Toward the end of December, she said she heard that Evelyn had been removed from her mother’s custody and placed with a foster family. She said that led her to get back in touch with her daughter and try to help her. Still, she did not explicitly discuss Evelyn with Megan “Maggie” Boswell because she wanted her daughter to bring it up on her own when she was ready, Angela Boswell said.

The child had not actually been placed in foster care, but Angela Boswell said she believed that was true, and she thought her daughter was embarrassed about it.

“I just believed Maggie just didn’t want to come out and tell me that,” Angela Boswell said.

But on the evening of Feb. 17, Angela said she spoke with her ex-husband and learned that Evelyn was missing.

The following day, Feb. 18, a report was filed with the state Department of Children’s Services, and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office became involved in the case. An Amber Alert for Evelyn was issued Feb. 19.

“I don’t know any more than anybody else does. And, you know, I’m waiting on the autopsy results like everybody else is,” Angela Boswell said.