Missing Toddler, Ayla Reynolds, Declared Dead.

Ayla Reynolds, the Maine toddler who has been missing since December of 2011 has been declared dead.

According to the Kennebec Journal online,

The decision by Cumberland County Probate Judge Joseph Mazziotti clears the way for a planned lawsuit against Justin DiPietro, the child’s father and one of the last people to see the girl alive.

Ayla’s mother, Trista Reynolds, said Monday that she hoped theprobate judge would officially declare her daughter dead because it would pave the way for her attorney to file a wrongful-death suit, which she thinks could help solve the case of Ayla’s disappearance in December 2011. -Amy Calder, staff writer.

A wrongful death suit is a civil proceeding, so the burden of proof to reach a verdict is lower. Also, any penalty for a guilty verdict would be monetary.