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Ayla Reynolds' grandmother, aunt added to wrongful death lawsuit

Maine State Police say they are still actively investigating.

PORTLAND, Maine — The wrongful death lawsuit against Ayla Reynolds' father now includes Ayla's grandmother and aunt.

Trista Reynolds, the mother of the toddler who went missing in 2011 and was declared legally dead in 2017, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ayla's father, Justin DiPietro, in 2018.

On Feb. 18, Trista Reynolds asked a court to expand that lawsuit to include DiPietro's mother, Phoebe DiPietro, and his sister, Elisha DiPietro. The toddler went missing from Phoebe's home. According to court documents, Phoebe was not home at the time but Justin and Elisha were.

No charges were ever filed in Ayla's disappearance.

In December 2021, a decade after her daughter's disappearance, Trista Reynolds told NEWS CENTER Maine that the three people present at the time need to be held accountable, and she is not giving up on her little girl.

RELATED: 10 years later: Family, police continue to push for answers in disappearance of Ayla Reynolds

"I'm going to keep fighting, and I'm going to keep sharing her story because our story, Ayla and my story, is going to save someone someday," she said. "I know it will."

According to Lt. Jeffrey Love with the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit, investigators have received hundreds of tips over the years, including 30 last year alone.

RELATED: Justin DePietro's attorney claims wrongful death lawsuit for Ayla Reynolds case has no merit

Waterville Police Chief Joe Massey said Ayla's case was the largest criminal investigation in the state of Maine.

"This is one of several that, you know, you always say to yourself you'd like to see it solved," Massey told NEWS CENTER Maine in December.

Maine State Police said they are still actively investigating.

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