Ayla Reynolds Birthday: Vigil To Be Held For Missing Maine Toddler On Day She Turns 2 (EXCLUSIVE)

Trista Reynolds can picture herself at this time last year, sitting around the kitchen table, eating cake and singing her daughter's first rendition of "Happy Birthday."

Today, there will be no cake. There will be no song. Her child, who should be celebrating a second birthday Wednesday, has been missing since December 2011.

"I've found myself crying a lot more than I was before, but I know that's going to happen around this time," Reynolds recently told The Huffington Post.

Wednesday evening, the extended Portland, Maine, community will join the mother for a birthday vigil dedicated to Ayla Bell Reynolds, who was last seen at her father's home on Dec. 17, when he tucked her into bed.

"I think about her every day, more and more," Reynolds said. "I just wonder if she is coming home to me. My mind never stops."

Despite ongoing efforts by Maine authorities and private investigators, a multistate billboard campaign, donations from nonprofit groups and extensive efforts on the Web, the Reynolds family is still without their daughter.

"At this point in the investigation, we're at 988 leads that have come in from around the state. We've followed each of them up," Steve McCausland, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, told HuffPost in March.

Justin DiPietro, Ayla's father, reported the child missing at approximately 9 o'clock on that December morning. DiPietro told authorities that he found an empty bed when he went to wake his daughter up. Authorities say that DiPietro, his girlfriend and his sister were all home the night Ayla disappeared. Trista Reynolds was in rehabilitation for substance abuse at the time.

Reynolds said she is currently not speaking with Ayla's father, but the former couple's relationship remains a part of the public Ayla narrative.

"I want people to know that this isn't about me and Justin," she said. "I've come to notice a lot of people more interested in knowing what me and Justin are doing. Are we talking? Are we texting? It's not about me or him. It's about Ayla, where she is and if she is coming home."

Still, DiPietro's reported lack of cooperation with authorities has troubled the girl's mother. Investigators say that the father has stopped cooperating with police. DiPietro has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.

"He's putting himself up as 'Mr. Innocent,'" Reynolds claimed. "But the way he's acting, everyone knows he's guilty."

On difficult days, Reynolds counts her mother, sister and two close friends among a close-knit support group. She said the community offers "good support," but sometimes she wishes she could have more privacy.

"I feel like everyone out there knows everything about me and Ayla," Reynolds said. "But people don’t have the right to know everything."

Nevertheless, as the family marks the child's second birthday, Reynolds wants her daughter's story to be told. "I also know that Ayla is now a part of everybody," she said.

Lately, Reynolds said, she speaks to police detectives and her own private investigator two or three times a week. After so many months, she struggles with hearing the hardest news over and over -- that there is no news at all.

"I don't like hearing about them searching for her. I can't watch the TV when I know they are going to have a press conference about searching for Ayla. I can't deal with that. I can't believe that my little girl is being searched for right now," she said.

"It is a nightmare that no mother should ever have to go through, and I'm experiencing it."

Details regarding the birthday vigil can be found here. The event is open to the public. Guests are asked to wear purple, yellow and green.

Any individual with information regarding Ayla's whereabouts should call the Waterville Police Department at 207-680-4700 or the Maine State Police at 207-624-7076. A $30,000 reward is being offered.

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Comments

[BettyFox]

04:33 AM on 06/01/2012

Pay attention to what you're writing people. It's baby Ayla... not Ava, two different cases.

[Rhiannon Hubbs]

08:38 AM on 04/05/2012

I don't know what is going on with you HuffPost.. Little Ayla was kidnapped by her dad and was with him in Mexico. She is back with her mommy now. Whether or not the father is the bad guy is debatable.. Personally, not my business. I'm just glad she was alive when they found her.

[mtnglow]

09:18 AM on 04/05/2012

It was baby Ava (from Maine), not Ayla, that was found in Mexico with her father, that was found in Mexico with her father. Baby Ava was taken from a Starbucks in Arizona by her father

[patpollard6]

08:30 AM on 04/05/2012

She's home with mom and yes dad stole her and caught in mexico.

[Ali Neyman]

11:47 AM on 04/05/2012

that was baby AVA. NOT ayla, who was found in mexico.

[leftwingthom]

02:06 AM on 04/05/2012

Usually, it annoys me when people automatically accuse the father, but in this case, it does sound a little sketchy. She disappeared from his house AND he's not cooperating with the cops? Not really painting himself in a positive light here.

[heavenhelpus2222]

11:25 PM on 04/04/2012

I think the dad of this little girl knows more than he is saying . It doesn't make sense , how could someone jus walk up in your house and take your little girl and out of 3 adults no one hears anything ? He has either hid her with someone to keep her away from the mom or killed her ! I hope its just that he hid her and not killed her .

[Yokohama mama]

10:35 PM on 04/04/2012

Though I am an optimistic person, they are never going to find her. This case sounds exactly like the Hayley Cummings case near where I live. All I can say is some people should not have children, and its the children who have to pay for their parents stupidity and carelessness. I don't believe in god or gods, but I do hope whatevern happened to her was quick and that she didn't suffer.

[Rhiannon Hubbs]

08:31 AM on 04/05/2012

Well what do you know, they FOUND her! I think you read this article a bit late.. It's old news. Her Daddy had taken her and they were staying in Mexico. Little Ayla is back with her mommy now :)

[Yokohama mama]

10:10 PM on 04/05/2012

seriously? oh jeez thats really good. There are too many of these stories. At least she was found good and well, I can't say that for Hayley Cumming nor the little boy in Wahsington who his mom left him in the car for 3 hours and somehow he went missing. Thank you for the info :)

[truthyness7]

04:58 PM on 04/06/2012

Rhiannon, please stop repeating the same erroneous information over and over. Ayla Reynolds was NOT found. You are confusing two missing persons. This article is about Ayla Reynolds. The baby found in Mexico was Ava Enlow. It's bad enough that you can't follow the news, but you're also spreading misinformation to others.

[amluvinit2]

07:32 PM on 04/04/2012

Too many things don't add up here. Sad, such a beautiful child.

[sladybug09]

02:00 AM on 04/05/2012

I know right?

[dwetherford]

05:55 PM on 04/04/2012

she is such a beautiful child, i pray to God that she is found safe. No parents deserves to go through this kind of hell.

[mountcarmine]

05:28 PM on 04/04/2012

She was in jail for substance abuse, sothat makes the father the bad guy,It seems the fault is always with the father. give me a break.

[amluvinit2]

07:25 PM on 04/04/2012

All she was saying is that the child was under his care when she went missing, and he has stopped cooperating with the Police. If it were my child, I would try and cooperate as much as possible. Since they don't talk to each other, I bet it makes it twice as hard.

[djvheide]

09:04 PM on 04/04/2012

That doesnt give her the right to arbitrarily accuse him of the crime...

[Sierra McElhannon]

09:53 PM on 04/04/2012

True, that's was what I was thinking, but it's so sad, and it was her 2 birthday.

[jj8005]

04:21 PM on 04/04/2012

These two should have never had a child together. He's more concerned with his girlfriend and not cooperating and she's been spending who knows how long in and out of rehab. The poor child never had a chance. The father should be taken out back and persuaded to cooperate. They both act like they know where the girl is. Not seeming to be too worried.
I know the mother was in rehab at the time, but she looks and sounds like she's involved along with the father somehow. It's been quite a while now.

[wnzeidenstein]

03:50 PM on 04/04/2012

I am sick of this BS about the father. He knows he's guilty and trying to lie his way out of it. He's doing this to get back at the mother in a custody fight. He is trying to protect his drug addicted girlfriend. I hope they find Ayla but maybe to late.

[rightasrain]

05:16 PM on 04/04/2012

Just convicted a young woman in my area today. She killed her boyfriends 2 year old daughter. Her excuse was 'too many drugs'. She'll be 99 when she gets out. Just think all those years with no booze, no pills and only gal pals from here on. Wonder if her 'high' was worth it?

[rickysmith250]

06:48 PM on 04/04/2012

so sad but think it is to late!! been to long... i hope someone pays the price for this... but the sweet little innocent girl is the one who paid the real price..

[HammerHeadCombatSystems]

03:38 PM on 04/04/2012

Utterly tragic.

I hope this helps.

http://hammerheadcombatsystems.org/2012/03/08/counter-abduction-principles/

[thegiftofloving]

03:30 PM on 04/04/2012

feel bad for the mother my heart goes to her i believe the dad and the girlfriend have some to do with the case my prayers are with the babe and the mother

[Carol Harvey]

02:44 PM on 04/04/2012

They need to put severe pressure on this Dad, until he breaks. This BS about the Dad not cooperating is absurd. If someone is a person of interest or suspect, I don't think they should have a choice. I think they should be pressured until they decide to cooperate.

[Raychel Eckel]

02:31 PM on 04/04/2012

i think both parnet need to get involed with the case and look for themsevles the father needs to drop the girlfriend and help look if she/he is that worried about her. forget your trouble from the time being you bought a life into this find her!!!!!!!