New search for Haleigh may come SaturdayHaleigh's stepmom allegedly pointed out a patch of ground marked by a single plastic rose
Courtesy of Steph Watts
Buy photo
This screen capture shows Misty Croslin-Cummings during a video taped hypnosis session. The session was arranged by the private search firm EquuSearch.
By Karen Voyles
Staff writer
Published: Friday, August 28, 2009 at 7:42 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, August 28, 2009 at 7:42 p.m.
A comment Misty Croslin-Cummings allegedly made about investigators needing to double-check a patch of ground marked by a single plastic rose in their search for her missing stepdaughter, Haleigh Cummings, has motivated a private firm to begin scouring the area this morning.
Misty Croslin-Cummings allegedly directed a private search crew to look for this rose in a Putnam County area she thought had not been adequately searched for missing 6 year old Haleigh Cummings. Courtesy Steph Watts
Buy photo
Special to the Sun
Croslin-Cummings, 17, is said to have made the unrecorded comment while undergoing a lie-detector test, hypnosis session and voice stress test earlier this month. The head of the organization that paid for the tests said the stepmother of Haleigh -- the 6-year-old Putnam County girl missing since February -- was trying to clear her name when she agreed to the tests, yet failed each of them.
"She said there was a place that was not searched very well and that we should look for a red rose,
and she gave us the location," said Steph Watts, who recorded the sessions for EquuSearch, a private Texas firm that founder and director Tim Miller said was contacted by Croslin-Cummings to help clear her name.
"We went and we looked, and we found it, and the next day we took them (Putnam County investigators) back there," Watts said. "I don't think they are going to dig where the rose is and find the body, but the fact that they went with us shows that they are following up on every lead."
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office has said it has followed about 4,000 leads so far in its search for Haleigh, whom Croslin-Cummings reported missing at 3:27 a.m. on Feb. 10.
Croslin-Cummings initially said she had put Haleigh and her younger brother to bed at about 8 p.m. on Feb. 9 in the same room where she went to sleep about two hours later. She was caring for the children because their father, Ronald Cummings, was working the night shift.
When Haleigh was reported missing, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office launched an Amber Alert and led a massive search that included boats, canine teams, four-wheelers, helicopters and horses.
In the months since Haleigh was last seen, investigators have said Cummings and Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, are not considered suspects.
On Friday afternoon, Putnam Sheriff's Maj. Gary Bowling weighed his words carefully in describing his agency's view of Croslin-Cummings' situation.
"No, I don't think we consider her a suspect," Bowling said. "We factually know that she is consistently inconsistent and we need some factual exactness about her activities the night before Haleigh disappeared until the morning when she was reported missing."
Croslin-Cummings did not respond to interview requests made Friday through her attorney, a friend and a family member. Without the knowledge or approval of her attorney or the Sheriff's Office, she reportedly asked Miller, the director of EquuSearch, to help her clear her name.
The firm was established nearly 10 years ago to assist in searches, especially after local law enforcement agencies are unable to sustain a search. Miller said Haleigh's family reached out to his firm "because they didn't think enough was being done to find her."
Croslin-Cummings then asked for something specific -- assistance clearing her name so that the search could focus on Haleigh, not on rumors about her, Miller said.
"She said she did not trust the cops and asked me if she could take a lie detector test or something," Miller said. "I told her that was out of the realm of what we did, but this was something that she felt would be helpful, and so we arranged it. This is the first time I have ever been put in a position like this. It has ended with Misty (Croslin-Cummings) not speaking to us. "
Miller said the polygraph that Croslin-Cummings underwent in Orlando on Aug. 19 "showed huge deceptions." When Croslin-Cummmings was told about the results, "she said she wanted to be hypnotized," Miller said. "My thought was 'Now where do we go?' My hopes were that she would have passed, but the opposite happened, so we arranged for the hypnosis and a voice analysis to be done at her husband's aunt's house in Welaka."
Apparently, Croslin-Cummings leaked the news about the pending hypnosis and analysis to some of her relatives, and the word spread quickly. Miller said there were lots of people in the yard of the aunt's home during the tests and that within a day or two, a variety of reporters began requesting interviews.
The sessions were taped and have since been distributed to media outlets around the state, including The Sun. The sessions reportedly were paid for by EquuSearch and recorded by Steph Watts, who distributed copies to reporters with the approval of EquuSearch.
Among those asking for a copy of the tapes and other materials was the Sheriff's Office, which phrased its request in the form of a search warrant, but the firm immediately handed them over, EquuSearch officials said.
Croslin-Cummings' attorney, Robert Fields of Palatka, downplayed the value of the materials.
"Everyone knows that if there was any merit, polygraphs and these sorts of things would be admissible in court," Fields said.
Fields also said that his understanding from conversations he had with Croslin-Cummings was that she agreed to the testing by EquuSearch because "she was told that if she did not take the exams, they (EquuSearch) would not bring any assets to the search." Miller has denied that allegation.
"We will be in Florida very, very soon to search for Haleigh," Miller said. "I am not a detective and did not want to be in the position this has put me in."
Those close to the case said EquuSearch will launch a search this morning at an undisclosed location in Putnam County.
Croslin-Cummings' results also put her attorney in an embarrassing position.
"This all kind of hit me out of the blue," Fields said. "My advice to her was 'Don't speak to any law enforcement without speaking to me first,' and I found it hard to imagine that a private party would be playing Magnum P.I."
Seventh Judicial Circuit Assistant State Attorney Christopher Kelly gave no indication that any arrest or other legal action is imminent.
"We have been in touch with the Sheriff's Office since the beginning, but this is still under investigation, so it is still in their hands," Kelly said.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090828/ARTICLES/908289905/1002?Title=New-search-for-Haleigh-may-come-Saturday#
