PORTLAND, Maine — The mother of missing Maine toddler Ayla Reynolds is asking for more time to find the little girl’s father.
An attorney for Trista Reynolds told CBS 13 a request was filed in court for an additional 60 days to find Justin DiPietro.
On Tuesday, Reynolds said she needs to actually locate DiPietro so a wrongful death lawsuit against him can move forward.
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If DiPietro isn’t served with the summons, the whole case could be tossed out. Under the original court schedule, the deadline to serve DiPietro with the summons would be Sunday, 90 days after the complaint was filed.
“I am begging for the public to help me right now,” said Reynolds.
According to court documents, DiPietro’s last known address was in California. Court filings say when an official tried to notify him of another court matter in 2017, DiPietro denied his identity, though the official said he matched the photo.
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Ayla has been missing for more than seven years and was declared legally dead in 2017.
Ayla’s father, DiPietro, reported her missing from his mother’s Waterville home in December of 2011 where he and Ayla had been living.
He told police he believed she was kidnapped.
Maine State Police later said there was no evidence of a kidnapping.
They also said they found a large amount of Ayla’s blood in the basement of the DiPietro home, which someone tried to clean up with bleach and that they believed Ayla was dead.