Mother of Missing Toddler Evelyn Boswell Arrested & Charged With Making a False Report
Megan Boswell, the mother of missing Tennessee toddler Evelyn Boswell, was arrested on Tuesday in the latest twist to a disturbing case gripping headlines this month. Megan was charged with one count of reporting false information to police, after authorities discovered she had made several conflicting and false statements during an investigation into her daughter's whereabouts.
Evelyn, who is 15 months old, has been missing since late 2019, though authorities were only recently alerted to her disappearance.
According to CNN, Evelyn's grandfather reported her missing on February 18, after he claimed he hadn't seen the toddler since the end of November and beginning of December 2019. The day after she was reported missing, police issued an Amber Alert.
Since the investigation first began, police have noted that the details behind the girl's disappearance have been conflicting, to say the least. In a press conference on February 21, Megan claimed that she knew who took Evelyn, but couldn't say who it was out of fear that the person would run off with her child.
"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," the mom explained. "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."
"In a way, I knew that as soon as anything went down this person was going to disappear and they have," Megan continued. "They won't answer phone calls. They just kinda disappeared."
A babysitter was reportedly the last person to see Evelyn alive. Police were alarmed that the child's disappearance wasn't reported sooner.
Adding to their skepticism was Megan's peculiar behavior. Much of what she has said or done throughout the course of the investigation so far has been baffling to police, including a claim she made in a Facebook message with WJHL that she couldn't take a polygraph test because she was pregnant.
When the news outlet later asked the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office about the test, a reporter was told they “do not use polygraph,” and further clarified that "Megan Boswell was not scheduled to meet with a TBI polygraph examiner."
On Monday, February 24, Megan also claimed that she told authorities Evelyn was with Megan's mother, Angela Boswell.
"My mom took her to a campground in a silver camper and if they don't go tonight, I'm going to go find her myself," she told WJHL in a separate interview.
"Because I’ve told them and they’re not really like taking it seriously and if they don’t go tonight, I will go myself and go get her … " she continued, during her rambling (and often contradictory) claims. "They’re not taking me seriously. FBI isn’t, because I’ve not fully told them I’ve been like ‘Hey, like my mom camped out in Mendota [Virginia], you know, to go check them out,’ but I’ve never been like, ‘Hey,’ specifically, ‘Hey, she’s like in a silver camper,’ because my mom did threaten me like you know if I told anybody -- I’m not gonna get into that -- but she did."
Megan also claimed that she left her daughter in the care of her mother, Angela, because she had to work.
She added that she had no reason to be concerned, until her mother allegedly started to threaten her.
"Well, she’s my mom," Megan told the outlet. "I wanted to trust her … Well, I called her and she was just like, ‘Oh, she’s safe’ like, you know, that kinda thing, and then she started threatening me, which like I said, I’m not gonna get into everything she threatened me with, you know because I’m just not but … ”
Megan claimed that she knew things were seriously wrong when her mother "left and took off and just didn’t answer her phone."
Megan's continually evasive answers and conflicting stories are ultimately what landed her behind bars this week.
Megan told WHJL that her statements, if misleading, were all in an effort to protect her mom.
"I was trying to protect my mom, maybe in hopes, ‘Oh well, she just tell them were Evelyn was,’ but obviously she’s not going to,” Megan said.
Evelyn's father, Ethan Perry, has been on active military duty in Louisiana throughout the entire investigation, which is why Megan has sole custody of their daughter.
On Tuesday, authorities had clearly had enough, and arrested her on the false statements charge.
"During the course of the investigation, Megan 'Maggie' Boswell provided detectives and agents with a number of conflicting statements," Sullivan County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Andy Seabolt said in a statement.
As for whether she'll be more cooperative in the investigation moving forward, that remains to be seen.
Angela was also arrested last week, along with her boyfriend, William McCloud.
The pair were stopped in North Carolina, while driving a gray 2007 BMW that authorities were on the lookout for, because they believed its occupants would have information about Evelyn's whereabouts.
Since their arrest, Angela and McCloud have been held in Wilkes County without bond and will be extradited back to Tennessee to face charges there. So far, there have been no reports that Evelyn was traveling with the pair.
For now, the investigation into where Evelyn may be remains ongoing.
Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy says he believes that Evelyn is alive, and insists that everything possible is being done to bring her home, the Daily Mail reports. Police have received more than 500 tips on the whereabouts of the little girl, although none of them have proven to be credible. Police are currently offering a $59,000 reward for the toddler's safe return, and anyone with information in connection with the toddler's disappearance is urged to call the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office at (423) 279-7330 as soon as possible.