Investigators scoured a pond in North Carolina Wednesday in the search for a 15-month-old Tennessee girl who has been missing since at least December but were unable to find the toddler, according to reports.
Police issued a statewide AMBER Alert last week for Evelyn Mae Boswell after her family waited two months to report her missing, and police say conflicting information provided by the girl's 18-year-old mother has continued to hinder the investigation.
Credit: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
Credit: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
A day before searching the pond, authorities back in Blountville, Tennessee, arrested Megan Boswell on charges of lying to police, according to the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office.
Boswell reportedly told local news media that the child was with a trusted babysitter but would not name the person.
Asked why she didn't immediately contact authorities, Boswell said, "I knew that as soon as anything went down this person was going to disappear," The Washington Post reports.
On Wednesday, police used a remote-controlled device to search the pond in Shepherds Crossroads, in Wilkes County, N.C., but the outcome was "inconclusive to any facts to the investigation," the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office announced.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the toddler was last seen Dec. 26, but police say conflicting information has frustrated every attempt to pinpoint the exact date of the girl's disappearance.
"Every time we talk to her, her story changes," Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said at a Wednesday news conference, according to reports. "I'm serious when I say that. Every single time."
The girl was declared missing Feb. 18 after the Department of Children's Services contacted authorities.
Little Evelyn was last seen in a pink tracksuit, pink shoes and a pink bow.
Cassidy said his department has followed up on more than 570 tips so far, The Washington Post reported.
Court records say Megan Boswell originally told police that her baby was with her father, who is an Army service member stationed in Louisiana, according to news reports. When police checked, they found that he hadn't seen the girl in about two months, according to reports.
Earlier this week Boswell also said that her mother, Angela Boswell, 42, had taken the girl to a campground in another state, but that lead also appears to be untrue, police said.
Last week police arrested the older Boswell, who is the child's grandmother, and her boyfriend, William McCloud, about 65 miles southeast of Sullivan County in Wilkes County, N.C., where the pond was later searched. Police say they were in a stolen BMW. Both and are now being held on charges unrelated to the disappearance, reports said. On Monday, the child's grandmother was extradited back to Tennessee.
Reports said Megan Boswell is still being held on a $25,000 bond. She was arraigned on Wednesday and has another court date set for early next week.
The search for the girl is continuing.
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