Missing Tenn. Toddler Evelyn Mae Boswell: Everything to Know
According to her friends, teen mom Megan “Maggie” Boswell loved spending time with her young daughter, Evelyn Mae Boswell.
“Maggie is a doting mom,” her friend, Anne Freeman, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Evelyn adores her.”
But in a shocking turn of events, the 18-year-old mom from Blountville, Tennessee, is behind bars in Sullivan County, where she faces charges in connection with the disappearance of her happy-go-lucky 15-month-old.
Though the child was last seen in December, she wasn’t reported missing until more than 7 weeks later.
“This case is unlike anything I’ve been involved in,” Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy told reporters on Feb. 21.
While Boswell awaits her next court date in May, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s office, the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation desperately search for any sign of the blonde, blue-eyed girl, who was last seen wearing a pink tracksuit and pink shoes with a pink bow in her hair.
Here are four things to know about the troubling case:
1. Evelyn’s Great-Grandfather Reported the Child Missing
On Feb. 18, Boswell’s maternal grandfather and Evelyn’s great-grandfather, David Jones, 68, contacted authorities to report that the toddler was missing and hadn’t been seen since the holidays, say police.
An Amber Alert was issued for her.
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A reward for information leading to Evelyn’s return has now reached more than $60,000.
2. Boswell Was Arrested on Feb. 25 and Charged with Lying to Police
During the course of the investigation, Boswell “provided detectives and agents with a number of conflicting statements,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
In addition, some of the information she provided was false, the sheriff’s office says.
She remains held on a $25,000 bond, which her lawyer unsuccessfully tried to have a judge reduce to $10,000 Monday.
Read more about the disappearance of Evelyn Boswell in this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
“Megan keeps changing her story,” Jones has said. “Megan knows the truth.”
3. Boswell Accused her Mother of Kidnapping Evelyn
In an interview with WJHL-TV in February, Boswell said she believes her own mother, Angela Boswell, 42, kidnapped Evelyn and took her to Virginia.
“I told [the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation] where to find her,” she told the station. “My mom took her to a campground in a silver camper.”
“My mom did threaten me…if I told anybody,” she claimed.
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On Feb. 21, police arrested Boswell’s mother and her boyfriend, William McCloud, 33, after they were found driving a stolen gray 2007 BMW authorities say is connected to the case.
Evelyn was not with them. They weren’t charged in connection with the child’s disappearance.
4. Boswell Was Raising Her Daughter by Herself
The product of divorced parents with a tumultuous relationship, Boswell began dating Evelyn’s father, Ethan Perry, when she was 16. When she became pregnant with Evelyn, the couple broke up.
Perry, who has declined interview requests, joined the military, leaving Boswell to raise Evelyn.
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