WATERVILLE, Maine — Friday marks 10 years since the disappearance of Ayla Reynolds—sparking the largest police investigation in Maine history.
The 20-month-old was staying at home in Waterville with her father, Justin DiPietro, his girlfriend, and his sister.
DiPietro told police at the time that he put his daughter to bed the night of Dec. 16, and the next morning she was gone. He claimed she was abducted.
"This is one of several that, you know, you always say to yourself you'd like to see it solved," Waterville Police Chief Joe Massey said.
Massey, who was chief at the time, quickly found himself, his department, and his city in the national spotlight.
"The Ayla Reynolds case was the largest case, was the largest criminal investigation in the state of Maine. And it had a significant impact," Massey said.
But it impacted no one more than Ayla's mother, Trista Reynolds, who continues her quest for answers in the case.
"This year just seems to be a lot harder for me than most years," she told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Reynolds said that something about reaching the 10-year mark makes her daughter's disappearance all the more real. However, Reynolds said she is more determined than ever to find justice.
In 2017, a judge legally declared Ayla dead. A year later, Reynolds filed a civil lawsuit against DiPietro in the hopes of holding him accountable for their daughter's death.
According to court documents, he is set to be deposed in the case Friday.
"I think I have more faith of getting justice this year than I have any other year," Reynolds said.
While years have passed, one thing has not changed: police still say they believe the people in the house that night know more than they are saying.
"We still feel they do have more information that could help us," said Lt. Jeffrey Love with the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit.
Love said he and his team have not forgotten about the case and have been working on it since day one.
According to Love, investigators have received hundreds of tips over the years, including 30 this year alone.
Back in 2011, a key piece of evidence was blood found in the basement of the Waterville home. Police said it was, in fact, Ayla's.
"Every piece helps give us a picture of what took place. The blood obviously is an important piece of that, but we know at the end of the day we only have one shot at this," Love said. "To take that step forward too early it's not going to bring the family the closure needs and deserves."
Now, a decade after her daughter's disappearance, Reynolds said the three people present at the time need to be held accountable, and she is not giving up on her little girl.
"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."
An attorney for DiPietro did not return NEWS CENTER Maine's request for comment. Attempts to reach members of his family who still live in the Waterville home were unsuccessful.
Authorities ask that anyone with information on the case contact the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit in Augusta at 1-800-452-4664.