Waterville were done to retrace areas that hadn’t been thoroughly investigated in December, shortly after Ayla was reported missing from her home on Violette Avenue. Searches in other towns were based on tips received by State Police.

McCausland said investigators have received 988 tips in the case, which is in its fourth month. He added that state police and other agencies involved in the case have spent more than $100,000 in overtime and other expenses related to finding Ayla.

The monetary figure is a testament that investigators are going “above and beyond” in their work, he said.

McCausland also said that communication with the three adults who were in the home with Ayla on the night before she was reported missing has “basically stopped.” Those adults are Ayla’s father Justin DiPietro, his girlfriend Courtney Roberts of Portland and his sister Elisha DiPietro.

McCausland encouraged landowners in the greater Kennebec County area to search their properties for any signs of the missing girl, who turns 2 on April 4.

Police are treating her disappearance as a crime, but no one has been charged.

An undisclosed amount of Ayla's blood was found in the partially finished basement that DiPietro used as his bedroom and police have said that DiPietro and two other adults in the home that night haven't been totally forthcoming.

DiPietro has said he has no idea what happened to his daughter or who is responsible.

[Lori Davis]

http://www.seacoasto...0327/-1/NEWSMAP

Search renewed for Maine toddler missing 3 months

03/25/2012

WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — About 100 volunteers aided by tracking dogs have renewed their search for a Maine toddler who's been missing three months.

Steve McCausland of the Maine Department of Public Safety said a search-and-rescue team, firefighters and game wardens met Saturday morning with police and are searching several areas in Waterville for any sign of Ayla Reynolds.

Ayla was 20 months old when she was last seen the night of Dec. 16 in Waterville. She was reported missing the following morning when her father said he discovered her bed empty.

Police are treating her disappearance as a crime, but no one has been charged.

[Lori Davis]

http://www.foxnews.c.../#ixzz1tN7lcXvP

Mystery items found in search for missing Maine 2-year-old Ayla Reynolds
Published April 27, 2012
FoxNews.com

Maine State Police are investigating items of interest found near where a missing Maine girl was last seen.

State Police said they found the items in the Kennebec River, located one mile away from 2-year-old Ayla Reynolds' home, Fox affiliate WFXT-TV reported Friday.

Authorities would not say what exactly was discovered. According to local reports, the items were found behind the Hathaway Creative Center in Waterville. The structure is a repurposed mill building.

It has not yet been determined that the items are related to the girl's disappearance, a police spokesman told the station. They were sent to a crime lab after their discovery on Wednesday.

The child disappeared from her father's Waterville in December. Police said they found blood belonging to the girl in the basement of the home.

Ayla was 20 months old when she disappeared on the night of Dec. 16. She had been staying with her father at the time in the house where the father, Justin DiPietro, lives with his mother. Ayla's mother, Trista Reynolds, lives in Portland.

DiPietro reported Ayla missing the following day. He'd put her to bed the night before and said she wasn't there the next morning.

Blood was found in the basement where the father slept, and police confirmed that some of the blood was Ayla's.

On the night Ayla was last seen, DiPietro was in the home with his girlfriend, Courtney Roberts, and they slept with Roberts' child in the partially finished basement where the blood was found, police say. DiPietro's sister was sleeping with her young child on the main level of the one-story home, and Ayla was in a bedroom by herself on the main level.