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Disappearance of Ayla Reynolds

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Ayla Reynolds is a 20-month-old toddler from Waterville, Maine, who disappeared on December 16, 2011.[1] She was last seen at 9 PM on December 16, in her bed by a family member, but was discovered missing by her father the next morning.[2] The search for Ayla was the largest search for a missing person in the state's history, and the third-largest in United States history.[3]

Biography

Ayla Reynolds is the daughter of Trista Reynolds and Justin DiPietro.[4] Neither have been charged in relation to the case; however, State investigators and Trista Reynolds have both expressed that they believe DiPietro has not been forthcoming about his knowledge of Ayla's disappearance.[1][4]

Night of Ayla's disappearance

Ayla had been sent for a stay with her father, Justin DiPietro, by her mother and primary caretaker, Trista Reynolds.[5] She was reported missing from her bed on December 17, 2011.[5][6] According to DiPietro and police, the last time he saw Ayla, she was wearing green polka dot pajamas with "Daddy's Princess" written across them, along with a soft cast on her left arm.[6] There were two people, besides DiPietro, in the house at the time of Ayla's disappearance - his girlfriend Courtney Roberts, and his sister Alisha DiPietro.[5]

A news conference was held by state police in May 2012 to discuss recent developments in the case, such as the discovery of blood in her father's house and the number of people who were present at the time of her disappearance.[7] The blood was confirmed to be more than a cupful of Ayla's blood, adjacent to DiPietro's bed.[8] The only comment state investigators made at the time of its discovery was that it was 'more blood than a small cut would produce.'[9]

Search efforts

Following Ayla's disappearance, a reward of $30,000 for information leading to her safe return was posted by various Waterville businesses.[5] The reward generated approximately 1,200 leads, many of them from psychics, none of which led to the discovery of any information regarding Ayla.[10] DiPietro, his brother Lance, and a mutual friend collaborated with the Laura Recovery Center to produce t-shirts, buttons, flyers, and other goods to spread awareness of Ayla's disappearance.[11][12]

DiPietro did not speak about his daughter's disappearance for almost three weeks after the story broke.[1][11] As a result, Ayla's mother accused him of having something to hide.[11] Nearly a full year later, in October 2012, police trawled Messalonskee Stream a second time to look for Ayla's remains, when construction workers repairing a bridge artificially lowered the water level in the stream. Nothing was found.[13]

On June 25, 2015, an unidentified toddler, known as "Baby Doe" or Deer Island Jane Doe, was found dead on the shore of Deer Island, Massachusetts. The subject was believed to have been around three to five years old at the time of death, which was somewhat consistent with Reynolds. Many suspected that the unidentified body was Ayla, but she was soon excluded as a possible identity. The Jane Doe was identified in September 2015.[14][15]

Aftermath

At the one-year anniversary of Ayla's disappearance, the Maine State Police, Maine Warden Service, and Waterville Police stated that they would not let up on search efforts until Ayla was found.[3] Two searches conducted earlier that month in southern New Hampshire and in Mayfield turned up nothing.[3]

A candlelight vigil was held in Waterville to mark one month of Ayla's being missing and was attended by DiPietro.[12][16] He was also the first to leave the vigil and refused to speak to the media.[12] Trista organized a 4 mile (6.4 kilometers) walk in Waterville called the "Eyes Open" walk, as well as a similar walk in Portland, in May and July 2012, in order to keep media attention focused the on the case.[17][18]

In 2012, A local Maine songwriter, Pete Haase, wrote a song about Ayla's disappearance and the effect it had on the community.[19]

In 2013, the Ugandan singer Pallaso released his single "It's Cold" subtitled "Tribute to Ayla Reynolds" accompanied by a music video that highlights the cause of disappeared children.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ayla's mom says toddler's father isn't telling 'the whole truth'". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. Associated Press. Jan 10, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  2. ^ "Missing Children". Huffington Post. 2013-06-27. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Barber, Alex (December 14, 2012). "Police vow commitment to solving Ayla Reynolds disappearance". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Koenig, Seth (July 15, 2013). "Father of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds arrested for domestic assault in separate incident". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d Cousins, Christopher; Koenig, Seth (May 31, 2012). "Police say it is 'highly unlikely Ayla Reynolds will be found alive,' seek more information from father". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Police: Disappearance of Ayla Reynolds involved foul play". Bangor Daily News. Dec 30, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  7. ^ "News conference to be held on Ayla Reynolds case". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. Associated Press. May 30, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  8. ^ Gilbert, Carol (February 12, 2013). "Ayla Reynolds Died in Father's House, Family Says". Yahoo! News. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  9. ^ Cousins, Christopher (January 29, 2012). "Police confirm blood found in toddler's father's home is Ayla's". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  10. ^ Adams, Glenn (June 29, 2012). "$30,000 reward for information about Ayla Reynolds expires Saturday". Bangor Daily News. The Associated Press. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  11. ^ a b c "Baby Ayla's mom 'not getting the whole truth'". The Today Show. January 10, 2012. NBC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ a b c Cousins, Christopher (Jan 17, 2012). "Ayla Reynold's father attends Waterville vigil in honor of missing toddler". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  13. ^ Barber, Alex (October 5, 2012). "Police search for signs of Ayla Reynolds in Messalonskee Stream". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  14. ^ "NamUs UP # 14004". identifyus.org. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  15. ^ "Tips about Deer Island toddler pour in as millions view photos". boston.com. Boston Globe Media Partners. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  16. ^ "Vigil to mark one month since disappearance of Ayla Reynolds". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. Jan 17, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  17. ^ "Waterville walk organized to raise awareness for Ayla Reynolds". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. Associated Press. May 5, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  18. ^ "Trista Reynolds keeps attention on Ayla with Portland walk". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. July 14, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  19. ^ Cousins, Christopher (February 16, 2012). "Waterville songwriter pens 'A Song for Ayla'". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  20. ^ YouTUbe: Pallaso - "It's Cold (A Tribute to Ayla Reynolds)" music video
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