PORTLAND, Maine - A Maine court will hold a hearing on a mother's request that her daughter be declared dead more than five years after the girl disappeared.
Ayla Reynolds was 20 months old when she was reported missing in December 2011. A court has signed off on holding a hearing on Sept. 21 to declare Ayla dead.
As part of the legal process, a probate judge signed a document declaring Ayla dead to move the process forward and to appoint her mother as personal representative.
Attorney William Childs declined to clarify the matter Tuesday, saying he'd hold a news conference in a "couple of weeks'' to update the media.
Ayla was staying with her father, Justin DiPietro, in Waterville at the time she disappeared. DiPietro told authorities that he tucked Ayla in the night before and the next morning she was gone.
This story has been corrected to say that Ayla was not declared dead but that a hearing on the declaration was scheduled.