WATERVILLE — 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.
Ayla Reynolds, 20 months old, was wearing a soft cast from a broken arm and last seen sleeping in her bed at about 10 p.m. Friday. Her father reported her missing Saturday at 8:51 a.m. when he found an empty bed.
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Police searched the neighborhood for her all day Saturday, including using a Maine State Police tracking dog.
“We’re approaching almost 24 hours and no one knows where a 20-month little girl is and was last seen only in pajamas,” Police Chief Joseph Massey said. “It’s very concerning. We have not been able to locate her with a pretty intensive search of the area.”
The child lives at 29 Violette Ave., off Cool Street. She was last seen wearing green, one-piece pajamas with polka dots and the words “Daddy’s Princess” on them. She is 2-feet 9-inches tall, and weighs approximately 30 pounds.
Her left arm is in a sling and soft splint. She has short thin blond hair and blue eyes.
“An exhaustive search of the neighborhood surrounding the house has been conducted by members of the Waterville Police Department, Waterville Fire Department and Maine State Warden Service, to include a flyover (with a) Warden Service’s plane,” Massey said. “A detailed search of the residence for forensic evidence is being conducted by members of the Waterville Police Department’s Detective Division and the Maine State Police’s Evidence Recovery Team. Ayla’s family members are cooperating fully with police.”
Waerville Deputy Police Chief Rumsey said police have spoken to the toddler’s mother, who does not live at the Violette Avenue home. Police are not releasing the names of the parents.
“We have interviewed her,” he said. “She is cooperative.”
Rumsey said police conducted extensive interviews and believe there is nothing suspicious about the broken arm, which he said was suffered in an accident several weeks ago.
Massey said it’s possible the toddler let herself out of the house and simply walked away and that is part of the investigation.
“There are two possibilities — she could have walked out of the house; she was able to walk, she’s old enough to walk, just starting to walk,” Massey said. “Her mobility would have been quite limited with the soft cast on her arm. We think it would be very, very difficult for her to open the door and get herself out. We don’t think she could have gone very far.
“Then the possibility arises — was she abducted? We’re certainly looking at that. It’s very concerning.”
The Police Department is urgently requesting assistance from the general public in locating the toddler, Massey said. Anyone with information regarding Ayla’s whereabouts is asked to call the Waterville Police Department at 680-4700.
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WATERVILLE — Waterville police are investigating the disappearance and possible abduction of a 20-month old toddler from her home. Police units were called to 29 Violette Ave. in Waterville after receiving a report from the father of toddler Alya Reynolds.
Ayla was last seen sleeping in her bed on Friday at approximately 10 p.m. by a family member. This morning at 8:51 a.m., Ayla’s father called police after learning that the child was not in her bed and could not be located in the residence.
The investigation is continuing.
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