WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — Some of the blood found in a Maine home where a missing toddler was last seen six weeks ago belonged to the little girl, an official said Sunday.
State Police spokesman Steve McCausland would not say how much of Ayla Reynolds' blood was found in her father's home in Waterville, where exactly it was found or how long it might have been there.
But investigators told Ayla's mother's family that the amount of blood was "more blood than a small cut would produce," according to family-run website.
"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," the website said. "We urge anyone that has information about Ayla to come forward now and unburden yourself of the truth."
Ayla's father, Justin DiPietro, reported her missing Dec. 17. He had put her to bed the night before and said she wasn't there the next morning. DiPietro told police she was wearing green pajamas with polka dots and the words "Daddy's Princess" on them and had a soft cast on her broken left arm.
DiPietro could not be immediately be reached for comment Sunday; his cellphone voicemail was full and unable to accept messages.
Ayla was 20 months old when she disappeared. She had been staying with her father at the time in the house where DiPietro lives with his mother. Her mother, Trista Reynolds, lives in Portland.
The blood was among hundreds of pieces of potential evidence that were removed from the Waterville home as part of a criminal investigation into the girl's disappearance. The discovery of the blood and the confirmation that some of it belonged to Ayla was first reported by WCVB-TV in Boston.
DiPietro, his mother and a third adult were home the night of Dec. 16, and police have questioned all three, McCausland said Saturday.
"We believe they have not given us the full story," he said.
Both of Ayla's parents participated in a vigil Saturday on the City Hall steps in downtown Waterville.
At the vigil, DiPietro declined to discuss the discovery of the blood.
"I'm not going to answer any questions about it, but I will say this: If there was something there, I don't think I'd be standing here with you right now," he told the Morning Sentinel newspaper in Waterville.
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