WATERVILLE — Police investigating the disappearance of 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds have finished their investigative work involving the Violette Avenue home where she was last seen.

Maine State Police “released the house back to the occupants” late Saturday afternoon, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland, but he declined to discuss what, if anything, investigators had found.

Since Dec. 22, yellow crime scene tape had been a fixture at the modest gray bungalow.

As of Saturday evening, however, the tape was gone. The white evidence tape that had sealed all windows and doors was also gone.

The investigation into Ayla Reynolds’ disappearance ended its second week Saturday, but it was the first day of investigation under new leadership.

A day earlier, Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey announced that he had invited the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit to take the lead role in the case. The Major Crimes Unit handles homicides, suspicious deaths and major investigations.

Massey added that the case had evolved from a missing-person case into a criminal investigation.

Earlier Saturday, the agency issued its first statement on the case.

“There are no new developments,” McCausland said in a release.

McCausland added that investigators from the state and Waterville police were working on the case Saturday.

According to the city assessor’s office, the house at 29 Violette Ave. has been owned by Ayla’s grandmother, Phoebe DiPietro, since 1998.

Morning Sentinel Staff Writer Ben McCanna can be contacted at 861-9239 or at:

bmccanna@centralmaine.com

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