http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-02-14/story/lonely_little_brother_waiting_for_haleighLonely little brother waiting for HaleighDeputies, volunteers search region; 'The world is a suspect,' sheriff says
By Bridget Murphy Story updated at 1:01 AM on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 EMAIL PRINT BLOG THIS COMMENT
SATSUMA - Ronald Cummings Jr. will turn 4 years old Sunday, a birthday his family isn't sure they'll remind him about.
Valentine's Day may not mean much to a tyke like him, but today's holiday arrived early Friday morning with someone from his sister's school dropping off candy and gifts from her classmates.
"We love you Haleigh," said a card all her kindergarten classmates signed.
But how do you explain to a little boy why his 5-year-old sister wasn't home to get the gifts? How do you tell him that police suspect someone abducted Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings while the siblings were supposed to be snug in bed?
"When he's here by himself, he's a little bit lonely," his paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves, said Friday of the little boy their family calls "Junior."
"We just tell him that Haleigh's not here right now. We're not going to do doom and gloom."
But there was news later Friday that offered some hope, with authorities announcing on the fourth day of their investigation they had found new evidence. It happened after more than 100 civilian volunteers teamed with police to broaden the search for Haleigh in the thick woods around her family's Green Lane mobile home near the banks of the St. Johns River.
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office wouldn't give details about the evidence or where it was found, with Capt. Steve Rose describing the findings as "items of interest." Authorities wouldn't say if the discovery hinted that Haleigh was alive.
But they said state crime lab personnel have made processing all the evidence in the abduction case their first priority.
Friday they were continuing to interview and re-interview Haleigh's family members and others they didn't identify. They said they had finished speaking with the registered sex offenders who live within 5 miles of the mobile home park in the Hermit's Cove area.
Sheriff Jeff Hardy said Friday morning that investigators hadn't zeroed in on any suspects.
"At this time, the world is a suspect and we really haven't excluded anybody," he said.
The sheriff also said law enforcement officials have chased roughly 350 leads so far.
No comment from sheriff
Hardy wouldn't comment when asked about an inconsistency that emerged Thursday in the account of the 17-year-old girlfriend of Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings.
Misty Croslin first reported that Haleigh had been in bed with her before she woke and found her gone about 3 a.m. as Cummings arrived home. On Thursday, she told reporters they were in separate beds.
She told the Times-Union on Friday that she did change her story "a little bit" because she got mixed up. There is another bed in the same room that Haleigh was sleeping in, according to Neves, Haleigh's grandmother.
Neves said the family is standing by Croslin and doesn't believe she would do Haleigh any harm. Croslin said officials advised her not to speak with the media anymore. Cummings, 25, said he and his girlfriend took lie-detector tests and believes they passed. Investigators haven't confirmed the results.
Authoritiesregularly checked in on Cummings and his family Friday, taking him at one point to meet members of Texas EquuSearch, a volunteer search group.
On Friday morning they sent 10 teams of searchers into the woods on horses, all-terrain vehicles and on foot to look for Haleigh. By day's end, Cummings was wearing a T-shirt like one many wore. "Lost is not alone," it read.
Haleigh's father and her mother, Crystal Sheffield, said they were pleased by the support of volunteers. Cummings has had custody of both Haleigh and Junior.
Family appreciates help
"I think it's wonderful that everybody's helping," said Sheffield, 23, while gathering with her family outside the mobile home park's fence.
That was one of the places where a memorial to Haleigh went up. Signs from family also appealed to anyone who passed by to please bring their baby home.
Volunteers who enlisted for that cause included horseback riders Wanda Cassidy, 58, of Green Cove Springs and Tracy Mitchell, 51, of Jacksonville's Westside.
The friends brought their horses to the area to search the grounds with other volunteers from Texas EquuSearch. The group has assisted authorities with cases like the disappearance of teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba and slain Orlando girl Caylee Anthony.
"I was so excited to be able to do something," Cassidy said before shoving off. "You hear about these things but you don't know what you can do."
Neves said her son and the rest of the family would hold a candlelight vigil Friday night, as they have every night since Haleigh disappeared.
She and her sister Tina Belcher, Haleigh's aunt, smiled when they looked at Thursday night's candles still burning below a table full of Valentines and teddy bears and photos. There also was a packet of fruit chews someone left amid the tribute for Haleigh.
That someone was Junior, Belcher said, explaining how her nephew insisted on buying his sister a treat when she took him into a convenience store.
"We've got to get one for Sissy," the almost-4-year-old told his aunt about the fruit chews. "We'll give her the candy when she gets home."
