ME ME - Ayla Reynolds, 20 mnths, Waterville, 17 December 2011 - # 1

[lisser]

Was Ayla in a crib or in a toddler bed? I wonder if she had a favorite blanket or stuffed toy? If she left on her own, she'd probably have taken a favorite item with her. Nothing has been said about anything else being gone, has it?

 

[terracotta]

Okay, so on the GMA clip TR seems like she has quite an attitude and is angry. Her dad also seems to have a similar disposition. I would think that it seems to them that they either know for a fact or are (rightly or wrongly) believing that Ayla is hidden somewhere. They absolutely do not seem sad or scared. I felt like they were talking to the dad, with this attitude.

 

[OneLove]

Here are a few questions I've not seen the answers to (I haven't read every article at every link either, so....)

Why did the father not allow Ayla to speak to her mother by phone for the last 10 days as alleged in one article?

Does the mother have any history of extreme temperamental behaviors? In other words, would being denied communication with her mother provoke misconduct at a criminal level?

I've seen very little info about the father in general. Do we know his work history, childcare arrangements, etc? How he felt about being given responsibility for his child? Is anyone speaking out about what a good (or bad) father he was?

Do we know what prompted CPS to remove Ayla from her mother's care but NOT her other child? That is puzzling.

 

[Coldpizza]

I am wondering why Ayla was removed from her mother but the other child wasn't? I believe that the brother isn't from the same father as Ayla so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it.

Bringing up
not_my_kids post which I thought was very informative and may help answer your question.

Here's what I'm trying to figure out. By DHS rules, and I know this for sure in ME, not sure about all other states, it is not suitable to live in temporary housing with minor children. That includes hotels, unless of course, you are travelling or it is an emergency. Otherwise, a hotel is not a permanent home, and you are not allowed to live with a child in a temporary home. Exceptions are usually made for domestic violence shelters, or if you can prove that you are taking steps to find a "real" home. I only say this because I have a friend that lost both of her kids to the state of ME, and her only offense was living in a motel room, with herself and both of her kids. There were no other problems, according to the court papers.

I point this out for two reasons: It is possible that Ayla's mother did nothing wrong, except to be deemed homeless with kids, meaning that she didn't necessarily abuse them or neglect them in any traditional sense. The problem usually is that children over a year are not allowed to sleep in the same room with two adults or one adult of a different gender. If Trista had a boyfriend that was staying at a hotel with her and DHS caught wind of that, they would have had grounds to remove Ayla, but not the baby, as no violations would have occurred with regards to the baby. Typically, the state removes all the kids from someone's custody, but not always. Considering the baby's age, and the lack of need for privacy, they might not have considered it a problem for the baby to be in a hotel.

ETA AGAIN: If the grandmother is also living in a hotel, I see no way that the grandmother would be allowed to keep the baby either. Unless grandma is very close to having her own home, or the state allowed it because grandma is very unlikely to have boyfriends coming through the motel to see her.

ETA: It depends on the reunification plan. If the genuine plan is to return one child ASAP, then the state often will allow the parent to keep the other child if there are no signs of abuse in regards to that child.

 

[OneLove]

Why tow the cars? This makes me think about the earlier reports that LE were searching the home with dogs and were paying close attention to the garage.

Not saying this is the case here, but I've known of several cases wherein the car was used as a place to put the child when the caretaker did not want to hear the child crying. With doors closed and in the garage, you wouldnt hear a child cry OR choke. A hysterical frightened child could easily choke.

We once had an otherwise loving neighbor who put his 3year old to nap in the car. We asked about this when we noticed it one day (very concerned) and he said that is where she LIKED to nap and played contentedly there after waking up. We were never comfortable with it, but whenever we saw it, he was nearby working in his garage with the garage doors open. I would have to question whether they did this at other times when the doors were CLOSED and no one to see.

If the father had a party~party that night with loud music, drinking, and maybe even needing Ayla's room (if she had one) for other activities, maybe she was moved to the car to sleep and forgotten. Or maybe she woke up, figured out how to get out and got into something dangerous in the garage? Just thinking of car scenarios.

Is it definite that Ayla was seen by someone other than the father before 8:00pm the night before she was reported missing? Thinking of Sky Metalwala.

 

[wantjustice]

Coldpizza, Thanks so much! That does help!

 

[lauriej]

Was Ayla in a crib or in a toddler bed? I wonder if she had a favorite blanket or stuffed toy? If she left on her own, she'd probably have taken a favorite item with her. Nothing has been said about anything else being gone, has it?

--no mention of anything else missing..just ayla in her pj's.

http://www.facebook.com/Help.Find.Ayla

--snipped--

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 8 p.m. Friday.

Her father reported her missing Saturday at 8:51 a.m. when he found an empty bed.

 

[askfornina]

The mother of Ayla Reynolds told News 8 that she believes someone in Justin DiPietro's family, or Justin himself, has done something to Ayla. Justin is Ayla's father.

http://livewire.wmtw.com/Event/Search_For_Missing_Waterville_Toddler#ixzz1h10sEGaQ

part 1 and 2 of the news conference:
http://www.wmtw.com/video/30031794/detail.html
http://www.wmtw.com/video/30031834/detail.html

 

[lauriej]

http://hosted2.ap.org/FLJAJ/f7ded15e4d4846268a17b79c1c4b7cb8/Article_2011-12-19-Missing%20Toddler/id-ea68e118e6b7478c9b7b9479b438504b

Investigators interviewed the father, who lives in Waterville, and the mother, who lives in Portland, as well as other family members, Massey said. The parents were cooperative, the chief said.

The father moved four to six weeks ago to his childhood home on Violette Street in a tidy neighborhood of 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.

 

[No Stone Unturned]

Right now, I can only say that I rule out stranger abduction and wandering off.

Reasons to rule out wandering off: children don't generally like to be away from others, children generally do not like being outside, at night, alone; children generally don't like to be cold. If she did wander away, she would have been found by now (safe or not), she could not have gotten far.

Reasons to rule out stranger abduction: no mention of a disturbance in house, no broken doors or windows, no mention of open/ajar doors or windows, no other things seem amiss, house full of people-someone would have heard something, the stranger would have noticed activity in the house (from the "party") and noted the number of cars in driveway, making it a risky choice, baby did not reside there long so a stranger would have had to be watching the house recently.

This leaves only the obvious and I hate to attack the family this early on.

 

[dillysmom11]

Here's what I'm trying to figure out. By DHS rules, and I know this for sure in ME, not sure about all other states, it is not suitable to live in temporary housing with minor children. That includes hotels, unless of course, you are travelling or it is an emergency. Otherwise, a hotel is not a permanent home, and you are not allowed to live with a child in a temporary home.

In WA state you can't remove a child because of where the parent lives. That is utterly ridiculous, and I hope not the case here.

I wonder if DCFS *took* the child, or if mom *voluntarily* requested help and was requesting the child back now. You can do that up to 90 days here.

 

[askfornina]

http://www.wmtw.com/video/30031806/detail.html

new interview w/mother

 

[not_my_kids]

The thing that sets off my hink meter a little is that her family and LE thinks it's possible that she just wandered outside...yet they called 911 as soon as he found her bed empty. He didn't search the rest of the house, he didn't run outside screaming for her, he didn't knock on the neighbor's doors. He immediately called 911, if the sequence of events is correct, as they have been published.

That leaves me scratching my head a little. Of course, whenever we discover that our kids aren't where we left them, it sends us reeling a little, but unless there has been a direct threat to the kid in question, we don't immediately assume abduction, we assume that they wandered off or got themselves stuck in a closet. MOst of us, I think, would look ourselves, for at least two minutes before we called 911.

It's not a big thing and it doesn't really tell me anything about whether or not I believe her father. But it is preying on my mind a little.

 

[2girlzmm]

Hi All...First time to post. I have actually been lurking on Websleuths for several years but have never posted. But after reading that yet another little one is missing I just can not stay quiet any longer. This so breaks my heart especially so close to Christmas. Praying that she is alive and fine.

With so many children disappearing in the middle of the night or walking out the door do parents no longer buy the plastic things to put on door knobs for child safety that even a grown adult can have problems opening the door. We had them so that our daughters couldn't open the doors. They come in a pack of 2 or 3 for barely anything at any store.

Sorry for my out burst on this very simple act of prevention. Just tired of all these poor babies being taken.

 

[not_my_kids]

In WA state you can't remove a child because of where the parent lives. That is utterly ridiculous, and I hope not the case here.

I wonder if DCFS *took* the child, or if mom *voluntarily* requested help and was requesting the child back now. You can do that up to 90 days here.

It's condsidered unsuitable housing, and therefore environmental neglect. Now, to be fair, I have no idea if the mother was living in a hotel at the time that the state stepped in. If she requested help from DHS, I feel sorry for her for getting herself into that.

 

[2girlzmm]

Hi All...First time to post. I have actually been lurking on Websleuths for several years but have never posted. But after reading that yet another little one is missing I just can not stay quiet any longer. This so breaks my heart especially so close to Christmas. Praying that she is alive and fine.

With so many children disappearing in the middle of the night or walking out the door do parents no longer buy the plastic things to put on door knobs for child safety that even a grown adult can have problems opening the door. We had them so that our daughters couldn't open the doors. They come in a pack of 2 or 3 for barely anything at any store.

Sorry for my out burst on this very simple act of prevention. Just tired of all these poor babies being taken.

 

[2girlzmm]

sorry posted this twice.

 

[not_my_kids]

Hi All...First time to post. I have actually been lurking on Websleuths for several years but have never posted. But after reading that yet another little one is missing I just can not stay quiet any longer. This so breaks my heart especially so close to Christmas. Praying that she is alive and fine.

With so many children disappearing in the middle of the night or walking out the door do parents no longer buy the plastic things to put on door knobs for child safety that even a grown adult can have problems opening the door. We had them so that our daughters couldn't open the doors. They come in a pack of 2 or 3 for barely anything at any store.

Sorry for my out burst on this very simple act of prevention. Just tired of all these poor babies being taken.

We tried those with my son, he ripped them in half in a matter of seconds. He was 17 months old at the time. A really determined escape artist needs more than a piece of plastic to keep them in, LOL. I'm glad you're posting though. Belated Welcome to you.

 

[dillysmom11]

The thing that sets off my hink meter a little is that her family and LE thinks it's possible that she just wandered outside...yet they called 911 as soon as he found her bed empty.

The mom believes Ayla's dad knows where she is.

 

[lisser]

Hi All...First time to post. I have actually been lurking on Websleuths for several years but have never posted. But after reading that yet another little one is missing I just can not stay quiet any longer. This so breaks my heart especially so close to Christmas. Praying that she is alive and fine.

With so many children disappearing in the middle of the night or walking out the door do parents no longer buy the plastic things to put on door knobs for child safety that even a grown adult can have problems opening the door. We had them so that our daughters couldn't open the doors. They come in a pack of 2 or 3 for barely anything at any store.

Sorry for my out burst on this very simple act of prevention. Just tired of all these poor babies being taken.

Unfortunately, those wouldn't work if an adult removed her (and the other babies who are missing) from the home.