It has been 13 years since one of Maine’s most infamous missing person cases captivated our state and the nation.
Twenty-month-old Ayla Reynolds was last seen in Waterville on Dec. 16, 2011.
Ayla’s father, Justin DiPietro, reported her missing on Dec. 17, 2011, while she was staying with him, his sister, Elisha DiPietro, and his then-girlfriend, Courtney Roberts, at his mother’s home in Waterville.
DiPietro called 911 and told the dispatcher, “I woke up this morning. My daughter is not here.”
DiPietro told investigators his daughter must have wandered away from the house on her own or been abducted in the night, but police later ruled out that story and concluded that the girl’s disappearance was the result of “foul play.”
Police said the adults in the home were withholding information, and in January 2012, investigators revealed they found Ayla’s blood in the DiPietro home. Maine State Police found Ayla’s blood throughout DiPietro’s Waterville home, including more than a cup’s worth in the basement.
DiPietro’s lawyer said that DNA was from when Ayla was sick.
Over the years, DiPietro has denied he had anything to do with Ayla’s disappearance.
No one has been charged in the case.
In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services temporarily placed Ayla with her father. Two months later, she went missing from his Waterville home.
A judge declared Ayla legally dead in 2017, but her body has never been found.
In the years since, Ayla’s mom, Trista Reynolds, has fought for answers in her daughter’s death, including settling a civil case against DiPietro, his sister and his mother.
Reynolds said she won’t find peace until she knows exactly what happened to her daughter.
The disappearance of Ayla Reynolds has been the most extensive investigation in Maine history, but the truth about what happened remains a mystery.
