WATERVILLE — The paternal aunt of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds said she has taken a polygraph test, but police won’t confirm her claim.

Elisha DiPietro, 23, is one of three adults who were in the 29 Violette Avenue home on Dec. 17, the morning Ayla was reported missing. She addressed the polygraph exam Saturday during the Eyes Open Walk for Baby Ayla, an event to raise awareness about the toddler’s disappearance. DiPietro also shared her family’s contention that a two-week forensic investigation of Ayla’s home may have overlooked some details.

Additional Photos

TRYING TO HELP: Participants of the Eyes Open Walk for Baby Ayla travel down Temple Street in downtown Waterville to help keep missing toddler Ayla Reynolds in the news on Saturday. Staff Photo by Michael G. Seamans

Ayla Reynolds

“They did administer a polygraph,” DiPietro said. “I took it. I did fine.”

When DiPietro was asked to clarify whether she passed or failed the exam, DiPietro repeated her initial statement, adding that she’s not concerned how her response will be received by the public.

“I mean, I did fine. It’s what it is. People are going to take things how they take them, and they’re going to call us liars, if they want to call us liars, but I know the truth, and we know the truth, and we know we didn’t do anything wrong. We want Ayla home. We love Ayla.”

DiPietro said she stands by her belief that Ayla was abducted.

“Someone took her,” she said. “That’s why (police) haven’t found her yet.”

In late January, Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland announced that investigators had discovered an undisclosed amount of Ayla’s blood in the home.

McCausland also said there is no evidence to support the family’s claim that Ayla has been abducted, and he said the three adults who were with Ayla the night before she was reported missing — DiPietro; Ayla’s father Justin DiPietro; and friend Courtney Roberts — are withholding information. DiPietro said she’s unsure how investigators came to those conclusions.

“I would love to know,” she said.

She added there are some aspects of the forensic investigation that her family feels were incomplete.

“There were things they didn’t fingerprint in (Ayla’s) room that we felt they should have,” she said.

DiPietro said a table that was located directly beneath the bedroom window wasn’t fingerprinted, along with other pieces of furniture.

She said the family learned that the window to Ayla’s room was unlocked the night of her disappearance.

“We did not know it was unlocked … which is something we thought was weird because (the window) was always locked,” she said.

She said her family also questions the thoroughness of DNA testing at the home. She said investigators should have found DNA belonging to friends who had visited the home in the days before Ayla disappeared, but they didn’t.

McCausland wouldn’t comment Saturday on DiPietro’s claims. He said there are no new developments in the investigation. It’s still unknown if undisclosed items retrieved from the Kennebec River on April 25 are related to the case.

“We’re waiting for the crime lab to tell us what we’ve got,” he said.

About 60 people participated in the Eyes Open Walk for Baby Ayla, a four-mile walk that started and ended at City Hall on Saturday.

Co-organizer Kass Snider of Oakland, said she has been following the investigation closely and wanted to help out.

“I think everybody should pitch in to help bring a child back where she belongs,” she said.

The walk took participants on a loop that extended as far West as First Rangeway. Co-organizer Ed Mea of Albion said he made a last-minute course change to Violette Avenue after DiPietro invited the group to stop at Ayla’s home and offer prayers.

Ben McCanna — 861-9239

bmccanna@centralmaine.com

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