Message Board

[Admin]

Clothing description for missing child changed

Larry Sullivan
Palatka Daily News
February 18, 2009

Haleigh Cummings wasn?t wearing a pink T-shirt when she disappeared from her South Putnam home more than a week ago, authorities say.

On Tuesday, the Amber Alert description for the 5-year-old girl was revised.

The T-shirt cited in the statewide notice is being held by investigators.

Law enforcement has that in our possession,? Rick Ryan, chief deputy of the Putnam County Sheriff?s Office, said Tuesday.

The Amber Alert was revised at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

"We changed information that young Haleigh was in fact not wearing a pink shirt as reported at the time of her disappearance," Ryan said at a late afternoon press conference in Palatka. "The FDLE Web site has been updated as well as our signboard."

Ryan declined to say when or where authorities obtained the shirt.

"We have an obligation to not jeopardize this investigation by releasing any information," he said. "We are not going to talk about any investigation pertaining to this pink shirt."

The description was based on information provided to deputies by Misty Croslin, the 17-year-old girlfriend of Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings.

Croslin told authorities and the Daily News that she was asleep in the house with Haleigh and Haleigh's 4-year-old brother, and realized Haleigh was missing when she awoke about 3 a.m. Feb. 10.

The 911 call reporting Haleigh?s disappearance was made at 3:27 a.m.

Authorities hope the public's attention will not be distracted by the change.

"Now we want people focusing in on the face because we do not know at this time what the clothing was," said Dominick Pape, speciaal agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Jacksonville regional office.

Tuesday's revelation would be another change in the account Croslin has given authorities and the news media. At one point, she said she was sleeping in the same bed with Haleigh, then said she was in a separate bed.

In interviews with reporters, these inconsistencies have been attributed by Croslin and Cummings as a "misunderstanding."

Croslin also has denied any wrongdoing.

In other developments:

* More than 1,000 tips have been phoned in about the case.

* Some 300 homes and 210 vehicles were checked during a sweep of Haleigh?s neighborhood Monday night.

* One tip prompted a renewed search of the St. Johns River, which is close to the Cummings home.

* Wide-ranging searches of woods and other areas have been suspended, with authorities conducting smaller searches as warranted.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 277-8477.

Also, Crime Stoppers also has a text tipping program, and offers Web tipping as well. Go to westopcrime.com to submit a Web tip.

Or, they can text by phone to 'tips231 plus their message' and send to crimes.

[Admin]

Tipster: Girlfriend'sstory not true

Stephanie Gibson
FOX 35 News
February 18, 2009

SATSUMA, Fla. - Putnam County Sheriff's investigators said they have received a tip that the 17-year-old girlfriend in the case of a missing Satsuma girl was not actually home at the time of the girl's disappearance, which is contrary to what she told detectives.

The girlfriend, Misty Croslin, said she had been sleeping next to 5-year-old Haleigh but when she awoke, the girl was gone. "She was sleeping right next to me," Croslin told the Palatka Daily News. "I can't believe I didn't hear anything," she added.

Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, told investigators his daughter was missing when he returned home from work around 3 a.m. Tuesday. Ronald said his girlfriend was awake and frantic that Haleigh was missing from her bed.

Croslin has responded to the allegations by the tipsters and said they are lying. Croslin is adamant that she was there at the home with Haleigh and says no one can say she wasn't there.

Investigators also said Wednesday that $16,000 in rewards have been offered for information leading the discovery of Haleigh.

In a news conference Wednesday, Putnam County Sheriff's Office Capt. Dick Schauland said investigators are now working through about 1,200 tips, including again questioning the child's father, Ronald Cummings, and his girlfriend Misty Croslin.

Haleigh vanished nine days ago from her father's double wide mobile home, just outside the community of Satsuma, which is about 10 miles south of Palatka.

[Admin]

Police probe teen's account in case of missing Florida girl

CNN
February 18, 2009

(CNN) -- Police searching for a missing 5-year-old girl are investigating whether the woman who reported her gone was at home at the time the girl vanished, an officer working on the case said Wednesday.

"It's a tip we're following up on," Capt. Dick Schauland of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office in Florida said.

He was responding to a question about a report that Misty Croslin was not home after Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings was last seen on the night of February 9.

Croslin, 17, is the girlfriend of Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings.

The police officer rebuffed a question about whether Croslin had changed her story about where she was when the girl disappeared, though he called the tip "a very important one."

"I don't know that you can say her story is changing," Schauland said. "I don't know if it's a true tip or not. It may not be valid."

He said Haleigh's father's alibi, that he was at work, had been confirmed.

Authorities said earlier they believe girl was abducted.

Since opening the case a week ago, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office has received more than 1,200 tips about the missing girl.

Croslin told police she was watching Haleigh when she went missing sometime before dawn last Tuesday. Cummings shares his double-wide mobile home with Croslin, daughter Haleigh and 4-year-old son in the town of Satsuma, east of Gainesville. He has said that when he returned home at 3 a.m. ET, he was surprised to see his girlfriend awake and asked her why she was up.

She told him she awoke to find the trailer door open and discovered that Haleigh was missing.

Croslin waited until Cummings came home to phone 911 about the girl's disappearance, though it's unclear how long that wait was. Police said last week that Croslin had tucked the girl and her brother into bed at 8 p.m. before going to sleep at 10 p.m. The girl, boy and Croslin usually sleep in the same bed.

Officials originally thought Haleigh may have wandered outside on her own, but are now certain that she was abducted.

Investigators are looking into various angles of the case, including finding out the location of 44 registered sexual offenders who live within a five-mile radius of the Cummings home, said Lt. Johnny Greenwood of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Late Tuesday police announced that they have changed the Amber Alert they originally put out for the girl.

They originally said she was wearing a pink shirt, but the shirt has since been found, Schauland said Wednesday.

"Now what we need people to focus on is the face because we do not know at this time what the clothing was at this point," said Dominick Pape, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement

[Admin]

Lawmen seeking answers; Investigators again question Haleigh's father and his girlfriend

Larry Sullivan
Palatka Daily News
February 19, 2009

Investigators searching for 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings are reviewing more than 1,200 tips.

In addition, Putnam County sheriff's detectives on Wednesday again questioned the girl's father, Ronald Cummings, and his girlfriend, Misty Croslin.

The questioning was conducted at the sheriff's office headquarters in Palatka.

"That's a continuing part of our investigation," said Dominick Pape, special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's office in Jacksonville, which is assisting Putnam County authorities.

"As leads are developed we will always be bringing back in the family members," Pape said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. "As this case goes on and we feel the need to bring them in, we will. They've been very cooperative with us."

Pape and Capt. Dick Schauland, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, on Wednesday continued the refusal of authorities to publicly discuss results of the intensive investigation by local, state and federal officers.

Haleigh, a kindergartner, was reported missing from her home in Satsuma on Feb. 10 and no trace of her has been found.

Her disappearance triggered a massive search in and around the Hermits Cove neighborhood, not far from the St. Johns River in South Putnam.

Croslin, who was babysitting both Haleigh and her 4-year-old brother Ronald Cummings Jr., said she last saw the girl at 10 p.m. Feb. 9. Haleigh was reported missing a few hours later at 3:27 a.m.

Though the number of tips continues to swell, Schauland said information from the public likely would play a critical role in solving the case.

"Of course we're following up every one of them," he said during the press conference. "Sooner or later the one we need is going to come up and it's going to make the difference."

Schauland added, "There's no persons of interest or suspects."

Meanwhile, rewards totaling $16,000 are being offered for information leading to the discovery of Haleigh.

The bulk of that fund, $10,000, was given to local authorities by "an anonymous contributor here in Putnam County," Schauland said.

Another $5,000 was provided by the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation of Modesto, Calif., and $1,000 is being offered by Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida.

Haleigh is described as 3 feet tall and weighing 39 pounds with blond hair.

Investigators are not discouraged as the case goes into its 10th day, Pape said.

"Are we frustrated? Absolutely," he said. "We wish we had this resolved Day One. But discouraged, absolutely not."

No ground or water searches were conducted Wednesday and none were planned for today, though that could change quickly, Schauland said.

"If something comes in that needs to be done, we'll get the officers out there," he said.

Authorities ask anyone with information about Haleigh's disappearance to contact them by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 277-8477.

[Admin]

Father begs to end gossip, renew focus on Haleigh
Overnight arrest of a nearby sexual predator not related to case

Paul Pinkham, Scott Butler
Florida Times-Union
February 19, 2009

The frustration of 10 days of worrying and wondering, searching and questioning, was evident Thursday all over Putnam County.

In Satsuma, the father of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings pleaded for an end to scrutiny and gossip about his family and a renewed focus on finding his little girl.

In Palatka, the sheriff fought off questions about any link between a sexual predator arrested overnight for breaking curfew and Haleigh’s disappearance Feb. 10.

But amid the angst and fear about what happened to Haleigh, there were pockets of light, too. Faculty from an Orange Park elementary school showed up at Haleigh’s school with homemade desserts for the staff there, a tradition they started when seven children were killed in a Union County crash in 2007.

And a San Mateo funeral home director set up a fund for people to contribute to Haleigh’s family.
Haleigh hasn’t been seen since her baby sitter and her father’s girlfriend, 17-year-old Misty Croslin, put her to bed Feb. 9 in their Satsuma home. Croslin said she awoke to find the girl gone about 3 a.m. and called 911.

In an interview Wednesday with the Times-Union, Croslin denied reports that she left Haleigh and her 4-year-old brother alone. She was back at the Sheriff’s Office for more questioning Thursday, which investigators called routine.

Thursday afternoon, Ronald Cummings, the missing girl’s father, held an impromptu news briefing and urged people and the media not make this ordeal about the family. It’s about finding his daughter, the 25-year-old said.

He didn’t specify the Times-Union report that detailed the family’s background, including drug arrests and custody issues, and the interview with his girlfriend. Cummings also said he doesn’t have any enemies.
Standing with his mother, Cummings gave thanks to all that the community and law enforcement have done.

“Please bring my daughter home,” he repeated, wearing a black hat with the letters G.A.P. for God Answers Prayers.

He also said he doesn’t know anything about a fight with a visiting cousin over a gun, mentioned by Croslin in the interview. Sheriff Jeff Hardy confirmed that Coslin’s relative had been in town and is now home in Tennessee. He said his office has been in contact with the relative but he couldn’t elaborate.

Hardy called the arrest of a sexual predator who lives a half-mile from Cummings’ Green Lane home unrelated to Haleigh’s disappearance. Timothy R. Loucakis, 50, is charged with violating his curfew as indicated by his GPS monitoring.

The device, however, indicated he was within his “home zone” around the time Haleigh disappeared, Hardy said. A Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman said the home zone wouldn’t extend more than 75 feet from the offender’s home.

At Browning-Pearce Elementary School, where Haleigh attended kindergarten, Principal Debra Buckles said the faculty was treated to desserts, many homemade, by the staff of W.E. Cherry Elementary School in Orange Park.

“It was just such a bright spot in an otherwise dark series of days,” Buckles said. “It really lifted the spirits a little bit of everyone here. ... Hopefully the next celebration will be a homecoming for Haleigh.”

W.E. Cherry Principal Angela Whiddon said she and her staff began doing similar deeds for other school faculties after the fatal Union County crash two years ago. They’ve been to Jacksonville, Macclenny and Brunswick, Ga., after tragedies in those places, and she said most heartwarming was learning that faculty from a Union County school has started doing the same thing to “pay it forward.”

“Schools are not really regular places to work. We’re like little families and little communities, and when something happens to a child or a staff member, it effects everyone,” she said.

Whiddon got a taste of her own generosity when her 17-year-old son was killed in May on a railroad trestle in Green Cove Springs. She said her staff was “fed like kings” by people from other schools.

Also Thursday, the owner of Watts Funeral Home announced a fund has been set up to help Haleigh’s family at Bank of America. Shirts and buttons also are available for a donation at the funeral home in San Mateo.

[Admin]

Sexual Predator Arrested Near Home of Missing Florida Girl

Fox News
February 19, 2009

A sexual predator was arrested Thursday near the home of a missing Florida girl, but on charges that are unrelated to the disappearance of the child, police said.

Putnam County Sheriff's spokesman Jeff Hardy said the arrest of Timothy R. Loucakis doesn't appear to be related to the case of Haleigh Cummings, 5.

"Word is getting out that we have a sexual predator in custody, and we do, but we have no reason to link it to Haleigh," Hardy said.

But he also told reporters that "we're not excluding anybody" as a suspect in the child's mysterious disappearance.


Loucakis was convicted of "promoting a sexual performance by a child" in May of 2001 and is currently listed as a sexual predator, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site.

"What we're concerned about was he wasn't where he was supposed to be," Hardy said, adding that Loucakis was one of the very first people police interviewed.

Also Thursday, police announced rewards of $16,000 for clues leading to the missing girl.

In a news conference Wednesday, Putnam County Sheriff's Office Capt. Dick Schauland said investigators are working through about 1,200 tips.

He also said they are again questioning the child's father, Ronald Cummings, and his girlfriend Misty Croslin.

Haleigh vanished nine days ago from her father's mobile home, just outside the community of Satsuma.

Authorities have been investigating a tip that casts doubt on a story told by Croslin, 17, that she was home when she discovered the child missing.

The source said the father's teenaged girlfriend actually wasn't in the trailer when Haleigh vanished last Tuesday.

Investigators on Wednesday told MyFOXOrlando.com they're looking into the report.

"We're not prepared to release information about what we’re following up on because we’re concerned about the safety of this child," Schauland said Wednesday.

They're also looking at inconsistencies in descriptions of what the child was last seen wearing.

Croslin told them Haleigh had a pink shirt on the night she vanished, but police said this week they have that item of clothing in their possession.

She has also reportedly told different stories to police and the media about the timing of her discovery that Haleigh was gone and where she and the child were the night the little girl disappeared.

Cummings, 24, said Haleigh had gotten up to use the bathroom and when she didn't return, Croslin went to look for her and noticed the back door of the trailer was open. Cummings said he'd just come home from work.

Police haven't narrowed down a list of suspects in the case. Detectives say they've interviewed all 44 sex offenders in the vicinity.

Cummings and Croslin have both taken lie detector tests. They told FOX News last week that they "passed" the polygraphs. Police have neither confirmed nor denied what the results were and say that several of those questioned in the case have taken lie detector tests.

The family has been at the center of investigations done by the state child welfare agency, but details of those cases haven't been disclosed because of confidentiality laws.

[Admin]

Missing Florida girl's relatives plead for her return

CNN
February 19, 2009

(CNN) -- The father and grandmother of a missing 5-year-old Florida girl pleaded Thursday for her return, and said police had uncovered some promising leads.

"They did bring up some good leads," said Teresa Neves, the grandmother of Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings, who has been missing for more than a week.

"We're very hopeful that one of those is going to pan out," Neves said at a news conference in Palatka, Florida, with Ronald Cummings, the girl's father. Both wore shirts printed with Haleigh's photograph.

Neves said she didn't know any details about the leads, just that police had indicated there were "several."

Cummings brushed off questions about his girlfriend, Misty Croslin, who reported Haleigh missing.

Capt. Dick Schauland of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday police were investigating whether Croslin, 17, was home when the girl disappeared.

Croslin told police she was watching Haleigh when she disappeared sometime before dawn on February 10 from Cummings' home. Cummings shares his double-wide mobile home with Croslin, daughter Haleigh and his 4-year-old son in the town of Satsuma, east of Gainesville.

Cummings said Thursday he believes Croslin was telling the truth and urged reporters to focus on his daughter.

"We need to focus on my daughter going missing, and not what's going on in my life besides my daughter going missing," he said.

Cummings has said that when he returned home at 3 a.m. ET on February 10, he was surprised to see his girlfriend awake and asked her why she was up.

She told him she awoke to find the trailer door open and discovered that Haleigh was missing. Croslin waited until Cummings came home to phone 911 about the girl's disappearance, though it's unclear how long that wait was.

Police said last week that Croslin had tucked the girl and her brother into bed at 8 p.m. before going to sleep at 10 p.m. The girl, boy and Croslin usually sleep in the same bed.

Officials originally thought the 5-year-old may have wandered outside on her own, but now believe that she was abducted.

Investigators say they are looking into various angles of the case.

"We are working leads now," Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy said Thursday. "We have people we are interviewing. We are doing polygraphs. We have some new leads that have come in and we are going go ahead and follow up on all of them."

He said police had arrested a sexual predator who lives a mile from Haleigh for violating a curfew, and he did not believe the man has any "direct link" to the girl "as far as being able to put him anywhere near her residence." The man wears a global positioning system device, Hardy said.

Earlier this week police announced that they have changed the Amber Alert they originally put out for the girl.

They originally said she was wearing a pink shirt, but the shirt has since been found, police said Wednesday.

[Admin]

Man ruled out as suspect in Haleigh case

Kristin Chambers
Palatka Daily News
February 20, 2009

A sexual predator was arrested Thursday in the Satsuma area after authorities said he violated his probation Wednesday evening.

According to Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy, there is nothing to link the man to the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings 11 days ago.

"This man has been on a GPS monitoring bracelet, and his curfew is from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and last night the man was not within his home zone, so he violated his curfew," Hardy said at a press conference Thursday.

"This man is a sex predator, which means he is a very dangerous individual, but the fact is, we did go back on the evening that Haleigh disappeared and the GPS monitor does say that he was within his home zone."

Timothy Randolph Loucakis is one of five sexual predators who live within 5 miles of Haleigh's home, with 45 sexual offenders in the area, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site.

"What we are concerned about is that we do have a sex predator that violated his probation and wasn't where he was supposed to be," Hardy said.

According to Hardy, authorities are investigating more than 1,300 tips involving the case of the missing 5-year-old.

Haleigh, a kindergartner, was reported missing from her home in Satsuma Feb. 10 and no trace of her has been found.

Meanwhile, Haleigh's school, Browning-Pearce Elementary, received support Thursday from an elementary school in Orange Park.

W.E. Cherry Elementary School Principal Angela Whiddon has had experience with similar tragedies, and believes in reaching out to nearby schools dealing with such situations.

"When you work in this environment, it's more than just a school - it's a family," Whiddon said. "When a tragedy happens your whole faculty and staff hurts."

According to Debra Buckles, Browning-Pearce principal, enough desserts were brought over by the Cherry staff to feed the faculty at Haleigh's school.

"I just thought it was a wonderful gesture on their part," Buckles said.

Cherry has supported many schools that have faced tragedy through the donation of lunch or desserts, which are made possible by donations from teachers at the school.

Whiddon said it is important for schools to support each other.

"Especially for a small community - the whole community hurts," Whiddon said. "You lean on each other and it's nice to have outside support. It's just what we do."

Additional support has been approved by Haleigh's family through the purchase of buttons and T-shirts displaying Haleigh's picture. The items are made by and can be bought from Watts Funeral Home. Proceeds will go to Haleigh's family.

[Admin]

Girlfriend talks with investigators again in Haleigh case

Lise Fisher
Gainesville Sun
February 20, 2009

PALATKA - The father of a missing Putnam County 5-year-old pleaded for her safe return Thursday - the same day investigators confirmed they had again spoken with his girlfriend about the child's disappearance.

Misty Croslin, 17, was at the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and would be returning home, said Sheriff Jeff Hardy during a press conference Thursday afternoon. Hardy wouldn't discuss why Croslin was with officers, except that investigators continue to re-interview people and conduct polygraphs in the case of missing Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings.

Croslin said she discovered the Satsuma girl missing from their home at about 3 a.m. on Feb. 10.

With no proof the child wandered away in the night, investigators say they are treating her disappearance as a possible abduction. But they have named no persons of interest in the case and offered little detail about their investigation.

Meantime, officers arrested a registered sexual predator Thursday who had been living within a mile of Haleigh's home but said they had no information tying him to the girl's disappearance.

Timothy Randolph Loucakis, 50, who wears a GPS tracking device, was not at his home Wednesday night and violated his curfew, said Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy. The same device also showed Loucakis was not in the area of Haleigh's home the night of her disappearance.

Loucakis was questioned hours after Haleigh was reported missing and allowed his home to be searched. Hardy said a search team will be checking the area he went to when he violated his curfew last night.

Loucakis is one of 44 sexual offenders in the area who have been interviewed by law enforcement officials.

Much of the attention, however, has been focused this week on Croslin and her version of events that night. Officers confirmed they had received a tip that Croslin was not at home with Haleigh and her brother when she said she was.

But investigators won't say if they've discredited that information or its significance in relation to approximately 1,300 tips they've received.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Haleigh's father said he believed Croslin. "I believe she's telling the truth," he said.

Cummings said he doesn't have enemies and didn't know where people were getting information such as another story that surfaced this week that said he had been involved in a fight with someone over a gun shortly before Haleigh disappeared.

The sheriff acknowledged investigators have been in touch with a relative of Croslin's out of Tennessee who apparently had been visiting her. Hardy wouldn't confirm further details about the person.

Investigators also have seized a vehicle in connection with the case but wouldn't provide details about the kind of vehicle or who owns it.

A fund also has been started for Haleigh and her family. Donations can be made by check, marked to the Haleigh Cummings Donation Fund, at Bank of America branches. Watts Funeral Home in San Mateo also is selling shirts and buttons with contributions from the proceeds going to the fund. The funeral home, located off of U.S. 17, can be reached at (386) 328-1414.

[Admin]

Man in Tennessee questioned about missing 5 year old

Fox 35 Orlando
February 20, 2009

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla.-- The Putnam County Sheriff's Department questioned a man in Tennessee about the disappearance of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings.

Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy said the man questioned is a relative of Misty Croslin. Croslin is Haleigh's father's 17-year-old girlfriend. She was supposed to be watching Haleigh at the time of the girl's disappearance.

The Sheriff's department would not reveal what kind of relative the man is to Croslin.

Haleigh's paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves, said Croslin's cousin visited Putnam County days before Haleigh's disappearance. Neves said the cousin and Haleigh's dad, Ronald Cummings, got into a fight about a gun during that visit. She also said the cousin left town the same day Haleigh disappeared.

Ronald Cummings denies that fight ever happened.

"There was no fight with no cousin over a gun," said Ronald Cummings.

Someone spotted a girl they thought was Haleigh in Croslin's cousin's home state- Tennessee. The spotting was in a Knoxville Carrabba's Restaurant parking lot Sunday at 2 p.m. The Knoxville Police department said that person called them and said they spotted Haleigh in a red, Toyota RAV4. The caller said she was with a white man and white woman and they looked like they were trying to shield the girl's face.

Knoxville police responded, but never found anyone matching the description.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement seized a vehicle as evidence in this case, but they will not describe it.

Haleigh Cummings disappeared from her bedroom February 9. She has blond hair, brown eyes and a birthmark near her left ear.

Friday an anonymous donor helped raise the reward for the child’s safe return to $20,000.

[Admin]

Through exhaustion and frustration, hope remains for Haleigh to be found

Josh Salman
Florida Times-Union
February 23, 2009

Eleven days have passed since 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings went missing, and the rural community of Satsuma is beginning to get quiet.

There were a couple of searches during the past couple of days, but nothing like when Haleigh first went missing.

Signs, photos and prayers can still be seen throughout the town, but the search process is beginning to exhaust the community.

Yet there’s still hope.

“As long as we believe and hope Haleigh is alive, we’re going to look for live Haleigh,” said Capt. Dick Schauland with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

He said police conducted two searches in Putnam County on Thursday — one about 200 yards south of Satsuma on U.S. 17 and the other in the area of a sexual predator arrested Wednesday for breaking curfew. Neither search produced positive results.

“We are thoroughly convinced that he [the arrested predator] was not involved in this, but we would be remiss if we didn’t search the area,” he said.

Authorities have received about 1,300 tips regarding Haleigh, who vanished on Feb. 10 from the home she shared with her father, Robert Cummings, his girlfriend and Haleigh’s younger brother.

One of those tips came from Tennessee, where a possible sighting of a girl matching Haleigh’s description was reported late Thursday night.

It’s the second potential tie to Tennessee in the past week.

Misty Croslin, the 17-year-old girlfriend of Haleigh’s father, said she had a cousin visiting from Tennessee for two weeks.

Teresa Neves, Haleigh’s grandmother, said on Friday that the cousin tried to steal a gun from the Cummings’ home, leading to an argument between him and Croslin.

The cousin left the home and returned to Tennessee the same morning Haleigh went missing.

“I felt like he was someone worth looking into, so I told the investigators,” Neves said. “He’s not part of my family. I don’t even know his name. But I hope that was her [in Tennessee], at least I would know she was eating well.”

Police confirmed that Croslin’s relative was in town and is now back in Tennessee, but wouldn’t say whether he was suspect.

Croslin said the man “messed with her” as a child, but didn’t think he was listed as a sex offender.

“If we would have had any idea, he wouldn’t have been around Haleigh,” Neves said. “He did not carry a sign saying ‘I’m a sexual offender, I’m going to steal your child.’ He came to our home as a relative.”

Cummings declined to speak with the media Friday. Neves said he was having a bad day and was tired from the search process.

Crystal Cummings, Haleigh’s aunt, thanked the community for everything and said she’s confident Haleigh will eventually be returned home.

“We will not give up hope or stop praying until she’s found,” she said.

[Admin]

Haleigh's relatives keep story in forefront

Karen Voyles
Gainesville Sun
February 21, 2009

PALATKA - As the 11th day of the search for Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings wound down, family members of the missing 5-year-old looked for ways to keep her story in the public's mind.

Near Haleigh's home in Satsuma, the family released more details about the girl's appearance and some photographs taken of her in December.

Teresa Neves, Haleigh's paternal grandmother, said they don't want the public to lose sight of this missing child.

"Put yourself in our shoes," said Haleigh's uncle, Andy Sheffield. "If this was your child, you would want people to keep looking."

As for the new details, family members said Haleigh has two brown birth marks: the larger one is on her left cheekbone and a smaller one is on the right side of her face, just above the jaw.

Also, she has strawberry blond hair with hints of red in it, not just blond hair.

Family members said her fingers and toes are chubbier than those of other children her size and age, and her left eye is a "lazy eye."

Law enforcement officers were tight-lipped during a 3 p.m. press conference in Satsuma.

Dominick Pape, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent in charge, confirmed that many friends and relatives have been interviewed.

He acknowledged there were many rumors about the friends and relatives.

He had no comment on them.

"Law enforcement does not want to embarrass any relatives in this investigation," Pape said. "The real story is the recovery of Haleigh."

In a televised press conference Friday afternoon, Haleigh's paternal grandmother discussed a man from Tennessee named "Joe" - a cousin of her son's girlfriend - who had been at the mobile home where the girl lived.

However, Neves, the grandmother, said she had not met the man and did not know anything about him.

Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy acknowledged Thursday that investigators have been in touch with this relative of Misty Croslin.

"You trust your friends and family to bring in people you can trust," Neves said.

Channel 4 WJXT news reported that family members said the cousin visited the home on Monday, Feb. 9, and left hours before family members said Haleigh disappeared.

Family members say Haleigh vanished from her father's mobile home in Satsuma during the night of Feb. 9.

Law enforcement officers, including nine deputies and two K-9 units from Marion County, searched two areas on Friday, following up on leads.

Anyone with information can call a tips line at 888-227-TIPS.

[Admin]

Police run down tips in Haleigh case

Cindy Swirko
Gainesville Sun
February 22, 2009

SATSUMA - The search for Haleigh Cummings was scaled back Saturday, but investigators continued to run down leads in hopes that one will take them to the 5-year-old who family members say was last seen Feb. 9 in her home.

A few volunteers searched near the Satsuma home in which Haleigh lived with her father, Ronald Cummings, and his girlfriend, Misty Croslin.

Putnam County Sheriff's Capt. Dick Schauland said the department had no organized searches Saturday.

Schauland added that a cousin of Croslin who lives in Tennessee but had recently visited the area is not a suspect or "person of interest" in the case.

"We got a lead about him early on and interviewed him. He is not a suspect," Schauland said. "At the moment, we have no searches. We are following up on leads. The investigation is going on."

Schauland added that no searches were planned for today, but added that could change depending on any leads that might come in.

A few individuals searched on their own, stopping by an area down the street from the Cummings home where members of Ronald Cummings' family have gathered since the case began.

Members of the Christian Motorcycle Association based in Putnam County also stopped by to pray with family members for Haleigh's return.

"We're just here to lend support," said member Barbara Rains. "We want to pray with them."

Barbie Squires, Haleigh's paternal great-grandmother, said the family plans to remain camped at the site as long as the property owner allows it or until Haleigh is found.

Squires said the ordeal is wearing on the family, including Haleigh's 3-year-old brother Ronnie Jr., who was also in the house when family members say Haleigh disappeared.

"He's not doing well at all. He realizes what's going on," Squires said. "Today he went to his granny's house and she gave him a soda. He was pouring it in a glass. She asked him why and he said he was pouring half of it for his sister."

Cummings said he has not worked since Haleigh vanished.

Squires said an account - the Haleigh Cummings Family Relief Fund - has been established at Bank of America.

A reward of up to $20,000 is being offered in the case. Anyone with information can call a tips line at 888-227-TIPS.

Croslin, 17, said she discovered Haleigh missing about 3 a.m. Feb. 9 when she awoke to use the bathroom. Haleigh had been sleeping in one of two beds in the master bedroom, Croslin said.

Schauland said in a press conference Saturday that 4,786 man hours have been spent by law enforcement on the ground, air and water searches, while sheriff's investigators have spent 1,626 hours investigating leads. Volunteer search hours total more than 4,000.

The number of leads is now up to 1,600.

"Some of the leads end up going nowhere, but you have to run them down," Schauland said. "Somewhere along the line is going to be the tip that will lead us to her. Sooner or later we are going to find it."

[Admin]

Geraldo Rivera ordered to leave scene of Cummings family interview

Deidre Conner
St. Augustine Record
February 23, 2009

No new information about Haleigh Cummings' whereabouts materialized on Sunday.

But as the search for the missing Putnam County girl closed out its 13th day, the case took a surreal turn as her family's conflict became fodder for national television.

It all started Saturday afternoon, when police responded to a disturbance at the trailer park where Haleigh's mother's family and father's family are camped out at opposite ends of the road.


The disturbance began after Geraldo Rivera, anchor of the Fox News Channel's "Geraldo at Large," accosted Ronald Cummings, Haleigh's father, at the camper where he has been living. It ended with a trespass warning for Rivera, and shortly thereafter, the broadcast of his contentious interview.

Geraldo asked him about allegations that he used illegal drugs, was physically and verbally abusive of Sheffield -- most of them detailed in a Thursday story in the Times-Union -- which he denied.

Cummings got even more upset when Rivera said he'd been told by members of Haleigh's mother's family that Cummings hit the child and has said he is 75 percent sure he knows who has her. Shortly thereafter, family members ran Rivera and his crew off the property.

Putnam County Sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene later, and issued Rivera the trespass warning at the request of the two property owners on whose land the Cummings family is camping while their trailer remains closed off as a crime scene. A trespass warning means Rivera would be arrested if he came back onto the property. Rivera told deputies he understood and stated he would not come back to the address, but declined to sign the trespass warning, according to a sheriff's office report.

A Fox News spokeswoman provided partial transcripts of the interviews, but said she was unable to make anyone from the show available for comment on the run-in.

In Rivera's later interview with Sheffield and her mother, she repeated those allegations, but said she still believes that Cummings loves Haleigh.

On Sunday, neither parent was speaking to the media. Haleigh's paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves, issued yet another plea for people nationwide to keep an eye out for her granddaughter.

Official police searches of that area have stilled, but detectives from the Putnam County Sheriff's Office are still tracking down leads, said Capt. Dick Schauland.

Still, groups of volunteers from as far away as Brunswick, Ga. continued to look for the girl in the nearby area. And well-wishers still flowed into the two campgrounds to lend support, bringing everything from breakfast burritos to stuffed animals to hand-penned prayers for Haleigh's safe return.

Haleigh disappeared on Feb. 10 from the home of Cummings, who had official custody, and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Misty Croslin, who has been questioned several times by detectives as the last person to see her. Croslin said she put Haleigh and her then-3-year-old brother to bed, and when she awoke about 3 a.m., the little girl was gone.

[Admin]

1,600 Leads in Missing Florida Girl's Disappearance

Fox News
February 23, 2009

Authorities are combing through 1,600 possible leads in the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings, but have so far found no trace of the Florida 5-year-old.

About 140 officers searched two separate locations on Friday, but found nothing significant to the investigation, MyFOXOrlando.com reported Monday.

The family of Haleigh, who apparently vanished while she was sleeping on Feb. 9, said they were afraid she was taken by a pedophile cousin.

The girl's mother and paternal grandmother said Friday the man in question is a cousin of Misty Croslin, the teenage girlfriend of Ronald Cummings.

Police are questioning the cousin, who is from Tennessee and was visiting when Haleigh disappeared before dawn Feb. 10, according to MyFOXOrlando.com.

"What we've been told is that he's a sexual pedophile," said Haleigh's mother Crystal Sheffield. The child's grandmother, Teresa Neves, said Croslin described him as a "jerk" and she was worried.

"I couldn't tell you anything about him," a distraught Neves told reporters Friday, adding that she only knew of the cousin by his first name Joe. "I can't tell you how they could have taken her from a family that absolutely adores her."

Neves said "Joe" and Ronald Cummings got into a fight over a gun during his visit, and that the cousin left town the same day Haleigh disappeared.

But Cummings denies that fight ever happened.

"There was no fight with no cousin over a gun," he told MyFOXOrlando.com.

In a contentious, exclusive interview outside his Florida home, Ronald Cummings blasted allegations by the girl's mother that he abused her when she was pregnant and told FOX News "never, ever have I ever hit my child."

"Me and my child have an agreement. Daddy, daughter. She has been spanked on her behind the way DCF (Florida Department of Children and Families) says that you can take care of disciplining your children," Cummings told FOX News' Geraldo Rivera.

Cummings also condemned new allegations that he hit Haleigh's mom Crystal while she was pregnant, saying friends and family members making the accusations are 'absolutely lying' and threatening criminal charges against them.

Responding to sources who told Rivera that Cummings had told them he was 75 percent sure who kidnapped Haleigh, the missing girl's father said, "There is no way — I do not know who took Haleigh. If I had — if I had, uh, five percent of where Haleigh was at, I would be there now and not here

Sheffield told FOX News on Saturday that Cummings had been abusive to her when she first got pregnant.

"He punched me in the back of the head and before then, he was verbal," she said. "I mean he was just very abusive."

Sheffield also said she was told by her cousin of an incident where Cummings apparently hit Haleigh after the child bumped into him or smarted off to him.

"She said he just backhanded her. And she fell flat on her face on the porch," Sheffield said.

The family's plea for the child's return came as news emerged about a tip from Tennessee called in by a woman claiming to have seen a man in a restaurant with a little girl resembling Haleigh, according to MyFOXOrlando.com.

The tipster, who reportedly phoned Knoxville detectives Sunday, said the man she saw was in a red Toyota RAV4 and appeared to be trying to shield the little girl with him.

Knoxville police said they didn't locate the car but turned the information over to Florida authorities on the case, according to MyFOXOrlando.com.

Putnam County investigators said they impounded a car in the case, but they wouldn't give a description of the vehicle, the station reported.

On Thursday a sexual predator was arrested near the trailer home where Haleigh lives with 24-year-old Cummings, 17-year-old Croslin and Haleigh's little brother Junior.

Police said Timothy R. Loucakis was brought in on charges unrelated to the missing child.

"Word is getting out that we have a sexual predator in custody, and we do, but we have no reason to link it to Haleigh," said Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy. He said Loucakis missed his curfew, but GPS tracking showed him "within his home zone" — and not near Haleigh — when she reportedly vanished.

Detectives are still "not excluding anybody" as a suspect in the girl's disappearance, Hardy said.

Loucakis was convicted of "promoting a sexual performance by a child" in May of 2001 and is currently listed as a sexual predator, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site.

"What we're concerned about was he wasn't where he was supposed to be," Hardy said.

On Friday, police announced that the reward for information leading to Haleigh had risen to $20,000 but they offered no other details of their progress in solving the mystery.

Authorities have been investigating a tip that casts doubt on a story told by Croslin that she was home when she discovered the child missing. The source said she wasn't in the trailer when Haleigh vanished last Tuesday. Investigators say they're looking into the report.

They're also studying inconsistencies in descriptions of what the girl was last seen wearing. Croslin told them Haleigh had a pink shirt on the night she vanished, but police said this week they have that item of clothing in their possession.

The girlfriend has also reportedly told different stories to cops and the media about the timing of her discovery that Haleigh was gone and where she and the child were that night.

Cummings and Croslin have both taken lie detector tests. They told FOX News they "passed" the polygraphs. Police haven't released the results.

The family has been at the center of investigations done by the state child welfare agency, but details of those cases haven't been disclosed because of confidentiality laws.

Neves said her son would never hurt Haleigh and pleaded Friday for her granddaughter's kidnapper to bring her home.

"I want to say to my baby, we love you sweetheart, and we will find you," she said through tears.