WATERVILLE, Maine — Local police have received approximately 100 new tips since a $30,000 reward for information leading to the location and safe return of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds was announced this week, Police Chief Joseph Massey said Tuesday.
“To date, we have received approximately 330 leads from people who believe they have information to offer,” said Massey, adding that several of the new tips have come from as far away as California.
In the 11 days since 20-month-old Ayla was reported missing from her home by her father, Justin DiPietro, investigators and Maine Warden Service searchers are estimated to have worked in excess of 5,000 hours on locating the girl, Massey said in a statement.
A group of residents and businesspeople in the Waterville area offered the reward on Monday. Waterville-based attorney John Nale spoke for the group.
“I ask and plead that the person or persons who have young Ayla Reynolds, that they please keep her safe and return her safely to us,” Nale said Monday, encouraging anyone with information to call the Waterville Police Department.
Massey ruled out the possibility that Ayla left the house on her own, and investigators have turned their focus to other theories.
“Based on our knowledge of the interior of the house and the sequence of events that would have needed to occur for her to make it outside on her own, we feel comfortable that we can eliminate that possibility and focus on other possibilities,” the police chief said.
Even though Ayla has been missing for a week and a half, Massey said everyone involved in the search is still focused and determined to find her.
“Today, ground searches continue as investigators go about their work to piece together the circumstances surrounding Ayla’s disappearance,” he said Tuesday. “All four agencies that initially responded to find Ayla — Waterville police, state police, the Maine Warden Service, and the FBI — are all still hard at work and their commitment is undiminished.”
Still, there were no major breaks in the case as of Tuesday.
Ayla was reported missing Dec. 17 by DiPietro, who told police he last saw her the previous night when he put her to bed in his Waterville home. He said she was wearing polka dot pajamas with the words “Daddy’s Princess” on them and had a cast on her broken left arm.
Ayla’s mother, Trista Reynolds, has been living in South Portland, about 75 miles to the south.
Ayla ended up with her father after child welfare workers intervened while her mother checked herself into a 10-day rehabilitation program, which she has completed.
The Waterville Police Department’s telephone number is 680-4700.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I recall on the Nancy Grace show, that the mother mentioned another child was sleeping in the same bedroom as Ayla. How did she know this? Why was the other child not taken? If the parents have very rare contact with each other, just how did the mother know there was another child in the bedroom that night?
How would she now that ?
That’s what I’m asking….how did she know that?
Ummm… WE all knew about it before she went on Nancy Grace. Perhaps mom reads the newspaper. It had already been reported. This revelation of yours is a non issue.
We can all go to bed now and sleep peacefully, Detective Dwyer is on the case. My shifts over, go get em detective.
LOL!
Just doing’ me job, Professor Bushfan. I ain’t got the book learnin’ that men of the likes o’ you gots, but I does me best…
I didn’t see her on Nancy Grace,but that is a good point. If it comes down to her being involved then she should win an academy award for her acting.
I have heard that the father has given proof to police that he has had contact with the mother on a regular basis. The mother can’t be considered credible. The mother accuses the father of abuse, but there is no evidence of this. She spends her time on any TV show that will talk to her.
And she’s never upset…crying almost on cue. She spends too much time bashing the father. If this were my child missing, I would be beside myself with grief……and def wouldn’t be doing the talk show circuit.
I tend to agree with you. Having seen her responses on the news shows, and after my posting that she did not even seem to have tears coming down her face when she was first on Nancy Grace, the very next day she made comments that almost sounded rehearsed, and the tears definately seemed of the crocodile variety. Its so sad to see so many parents end up on these shows for the publicity rather than the public outcry. If i had seen her uncontrollable, inconsolable, then i would have believed her, but that was not the case.
Are you in her head? People with depression aren’t always crying. In fact, they can come across as emotionally flat.
No, I’m not in her head. But, I’m not the only one who has noticed this! A person who is depressed in not going to go around bashing someone in the news/TV media. That’s certainly not “emotionally flat”. Someone who is depressed usually doesn’t want to talk to anyone. Someone who is depressed and their child is missing, is going to slip into an even deeper depression….they aren’t going to get diarreha of the mouth and accept every media offer in order to keep bashing.
Well, he was the one who fell on the little girl and broke her arm, on supposedly three steps. Took him over 24 hours to take her to the hospital.. Does that sound caring?
Very true, he is suspicious i just have a real bad feeling something has happened to her. I hope not
There is evidence…..He waited 24 hours to get her hospital treatment for broken arm…..ABUSE,,, SUFFERING…..
Seeking treatment is ABUSE???? I know a kid who broke her arm slipping on the snow in front of 20 church goers on Easter Sunday some years ago. I suppose that is abuse too? Not only that but many hospitals will refuse to treat and make the patient wait for swelling to stabilize before treating a broken bone. Kid or not makes no difference.
My friend’s daughter fell and kept complaining her arm hurt – but only at night. She thought she may have hurt it, but she was able to play like she normally did. However, 2 days later when she was still complaining, she had it looked it. It was a small break that required a soft cast. Was that neglect? Her child was able to play, etc. like she always did. We really can’t speculate as to why it took him 24 hours to get her to the hospital.
That is a lie, he has not had contact with the mother at all. She is trying for custody. he is covering his butt right now because he is most likely gonna be the prime suspect when more tips come in. I hope they find her alive. This poor soul is missing
I wouldn’t be surprised if she was told that by the baby’s father and it’s just something that the police haven’t spoken about. I would bet anything the father has a lot more to do with this than he’s letting on. If he’s so innocent he should offer to take a polygraph test.
as you have said…..too much time on your hands….let the cops do it…..is this NOT what you just said ?? takes some nerve……you can help, but you object when others do…….must be the EGO…….
I brought up something the mother SAID on TV……..I’m not creating “timelines” or doing horoscopes…..
It was published in an article. I read it before the Grace Show!!
she had been to the house before and knew of the sleeping arangements, it was reported on Nancy Grace. She did not say that she was sure that they slept in the room together that night, only that it was the NORMAL sleeping arangements that she had seen in past visits…I would come to the same assumption and the father has not denied that to be the case, not that the father has given a heck of a lot of any information at all.
WOW, a $30,000 rewards and people are finally talking. That is sick. And from California. Unfortunately not one of them will pan out. The person who took this beautiful little girl will get caught and they will pay. Just heartbreaking
why is any1 surprised that people are talking now that $30,000 is offered? It’s a lot of money & that is human nature. I told my husband I wish he had some information as we could use $30,000.
that and why is it infuriating people so much. of the new 100 tips probably every single one of them is crap.
This is sickening! It takes $30,000. to get people to come forward? The people that come forward NOW that there is a reward, especially if they really have credible evidence should be held liable for endangerment, not rewarded! GREEDY SOBs!
I’d bet more than half of these new tips are coming from so-called psychics ready to offer their “special” service for a chance to make $30,000.
don’t care for psychics?
I just do not GET you guys……I will WAGER you that the person who is able to help very GRACIOUSLY…..declines the reward money……in this economy, not ONE of us would be willing to take one blessed nickel…….except, perhaps, for sending Ayla to a much-deserved trip to see Mickey Mouse in the Magic Kingdom, of course……..When I win the lotto, I am going to get the cops some new cars, heaters, a flatscreen, and some king recliners…those guys work really hard….and coffee and doughnuts for LIFE…..
All I can say is: WOW! :P
I love the attitude of kindness when the world is becoming hateful. Keep it going. I agree………….there is the bad in every profession, but the good still out weighs the bad………….focus on the good!
AMEN! I hear you on that one!
Take her to a real baseball team, like the new york yankees while your at it, not the red sox
Half of what?
Over 200 tips came in ever before a reward was on the table.
Let’s hope you never are in the position to need one. Not every intuitive thinks, behaves or works as you state. Just as there are slimy, low down people everywhere, there are good people who offer up their gifts for nothing but the wish to help another. Shame on you. I am willing to bet there are maybe 4 “psychics” who do offer and the rest are just people who want to help but could be misguided. And does it REALLY matter if someone calls in the correct tip AFTER a reward was posted? Maybe the person who calls was away and did not KNOW about what happened, or in another country, or geezumcrow sees Ayla somewhere…give me a break.
CREATE a positive outcome people!
Maine psychics have usually offered their services to law enforcement agencies in similar cases over the years without any rewards expected.
More often than not, law enforcement tends to publicly shy away from such offers, but have used psychic tips successfully in several cases.Help in any form which is utilized to help locate this child, I’m sure, would not be turned down.
Please provide proof that “psychics” have “successfully” given tips to the police in “several cases.”
A Western Maine psychic, or, practitioner of ESP stunned law enforcement officers when she revealed that the body of Cyrus Everett, a BDN news carrier might be found not far from the house where a Ft. Fairfield cocktail waitress was murdered. She also advised searchers that his body was beneath a large object. The object turned out to be a fallen tree, which police discovered when they found the youth’s body near the homicide scene.
Another Maine ESP practitioner was able to guide police to an essential clue and the killer of an elderly Bangor woman. This same man, now deceased, also prompted police of a Maine community to search a building they had already searched with emphasis on looking below the contents of the building. The second search revealed the body of homicide victim who had been missing for several days.
There are but three instances where a psychic, or, ESP practitioner has assisted Maine police. Police in most instances choose not to publicize such help, and would probabl;y deny that any such assistance was used. However, having personal knowledge of all three cases I was just as amazed as some of he officers who utilized this knowledge to help close the cases.
I won’t say how one practitioner was able to pinpoint locations and direct investigators to check one specified area in a house. That was his secret that he took with him to his grave.
Hopefully, this small bit of information will answer your direct inquiry calling for proof of psychic involvement in investigations. I have nothing more to add. And, it’s very doubtful that anyone else would help prove these facts, with perhaps one exception. That would be by asking an officer who attended a law enforcement meeting during the Ft. Fairfield investigation, where this psychic revealed the location of the Ft. Fairfield paper boy.
I asked for proof.
You have given no names and no references. In fact, you admit that none will be forthcoming, under the silly guise of “the police just won’t admit it.”
There is no such thing as an “ESP practitioner.” There is zero evidence in psychology of ESP.
It’s sad but if it helps in finding Ayla then it is well worth every penny. Hopes and prayers for Ayla.
I am really pleased with the offer of the reward. It tells me that the authorities believe that this precious little girl CAN be returned safe and sound to us!
Rewards are offered all the time, not just to find someone safe and sound and 99.9% of the time just the opposite.
I was thinking the same thing. 300+ people all of a sudden come forward when a dollar sign becomes an incentive? What information could they have now that wasn’t as important a few days before?
However, I do find a little more comfort in knowing that quite possibly this little girl was seen by 300 people, rather than the alternative of no one seeing her at all.
Did you not read the article?
Local police have received approximately 100 new tips since a $30,000 reward for information leading to the location and safe return of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds was announced this week, Police Chief Joseph Massey said Tuesday.
That means over 200 tips were received prior to the 30K.
Dear Mom, a common mistake…..you do not have to SEE Miss Ayla in order to call in a tip…….you can simply be able to MATCH UP something…..that you have learned…..or FOUND…..but, these tips are not necessarily about SIGHT…….it is about KNOWLEDGE….just random ….we call in stuff and the cops match it all together like a big puzzle…….see ??
I sure do not blame you for being mad….but you have INCORRECT info……My friend used my landline LAST WEEK and I listened by speakerphone…….He was trying to get someone , ANYONE to listen……Waterville dispatch called him a crackpot….so he called Gray, Augusta, and Orono STATE police……all 4 brushed him off and no return call ever came in…….The cops are so busy DISCOUNTING all leads as perposterous, that NOW that folks have QUIT calling out of frustration, the coppers have ZERO, and they realize, perhaps, they may have been hasty……and, it is the local business folks who have put up the reward……people do not care of the reward…..and we NEVER did …..we just want to help……This afternoon, I watched the Nancy Grace Interview…..WOW…..lots of NEW info…Iwent straight to MySpace, also made a horoscope chart for Aylas April birth….I believe I can show the cops why they cannot believe DiPietros version of the TIMELINE…. using the FACTS in the case….published facts…..so, I called in my tip, had 11 pages of researched notes….this one was TIME SENSITIVE……but, again, no return call from the coppers…..Please, please think TWICE before you are focused on the REWARD MONEY which you feel is bringing in the tips…..99.9% of us out here just want AYLA back home…..I do not believe she is harmed…..and I think the person responsible is just glad the baby is out of there…..There is a chance she was gone the day before…..Justin has much to hide….and a VERY TARDY man…..always…..if he even shows up at all……..Keep praying….Keep praying…..
You have WAY too much time on your hands……let the professionals handle this.
isn’t that smart of you ? Exactly why they are asking for help…..you are older, but NOT too mellow……
They’re asking for TIPS…….not unprofessional HELP. You’re not trained to do police work.
Actually, most of the tips they will recieve would be from unqualified help because if it was a professional, it would be used as information, not a tip, to further the investigation. That person would likely be brought in on the investigation as well. Even some psychics are brought in for these cases though most law enforcement departments never want to publicize that. You owe Soxfan an apology though, he is simply trying to offer up some suggestions, which is exactly what the police are asking for and sorting through.
Breaking news: Psychics don’t exist.
I tend to agree. Remember back when everyone used to get those unsoliciated phone calls from The Psychic Network…..if they were psychic, they would forsee that NO ONE wanted those phone calls!
I owe an apology? The cops called loyalsoxfan’s friend “a crackpot”. The cops obvisously don’t want their help or suggestions, or they would have called back.
I’m amazed at people who are acting all surprised and outraged with the “tips after money reward”.
What you have been working on sounds more productive, then most of the people commenting. Believe in it or not.
A real tipster, the person who really knows will put the reward money in a trust fund for this babys college education.
A “horoscope chart” is more productive? Eek…
Better than pointing fingers at people
Making up false assumptions and
adding pain to possibly innocent people.
Doesn’t matter if you believe in birth
charts or not people say the same about
bibles, politicians and cats having the
ability to sense earthquakes. Ya know?
Who knows maybe there is something to
be said for birth charts, no one has proved
they are all wrong either
They had over 200 tips before the reward was offered.
My guess is that most of these “leads” are nothing more than theories and suggestions people are hoping may lead somewhere and a $30,000 check.
“Have you tried checking out that old abandoned camp at the end of Ridgewood Road” is not a tip or a lead. It’s just a suggestion.
If you read…they have had 330 ‘tips’….and 100 NEW ones since the reward money was offered. So, clearly people were willing to try to provide information before the reward was even mentioned.
Did you watch the morning news. They said that they were getting tips in from as far away as California…What on earth would someone in CA have to offer in this case? I guess its the world we live in now. Regardless of how hideous or disgusting a situation is, even a crime and possibly a murder if Ayla is not found alive, the maggots come out of the woodwork to make money off of her. Casey Anthony is still holding out for the highest bidder to give her first interview after she killed her precious daughter. I dont understand. I dont claim to know how all the ins and outs of police work is done, but the fact that they keep saying that the father is not a suspect is rediculous to me. He was with her that night. There was a house full of adults in the house that night. How could someone have come into that house without waking ANYONE and take that little girl out of her room. Why didnt they take the other child as well and why in God’s name arent the two parents rushing to give a Lie detector to rule them out of this if they are truly innocent. I fear the worst has happened in this case and after seeing what happened to the 9 year old missing girl, i have even less faith…I do pray that if someone has her, they bring her home..better yet, bring her to someone that will show her the caring and love that she deserves.
Really sad that it takes the good old dollar to make people do the right thing….sad, but they way of the world today….
If there are people out there who have info and are waiting for reward money to come into play, I hope they are roasted very slow when they get to hell!
Sometimes people don’t know they have information that may be helpful. Sometimes we dismiss information as irrelevant. However, with a reward in play, people who may have seen something but dismissed it as irrelevant may be more likely to come forward.
ayla could of been on a plane heading for a state other then california (but the the people from cal. could of been on the same plane and seen her) check airport security cams from the time the mom got out of rehab til the day she was reported missing (not saying the mom did it but the dad knew she would be coming after her babygirl when she got discharged so the dad stashed her so mom could not get her) the father know’s very well where she is and once ayla is found and back home safe and sound ole daddy should spend alot of time in prison for all of this.
Theoretically, your interpretation of this case sounds solid, even if though does read like an Ed’ Mc Bain mystery.
Let’s hope a swift conclusion is written upon discovery of the little girl. as in so many similar cases, in safe hands, and not too far from home.
Yep. There are other comments about her father remaining silent and if he’s innocent, why doesn’t he show it by offering to take a polygraph. Before anyone says, “They can be beaten” please think about him putting himself in that position (polygraph) in the first place without it being warranted. Since suspects do have rights…
If I were innocent, there is no way I would subject myself to a polygraph test. They are not reliable and are prone to false negatives as well as false positives in interpretation.
Rewards are designed to convince those with real information to come forward, even if doing so may result in consequences for someone they know. They surely result in a myriad of frivolous leads, but they just may provide the one that breaks the case. Wouldn’t it be great if this one does? Kudos to those who finance the effort.
As soon as a body is found they will arrest mom or dad. Not sure which at this point. God bless that little soul.
A body? Who said she’s dead?
Probable cause would still be required for an arrest.
Again, I’m wondering about the adults in the home. Why were there so many living there? Were they family or was this the local party house? They haven’t mentioned talking to them. If it was a bunch of people partying, could someone else just have walked into the house and taken her with no one noticing? Did anyone else actually see her that night anyway? And what about her arm – did anyone check into that further? Why is the dad so silent?
Child welfare workers intervened? Does this mean they removed the child from the home on their own or did they involve the court like they’re supposed to? I would really review all the past custody documents (forms, statements) to figure out what was going on in this family.
Well said!
Each and every one of these tipster slimeballs should be punched in the face…330 tips AFTER the $30,000 reward??? SCUM…TOTAL SCUM…Of course they’re all the pals and loser buddies of mom and dad (I wonder if mommy or daddy can collect the $$$ if they admit to the killing of this child). SCUM.
money talks….
An earlier report had stated that 2 non relatives were in his house that night, and that his mother lived there also. So, perhaps one of them was asked to take Ayla and keep her from her mother?
Let me guess… Welfare parents
Does it matter? No
It brings out the greed in people, it shouldn’t take $30,000 to bring her back, but money is what is bringing this country to its knees…..bring this little girl home!!
What’s sad is that someone close to the abductor should have recognized Ayla’s presence by now… toddlers require diapers / carseats / etc… and there’s been plenty of time for an abductor to slip up. Every passing day is shredding what hope I have of this being an abduction from a well-meaning family member.
With all the low life in Waterville I am surprised they did not get 1000 calls.