In this Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 photo, Maine State Police Det. Scott Bryant, standing, watches as a tow truck operator hooks on to the first of two vehicles that were taken from a home at 29 Violette Ave., in Waterville, Maine where Justin Pietro lives with his daughter, Ayla Reynolds, who was reported missing Saturday morning by her father. Ayla was last seen Friday night. (AP Photo/Waterville Morning Sentinel, David Leaming)
Waterville police were handing out flyers as chief of police Joseph Massey, at podium , speaks to members of the media regarding the investigation into the disappearance of 20 month-old Ayla Reynolds at a conference at city hall in Waterville, Maine, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Michael C. York)
This undated photo obtained from a facebook page shows missing toddler Alya Reynolds. Police in Maine are appealing to the public for help in locating the 20-month-old girl who was last seen Friday night. Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey held a news conference this afternoon to ask anyone with information about Ayla Reynolds to call police. Ayla's father called police yesterday morning to report that his daughter was not in her bed and couldn't be found. She was last seen sleeping at about 10 p.m. Friday by a family member. (AP Photo/obtained from Facebook)
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WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — The area being searched for a missing 20-month-old girl in Maine is being expanded to include trails and more waterways, and the number of tips from the public has grown to more than 160, police said Wednesday.
A stream has already been drained in the search for Ayla Reynolds, and Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey said additional waterways will be checked as the area grows outward from the girl's house. The Maine Marine Patrol is searching the Kennebec River.
Fifty trained volunteers from the Maine Search and Rescue Association were joining 75 to 80 law enforcement officers already participating in the search, which entered the fifth day on Wednesday, he said.
Searchers have looked through trash bins and even lowered portions of Messalonskee Stream, looking for signs of Ayla. The FBI continued Wednesday to go door-to-door in a "knock and talk" campaign.
Massey spoke before a planned candlelight vigil for Ayla that was organized by a local group Wednesday night. The girl's mother, Trista Reynolds, was expected to attend.
The toddler was last seen Friday night when her father, Justin DiPietro, said he put her to bed wearing a green one-piece pajama set with polka dots and the words "Daddy's Princess."
DiPietro called police the next morning to say she wasn't there. Several other adults were in the home at the time, but Massey declined to identify them.
Tuesday night, DiPietro addressed the public for the first time, saying in a statement he had "no idea what happened to Ayla, or who is responsible."
DiPietro released the statement through the Waterville police, saying his family and friends will do "everything we can to assist in this investigation and get Ayla back home."
Massey has refused to speculate on whether Ayla is alive, saying authorities are focused on finding her. The investigation remains a missing-person case, he said.
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