SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said after more than 500 tips and leads in the case of missing 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell, they are continuing their search.
“We have been looking for baby Evelyn since last Tuesday. We have been working 24/7, nonstop,” Cassidy said. “We have followed up on over 570 tips along with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We’ve been working as a team on this ever since baby Evelyn’s went missing.”
Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy confirmed a search is ongoing in Wilkes County, North Carolina where missing Evelyn’s grandmother Angela Boswell and her boyfriend were arrested Friday.
“They are looking in an area in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It wasn’t asked from anybody in our agency or TBI but they are actively looking at an area in Wilkes County, North Carolina,” Sheriff Cassidy said.
Cassidy said that tips related to the pond search in North Carolina were sent directly to authorities in N.C., not the TBI or SCSO. He said they were informed of the search moments after SCSO Spokesperson Andy Seabolt reported to News Channel 11 that they had seen about the search on social media and figured that it was unrelated to the AMBER Alert for Evelyn.
Cassidy said in the news conference Wednesday that authorities “hope and pray” baby Evelyn is still alive, confirming that the search is still ongoing in Sullivan County, parts of North Carolina and parts of Southwest Virginia.
“I hope and pray, my staff hopes and prays, and everyone on this case hopes and prays she is alive, and we’re gonna continue to work just like she is alive,” Cassidy said.
He said the authorities would love to have a “grid” search area, but the physical search area is too large and would be too “labor-intensive work” for a search team.
The sheriff also said during the press conference that multiple people have been questioned regarding the active AMBER Alert. Evelyn’s grandmother, Angela Boswell, has been questioned by authorities since being extradited to Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Cassidy added that Megan Boswell, Evelyn’s mother, changes her story “every single time” authorities question her.
“During the investigation, we determined that some of the statements Megan Boswell provided to us were false. Many of the false statements Megan made delayed our investigations and also impeded our investigations to find Evelyn,” he said. “Every time we talk to her, her story changes. I’m serious when I say that, every single time.”
Megan Boswell told multiple news outlets that she went to the SCSO earlier this week to perform a polygraph test but could not since she was pregnant.
“She was never asked to meet us for any polygraph,” Cassidy said. “We don’t actually have a polygraph examiner. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation does the polygraphing, we never set up any type of interview for her and the pregnant statements I’ll have to leave that to her.”
The last confirmed date baby Evelyn was seen, Cassidy said, was on Dec. 11, 2019, because authorities are going off what “the only person who hasn’t lied” to authorities was saying. He confirmed that he was referring to Evelyn’s babysitter.
For complete coverage of this ongoing AMBER Alert, CLICK HERE.
