MEDIA:

[Blonde]

WFTV Viewer Donates Camper To Haleigh's Father

Friday, February 20, 2009 – updated: 7:04 am EST February 20, 2009

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- An Eyewitness News viewer decided to donate a camper to Haleigh's father, who is presently living in a tent, while investigators search for the little girl.The camper will be arriving Friday for Ronald Cummings to live in. Cummings moved into the tent when his home became a crime scene.
FAMILY MEMBERS LIVING IN TENT DURING SEARCHEyewitness News spoke with Haleigh's family Thursday about how they are coping. They are living in a tent, about 15-by-15. Coolers are full of water and drinks and inside is where the family is living, because their mobile home down the street is still a crime scene.New information was released Thursday about the pink shirt Haleigh was last reported wearing. Ronald Cummings' grandmother, Annette Sykes, told Eyewitness News earlier this week deputies allowed Misty Croslin back inside the mobile home where Haleigh was abducted.At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Ronald Cummings pleaded for his daughter's safe return. "Yes, I do have a message for whoever has taken Haleigh. I would ask that you please, please bring my daughter home. She's not yours, not your property. She's not something that you just take and say, 'It's mine.' This is my daughter, this is blood and I would like to have my daughter back please. Please bring my daughter home," he pleaded.Sykes said the 17-year-old girlfriend found the pink shirt in the home, but the sheriff's office won't confirm where it was found. Meanwhile, the family is still camped out in the neighborhood."It's not home, but it's good. I mean it's dry, basically, it's out of the sun," Sykes said.But on a rainy Thursday in Putnam County, water poured through the cracks of a tent donated by a funeral home. The fire department donated a propane tank to keep them warm on cool nights and the family is taking shifts sleeping on mattresses."Waiting on Haleigh to come home. This is as close to the house as we can get really and the gentleman here was nice enough to let us put this up in his yard," Sykes said.That gentleman is also allowing Haleigh's family to run cable to the tent so they can watch a big, color, flat screen TV. There's also food, drinks, and chairs for guests.As for the investigation into Haleigh's whereabouts, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office is still following up on more than 1,300leads. Haleigh's great grandmother said she'll be sleeping under the stars until the little girl comes home."We'll be right here waiting," she said.Haleigh's little brother, Junior, is sleeping at a family home about six miles away.

http://www.wftv.com/news/18757422/detail.html#-

[Blonde]

Deputies question girlfriend of Haleigh's father

Friday, February 20, 2009


Haleigh Cummings has been missing since Feb. 9.

SATSUMA -- At an afternoon press conference Thursday, investigators revealed they've arrested a sexual predator who lives near the home of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings.

Timothy Loucakis was arrested for curfew violation.
Deputies said he was home last Monday night when Haleigh disappeared. They wanted to question him anyway, but said they have no reason to believe he may be involved in the case.
Deputies also said they are interviewing Misty Croslin, 17, the girlfriend of Haleigh's father Ronald Cummings.

They said, at this point, no one is being ruled out as a suspect.
As authorities continue their exhaustive search for the missing 5-year-old, deputies say reward money is pouring in to find the little girl.
Investigators say they've received over 1,200 tips in this case, including one saying Croslin was not home at the time of Haleigh's disappearance.
At a Wednesday press conference, investigators said they put a boat on the St. Johns River and have processed a vehicle, but they would not give details.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office said $16,000 reward is being offered in the case, including $10,000 from an anonymous donor, $5,000 from a foundation and $1,000 from CrimeStoppers.
Capt. Dick Schauland from the sheriff's office said no ground searches are scheduled at this point. However, ground crews are ready should the need arise.
On Tuesday, investigators conducted spot searches Tuesday. So far, all of the leads have come up short.
That same day, deputies said they slightly changed the Amber Alert out for Haleigh, saying she wasn't wearing a pink shirt when she vanished as first thought.
Several people have taken polygraph tests, including Ronald Cummings and Croslin. Croslin was the last person to see Haleigh before she disappeared.
Ronald Cummings told deputies he left his daughter and son in bed in Croslin's care. Croslin said when she got out of bed, she could not find Haleigh.
Investigators would not release information about what the polygraph tests showed, or comment on whether they still believe Croslin is telling the truth.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2...20/439757.html

[Blonde]

Girlfriend's Cousin Under Investigation In Haleigh Case

Friday, February 20, 2009 – updated: 10:02 am EST February 20, 2009

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- The Putnam County Sherriff's Office says that the FBI is investigating Misty Croslin's cousin. Eyewitness News learned Thursday that Misty Croslin's cousin, known as "Joe" was in town the night Haleigh disappeared.There are now questions about what role Joe may have played in the disappearance. After the little girl vanished, he took off to Tennessee.WFTV reporter Mark Boyle briefly spoke with Misty Croslin about her cousin (watch it)."You said you don't trust him, why?" asked Boyle.
RAW VIDEO: Misty Croslin Talks To WFTV
THE TENT: See Tent Family Is Living In
"I just don't trust him," she said. "He's gotten into a lot of trouble."Eyewitness News has confirmed that a woman called 911 in Knoxville, Tennessee a few days ago to report a possible Haliegh sighting. The woman told police she saw a man shielding a little girl's face who looked like Haleigh while getting into an SUV.There were also reports that Croslin's cousin and Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, got into some type of argument hours before the 5-year-old disappeared.Eyewitness News asked Cummings about the reported argument."There was no fight with a cousin over a gun. I don't know where people are getting their information from, but people say a lot of things and they don't always know what they are talking about," he said.At noon Thursday, 17-year-old Misty Croslin was escorted to a car with two detectives. She had to put out her smoke before getting into the backseat, but didn't answer any questions.Minutes later, her boyfriend, Ronald Cummings, spoke out about her (watch it)."I don't have any suspicions of anybody," Ronald said of Misty. "Anybody could have done anything. Obviously, if I knew what was going on, I would have my daughter."

http://www.wftv.com/news/18757844/detail.html#-

[Blonde]

Girlfriend's cousin Joe had visited Haleigh's home
Last Modified: Friday, February 20, 2009 at 1:41 p.m.

In a televised press conference Friday afternoon, the paternal grandmother of a missing 5-year-old Putnam County girl 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, Teresa Neves 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's out of Tennessee who apparently had been visiting her.

"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 and on Monday and left hours before Haleigh disappeared.

On Friday morning, Croslin, the 17-year-old girlfriend who was watching over Haleigh Cummings before she went missing, denied reports of not being home at the time.

She told NBC's "Today Show" that she was home and called police when she realized the girl was not there. She said "it was not a long period of time" after she looked around the house and called out for Haleigh when she contacted authorities.

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

Haleigh vanished from her father's mobile home in Satsuma during the night of Monday, Feb. 9.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...Haleigh-s-home

[Blonde]

Missing Florida Girl's Family: Pedophile Cousin Took Haleigh Cummings

The family of a little Florida girl who apparently vanished while she was sleeping is afraid she was taken by a pedophile cousin.

The mother and paternal grandmother of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings said Friday the man in question is a cousin of Misty Croslin, the teenaged girlfriend of Haleigh's father 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."

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 her 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 the father's teenaged girlfriend 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.



http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,497744,00.html

[Blonde]

Haleigh Cummings is Missing: The Misty Croslin Connection

Speculation Runs Wild, but Everything Seems to Connect to Misty Croslin

February 20, 2009

There are always those moments in an investigation where something does not seem quite right. Often some tell-tale sign, something unobtrusive, begins to nag at one's thoughts. Such is the case with the Haleigh Cummings abduction. And the not-quite-right part seems to coalesce around the father's 17-year-old girlfriend, Misty Croslin.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office has interviewed her multiple times. This, of course, is only normal since she was the last person to see Haleigh Cummings before the 5-year-old disappeared. But her stories are inconsistent. They have been from the start.

Misty Croslin claims to have last seen Haleigh Cummings at 10 p.m. February 9 when she herself went to bed. Croslin was watching the children for her boyfriend, Ronald Cummings, while he was at work. They all slept in the same room together.

Croslin also claims that early in the morning, around 3 a.m., she awoke to go to the bathroom, only to notice that Haleigh Cummings was no longer in her bed.

She then found the back door open. When boyfriend Ronald Cummings arrived home at 3:25 a.m., they called the police.

Misty Croslin originally told the police that she was asleep in the same bed with Haleigh. She later changed her story. She said that she was in the same bed as Haleigh's little brother, Ronald Cummings Jr., who is 4 years old, and that Haleigh was in the bed next to her.

Fox News and "America's Most Wanted" correspondent Michelle Sigona have reported that several people have told investigators that they saw Misty Croslin out in the neighborhood that night, that she was not at the mobile home the entire time that night.

What does any of this mean? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps something that might be damaging to Misty Croslin, but not especially helpful to the investigation. Or perhaps something not so damaging to Croslin but something she does not want to mention for an unknown reason. Or perhaps it is something both damning to Croslin and helpful to the investigation.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...sty.html?cat=8

[Blonde]

New Pictures and Stories About Little Haleigh

SATSUMA, FL -- Pictures of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings are posted all over Putnam County. The are on "Missing Child" flyers. Haleigh disappeared from her Satsuma home February 9th.

Friday, Haleigh's family brought out more photographs of the little girl for the media.

And every photograph tells a story.

Like the one of Haleigh as a flower girl in her aunt's wedding in December.

The strawberry blond child in a royal blue dress is bent over, picking up the flower petals.

Haleigh's aunt, Crystal Cummings said, "As my daughter and Haleigh were dropping the flowers, Haleigh would pick the petals up! She thought she needed to pick them up. My daughter said 'No. You have to drop them.' It was really cute."

Then there's a photo of Haleigh with a smile from ear-to-ear. She's holding a brand new camera she received as a gift.

Haleigh's grandmother, Teresa Neves, remembered Haleigh found her own Christmas gift before Christmas. So Neves tricked her and told her it was for someone else.

Neves grinned and shook her head and said, "When she opened it up for Christmas, she started jumping ten feet high. Up and down and up and down. And then she came up to me and said, 'Grandma, you lied to me.' She was the most excited over this little camera!"

There is also a series of photos of Haleigh's first day of school.

Her father, Ronald Cummings is walking with Haleigh to the bus stop in the pictures.

Haleigh's aunt, Crystal Cummings said Haleigh was so excited to start school. A photo shows Haleigh walking ahead of her father.

But once the school bus arrived, Haleigh got nervous and started to push her father away from the bus because she didn't want to get on it.

Then there's her school portrait. It's the one on the flyers around the county. Haleigh dons a pink hair bow and a pink top with a butterfly embroidered on the front.

Neves said Misty Croslin, Haleigh's father's girlfriend dressed Haleigh that day.

Neves laughed and said, "Unfortunately Misty let her pick what she wanted to wear which meant there were 50 outfits on the floor every day!"

The laughter heard surrounding these stories Friday afternoon from Haleigh's family is rare. Much of the past two weeks has been filled with tears and worry over the missing little girl.

But the stories about the child do make people smile. Her family wants Haleigh back, and they want to take more pictures of her.



http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...131857&catid=3

[cookie]

heartbreaking really heartbreaking....

[Blonde]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3jzQi6dfLM

[cookie]

thanks for that youtube Blonde and the other info...

[Blonde]

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090221/ARTICLES/902210953/1002?Title=Cousin-in-Tennessee-not-a-suspect-in-Haleigh-s-disappearance

Cousin in Tennessee not a suspect in Haleigh's disappearance

By Cindy Swirko
Staff writer


Published: Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 5:26 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 5:26 p.m.

SATSUMA -- The search for Haleigh Cummings was scaled back Saturday, but investigators continued to run down leads in hoped 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 on 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 Sunday 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 on 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.”

Contact Cindy Swirko at 374-5024 or at

[Blonde]

2005 Documents Claim Haleigh Cummings Wandered Off    Reported by: Kristen Cosby
Email: kcosby@tvjaxfl.com
Last Update: 2/13 12:04 pm

Print Story | Email Story          
   Haleigh Cummings Court Documents 1 (1.4MB)
   Haleigh Cummings Court Documents 2 (366.0KB)
 


SATSUMA, Fla.-- A document filed by the mother of missing girl Haleigh Cummings claims she wandered off when she was in her father's care in 2005.

The document is a "Motion for Rehearing and Objection to Findings of Magistrate." It was filed by Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, in January 2006. Sheffield filed it after Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, was granted primary custody by a judge in December 2005.

The motion says "During or about the month of July 2005, Ronald failed to keep control of the toddler Haleigh while she was in his care, and allowed her to wander off. The child was found and rescued by the mother, floating face down in the canal behind the house. The mother rescued and revived the child."

CBS47/FOX30 asked Sheffield about the incident Wednesday. She said she was outside Ronald's mother's house putting Haleigh's younger brother, Ronald Cummings Jr., in his car seat. She claimed Ronald Cummings Sr. was responsible for Haleigh. Sheffield said she asked Ronald where Haleigh was and he didn't know. She claims she soon found Haleigh in the canal.

Sheffield never called police about this incident and there is no other record of it taking place. A judge has yet to change Ronald's primary custody status.

According to the "Report and Recommendation of the General Magistrate" obtained by CBS47/FOX30 at the Putnam County Courthouse, a judge granted primary custody to Ronald after Sheffield failed to appear at the custody hearing.

Ronald told the judge Haleigh has Turner Syndrome and needs hormone treatments by an endocrinologist. He said Sheffield frequently failed to take Haleigh to her doctors appointments.

Haleigh's father also told the judge Sheffield had a drug problem and was unemployed.

Sheffield was granted visitation rights with both of her children. She can see them every other weekend and on certain holidays. The judge also ordered her to pay child support to Ronald.

Haleigh's father returned home from work 3 a.m. Monday and discovered his daughter disappeared from her bed. Police issued an Amber Alert for her a few hours later. Investigators believe she was abducted.

Copyright 2009 Newport Television LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.fox30online.com/content/topstories/story/2005-Documents-Claim-Haleigh-Cummings-Wandered-Off/ecfIOIQdpEyY0r9dGW3W-A.cspx

[Blonde]

Geraldo in Satsuma FL 2/21/09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9S-n825PJc

[pharlap]

Geraldo Rivera Fox
anchor banned from camp of missing girl's father
Geraldo Rivera was issued a trespass warning on Saturday.....

Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera was issued a trespass warning after a contentious interview with the father of a missing Putnam County girl.

As the search for 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings entered its 13th day, the county was abuzz about the contentious interview with her father Saturday night with Rivera.

Cummings got 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.
 
More on link................
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-02-22/story/fox_anchor_banned_from_camp_of_missing_girls_father

[Blonde]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,498127,00.html



Missing Florida Girl's Dad: I 'Never' Hit My Child
Sunday , February 22, 2009

In a contentious, exclusive interview outside his Florida home, Ronald Cummings, the father of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings, blasted new abuse allegations 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 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 that told Rivera 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."

The family of Haleigh Cummings, who apparently vanished while she was sleeping, says they are afraid she was taken by a pedophile cousin.

The 5-year-old'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.

Click here for photos.

"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."

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.

Sheffield told FOX News on Saturday that Ronald 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.

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.[/b]

[Blonde]

Haleigh's family life unstable from start
Father's girlfriend provides more details about Haleigh’s disappearance
By Dana Treen
Story updated at 6:44 PM on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009

Anyone who has information on Haleigh's whereabouts or what happened to her can call (888) 277-9477 (277-TIPS).


SATSUMA — Misty Croslin said the accusation that she left Haleigh Cummings the night the 5-year-old disappeared is untrue.


Croslin, the 17-year-old girlfriend of Haleigh’s father, said she doesn’t know where the rumor started.


“I was there the whole night,” she told the Times-Union in an interview Wednesday where she shared several details about Haleigh’s disappearance.


It was the third time Croslin has been publicly questioned in the nine days since she called 911 on Feb. 10 to report Haleigh was missing.


As the national attention grows, she and Haleigh’s family have found themselves under more and more scrutiny. Their backgrounds show many of them have been under scrutiny before, including a custody dispute, drug use and brushes with the law, according to court records and interviews.


In the interview Wednesday, Croslin said Haleigh watched “Madagascar” and “AirBud” with her brother, then snuggled beneath a blanket in a pink Hannah Montana top. She reported Haleigh was wearing that top when she disappeared.


However, Croslin said she found the shirt on Monday, when she was allowed back inside the doublewide mobile home for the first time since the disappearance. She was there to discuss the layout of the mobile home with investigators and was looking for the clothes Haleigh wore her last day at school.


She then saw the Hannah Montana shirt in a laundry pile by the back door. “When I put her blanket on she had that shirt on,” Croslin told the Times-Union on Wednesday.


She said she has no idea how the shirt wound up there.


Investigators changed a statewide Amber Alert to remove the shirt as a clothing description.


Croslin said the children’s great-grandmother, her brother and an air-conditioning repairman were the only ones to visit the mobile home that day.


After eating, Croslin said the children watched movies before Haleigh went to bed about 8:15 p.m.


The children’s father, 25-year-old Ronald Cummings, was on an evening shift at PDM Bridge in Palatka and arrived home about the time Croslin was making the 911 call.


Since then, a team of investigators sifting through 1,200 calls and tips over nine days have sent boats into the St. Johns River and searchers into the scrub miles from where Haleigh went missing about 3 a.m. Feb. 10.


So far none has produced significant results, but some tips are being considered solid, authorities said Wednesday. They said they remain optimistic.


A vehicle was seized and processed, said Dominick Pape, chief of the Jacksonville office of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Pape would not release other information about the vehicle other than to say it was taken early in the investigation.


Croslin also told the Times-Union that the day Haleigh disappeared, she told authorities a cousin who had been staying in Crescent City for about a month went back to Tennessee. She said the cousin had “messed with” her sexually when she was a child but not been deemed a sexual offender.


The cousin had visited the mobile home she shared with Cummings but was told not to come back when a gun in the house turned up missing around the same time, she said.


As the investigation stretched on, a look at the family’s background shows some of the instabilities and conflicts that add to an already murky case.


Court records and interviews details brushes with the law involving Cummings as well as clashes over child custody with Crystal Sheffield, the biological mother of Haleigh and Ronald Jr.


Sheffield and Cummings never married, but she said the two were together between the times she was 14 and 19.


“I was 17 when I got pregnant with Haleigh,” said Sheffield, now 23.


Now living in Baker County, Sheffield had visitation every two weeks while Cummings had custody. Since her daughter’s disappearance, she and family members have set up a tent and shelter down the road from Cummings’ Green Lane mobile home.


Cummings, Croslin and their families are camped closer to the mobile home that still has not been turned back over to them by the Sheriff’s Office.


Cummings has had custody since 2005 when a magistrate said the children should live with him. He was employed and better able to provide health insurance to the children, the court said.


Sheffield said in the court record she had used cocaine a year before, a reason Cummings cited for wanting custody. He also said Haleigh had missed a dozen doctor’s appointments in the year before coming to live with him.


Sheffield has said Cummings was violent with her and court records show she once sought a protective order but then later asked that it be dismissed.


Cummings has said the fact that he has primary custody of the children shows he is a good parent.
But Cummings has had brushes with the law, including minor drug arrests, though most charges were dropped. In 2001 he was arrested after a man said he was threatened with a beating, according to court records.


Croslin said she met Cummings about six months ago when she was baby-sitting for a woman who had a child with Cummings.


Croslin said she was concerned the baby boy was not being cared for properly.


“I told him you need to get your son before something bad happens to him,” she said. Croslin said the two started talking. She was 16 at the time.


Her father, Hank Croslin Sr., told the Times-Union that Cummings told him he was 19 and later that he was 21.


Though Hank Croslin said he was angry at first about the lie, he said it is no longer an issue.


It is against Florida law for a person 24 or older to have relations with anyone 17 or younger, but investigators said they are not looking into the issue during the search for Haleigh. Find the little girl is their priority, they said.


The policy of the state Department of Children and Families also is to look first to the welfare of the children.
“If the children are being properly cared for and are not being abused, neglected or abandoned, then no action will be taken,” said department spokesman John Harrell.


He said the department has had “involvement” with the family in the past but could not under state confidentiality laws describe that interaction. Court records do show a review of the case over the custody issue.


For now, animosities have mostly been buried. At a prayer service for Haleigh on Tuesday, Misty Croslin, Ronald Cummings and Crystal Sheffield sat closely together at Dunns Creek Baptist Church, alternately holding Ronald Jr. as they hoped for the safe return of a brown-eyed, strawberry-blonde little girl.
 

dana.treen@jacksonville.com,
(904) 359-4091

[Blonde]

Fox anchor banned from camp of missing girl's father
Geraldo Rivera was issued a trespass warning on Saturday
By Deirdre Conner Story updated at 6:44 PM on Sunday, Feb. 22, 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. Read the transcript here.

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.

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-02-22/story/fox_anchor_banned_from_camp_of_missing_girls_father   

[Blonde]

Brother: Man in black grabbed Haleigh
Authorities 'following up on that lead'
By Jessie-Lynne Kerr
Story updated at 6:14 AM on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009

 
Five-year-old Haleigh Cummings has been missing since Feb. 10.
Related coverage


Did a man dressed in black sneak into the room where 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings was sleeping two weeks ago and steal her  from her bed? That’s what her brother, Ronald Cummings Jr., then 3, told investigators from a child protection team when they interviewed him in the first few days after his sister disappeared.


“The Sheriff’s Office is aware of what the little boy said and is following up on that lead,” Capt.  Dick Schauland told the Times-Union Monday night, “but we are not commenting on any of the interviews.”


The dramatic information was the talk of cable news shows Monday.


When asked if the information about the man in black came first from the children’s mother, Crystal Sheffield, Schauland said, “I honestly do not know.”


The Sheriff’s Office suspended the daily 3 p.m. news conferences Monday concerning the search for Haleigh.


Sheriff Jeff Hardy has determined that all information that can be disclosed has been, he said a statement sent by e-mail to the media at noon.


But that doesn’t mean any decrease in the intensity of the investigation, Schauland said.


“Our forces have not scaled back,” he said. Of the county’s 17 detectives, five are solely assigned to the Haleigh investigation, he said, and the other dozen work on it as needed. There also are four investigators from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and an undetermined number of FBI agents working the case, he said.


“They all are still running down the more than 1,600 leads we have received, but nothing has come up that justifies any type of massive ground or water search,” Schauland said.


Hardy said the return of Haleigh is the primary concern of all involved and when new information surfaces that can be disclosed, he will notify the media.


Schauland added, “The piece of information we need is out there somewhere and it is going to come in.”


Haleigh disappeared Feb. 10 from the home of her father, Ronald Cummings, 25, who had official custody, and his girlfriend, Misty Croslin, 17, who called 911 to report her missing. Croslin said she put Haleigh and her brother, then 3, to bed while Cummings was at work. When she awoke about 3 a.m., Haleigh was gone.

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/crime/2009-02-23/story/brother_man_in_black_grabbed_haleigh
jessie-lynne.kerr@jacksonville.com,
(904) 359-4374

[Blonde]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/18778590/detail.html

Investigator: We Are No Closer To Finding Haleigh

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009
UPDATED: 12:39 am EST February 24, 2009

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- Two weeks after 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings vanished from her Satsuma home in the middle of the night, investigators were still searching for the kindergartner and following up on 1,600 leads.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office said it has five detectives working on the case around the clock. On Monday, one investigator said they are no closer to finding Haleigh than they were when she first disappeared.

Haleigh was last seen at 10 p.m. Feb. 9, in bed at her home in the Hermet's Cove mobile home park where she lives with her father, his 17-year-old girlfriend and her younger brother.

Investigators were told the last person to see the 5-year-old was her father's girlfriend, Misty Croslin, who told investigators that she saw the girl in her bed at 10 p.m. She told police when she awoke at 3 a.m. on Tuesday to use the bathroom, Haleigh was missing and the back door of the home was open.

Over the past 14 days, detectives have questioned and re-questioned Haleigh's family members and anyone else who had contact with the child before she disappeared.

One person who was questioned on Monday was the fiancé of the missing child's mother. Police questioned Chad Griffis for about 30 minutes but would not say whether the man had been questioned in the past or why they questioned him on Monday.

Officials said they are not planning on scaling back their investigation.

However, as developments in the case have slowed, investigators opted on Monday not to hold a news conference. The daily news briefings by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office had been taking place nearly every day since Haleigh's disappearance.

The absence of the news briefing caused some concern for Haleigh's family members, who said they want the media attention on the missing 5-year-old.

"There is a concern that people will forget to pray or not remember what she looks like," said the Cummings' family pastor, Rev. Terry Wright.

One type of media coverage, however, did not sit well with some of the missing girl's loved ones. On Saturday evening, tensions boiled over during an interview between Ronald Cummings, Haleigh's father, and Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera.

At a time when the two sides of Haleigh's family remain united in a plea for the girl's safe return home, they couldn't be more divided about some things.

Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, and her family spoke out to Rivera last weekend, making several serious accusations against the missing girl's father.
 
"I felt fine with it. It bothers me that they're upset about it," Sheffield said.

Rivera confronted Cummings about allegations about drug use, physical abuse and claims that he was 75 percent sure he knew who took Haleigh.

When the controversial journalist brought up allegations of abuse, Cummings said he "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 said in the Fox interview.

When Rivera continued pressing Cummings with allegations he hit Sheffield when she was pregnant with Haleigh, used illegal drugs and told someone he was "75 percent sure" he knew know took Haleigh, the property owners told Rivera to leave and Putnam County deputies were called.

"I'd have liked to punch him … It was disgusting. To say the least, it was disgusting -- any man to put a man with his child gone like that through what he put him through," said Haleigh's paternal great-grandmother, Annette Sykes after the interview.

Rivera was issued a warning that if he would be charged with trespassing if he returned, according to the Putnam County incident report.

While neither of Haleigh's parents would speak to the media after the incident, Haleigh's maternal grandmother wasn't surprised at the confrontation between the family and Rivera.

"It's our word against his. You know, he says no and we say yes," said Haleigh's maternal grandmother, Marie Griffis.

Haleigh's family members on both sides said the drama and accusations have taken away from their shared goal of finding Haleigh.

"All of the commotion it caused took away from the searching and leads for Haleigh. We just want Haleigh, and the media slows down more and more each day because it's getting longer and longer," Sykes said.

Anyone with information about Haleigh's disappearance should call 888-277-TIPS or the FDLE's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse at 888-FL-MISSING.

The reward for information regarding Haleigh's whereabouts and/or the conviction of the perpetrator of any crimes involving stands at $20,000.

[Blonde]

Haleigh's brother: Man took her from bedroom

Last Modified: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 10:31 a.m.

Investigators are following up a lead provided by the brother of a missing 5-year-old Putnam County girl that a man came into the room where she was sleeping and took her.

Putnam County sheriff’s Capt. Dick Schauland confirmed that officers had received the lead but didn’t provide any details except that the boy gave the report to members of a child protection team. Ronald Cummings Jr., was 3 when he was interviewed the week Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings was reported missing from her Satsuma home.

“Everything they were able to find out from him they are following up on,” Schauland said.

According to news reports about the lead, the child said a man dressed in black entered the room.

Haleigh had been at her home with her younger brother and her father’s girlfriend on Feb. 9. She was discovered missing early the next day when the girlfriend got up to go to the restroom.

Investigators have received about 1,600 tips in the case of the missing girl.

Officers began the case with a search for the child from the air, on the ground and on the water. Search efforts were later scaled back. Investigators have described the case as a possible abduction but continue to stress they are searching for the child.

Anyone with information on Haleigh can contact authorities at 888-227-TIPS.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...r-from-bedroom