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'Stick to the official sources' | Social media helps, hinders search for Evelyn Boswell

With as much interaction as this AMBER Alert is getting online, it's easy for the truth to get a little muddled.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Details continue to emerge in the case of missing 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell, last seen in December 2019.

The child's mother Megan Boswell said Tuesday she can't take a lie detector test because she is pregnant.

"Well I am pregnant that's why they won't give me a polygraph," she said. "Due to policy if you're pregnant you can't take one."

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office said it doesn't administer polygraph tests.

The child's grandmother Angela Boswell appeared in court Tuesday in Sullivan County.

She's facing theft charges for driving a stolen car.

Records reveal that vehicle belonged to Melissa Wood, the mother of Megan Boswell's ex-boyfriend.

RELATED: DCS opens investigation into Evelyn Boswell, TBI says still no credible sightings of her after hundreds of tips

This is a lot of information to keep straight.

The TBI said Tuesday afternoon it has received 510 tips, but none of them have led to a credible sighting of that little girl.

10News has shared 19 posts about Evelyn's case on the WBIR Facebook page.

Those posts were shared more than 27,000 times, with nearly 4,000 comments.

With as much interaction as this AMBER Alert is getting online, it's easy for the truth to get a little muddled.

Investigators warn people that some of the comments and information people post are not true.

RELATED: Evelyn Boswell's jailed grandmother back in Tennessee, says she wants to return to search for Evelyn

"There are a number of people sharing information on social media that's not accurate and it's not factual and in some cases that can hinder the investigation," said Leslie Earhart with the TBI.

At UT's Adam Brown Social Media Command Center, graduate assistant Brandon Boatwright shows 18,000 posts and comments about the case, mostly on Twitter.

He said stories can change quickly online.

"The fact that there's such a low barrier to entry into social media conversations means that anyone can interject and speculate and there's potential for those stories, whether they're real or not, to catch on and be spread," said Boatwright.

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

Any possible tips posted online aren't making it to the people who can investigate.

"Our platforms are not monitored 24/7, additionally they're not set up to receive crime related information," said Earhart.

True and confirmed information will come from the TBI, Sullivan County Sheriff's Office and local news outlets, which get information directly from those agencies.

"Stick to the official sources and don't necessary believe everything you see online," said Earhart.

RELATED: Mother of Evelyn Boswell speaks publicly, claims she knows who has her and was afraid to report her missing

Evelyn Boswell is 15 months old. She has blonde hair and blue eyes.

If you have any information that could help investigators, tips can be submitted to TBI by calling 1-800-TBI-FIND.

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