WATERVILLE — Blood found by police at Ayla Reynolds’ home belongs to the missing toddler.
Police confirmed the information Sunday night. It was first posted earlier Sunday on aylareynolds.com, a website maintained by Ayla’s maternal family in Portland.
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Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said Sunday night that testing has revealed that at least some of the blood samples that were found in the home during a December search belong to Ayla.
“The testing has not been completed and more work remains, but we have found samples of Ayla’s blood,” he said.
The site also says that police told the family the amount of blood is “more than a small cut would produce.”
McCausland wouldn’t say how much blood had been discovered at the home.
It was reported Saturday that police found blood in the house at 29 Violette Ave. when they searched it in December.
The family contended on the website that state police shared the discovery with them, but planned to withhold the information from the media.
McCausland said Sunday police had initially decided to withhold information that the blood belongs to Ayla because police need to perform tests on other samples. “I prefer not to give out partial results, but (the Reynolds) family has released that tonight, and that information is correct,” he said.
Ayla was reported missing the morning of Dec. 17. She was 20 months old at the time.
Justin DiPietro, Ayla’s father, declined to comment Sunday.
McCausland wouldn’t comment on whether any arrests are pending.
“At this point, we’re still working hard to locate Ayla. That’s our main priority,” he said.
The Reynolds family remains optimistic, according to the site.
The website is maintained by Jeff Hanson, the husband of Ayla’s maternal grandmother, Becca Hanson.
“Even in light of this evidence we are more determined than ever to find out what has happened to Ayla and we still cling to the hope that she is alive and will be returned to us. We urge anyone that has information about Ayla to come forward now and unburden yourself of the truth,” the site says.
The announcement came a day after McCausland said that investigators believe the three adults who were in the home the night before Ayla was reported missing are withholding information that could help investigators find her.
McCausland also said Saturday state police took several hundred pieces of potential evidence from the home, including the blood, during a full-scale investigation in late December.
Also Saturday, Ayla’s mother, Trista Reynolds, of South Portland, attended a vigil for the toddler in Castonguay Square. Reynolds and DiPietro, who do not have a relationship and have not appeared publicly together since their daughter disappeared, talked at length privately at the event.
Ben McCanna — 861-9239
bmccanna@centralmaine.com
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