SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — More than 1 year has passed after 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell's body was found, and now a new law is coming to fruition as a result of the case — Evelyn's Law.
The Sullivan County toddler's disappearance went unreported for several months before an AMBER Alert was finally issued in February 2020, kicking off a large-scale search and investigation into her disappearance. Evelyn's mother, Megan, has been charged with murder.
The Tennessee House passed "Evelyn's Law" on Thursday. It would require parents to report a missing child under 12 years old within 24 hours. Otherwise, they could be charged with a misdemeanor
If signed by Governor Lee, Evelyn's Law will increase penalties for parents starting July 1.
Maggie McNally with Safe Harbor, a child advocacy center, said it's encouraging to see lawmakers come together and pass this legislation.
"Protecting our children is a good thing we can all agree on," she said. "It's an added layer of protection and security for children, especially vulnerable children."
Anytime protections can be created for vulnerable children, she said it is imperative that they be passed.
"Especially when we're talking about kids — the most vulnerable among us," she said. "They oftentimes don't have a voice and we need to make sure we as adults in the criminal justice system are protecting them as best we can."
While this law only applies to family members, McNally said it should raise awareness for others involved in a child's life, such as teachers and family friends, to speak up if something doesn't seem right.
"We know that teachers, counselors and coaches and afterschool programs also have their eyes on kids and they will be motivated even more so by the passage of this law to report when they haven't seen a child under their care," she said.
The hope is to save more lives and bring more justice to others just like Evelyn.
"It's very sad it took something like this for this to come about," said McNally.