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Megan Boswell speaks out about search for Evelyn before being arrested, says she left her with the grandmother

Boswell initially said she didn’t contact police becaclaims took her daughter would disappear.

SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. — UPDATE (2.25.2020): The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office has arrested Megan "Maggie" Boswell, the mother of missing toddler Evelyn Boswell, for false reporting hours after she spoke to media saying she had volunteered to take a lie-detector test but couldn't because she claimed she was pregnant.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed authorities had taken the mother into custody Tuesday night, saying the search continues for 15-month-old Evelyn.

According to TBI’s official policy, a pregnant mother in her first trimester can undergo a polygraph. In the second and third trimester they need a written note from her doctor. Ultimately it is up to the discretion of the examiner if they will perform the test.

Boswell claimed her pregnancy and missing child “is just a lot to deal with at one time."

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She said she had been in contact with both Evelyn’s father as well as the father of her unborn child. She claims Evelyn’s father Ethan Perry is trying to take leave to come help look for Evelyn.

Additionally, Boswell says that the person she referred to on Friday as having took her baby was her mother Angela Boswell.

"She was supposed to babysit her,” Boswell says of her mother. “It didn't turn out that way."

Angela Boswell was arrested Friday along with her boyfriend in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Authorities did not locate Evelyn during the arrest.

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Boswell said she wanted to trust her mother and that is why she allowed her to watch Evelyn.

"My mother has never been the best mother and anybody that you talk to that knows me can tell you that,” she says.

Also, Boswell said she is still confident Evelyn is alive and that she will be returned to her.

Her message to anyone who may have Evelyn: Bring her back.

"It's just giving the baby back. It's not about getting whoever in trouble it's just about getting Evelyn back," Boswell says.

Original Story:

Evelyn Boswell has been missing since December, but she wasn’t reported missing until Tuesday.

NBC affiliate WCYB was there when Megan Boswell, who is Evelyn's mother, walked out of a court in Bristol. When she walked outside, she initially wouldn't talk to us. Now, she is speaking with News 5 about the case.

Boswell says she didn’t contact police because she thought the person who she claims took her daughter would disappear.

RELATED: Conflicting information coming from mother of child involved in Tennessee AMBER alert

"Well the reason I didn't report it or anything was I knew the person who had her, and I didn't want them to run away with her," Boswell said. "And as soon as they thought anything was going on they just kinda vanished. So I'm just kinda worried, you know, about where they are at. What they're doing with her at this point in time."

She says that Evelyn was with a person she trusted to watch her daughter while she was at work. But Boswell says she cannot name that person.

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"In a way I knew that as soon as anything went down this person was going to disappear and they have. And they have tried to find them... They won't answer phone calls. They just kinda disappeared."

Boswell told News 5 she'd do things differently if she is given a second chance.

"Yeah I probably would have called the first day. I should have. But I just didn't want them to run with her, like they have now."

In an afternoon press conference, Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said Boswell is involved in the investigation, but he says the information she has given them isn't accurate. Cassidy said some of the things she has told them does not lead up to the information authorities have checked on.

Evelyn has not been seen by some family members since December. An AMBER alert was issued for the 15-month-old on Wednesday. The TBI said it found a gray 2007 BMW along with individuals they wished to question in connection to the investigation, saying Evelyn is still missing.

The two individuals were identified as William McCloud and Angela Boswell. The Wilkes County Sheriff's Office said the two were arrested and charged with possession of stolen property.

Credit: Wilkes County Sheriff's Office
William McCloud and Angela Boswell

Cassidy said they were first alerted to the little girl's disappearance on February 17 when they received a DCS referral. Evelyn's grandfather had reported they hadn't seen the child since early December. 

Credit: WCYB

Investigators were initially told Evelyn was last seen on December 26, but the sheriff believes Evelyn was actually last seen by a babysitter on December 10 or 11.

If you have any information on where Evelyn is, call 911 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

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