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Disappearance of Ayla Reynolds

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Ayla Reynolds
Born(2010-04-04)April 4, 2010
Waterville, Maine, U.S.
DisappearedDecember 16, 2011 (aged 1)
Waterville, Maine, U.S.
StatusMissing for 13 years and 10 days; Declared dead in absentia May 30, 2017
Parent(s)Trista Reynolds and Justin DiPietro

Ayla Reynolds is an American child from Waterville, Maine, who disappeared, aged 19 months, on December 16, 2011.[1] She was last seen at 8:00 p.m. that night in her bed by a family member, but was not there when her father checked the next morning.[2] The case was the largest criminal investigation in Maine's history and the third largest search for a missing child in the state's history,[3] perhaps exceeded by the intensive search for the Mott children in Baxter State Park in August 1965.

Background

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Ayla Reynolds was the daughter of Trista Reynolds and Justin DiPietro. She was born on April 4, 2010, in Waterville, Maine.[4]

Disappearance

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Ayla had been placed temporarily in the home of her father, Justin DiPietro, by a Maine Department of Human Services (DHS) employee, Karen Small. Relatives maintain that Small decided to forego conducting a home visit prior to Ayla's placement.[5] Her mother Trista Reynolds was in the area,[6] and claims she was on her way to rehab for her heroin addiction.[7] Ayla was reported missing from her bed on December 17, 2011.[7][8] According to DiPietro’s statement to the 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.[8] There were two people, besides DiPietro, in the house at the time of Ayla's disappearance: his girlfriend Courtney Roberts, and his sister Elisha DiPietro.[7]

State police held a press conference in May 2012 to discuss recent developments in the case, including the discovery of blood in her father's house and the number of people who were present at the time of her disappearance.[9] The blood was confirmed to be more than a cupful of Ayla's blood, adjacent to DiPietro's bed.[10] The only comment state investigators made at the time of its discovery was that it was 'more blood than a small cut would produce.'[11]

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Following Ayla's disappearance, a group of Waterville businesses posted a reward of $30,000 for information leading to her safe return.[7] The reward generated approximately 1,200 leads, many of them from psychics, none of which led to the discovery of any information regarding Ayla.[12] 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.[13][14]

DiPietro did not speak about his daughter's disappearance for almost three weeks after the story broke.[1][13] As a result, Ayla's mother accused him of having something to hide.[13] 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.[15]

DiPietro has not 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]

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 as Bella Bond.[16][17]

Aftermath

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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.[14][18] He was also the first to leave the vigil and refused to speak to the media.[14] Trista organized a 4-mile (6.4 km) 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 on the case.[19][20]

On May 17, 2017, Ayla was declared dead by the State of Maine.[21] On December 17, 2018, Trista Reynolds filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Justin DiPietro, alleging that he caused Ayla's death through "intentional wrongful actions" and subjected the child to "pre-death pain, fright, terror and physical injuries."[22] At the time of filing, DiPietro's whereabouts were unknown.[23]

On February 22, 2022, Trista Reynolds sought to amend and expand the wrongful death lawsuit against Justin DiPietro because of newly discovered evidence.[24]

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In 2012, a local Maine songwriter, Pete Haase, wrote a song about Ayla's disappearance and the effect it had on the community.[25]

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.[26]

See also

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References

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  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. ^ "Mother and grandfather seek justice for Ayla Reynolds' death - The Colby Echo". The Colby Echo. 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  6. ^ "Exclusive: Dad Justin DiPietro talks Ayla Reynolds case with Crime Watch Daily".
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b "Police: Disappearance of Ayla Reynolds involved foul play". Bangor Daily News. Dec 30, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  9. ^ "News conference to be held on Ayla Reynolds case". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. Associated Press. May 30, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  10. ^ Gilbert, Carol (February 12, 2013). "Ayla Reynolds Died in Father's House, Family Says". Yahoo! News. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ a b c "Baby Ayla's mom 'not getting the whole truth'". The Today Show. New York City, New York. January 10, 2012. NBC.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Barber, Alex (October 5, 2012). "Police search for signs of Ayla Reynolds in Messalonskee Stream". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  16. ^ "NamUs UP # 14004". identifyus.org. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Tips about Deer Island toddler pour in as millions view photos". boston.com. Boston Globe Media Partners. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  18. ^ "Vigil to mark one month since disappearance of Ayla Reynolds". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. Jan 17, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  19. ^ "Waterville walk organized to raise awareness for Ayla Reynolds". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. Associated Press. May 5, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  20. ^ "Trista Reynolds keeps attention on Ayla with Portland walk". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. July 14, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  21. ^ "Exclusive: Ayla Reynolds Declared Dead - Justice For Ayla". justiceforayla.org. Archived from the original on 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
  22. ^ Bleiberg, Jake (December 17, 2018). "Mother of Ayla Reynolds sues girl's father for wrongful death, seeks help locating him". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, ME. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  23. ^ "Where Is Justin DiPietro? Lawyers Can't Find Ayla Reynolds' Father to Serve Him With Wrongful Death Lawsuit". Inside Edition. January 9, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  24. ^ Budion, Kaitlyn (February 22, 2022). "Mother of Ayla Reynolds alleges in new documents adults tried to 'clean up' blood from dead child in Waterville home". Centralmaine.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  25. ^ Cousins, Christopher (February 16, 2012). "Waterville songwriter pens 'A Song for Ayla'". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  26. ^ YouTube: Pallaso - "It's Cold (A Tribute to Ayla Reynolds)" music video
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