Dec. 15, 2011
Trista Reynolds files for full custody of her 20-month-old daughter, Ayla Reynolds, in Cumberland County District Court in Portland. Ayla had been in the care of her father, Justin DiPietro, since October, when Reynolds went into a drug rehabilitation program. Reynolds later says she called DiPietro to talk to Ayla, but he told her she was watching “Home Alone” and couldn’t come to the phone.
Dec. 16, 2011, 10 p.m.
Ayla Reynolds is reportedly seen for the last time, by her aunt Elisha DiPietro, at 10 p.m. in her bed at 29 Violette Ave. in Waterville. She is wearing one-piece pajamas with the words “Daddy’s Princess.” Her left arm, broken in a fall three weeks earlier, is in a soft splint and sling.
Dec. 17, 2011, 8:49 a.m.
DiPietro calls 911 to report Ayla is missing, saying he found her bed empty. Waterville police, firefighters and wardens from the Maine Warden Service search the neighborhood by foot and air. Waterville and Maine State Police detectives search the house. Reynolds, who is on her way to Machiasport with a friend to visit her boyfriend at the Downeast Correctional Facility, detours to Waterville, where she is questioned by police for two hours.
Dec. 18, 2011
FBI agents, police dogs, neighbors and other volunteers join the house-to-house and neighborhood search. Game wardens scour the banks of nearby Messalonskee Stream. Police interview DiPietro, his sister Elisha DiPietro and his girlfriend, Courtney Roberts, all of whom were in the house the night Ayla disappeared.
Police hold the first of many press conferences on the disappearance.
Dec. 19, 2011
Police seize two vehicles, one of them registered to DiPietro and the other to Roberts, of Portland. Police say DiPietro and Reynolds are cooperating. Meanwhile, the case draws national media attention. Reynolds appears on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and HLN’s “Nancy Grace” shows. The search swells to 70 law enforcement agents, including an aerial search and an airboat search of Messalonskee Stream.
Dec. 20, 2011
DiPietro releases a statement through Waterville police saying he doesn’t know what happened to Ayla. Investigators drain a section of Messalonskee Stream, and examine garbage bins, garages, backyards, ball fields and woods near the home. FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team canvasses Waterville neighborhoods. Police say it’s still a missing child case and they have received more than 100 tips.
Dec. 21, 2011
The search expands across Waterville with help from 50 members of the Maine Association for Search and Rescue. Nearly 100 people attend a candlelight vigil at a local church.
Dec. 22, 2011
Six days into the search, investigators put crime scene tape around 29 Violette Ave. Two of the state’s top homicide investigators visit the house.
Dec. 23, 2011
Overnight snow ends the ground search. Reynolds tells NBC’s “Today” show that she blames DiPietro for not keeping Ayla safe and hopes her daughter will be home for Christmas. Police get media inquiries from across the country. Dozens gather for a candlelight vigil in Congress Square in Portland.
Dec. 24, 2011
Waterville police appeal for a break in media coverage so they can work “outside the microscope.” Crime-scene evidence tape seals all doors and windows at 29 Violette Ave. throughout Christmas weekend.
Dec. 26, 2011
Ten days into the investigation, police say they believe someone took Ayla, the first time they’ve said that they don’t believe she left the house on her own. Community members offer a $30,000 reward for evidence leading to Ayla.
Dec. 28, 2011
DiPietro makes a second statement through Waterville police, repeating that he doesn’t know what happened to Ayla. The Warden Service ends the last large-scale Waterville ground search.
Dec. 29, 2011
Reynolds appears on the “Today” show, pleading with DiPietro to communicate with her.
Dec. 30, 2011
Police say foul play is suspected in what is now a criminal case. Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit takes the lead in the investigation, and Massachusetts detectives join the effort, providing investigative tools at the house.
Dec. 31, 2011
State police release the house at 29 Violette Ave. back to the DiPietro family.
Jan. 1, 2012
The DiPietro family is seen back at the home.
Jan. 2, 2012
Justin DiPietro grants interviews to the Morning Sentinel and NBC’s “Today” show and pleads for Ayla’s safe return.
Jan. 4, 2012
DiPietro grants a second interview to the Morning Sentinel and challenges TV personality Nancy Grace to spend a day with him. He says Ayla broke her arm when he fell on her in November. His mother, Phoebe DiPietro, who owns 29 Violette Ave., says she had to sign her home over to investigators and the family was not allowed in for two weeks.
Jan. 6-Jan. 8, 2012
DiPietro appears on New England Cable News to discuss his efforts to find Ayla. Phoebe DiPietro tells CNN she didn’t hear anything in her home the night before Ayla was reported missing, then appears the next day to clarify she was not in the home that night.
Jan. 10, 2012
State police and the Warden Service dive teams search parts of the Kennebec River and Messalonskee Stream. McCausland says investigators have received more than 600 tips. McCausland adds that police encourage Ayla’s family members to speak to the news media about the search. Earlier, Reynolds appears on the “Today” show and says she had spoken to DiPietro, but hadn’t gotten “the whole truth” about what happened the night Ayla disappeared.
Jan. 13, 2012
In a third interview with the Morning Sentinel, DiPietro says he took a polygraph test, but that police didn’t show him results. McCausland says DiPietro “knows how he did, because we told him.” DiPietro contends that being told the results is irrelevant if he cannot see for himself. He adds, “I know I went in there and smoked it. I told the truth.” McCausland says special training is required to interpret the printed lines on a polygraph test.
Jan. 16, 2012
Angela Harry, a DiPietro acquaintance, launches a website that describes the events of Dec. 16 and 17. The account, Harry says, was compiled from near-daily phone conversations with DiPietro.
Jan. 17, 2012
A second candlelight vigil is held in Waterville. DiPietro attends with his brother, Lance DiPietro, and friends.
Jan. 19, 2012
Reynolds says she has taken a polygraph test but wasn’t able to complete it because of a medical condition.
Jan. 25, 2012
Waterville police deny a request by the Morning Sentinel for an audio recording or transcript of DiPietro’s 911 call on Dec. 17. Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey cites Maine law saying release of “investigative intelligence” could hinder the investigation.
Jan. 27, 2012
The Reynolds family announces that two more of Ayla’s maternal family members have taken polygraph tests — Ayla’s uncle Ronnie Reynolds passed the test the day before and her maternal grandmother, Becca Hanson, couldn’t complete the test because she was on medication.
Jan. 28, 2012
McCausland announces that police doubt Ayla was abducted from her home and DiPietro’s explanation doesn’t pass the “straight-face test.”
It is the first time they have seen each other since Ayla disappeared.
Jan. 29, 2012
McCausland confirms that the blood found in the Violette Avenue home is Ayla’s.
Feb. 3, 2012
State police and Warden Service dive teams return to the Kennebec River and Messalonskee Stream. At a news conference, McCausland says police need more tips.
At 11:15 p.m., Phoebe DiPietro calls 911 to report vandalism at her home after two windows are shattered from the outside.
Feb. 13, 2012
Augusta attorney Steve Bourget says he has been representing Phoebe and Elisha DiPietro since early January and they have no idea what happened to Ayla.
In Portland, Ayla’s maternal family announces that state police told them Justin DiPietro bought a life insurance policy on his daughter shortly after she came under his care.
Waterville police summon Jeremy Hanson, 19, of Clinton, on a charge of vandalizing the DiPietro home on Feb. 3.
March 3, 2012
Phoebe DiPietro, Justin’s mother, speaks at a vigil of about 100 people in Waterville’s Castonguay Square. DiPietro does not attend, citing threats against him.
March 11, 2012
DiPietro and supporters, the Tudela family, in an interview with the Morning Sentinel, contend that a kidnapping is plausible, despite contrary claims by state police. DiPietro says there are good reasons to believe Ayla was kidnapped, but won’t say what they were.
March 18, 2012
Ayla’s stepgrandfather, Jeff Hanson, launches answersforayla.com, a blog that purports to have inside information from state police. The blog contends investigators found more than a cup of blood in the basement at 29 Violette Ave., but police won’t confirm that.
March 24, 2012
More than 100 searchers scour areas of Waterville, Oakland, Fairfield and Norridgewock. Searchers discover the remains of Steven C. Brandon of Waterville, who was missing since February 2004, but nothing related to Ayla.
At a news conference, McCausland asks residents in greater Kennebec County to search their property for signs of the missing toddler. He also says communication between Ayla’s paternal family and investigators has “basically stopped.” Bourget says that is not true of his clients.
McCausland says state police, Waterville police and the Warden Service have spent about $100,000 in overtime related to the investigation. Police Chief Joseph Massey later estimates the cost of the investigation could be as high as $500,000.
March 28, 2012
Justin, Elisha and Phoebe DiPietro tell the Morning Sentinel that communication with police has stopped because investigators won’t answer their questions.
March 29, 2012
Reynolds tells the Associated Press that Ayla needed constant attention. She wonders whether DiPietro may have been frustrated by her.
April 4, 2012
Ayla’s maternal family calls for people across Maine and beyond to search their property on Ayla’s second birthday. The family calls it a Gift for Ayla. They also organize a vigil in downtown Portland. More than 100 people attend.
April 19, 2012
Family, friends and community members attend a prayer vigil for Ayla at the Church of God in Waterville, organized by her uncle, Lance DiPietro. The three adults who were with Ayla on Dec. 16 — Justin DiPietro, Elisha DiPietro and Courtney Roberts — attend. News cameras and most reporters are not allowed to attend.
April 25, 2012
Police recover items from the Kennebec River. McCausland says investigators don’t know if the items, brought to the state crime lab, are related to the Ayla case.
May 5, 2012
At a walk to raise awareness about Ayla, Elisha DiPietro tells a Morning Sentinel reporter that she took a polygraph exam and “did fine,” but won’t say if she passed. McCausland won’t confirm whether she took an exam.
May 8, 2012
Police drain a diversion channel of a Waterville dam to search for evidence. McCausland says some items were removed from the scene by detectives and sent to the crime lab for processing as potential evidence.
May 18, 2012
Reynolds says police told her the items retrieved from the Kennebec River on May 8 are unrelated to the case.
May 31, 2012
Maine State Police and Waterville Police say at a press conference Ayla is likely dead.
Attorney John Nale announces that the $30,000 reward for information expires June 30.
June 30, 2012
The $30,000 reward for information expires at the end of the day. A candlelight vigil is held at 29 Violette Ave. from 9 p.m. to midnight.
July 2, 2012
The DiPietro family removes the teddy bear shrine that appeared on the lawn of 29 Violette Ave. shortly after Ayla’s disappearance.
July 6, 2012
Lance DiPietro is found guilty of assault following a February street fight with Justin Linnell, the father of Elisha DiPietro’s child, after Linnell purportedly make remarks about Ayla’s disappearance.
July 14, 2012
Reynolds holds A Benefit Walk For Ayla in Portland from Monument Square to Deering Park to mark the 200th day since her disappearance. Reynolds says she wants to share the walk she used to do nearly every day with Ayla.
July 17, 2012
Searchers find “nothing substantial” during a search of the Kennebec River from Lockwood Dam at the Hathaway Creative Center and upstream to the Hydro Kennebec Dam. The search coincides with the seven-month mark of the investigation.
Oct. 5, 2012
State police detectives search Messalonskee Stream, which was drained by Kennebec Water District for routine maintenance. Detectives cover a half-mile of riverbank upstream and downstream of the North Street bridge. Nothing is found.
Dec. 14, 2012
McCausland says at a press conference communication between investigators and Justin, Elisha and Phoebe has improved. Bourget says police presented his clients with physical evidence from the case and the DNA evidence from the basement matches Ayla, but it “isn’t necessarily blood.”
Dec. 17, 2012
On the first anniversary of Ayla’s disappearance, about 20 people lights candles and sing Christmas carols in front of 29 Violette Ave. Although the house is well-lit inside and out, there is no sign of its occupants.
July 25, 2013
DiPietro pleads not guilty to domestic violence assault after he was charged July 6 with grabbing and pushing former girlfriend Roberts in Portland during an argument. He is scheduled to appear on court on the charges Sept. 25.
DiPietro tells a Morning Sentinel reporter he is living in his mother’s basement on Violette Avenue and “trying to live a normal life.”
September 2013
A petition is started on pressjustin.com by Jeff Hanson asking the attorney general bring charges against DiPietro in connection with Ayla’s disappearance.
Sept. 10, 2013
DiPietro is arrested in South Portland for violating bail conditions — possession of alcohol.
Sept. 26, 2013
Reynolds and DiPietro relatives quarrel inside and outside the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland at DiPietro’s hearing on the bail violation. Trista Reynolds says that while the hearing isn’t related to Ayla’s disappearance, it is a chance to raise awareness that no one had been charged. DiPietro pleads guilty to violating conditions of release.
Oct. 23, 2013
A morning-long search by state police and game wardens in woods off Hussey Hill Road in Oakland turns up nothing but animal bones. McCausland said the search was prompted by one of more than 1,400 tips they’ve now received in the case, and the area has come up three times in tips. He said the investigation is ongoing and investigators continue to talk to family members.
“We won’t stop searching until we find Ayla,” he says at a news conference.
Dec. 17, 2013
In the week before the second anniversary of Ayla’s disappearance, McCausland tells the Morning Sentinel that in the two years since her disappearance, there have been 20 searches, both public and private, related to the case. Those in the house the night Ayla disappeared don’t respond to interview requests from the Morning Sentinel, although Elisha DiPietro says in a Facebook message, “All I have to say is that I love my niece and hope that she comes home soon.”
Jan. 25, 2014
About 35 protesters, including Trista Reynolds, her father Ronnie Reynolds Sr. and her stepfather Jeff Hanson, gather outside the Waterville police station in an effort to keep attention on the case.
Feb. 3, 2014
Transcripts from Justin DiPietro’s 911 call the morning Ayla was reported missing are released following a Freedom of Access request by the Associated Press and the Morning Sentinel. The transcripts show DiPietro told the dispatcher he put Ayla to bed at 8 p.m. on Dec. 16, his sister checked on her at 10 p.m., “Woke up this morning, went to her room and she’s not there,” he says. Asked by the dispatcher when the last time someone had seen the child was, he is heard asking his sister, then responds that it was 10 p.m. He tells the dispatcher “there’s no way she coulda” crawled from the crib and left the house. “We’ve checked all through the house.”
McCausland says investigators have checked out 1,414 tips.
March 28, 2014
Trista Reynolds, in a letter to the Morning Sentinel, calls on Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney to bring child endangerment charges against DiPietro. She says in the letter, as she has frequently in the past, that Ayla was in her father’s care when she disappeared and there’s enough evidence to prove a crime had been committed. “Who can argue Ayla was not a victim of heinous abuse?” Reynolds asks in the letter. “Her father had a duty to protect her and he did not and for that he needs to be prosecuted.”
Law enforcement officials point out that the investigation is in the hands of the state attorney general’s office, and Deputy Attorney General Bill Stokes says the case is still active, but he can’t comment on specifics or why people haven’t been charged. “I have no reaction to any specifics in Trista’s letter,” he tells the Morning Sentinel. “This is not what I’d call a cold case. We’re working on leads at least on a weekly basis on that case.”
Summer 2014
The Waterville Regional Communications Center becomes the third dispatch center in the state to be certified in procedures designed to better handle 911 calls in a missing person case, spurred in part by the high-profile Reynolds case. Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey says that is because there were no procedures specifying what questions should be asked of a person making a missing person report — and in what order the questions should be asked — it’s difficult to know if every bit of pertinent information is gathered during initial police contact in such cases.
Nov. 22, 2014
With the statue of limitations on some charges due to run out on the third anniversary of Ayla’s disappearance in a few weeks, Trista Reynolds says she despairs of lesser charges, such as child endangerment, being brought. But she adds of the three people in the house the night her daughter disappeared, “All of them should be put in jail.”
McCausland says the investigation is “active and ongoing.”
Dec. 14 & 17, 2016
Though the Reynolds family had told media it would pursue a wrongful death case against Justin DiPietro, attorney Michael T. Bigos, a lawyer with Berman & Simmons who had agreed to work on the case pro bono, decides not to pursue the lawsuit at this time.
Three days after that announcement, Trista Reynolds tells the Kennebec Journal she still has hope of finding the child alive.
May 30, 2017
Trista Reynolds requests a probate court hearing for formally declaring her daughter dead more than five years after the toddler’s disappearance. The Reynolds family has said that a court ruling declaring Ayla dead is necessary to “preserve the rights of Ayla’s estate” to bring a lawsuit. The probate court hearing is set for Sept. 21.
Sept. 21, 2017
Cumberland County probate Judge Joseph Mazziotti hears testimony from Trista Reynolds and Lt. Jeff Love of the Maine State Police major crimes, who testified that no information has come to light suggesting Ayla is still alive. If Mazziotti declares Ayla Reynolds dead, it will open the door for Trista Reynolds to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Justin DiPietro, who was not in the courtroom.
— From staff reports
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