AYLA REYNOLDS - 20 Months - Waterville ME

WATERVILLE, Maine — Police in Waterville
are investigating what they're calling the disappearance and possible
abduction of a 20-month-old girl who has gone missing from her home.

Police say the father of Ayla Reynolds called police to
report that his daughter was not in her bed Saturday morning and
couldn't be found. She was last seen sleeping at about 10 p.m. Friday by
a family member.

A search of the neighborhood by Waterville police and firefighters, the Maine Warden Service and a state police K-9 team failed to uncover any evidence of the girl.

Police are seeking the public's help. They say Ayla was
last seen wearing pajamas with polka dots with the words "Daddy's
Princess" on them.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/e9d9ecdf418f4e6aa2e2302f994b5f37/ME--Missing-Toddler/

Toddler missing, possibly abducted

6:21 PM, Dec 17, 2011




WATERVILLE, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Police in Waterville are searching for a missing toddler who they say may have been abducted.
20-month old Ayla Reynolds disappeared from her home at 29 Violette
Avenue. She was last seen in her bed by a family member at around 10
Friday night. Her father called police just before 9 a.m. Saturday when
he learned she was missing.
Police searched the area near the home with a K-9 and have turned up
nothing. They also are searching the home and say Ayla's family is
cooperating with them. They are now turning to the public for help.

The little girl was last seen wearing green one-piece pajamas with polka dots and the words "daddy's princess" written on them.
She's 2' 9" tall and weighs about 30 pounds. She has short, blonde hair and her left arm is in a sling with a soft splint.

If you have any information on where she might be, you are asked to call Waterville Police at 680-4700.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/182772/2/Toddler-missing-possibly-abducted

WATERVILLE -- Police are looking for a toddler who vanished from her
bed sometime late Friday or early Saturday, and say it's possible she was abducted.

20-month-old Ayla Reynolds, wearing a soft cast from a
broken arm, was last seen sleeping in her bed at about 10 p.m. Friday.
Her father reported her missing Saturday at 8:51 a.m. when he found an empty bed.

Police searched the neighborhood for her all day Saturday, including using a Maine State Police tracking dog.

"We're approaching almost 24 hours and no one knows where a 20-month
little girl is and was last seen only in pajamas," Police Chief Joseph
Massey said. "It's very concerning. We have not been able to locate her
with a pretty intensive search of the area."

The child lives at 29 Violette Ave., off Cool Street. She was last
seen wearing green, one-piece pajamas with polka dots and the words
"Daddy's Princess" on them. She is 2 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs
approximately 30 pounds.

Her left arm is in a sling and soft splint. She has short thin blond hair.

"An exhaustive search of the neighborhood surrounding the house has
been conducted by members of the Waterville Police Department,
Waterville Fire Department and Maine State Warden Service, to include a
flyover (with a) Warden Service's plane," Massey said.

"A detailed search of the residence for forensic evidence is being
conducted by members of the Waterville Police Department's Detective
Division and the Maine State Police's Evidence Recovery Team. Ayla's
family members are cooperating fully with police."

Rumsey said police have spoken to the toddler's mother, who does not
live at the Violette Avenue home. Police are not releasing the names of the parents.

"We have interviewed her," he said. "She is cooperative."

Waterville Deputy Police Chief Charles Rumsey said police conducted
extensive interviews and believe there is nothing suspicious about the
broken arm, which he said was suffered in an accident several weeks ago.

Massey said it's possible the toddler let herself out of the house and simply walked away and that is part of the investigation.

"There are two possibilities -- she could have walked out of the
house; she was able to walk, she's old enough to walk, just starting to
walk," Massey said. "Her mobility would have been quite limited with the
soft cast on her arm. We think it would be very, very difficult for her
to open the door and get herself out. We don't think she could have
gone very far.

"Then the possibility arises -- was she abducted? We're certainly looking at that. It's very concerning."

The Police Department is urgently requesting assistance from the
general public in locating the toddler, Massey said. Anyone with
information regarding Ayla's whereabouts is asked to call the Waterville
Police Department at 680-4700.
http://www.kjonline.com/news/maine-toddlermissing_2011-12-17.html

Family feels helpless as search for missing toddler continues
WATERVILLE — A 20-month-old girl remained
missing late Sunday as police said at an afternoon press conference that
they continue to investigate and interview family members.




Facebook pages on missing Ayla Reynolds
https://www.facebook.com/Help.Find.Ayla

https://www.facebook.com/events/118758611574267/

Ayla Reynolds, wearing a soft cast from a broken arm, was
last seen sleeping in her bed at about 10 p.m. Friday. Her father
reported her missing Saturday at 8:51 a.m. when he said he found an
empty bed. The child lives at 29 Violette Ave., off Cool Street.

Police today identified the parents as Justin DiPietro and Trista Reynolds.

Reynolds' grandfather, Ronald Reynolds of Portland, said Sunday he
and other family members feel helpless as police search for the young
girl.

“It’s just so hard for me to sit back and not do anything,” Ronald
Reynolds said. “I’m crawling out of my skin right now. She's the apple
of my eye.”

He said he hasn’t been able to eat or sleep since police came to his home with the news yesterday.

“She is so friendly, loveable, smart,” he said. “I don’t know where
she is. I don’t know if she’s in a car, if she’s in a gutter
somewhere.... I want my granddaughter found. I want here home safe.”

At about 12:30 p.m. today, the Maine State Police, a game warden, a
tracking dog and city police entered the house at 29 Violette Ave. to
conduct a seacrh. Police searched the neighborhood for her all day
Saturday, too.

She was last seen wearing green, one-piece pajamas with polka dots
and the words "Daddy's Princess" on them. She is 2 feet, 9 inches tall
and weighs approximately 30 pounds.

Her left arm is in a sling and soft splint. She has short thin blond hair.

Waterville Deputy Police Chief Charles Rumsey said police conducted
extensive interviews and believe there is nothing suspicious about the
broken arm, which he said was suffered in an accident several weeks ago.

Massey said it's possible the toddler let herself out of the house
and simply walked away and that is part of the investigation. It's also
possible the child was abducted, police said.

At the 2 p.m. press conference Sunday, Massey said anyone with information about Reynolds to call police at 207-680-4700.
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/Press-conference-today-on-missing-toddler.html

WATERVILLE, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Police in Waterville say 20 month old Ayla Reynolds was last seen 8 o'clock Friday night.

At a news conference Sunday afternoon police said the little girl's
father is Justin Dipietro and her mother is Trista Reynolds. Ayla lives
with her father and her mother lives in Portland , although she does not
have a permanent address.

Police were told by DiPietro that he last saw his daughter when he
put her to bed on Friday night. He discovered her missing the next
morning.

There were people visiting the home Friday night. Police describe them as friends and family.

The investigation involves local police, state police, wardens and the FBI.

Ayla was last seen wearing green one-piece pajamas with polka dots
and the words "daddy's princess" written on them. She's 2' 9" tall and
weighs about 30 pounds. She has short, blonde hair and her left arm is
in a sling with a soft splint. Police say that injury was suffered three
weeks ago when she reportedly fell down.

If you have any information on where she might be, you are asked to call Waterville Police at 680-4700.

Many of you have been asking us on our Facebook page about whether an
Amber Alert should have been issued in this case. NEWS CENTER spoke
with Public Safety Spokesperson Steve MccCausland, and he tells us that
Amber Alerts are issued only if the abductor is known to police, and a
vehicle is involved.
It's still unclear what happened in Waterville.
He also says Amber Alerts are only issued within a few hours of a child disappearing or going missing.
Since this child disappeared overnight, possibly as long as 18 hours
ago, McCausland says it's not appropriate for an Amber Alert to be
issued.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/182772/314/FBI-in-on-investigation-of-toddlers-disappearance

This case is exactly like toddler Joshua Davis, who is also still missing. A house full of adults and a toddler missing.

Goodness. How do all these babies disappear out of their beds. I know one little boy apparently got out of his house but he must not have been in bed. At 20 mos old they are usually still in a crib and can't usually unlock doors.

Amid
a desperate search for a missing toddler in Waterville, Maine, police
said yesterday it’s possible that the little girl who vanished from her
grandmother’s home this weekend was abducted, while neighbors were
fearing the worst and hoping for the best.

“We’re approaching almost 24 hours and no one knows where a 20-month
little girl is and was last seen only in pajamas,” Waterville Police
Chief Joseph Massey told reporters, according to the Portland Press
Herald.

“There are two possibilities. She could have walked out of the house;
she was able to walk, she’s old enough to walk, just starting to walk,”
he said. “Then the possibility arises — was she abducted? We’re
certainly looking at that. It’s very concerning.”






Ayla Reynolds, just a few months shy of her second birthday, was
reported missing by her father just before 9 a.m. Saturday, police said.
The little girl, who had short blond hair, blue eyes and a broken arm,
was living with her father in his mother’s home, neighbors said.

Fearful neighbors said they are hoping for the best.

“It’s absolutely sad, it really is,” Laurie Nyes said. “It’s cold
out, and you hate to think that there’s a child out there, somewhere.”

Police said family members told them the girl was last seen in her
bed wearing green “Daddy’s Princess” pajamas at 10 p.m. Friday.

All day Saturday, police and neighbors scoured this college town.

“An exhaustive search of the neighborhood surrounding the house has
been conducted by members of the Waterville Police Department,
Waterville Fire Department and Maine State Warden Service, to include a
flyover (in a) Warden Service’s plane,” Massey said.

The little girl’s parents, Justin DiPietro and Trista Reynolds, who
do not live together, are “cooperating fully with the police,” he added.

Police said there is nothing suspicious about Ayla’s broken arm. They
said she sustained the injury some time ago, and they believe it was
accidental.

But they said the injured arm — and the cast it was wrapped in —
would make it difficult for her to wander far, if she really did wander
off.

“Her mobility would have been quite limited with the soft cast on her
arm,” Massey said. “We think it would be very, very difficult for her
to open the door and get herself out. We don’t think she could have gone
very far.”

Police urge anyone with information about Ayla to call them at 207-680-4700.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1389547&srvc=rss

The mother of a missing Maine toddler said she and the father were not getting along just before their daughter Ayla disappeared.

"We've been unable to get along the last few weeks and parent together," said Trista Reynolds in an interview with Good Morning America.

Reynolds said she and the baby's father, Justin DiPietro share custody of their 20-month old daughter, but the day before Ayla disappeared, she filed paperwork to get sole custody of the child. She said DiPietro had no idea.

"He didn't know I went to file them. He'll know now, but I never told him and no one told him," said Reynolds.

Ayla was at her father's Waterville, Maine home on Friday night. He told police he tucked her into bed around 8 p.m.. When he went in the next morning, she was gone.

Ayla is 2'9" tall, has short blonde hair and weighs about 30 lbs. She has a sling and a soft cast on her left arm from a fall she took a few weeks ago. She was last seen wearing a green one piece pajama set with "Daddy's Princess" written on it.

State and local police have been searching for her, along with help from the FBI and volunteer searchers.

"I just hope she's safe, I hope she's warm, I hope she's fed," said searcher Jennifer Blakeslee.

"I hope she's not hurt and we find her alive."

Police have appealed to the public, as well.

"We need your help, time is of the essence," said Waterville, Me Police Chief Joseph Massey.

Trista Reynolds said she's heard nothing from DiPietro since their daughter's disappearance.

"I've had no contact with him; he's had no contact with me. All I know is he's the last man to see my daughter, and all I want to know where she is," Reynolds said.

While they're not cooperating with each other, the parents are cooperating with police.

"All I can say is they are being cooperative," said Chief Massey.

"We've talked with both parents and other relatives... they've been very forthcoming with information."

http://www.necn.com/12/19/11/Strange-details-released-in-missing-todd/landing_newengland.html?blockID=615080&feedID=4206

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/mom-missing-maine-toddler-sought-sole-custody-15187760

Relatives of a woman whose toddler is the subject of an intensive search said Monday that they feared for the girl's safety while she was staying with her father, who was caring for the child when she disappeared.

Twenty-month-old Ayla Reynolds was reported missing Saturday morning by her father, Justin DiPietro, who called police to say she was not in her bed in Waterville.

Whitney Raynor, her mother's stepsister, said Monday that welfare agents had placed Ayla with her father in November while the mother was in rehab for substance abuse. The girl had bruises after being in her father's care, Raynor said, in addition to a broken arm three weeks ago.

"Our biggest fear is that he lost his temper and something happened. We're trying not to think about that, but in the back of our minds it's our biggest fear," Raynor said from Portland, where Ayla's mother, Trista Reynolds, lives.

Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey has said the broken arm was from an accidental fall. The girl was last seen Friday night wearing green one-piece pajamas with polka dots and the words "Daddy's Princess" on them; she had a soft cast on her left arm.

Spokesman Steve McCausland of the Maine Department of Public Safety said police learned of the girl's cast on her arm from either DiPietro or guests at his home Friday night. A message left with Massey wasn't immediately returned.

A phone number for the father couldn't immediately be located. Police outside his house Monday in Waterville said he was not there, and the girl's disappearance remains a missing-persons case. Two cars were towed Monday from near DiPietro's house, but police would not comment on who owned them or why they were taken away.






Massey said every lead reported by the public is being followed in hopes of locating the child.

"We are approaching this with every possible thought and angle in mind. It is currently a very open case," Massey said at a briefing. He said about 75 officers, including game wardens specially trained in search and rescue, were working on the case.

As the search entered its third day, a Maine Warden Service plane circled overhead, wardens searched a stream near the father's house and residents joined in canvassing the neighborhood for any signs of Ayla.

Wardens focused most of their efforts Monday on Messalonskee Stream, and the FBI and Maine State Police were helping Waterville police investigate, McCausland said.

The stream meanders through Waterville, a city of about 16,000 located 20 miles north of Augusta.

Many residents joined in the search. Carrie Harvey, who lives nearby, found a sippy cup lid near the neighborhood and turned it over to a warden.

"It's sad. Christmas is right around the corner. My heart cries out for that lady," Harvey, a mother of five, said of Ayla's mother.

Reynolds, who also has a 7-month-old baby, is now doing better after rehab, and she went to court Thursday to regain sole custody of Ayla, Raynor said. DiPietro didn't know about the court filing, she said.

Reynolds told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday that she and the father have been unable to get along in the last few weeks.

"I've had no contact with him; he's had no contact with me. All I know is he's the last man to see my daughter, and all I want to know is where she is," she said.

Investigators interviewed the parents, as well as other family members, and they were cooperative, Massey said.

The father moved four to six weeks ago to his childhood home on Violette Street in a tidy neighborhood of small ranch houses built after World War II, a neighbor said. A few blocks away is a park, alongside the stream.

A state police evidence van was parked outside DiPietro's gray, vinyl-sided bungalow on Monday, and two state troopers were stationed outside.

"It's just so sad, so sad. I hope we end up with a live child," said Ellen Paul, a retired Colby College employee who lives across the street from DiPietro's home. "I'm heartbroken for anybody to go through that kind of pain."

By COLLEEN CURRY and LINSEY DAVIS
Today, 10:23 AM

Details of an unstable home life have emerged in the case of missing Maine toddler Ayla Reynolds, who was vanished from her father's house Friday night.

Reynolds was reported missing Saturday morning by her father, Justin DiPietro, who told police he put the 20-month-old to bed on Friday night and found her missing the next morning. The girl had been placed in his custody just weeks before by the Department of Health and Human Services because her mother, Trista Reynolds, had entered rehab for substance abuse, according to Trista Reynolds' relatives.

The toddler's grandmother, Becka Hanson, told the Morning Sentinel newspaper that she had been watching Ayla while her daughter, Trista, was in rehab, but that Ayla was taken by the DHS and placed with DiPietro. Trista's other child, a 9-month-old, remained in the Reynolds' family custody.

Trista and her 9-month-old son are currently living in a motel in South Portland, according to Hanson. Trista Reynolds had filed to regain custody of her daughter Dec. 15, the day before the disappearance. She told ABC News that DiPietro did not know she had filed the paperwork.

According to Trista's step-sister, the missing girl had recently broken her arm at her father's house and had begun showing bruises on her skin, the Morning Sentinel reported.

Waterville police chief Joseph Massey has said the girl broke her arm during an accidental fall.

Police are continuing their search for the girl for the fourth straight day, after Monday's canvasses of a nearby river and aerial searches turned up nothing. Massey said the police are following every lead that comes in from the public, and have not ruled out abduction.

Waterville police, state police, game wardens and FBI are all involved in the search, with more than 75 law enforcement agents now helping the investigation, Massey said. Twenty-five agents helped conduct the river search, which Massey called a "logical" step because of its proximity to where Ayla was last seen.

Police towed two vehicles in front of DiPietro's house Monday, but would not comment on why. Massey has said that there were several adults at DiPietro's home the night of the disappearance, including one non-relative. DiPietro did not return calls for comment.

A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. today, though a vigil held last night in front of DiPietro's home was sparsely attended.

http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=15198125&sid=81

WATERVILLE, Maine -- The father of a missing 20-month-old girl gave a statement on Tuesday about his child's disappearance.

"I have no idea what happened to Ayla, or who is responsible," Justin DiPietro said in the statement.



DiPietro wrote the statement, gave it to Waterville Police, who handed it to a Morning Sentinel reporter, said Stephen McCausland of the Maine Department of Public Safety. McCausland said the statement was a media release.

The Morning Sentinel, which is located in downtown Waterville, posted the statement on its website on Tuesday night.

DiPietro called 911 Saturday morning when he discovered Ayla Reynolds was not in her bed at 29 Violette Ave. Searches began that day and have continued with the help of a number of law enforcement agencies and volunteers.

She was last seen Friday night wearing a green one-piece pajama set with polka dots and the words "Daddy's Princess" on it.

"I have shared every piece of information possible with police. Contrary to some statements floating around out there, I have been in in communication with Ayla's mother over the last couple weeks," DiPietro said.

Relatives of Ayla's mother said they were concerned about the girl's safety while she was staying with her father.

Welfare agents had placed Ayla with her father weeks ago while her mother, Trista Reynolds, was in rehab for substance abuse, according to Reynolds' stepsister, Whitney Raynor. The toddler's maternal grandmother, Becka Hanson, told the Morning Sentinel it was the Department of Health and Human Services that took custody of the girl and turned her over to DiPietro.

After moving in with her father, the toddler suffered a broken arm, said Raynor, who serves as spokeswoman for the Portland family, which has sought to regain custody of the girl.

Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey has said the girl's arm was broken in an accidental fall.

"I will not make accusations or insinuations towards anyone until the police have been able to prove who's responsible for this," DiPietro said.

Read more: http://www.wmtw.com/news/30043095/detail.html#ixzz1h8fOd3Bq

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hA663VSFJ25KOD5N2WM8Yclhuy0w?docId=1d6d902b4368494cb56094418b988c77

As the FBI stepped up its efforts to find a 20-month-old girl who disappeared from her father's home over the weekend, investigators combed through trash bins, drained a stream and pored over more than 100 leads offered by the public.

Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey refused to speculate Tuesday on whether Ayla Reynolds was alive, saying authorities are focused on finding her. The investigation remains a missing-person case, he said.

Meanwhile, in his first public statement, the girl's father, Justin DiPietro, said he doesn't know what happened to her.

"I have no idea what happened to Ayla, or who is responsible," he said. "I will not make accusations or insinuations towards anyone until the police have been able to prove who's responsible for this."

The Portland Press Herald reported that DiPietro released the statement through the Waterville Police Department, saying his family and friends will do "everything we can to assist in this investigation and get Ayla back home."

Massey said the FBI launched a door-to-door canvass of neighbors to glean any information that may lead them to the little girl.

"We've ruled out nothing," said Massey, whose central Maine agency has combined efforts with firefighters, state police, game wardens and the FBI.

Ayla was last seen when DiPietro, put her to bed Friday night. He called police to report her missing the following morning, saying he found her bed empty.

"I have shared every piece of information possible with the police," DiPietro said in his statement.

On Tuesday, a state police evidence vehicle remained outside the home that DiPietro shared with his mother in Waterville.

State police stationed outside the house told reporters that the DiPietros were not there. Their whereabouts were unknown to the public, and The Associated Press could not find phone numbers for them.

While the neighborhood was canvassed, police were checking out trash bins across the city. A stretch of Messalonskee Stream a few blocks from DiPietro home was drained nearly dry so wardens could get a better look, both from the ground and from an airplane overhead, officials said.

Massey said each of the 100 leads that have been given to police was being followed.

Ayla's mother said she's trying to remain optimistic that her daughter is OK. Trista Reynolds said she's trying to keep it together for an 8-month-old son who remains in her care but acknowledges the past few days have been tough.

"Sometimes I think that she's OK. Sometimes I start thinking that the worst can happen. That's how I've been feeling. I lay my head down at night and wonder where she is. Am I going to see her again? Do I get to see her beautiful smile?" Reynolds said of her daughter Ayla. "She's my little girl."

Police said both of Ayla's parents, who live separately, continued to cooperate with police.

"Ayla Reynolds is etched in all our minds and reminds every investigator why it's important to stay focused and committed to the task at hand: to bring Ayla back home," Massey said.

The Reynolds family was advised after meeting with Waterville police to return to their homes 75 miles to the south in Portland to let police conduct their investigation. Reynolds and her older sister, Jessica, were staying in a hotel Tuesday to keep away from the media frenzy.

"I'm watching my sister fall to pieces," Jessica Reynolds said. "I don't think she has any tears left to cry."

Trista Reynolds told The Associated Press that she and DiPietro never lived together as a couple. But Reynolds said a drinking problem prompted her to enter rehabilitation in Lewiston for 10 days in October; she said that although her mother and older sister cared for Ayla during that time, child welfare agents intervened to place the girl with DiPietro.

Last week, Reynolds filed court papers that she hoped would lead to the return of her daughter. The filing occurred the day before Ayla was last seen in Waterville.

DiPietro said Tuesday that although he has sole custody of his daughter, "It has always been my intention to have a shared parenting arrangement with Ayla's mother and I will continue to work towards that when Ayla is returned to us."

WATERVILLE, Maine — The area being searched for a missing
20-month-old girl in Maine is being expanded to include trails and more
waterways, and the number of tips from the public has grown to more than
160, police said Wednesday.

A stream has already been drained in the search for Ayla
Reynolds, and Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey said additional
waterways will be checked as the area grows outward from the girl’s
house. The Maine Marine Patrol is searching the Kennebec River.
Fifty trained volunteers from the Maine Search and Rescue
Association were joining 75 to 80 law enforcement officers already
participating in the search, which entered the fifth day on Wednesday, he said.
Searchers have looked through trash bins and even lowered
portions of Messalonskee Stream, looking for signs of Ayla. The FBI
continued Wednesday to go door-to-door in a “knock and talk” campaign.
Massey spoke before a planned candlelight vigil for Ayla that was organized by
a local group Wednesday night. The girl’s mother, Trista Reynolds, was expected to attend.
The toddler was last seen Friday night when
her father, Justin DiPietro, said he put her to bed wearing a green
one-piece pajama set with polka dots and the words “Daddy’s Princess.”
DiPietro called police the next morning to say she wasn’t there. Several other
adults were in the home at the time, but Massey declined to identify them.
Tuesday night, DiPietro addressed the public for the first
time, saying in a statement he had “no idea what happened to Ayla, or who is responsible.”
DiPietro released the statement through the
Waterville police, saying his family and friends will do “everything we
can to assist in this investigation and get Ayla back home.”
Massey has refused to speculate on whether Ayla is alive, saying authorities
are focused on finding her. The investigation remains a missing-person case, he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/police-search-trash-drain-stream-follow-100-leads-in-search-for-missing-maine-toddler/2011/12/21/gIQAeLKf8O_story.html?tid=pm_national_pop

Homicide Prosecutors Called to Home of Missing Maine Girl

Published December 22, 2011

WATERVILLE, Maine – Two
of the state's top homicide prosecutors have been called to the Maine
home of a missing 20-month-old girl, but authorities continue to treat
the disappearance as a missing child case.

As the search for Ayla Reynolds entered its
sixth day, Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey told reporters during
an afternoon press conference that the investigation is focused closely
on the girl's Violette Avenue home. Crime-scene tape surrounding the
home and the presence of two homicide prosecutors are merely
investigative tools, he said.
Police are also using cadaver dogs in an area near the city's airport in the search, Massey said.

Ayla was reported missing Saturday by her
father, Justin DiPietro, who told police he last saw her when he put her
to bed Friday night.

On Wednesday, 50 trained volunteers from the
Maine Search and Rescue Association joined 75 to 80 law enforcement
officers already participating in the search for the girl, which entered
its sixth day Thursday.

"I can tell you, they are working just as
hard as if it was their own child," Waterville City Manager Mike Roy
told the group at the vigil at the First Congregational Church, where a
photo of a smiling Ayla, a few children's drawings and stuffed toys
contributed by local families formed a centerpiece at the front of the pews.

Residents prayed, sang hymns and offered one
another support and hope during the service, which was moved indoors
because of freezing rain and low temperatures.

"I want to support the family," Cori Cote
said as she held her 16-month-old daughter before the vigil. "I couldn't
imagine losing my little girl. I want Ayla back safe."


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/22/crime-scene-tape-around-home-missing-maine-toddler/?test=latestnews#ixzz1hIviBidd

Tape placed around home of missing Maine toddler

Published December 22, 2011

WATERVILLE, Maine – Investigators
put up crime-scene tape around the home of a 20-month-old girl who's
been missing since last weekend and two of the state's top homicide
prosecutors were called to the house Thursday as the search for her
entered its sixth day.

But Waterville Police Chief
Joseph Massey insisted that Ayla Reynolds' disappearance remains a
missing child case, that "everything remains open and we're not
discounting anything."

Massey told reporters that the
investigation is now focused on an expanded search of the house in a
neighborhood of neatly kept tract homes.

"That is the last place Ayla
was seen. So as you might, expect we're going to give a lot of attention
to that particular house, looking for any clues where she might be or
where it would help us to locate her," Massey said. "We need to go
through that as thoroughly as we can, just like we do in any other
investigation."

He said officials from the
state attorney general's office, including criminal division chief
William Stokes, were at the house, but that was just to give them an
opportunity to look at the site.

"We're at a point where we thought it was appropriate for him to come in and just do a walk-through," Massey said.

Spokeswoman Brenda Kielty said
the visit to Ayla's father's home by Stokes and Andrew Benson, another
top homicide prosecutor, was "standard protocol." She declined further
comment on the case.

The police chief played down
the significance of yellow tape strung about the perimeter of the small
property, saying it was "just an additional barrier" to secure the site.
He said people shouldn't read too much into the presence of a state
police incident command van parked there, saying it was for the
convenience of technicians working at the site.

The investigation continued in
other parts of the central Maine city, including at the airport where
cadaver dogs were brought in, as well as streams and waterways. By
Thursday, police had received more than 200 tips from the public, all of
which were being followed up and some re-checked, the chief said.

Ayla was living with her
father, Justin DiPietro, who reported her missing Saturday morning.
DiPietro told police he last saw her when he put her to bed the previous
night. He said she was wearing green pajamas with polka dots and the
words "Daddy's Princess" on them. She also had a soft cast on her broken
left arm.

Ayla ended up with her father
after child welfare workers intervened while her mother, Trista
Reynolds, checked herself into a 10-day rehabilitation program.

The case drew expressions of
community support and hope the child will be found safe as more than 60
people, many of them mothers with young children, gathered at a local
church Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil.

Massey said he believes police have made "significant progress" even through Ayla has not been found.

"There are a lot of things that we've eliminated, and that's just as important as identifying things," he said.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/22/tape-placed-around-home-missing-maine-toddler/#ixzz1hJ4F8Z6Y

WATERVILLE, Maine — Large-scale efforts to find a missing
20-month-old girl were hampered Friday by a couple of inches of snow
that fell overnight as the search for the central Maine toddler entered
its seventh day.

Waterville police detectives along with Maine State Police and
the FBI continued to investigate the disappearance of Ayla Reynolds,
Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey said. Ayla’s father, Justin
DiPietro, reported her missing from his Waterville home last Saturday.

Investigators put up crime-scene tape around DiPietro’s house
on Thursday and two state homicide prosecutors were called to the site,
but police said they are still treating the disappearance as a missing
child case. Massey said the investigation was focusing on DiPietro’s
house because that’s where the girl was last seen.
Teams of wardens were available to conduct targeted searches Friday as necessary,
and investigators are continuing a “painstaking review of an
unprecedented amount of information which has been gathered to date,”
Massey said in a news release.
Hundreds of officials and volunteers have helped search for Ayla since DiPietro told police she
wasn’t in her bed when he checked on her at 8 a.m. Saturday. DiPietro
told police he last saw her when he put her to bed the previous night.
She was wearing green pajamas with polka dots and the words “Daddy’s
Princess” on them. She also had a soft cast on her broken left arm.
Ayla ended up living with her father after child welfare workers intervened
while her mother, Trista Reynolds, checked herself into a 10-day
rehabilitation program.
Trista Reynolds, who lives in Portland,
told NBC’s “Today” show that she planned to attend a candlelight vigil
for Ayla in Portland on Friday. “I just want her home,” she told
“Today.” ‘’And I’m hoping for maybe my Christmas present ... that she’s
going to come home.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/search-at-home-of-missing-maine-toddlers-home-intensifies-as-effort-moves-toward-first-week/2011/12/23/gIQAHEyzCP_story.html

The
mother of a missing 20-month-old Maine girl prayed for a Christmas
miracle and the return of her daughter, pleading for the opportunity to
see her and hold her again after the toddler disappeared from her
father’s home in Waterville, Maine, a week ago.

“I want to see her face, I want to see her eyes, I want to feel her
touch. I want to tell her I love her. And I feel like I can’t protect
her,” Trista Reynolds, mother of little Ayla Reynolds, told NBC’s
“Today” show. “My greatest fear is that she’s all alone and she’s
scared, and she has nobody to turn to.”

Snow hampered search efforts yesterday, but teams of state wardens
stood by ready to examine areas identified by police detectives,
Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey said. Detectives from his
department, state police and the FBI will continue to sift through what
he called an “unprecedented amount of information” throughout the
Christmas weekend. “Everything is open. We’re not discounting anything,”
he said.






Police have identified no suspects.

The Waterville home of Ayla’s father, Justin DiPietro, was cordoned
off Thursday. “I have no idea what happened to Ayla or who is
responsible,” DiPietro told “Today” in a statement.
http://bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/2011_1224mom_pleads_for_missing_tots_return

Authorities offer $30,000 reward in case of missing Maine toddler

December 26, 2011 -- Updated 2224 GMT (0624 HKT)


Police are searching for 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds, who was last reported seen Friday night.
20-month-old Ayla Reynolds was last reported seen more than a week ago

• The Waterville, Maine, police chief says he hopes the reward will spur new leads
  
• Ayla was last seen wearing green pajamas with white polka dots
  
• "Like in most missing person cases, it concerns us as time goes on," the police chief says
  

(CNN) -- Authorities in Waterville, Maine, on Monday
offered a $30,000 reward for information that would lead investigators
to find 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds.

The young girl was last reported seen more than a week ago, and
police are now confident that someone was involved in taking Ayla from
her house, said Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey.

"This is the largest reward that I can remember for a missing-person
case in Maine's history," he told reporters. "I'm very hopeful that this
will encourage anyone that has any information to call the Waterville
police."

Father has 'no idea' what happened to her

Ayla is described as having blond hair, being about 2 feet, 9 inches
tall, and weighing 30 pounds. She was last seen wearing green pajamas
with white polka dots and the words "Daddy's Princess" across the front.
When she disappeared, the girl had her arm in a soft cast.

Ayla's family is cooperating, and police do not have anyone connected
to the case in custody. Authorities have conducted dozens of searches
so far, involving federal and local law enforcement.

Missing children's advocate: Tot's disappearance is not typical

Work to find the missing girl continued over the weekend with police sorting through leads, said Massey.

"Like in most missing person cases, it concerns us as time goes on," the police chief said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/26/justice/maine-missing-girl/?hpt=hp_t2

http://bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/2011_1228worst_feared_for_maine_tot_experts_cops_likely_focusing_on_foul_play

Maine investigators have likely concluded that missing toddler Ayla Reynolds was either abducted or murdered, former prosecutors told the Herald yesterday as the desperate search for the tiny tot passed the 11-day mark.

“At a certain point you say, look this is a 20-month-old. This child is either in somebody’s house or out there dead,” said Andrew Ketterer, a former Maine attorney general not involved in the probe of Ayla’s disappearance.

Said Paul Aranson, former top prosecutor for Cumberland County in Maine, who is not involved in the case: “If the AG’s office shows up, there’s the suggestion that there might be a homicide.”

Last Thursday, the head of the attorney general’s criminal division and a top AG homicide prosecutor toured the home in Waterville, where Ayla was reportedly last seen Dec. 16. In Maine, the attorney general’s office prosecutes homicide cases.

The girl’s father, Justin DiPietro, 24, reported Ayla missing the morning of Dec. 17, telling police he found her bed empty at his mother’s Violette Avenue home where the pair had been staying.

On Monday, investigators determined Ayla had not left home on her own due to her small size, limited walking skills and injured arm. However, police continue to call it a missing person case, and a $30,000 reward is being offered for information on Ayla’s whereabouts.

Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey declined to say during a Thursday press conference whether he believes Ayla is still alive. Earlier that day police called in cadaver dogs to search nearby fields and used crime scene tape to seal Ayla’s home.

“It doesn’t sound like a missing person case. But there’s no body. That was the problem for a long time in the Casey Anthony case,” said Ketterer. “To me it means, more probably than not, they are treating it like a crime took place there, whether it was a kidnapping or something else.”

Investigators were seen wrapping their shoes in disposable booties for the first time Thursday, a departure from the first five days of the probe when state police were seen coming and going from the home without any protective gear.

Investigators will need to collect footprints and DNA from every police officer who entered the home to keep track of evidence if a crime has been committed there, Aranson said.

“It’s not fatal, but it makes life more difficult,” said Aranson.

Asked about potential crime scene contamination by investigators, AG spokeswoman Brenda Kielty said, “I think you should probably direct those questions to Chief of Police Massey.”

Massey did not return a call or emails to his deputy chief seeking comment yesterday. Waterville police, who have received more than 300 tips since Ayla’s disappearance, issued a press release yesterday saying they continue to investigate leads.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/12/28/father-reiterates-innocence-disappearance-maine-toddler-police-following-leads/8Hf8ZgTOoXut6K5mv5tF5J/story.html

The father of the Maine toddler who has been missing for 12 days proclaimed his innocence in the case for a second time today and urged whoever abducted her to “do the right thing and find a way to return her safely.”

Ayla Reynolds, 20 months old, was last seen in her bedroom in her father’s home on Dec. 16, police said. Waterville police have determined the toddler was taken from her home and did not walk out on her own.

“I would never do anything to hurt my child,” Justin DiPietro, the toddler’s father, said in a written statement linked to a police statement posted today on the department’s website. “No one should ever have to experience this.”


DiPietro said he had not given any interviews because he did not want to hinder the investigation.

“However, it is important that the public hear it from me personally that I have no idea what happened to Ayla and that I am not hiding,” he said.

Police also said today that the Maine Warden Service was concluding its large-scale search of the area. Since Reynolds went missing, officials have conducted numerous ground and water searches, seeking evidence in the case.

“The Maine Warden Service will continue to be available to the Waterville Police and State Police as this investigation moves ahead,” Joseph Massey, the Waterville police chief, said in the statement.

As of this afternoon, Waterville police have received 370 leads, which are all being pursued, police said.

DiPietro said in his statement that he was pleased with the resources being expended in the investigation.

“I have to believe that Ayla is with somebody and I just want that person to find the courage to do the right thing and find a way to return her safely,” DiPietro said. “Even if that means, dropping her off at a church, or hospital, or some safe place.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The mother of a missing Maine toddler blasted the girl's father for
cutting off communication after the 20-month-old's disappearance.


Trista Reynolds called out Justin DiPietro -- the last person to see
Ayla Reynolds -- for refusing to speak with her since their baby
vanished.


The girl has been missing for 13 days.


"He says he's not in hiding, but why won't he come out? Why won't he
talk to me? Why is he staying away?" Trista Reynolds said during an
interview with Matt Lauer on the "Today" show.


"What is he so afraid of to not come out or to talk to me?"


DiPietro called authorities in the city of Waterville on the morning
of Dec. 17, claiming Ayla Reynolds had vanished from her bedroom
overnight. Police believe she was abducted.


Before the child's disappearance, DiPietro took custody of Ayla
Reynolds while Trista Reynolds entered rehab for substance abuse. But
one day before Ayla Reynolds vanished, Trista Reynolds went to court in
an attempt to regain custody of the toddler.
When asked whether she believes DiPietro was involved in the girl's
disappearance, Trista Reynolds described herself as conflicted.


"Part of me feels yes and a part of me feels no," she said.


Trista Reynolds also questioned DiPietro's parenting prior to the disappearance of their daughter.


"He would never let me see her," she claimed. "I would call to talk
to her and he would get mad about it. If I did see her and I would
notice something on her, like a bruise or something, instead or reacting
in a calm manner, he would lash out about it or kind of go into
defense."


When Ayla Reynolds went missing, she was nursing a broken arm.
Investigators described the injury as accidental, but in an interview
with CNN, Trista Reynolds claims DiPietro waited nearly 24 hours before bringing the child to a hospital.
Trista Reynolds' TV appearance came just after DiPietro released his
first public statement since the child's disappearance, which launched a
massive multi-agency search, making national news and generating
hundreds of tips.


"Until now, I have not participated in any interviews for I don't
want to in any way hinder the investigation," he wrote in remarks
provided to The Huffington Post by the Waterville Police Department.


"However, it is important that the public hear it from me personally
that I have no idea what happened to Ayla and that I am not hiding," he
wrote. "I have been in full cooperation with everyone in this effort,
including not adding additional media hype."


DiPietro shot down Trista Reynolds' insinuations that he mistreated their daughter.


"I would never do anything to hurt my child," he said. "The questions
of Ayla's arm or bruises or anything else being said are simply
ludicrous."


He urged the public to "remain positive and hopeful."


"I have to believe that Ayla is with somebody and I just want that
person to find the courage to do the right thing and find a way to
return her safely," he said.


Investigators have said that both parents are cooperating with police and that DiPietro is not considered a suspect.


Ayla Reynolds is 2 feet, 9 inches tall, about 30 pounds, with short blonde hair and blue eyes, according to a Facebook page dedicated to the missing toddler.
Residents and businesses in Waterville are offering a $30,000 reward to
anyone who provides information that leads investigators to the child.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/29/ayla-reynolds-missing-parents-speak-out_n_1174387.html?1325181398&icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl3|sec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D123676

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57350478/foul-play-believed-in-maine-girls-disappearance/

PORTLAND, Maine - Police investigating the disappearance of a toddler from her father's central Maine home two weeks ago said Friday they believe foul play was involved, but investigators tried to remain optimistic even as the job of law enforcement officials becomes more difficult with each passing day.

Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey announced Friday night that the case "has evolved from the search for a missing child to a criminal investigation.

In a statement, the chief said the conclusion about the disappearance of 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds was based on evidence that has been gathered over the past two weeks, but he didn't elaborate. He said state police would take the lead on the investigation.

On Friday, a team of evidence technicians from Massachusetts joined Maine State Police at the Waterville home where Ayla was last seen and was reported missing by her father.

"All of our efforts continue to locate Ayla. Although this is beginning the third week, we remain hopeful," Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said. He declined to say what the technicians were looking for

Ayla's father, Justin DiPietro, told police he last saw her when he put her to bed the night of Dec. 16. He reported her missing when she was nowhere to be found the following morning.

Before she vanished, Ayla was wearing green polka dot pajamas with the words "Daddy's Princess" on them and had a soft cast on her broken left arm. Extensive searches of woods, waterways, fields and private properties around Waterville, a city of 16,000 residents 20 miles north of the state capital, Augusta, have failed to turn up anything.

The day after Christmas, investigators announced a $30,000 reward, the largest ever for a missing person case in Maine, for information leading to Ayla's whereabouts.

McCausland on Friday declined to discuss whether any of the 300-plus leads had borne fruit for investigators. He also declined to talk about suspects or evidence that has been gathered. He said DiPietro and Ayla's mother, Trista Reynolds, of Portland, were cooperating with investigators.

There were news reports Friday that two cars seized from the Waterville home were returned to DiPietro and an unidentified woman. McCausland declined to confirm those reporta.

Investigators put up crime scene tape at the father's home last week. Outside the home, about 75 miles from Portland, a pile of teddy bears and stuffed animals were piled at a makeshift shrine.

Ayla was placed in her father's care while her mother was in a substance abuse rehabilitation program, which she completed.

Trista Reynolds, making an appeal on national television on Thursday, said that she had questions for DiPietro but that he had not returned her calls since their daughter went missing. She previously raised concerns about Ayla's treatment while in her father's care after the girl broke her arm, which police said happened in an accidental fall. She had no further comment Friday night, her sister said.

DiPietro couldn't be reached for comment Friday night. The Associated Press has been unable to find a telephone listing for him, and he has not been at his home, which is empty.

A few days before Christmas, DiPietro, addressing the public for the first time, said in a statement he had "no idea what happened to Ayla or who is responsible." He said his family and friends would do "everything we can to assist in this investigation and get Ayla back home.

"I would never do anything to hurt my child," he said Wednesday in another statement.

Former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt said Friday that the odds of finding a child lessen if he or she isn't found within the first day or two of disappearing. But he said there's always reason for optimism, noting that there are even rare cases of missing children who turn up years later in someone's care.

"If you don't get this child back real quickly, you know that it gets harder and harder," he said. "But you can't give up hope."

Scott Bernstein, founder of Child Recovery International, a New York City-based organization that helps find missing children, agreed the first hours of an investigation are key in tracking down missing children as young as Ayla. Although the situation looks bleak, there's still room for hope, he said.

"One percent hope — but I'll go for that 1 percent hope," he said.

After Ayla went missing, law enforcement officials likely divided their investigation into two parts, one team looking at people with access to her, such as relatives and family friends, and another group looking at the potential for an abduction by an outsider or stranger, Van Zandt said. Under both scenarios, he said, the odds are that the person who took Ayla knew something about her or her family.

Strangers' abductions of children do occur, but they're rare, accounting for only 105 to 115 children out of 750,000 to 900,000 missing-persons cases each year in the United States, Van Zandt said.

Van Zandt, who has worked similar cases, said Ayla's disappearance, which once had more than 80 searchers and law enforcement officers involved, has been difficult for law enforcers as well as for distraught family members.

"As an FBI agent working these cases, you never turn off the emotional porch light," he said. "You always leave on the light with the hope that the child will come home again."

Does anyone know if the father has taken a polygraph yet?

'Only a 1% chance of finding Ayla': Expert doubts whether missing
Maine toddler will be found as police say 'foul play' was involved in
disappearance

• 
  Police have launched 'criminal investigation' in hunt for vanished 20-year-old
  
• Ayla Reynolds' mother has attacked the toddler's father on national TV
  

There is only a 'one per cent hope'
of finding the toddler who disappeared from her father's home overnight,
according to an expert on missing children.

The
devastating verdict came as police announced that the search for
20-month-old Ayla Reynolds had become a 'criminal investigation'.

She
has been missing for two weeks since she vanished from the house in
Maine where she was staying with her father, Justin DiPietro.

Her
mother Trista Reynolds has launched a public war of words against Mr
DiPietro, appearing on national television telling him to contact her to
aid in the search for Ayla.




Missing: Ayla Reynolds disappeared from her father's house in Waterville, Maine two weeks ago


But according to Scott
Bernstein, founder of Child Recovery International, an organisation that
helps find missing children, the most likely time to find such young
children is in the first few hours after their disappearance.

In Ayla's case, he said, there is 'one per cent hope - but I'll go for that one per cent hope'.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2080608/Ayla-Reynolds-missing-Only-1-chance-finding-Maine-toddler-says-expert.html#ixzz1i8wV1Upq