News Updates Only ~ No Discussion

[One2Snoop]

Post current news updates here.

[RaVeN71806]

Teen girlfriend of Haleigh Cummings' father appears on 'Today Show'

Today's updates
2:36 The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is releasing little information about "Joe", a relative of Misty Croslin, who she and Haleigh's family members said was in Satsuma around the time Haleigh vanished. But, it is disputing rumors that he is a pedophile.

"As far as we know he is not a sex offender," said Lt. Johnny Greenwood of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Greenwood also confirmed that investigators spoke to Joe at his home in Tennessee, but declined to release other details including his last name, where he lives in Tennessee, and if he was in Satsuma recently.

The Sheriff's Office is holding a press conference at 3:00 p.m. Check back for updates.

[dan_uk]

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

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

[dan_uk]

Man in Tennessee
questioned about
missing 5 year old

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/Missing_Girl022009

[One2Snoop]

Grandma To Haleigh: 'We Will Find You'
Reward Upped To $20K

POSTED: 7:21 am EST February 20, 2009
UPDATED: 6:38 pm EST February 20, 2009

SATSUMA, Fla. -- The paternal grandmother and aunt of missing Putnam County girl Haleigh Cummings held a news conference Friday afternoon as search efforts continue.

The child's paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves, once again pleaded with whoever has her granddaughter to return her safely. Ronald Cummings, Haleigh's father, was too upset to attend, family members said.

"I feel like my grandbaby is alive. I pray that whoever has her that they are feeding her and taking care of her," Neves said.

On Thursday, detectives in Putnam County said that they received a tip that Haleigh Cummings was spotted in Tennessee.

Haleigh was last seen on Feb. 9 before disappearing from her home in Satsuma, prompting an intense search of the area that's resulted in few clues to her whereabouts.

The tipster told authorities that Haleigh was seen at a restaurant in Knoxville.

WESH 2 News confirmed Thursday that Haleigh's father's girlfriend, Misty Croslin, had a cousin, Joe, visiting from Tennessee the day Haleigh disappeared.

Neves said during Friday's news conference that she has never met the cousin, but she has heard nothing good about him and does not trust him.

Croslin appeared on the 'Today' show Friday, and did not speak highly of her cousin either.

"He's a criminal, pretty much. He's been in trouble his whole life," she said. "I don't trust him. No, I don't."

Also, during another round of questioning of Croslin on Thursday, the teenager said she was home when the girl disappeared.

Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy made it clear Thursday that Timothy Loucakis, a sexual predator, was arrested on suspicion of violating his curfew, which is not related to their investigation at this time.

"We've looked at his GPS monitoring, and it shows he was within his home zone," Hardy said.

So far, none of the 1,200 tips received since Haleigh's disappearance has yielded a break in the case, but searching continued Friday.

The area near Loucakis' home was searched as well as another location south of Satsuma. Authorities said they are acting on every lead they are given in the case. Nothing was found, and they reiterated that they do not think he has anything to do with Haleigh's disappearance.

Detectives wouldn't say much about a car they processed or what prompted a second round of questioning of Croslin.

A $16,000 reward has been offered for Haleigh's return.

Neves had a message for her granddaughter during Friday's news conference: "I love you and we will find you, sweetheart."

She also thanked the media for coming and keeping Haleigh's face in the public eye.

During a news conference held Friday afternoon by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, officials said another $4,000 has been added to the reward for Haleigh's safe return, bringing the total to $20,000.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent Dominick Pape said all relatives have been interviewed in the case, and Joe is a relative. He said it wasn't fair to go into further detail.

Previous Stories:

* February 20, 2009: Official: Sexual Predator Arrest Not Linked To Haleigh
* February 16, 2009: Ground Search For Haleigh Cummings Ends
* February 14, 2009: 'Items Of Interest' Found In Search For Missing Girl
* February 13, 2009: Community Pitches In To Find Putnam Co. Girl
* February 12, 2009: Missing Girl's Mother: 'I Just Want Her Home'

http://www.wesh.com/news/18757466/detail.html

[lorettalockhorn]

Misty Croslin's Tennessee Relative Not a Suspect in Haleigh's Disappearance

PUTNAM COUNTY, FL -- The relative of Misty Croslin who investigators had been questioning in Tennessee is not a suspect in Haleigh Cummings' disappearance.

Captain Dick Schauland didn't have much new information to release in Saturday afternoon's press conference, but when asked point-blank about whether the man known as 'Joe' in Tennessee was a suspect or person of interest, Schauland said he wasn't.

Misty had previously said that man was someone she didn't trust and that he had visited shortly before Haleigh disappeared.

Investigators are no longer conducting ground searches. They are following up on the more than 1600 tips that have poured in.

It's been 12 days since five-year-old Haleigh Cummings disappeared.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...131872&catid=3

[lorettalockhorn]

Volunteers Search around Haleigh's Home

SATSUMA, FL -- While investigators are taking the weekend off from searching for Haleigh Cummings, a small group of volunteers searched the area around the little girl's home today.

About 15 people spent the day walking through the wooded area near the little girl's mobile home.

In the meantime, Haleigh's family continues to wait for any information from law enforcement.

"It's a lot of family support. It's a lot of community support," says Haleigh's grandmother, Teresa Neves. "It's all up to God - I know that he's keeping my baby safe out there somewhere."

When asked about Misty Croslin's cousin, "Joe" in Tennessee, Neves tolf First Coast News that she does't know him.

Croslin, the girlfriend of Haleigh's father, said earlier that she doesn't trust her cousin. He is beinf questioned by law enforcement officials and has a criminal record.

"If his cousin doesn't trust him - that doesn't makes me feel good," said Neves.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/a...1873&catid=295

[One2Snoop]

Police Follow 1,600 Leads In Haleigh Case
Family Says Fake Web Site Created About Girl To Make Money

POSTED: 8:23 pm EST February 21, 2009
UPDATED: 7:28 pm EST February 22, 2009

SATSUMA, Fla. -- Investigators said on Sunday that they're whittling through more than 1,600 leads received since 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings disappeared two weeks ago.

About 140 officers searched two areas on Friday, acting on tips, but found nothing pertinent to the investigation. There was no ground search on Saturday.

Saturday was Day 12 of the search for the missing 5-year-old.

Recently, tipsters said they saw a man and a young girl who looked like Haleigh at a Carrabba's restaurant in Tennessee. The man was reportedly seen trying to shield the child's face and driving away in a sport utility vehicle with a Florida license plate.

Misty Croslin, the girlfriend of Haleigh's father, has a cousin who lives in Tennessee. At the time of Haleigh's disappearance, her cousin was visiting.

There was some thought that he may have had something to do with it.

Matt Lauer, of the "Today" show, spoke with Croslin about her cousin Friday morning.

"I really don't know," Croslin said. "I don't know if he did or not."

"That's an interesting way to answer the question," Lauer said. "I think a lot of people might said, 'No, I'm positive that person had nothing to do with Haleigh.' You're not sure?"

"I'm not quite sure at all," Croslin answered.

Saturday afternoon, Dick Schauland, of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, said that cousin has been interviewed in Tennessee. Schauland said the cousin is not a suspect or person of interest in the case.

The hours of searching are adding up. Schauland said the department has accumulated more than 4,700 man hours by air, ground and water searches, 4,050 hours from volunteers like Equusearch and the community, and 1,126 hours from investigators alone.

"The cost is not what's important," Schauland said. "Right now, a 5-year-old girl is missing."

Saturday afternoon there was no ground search conducted. There will not be a press conference held on Sunday.

A former FBI profiler said the search for Haleigh is a two-track investigation.

Appearing on the "Today" show Saturday morning, Clint Van Zandt said track one is taking investigators outside of the house and looking into whether a stranger took Haleigh. But Van Zandt said track two is keeping authorities inside the house.

"One family member said a fight had taken place between Ron, the biological father, and Joe, the cousin, where Ron says, 'No, that didn't take place,'" Van Zandt said. "Evidently a gun disappeared from the house and it was found in a ditch later."

Van Zandt said, typically, investigators try to rule out immediate family as suspects first before branching outside of the home. But he said, in this case, it appears that authorities are looking at both at the same time.

Meanwhile, the family said a Web site hoax is putting a wrench in the search for Haleigh.

Her family said someone created a fake Web site in an effort to collect money.

Family members said the Web site is not affiliated with them or the police.

The Web site also has Haleigh's name misspelled.

"We are sickened by anybody that would take something that is heart-sickening for our family and try to profit off of it and then stamp the family's name on it," said Haleigh's step-great grandmother, Barbie Squires.

http://www.wesh.com/news/18768154/detail.html

[One2Snoop]

Community Support Grows For Haleigh's Family
Posted By: Ryan Duffy Created: 2/22/2009 10:11:17 PM Updated: 2/22/2009 10:16:14 PM

PUTNAM COUNTY, FL -- As new developments in the disappearance of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings slow down, the community support for the little girls family just continues to grow.

Family members have stayed nearly around the clock at their camps in the neighborhood where Haleigh was last seen.

"You look around and you think people don't care anymore and they don't want to help anymore and you have a tragedy hits you like this and people come out of the woodworks," says Haleigh's grandmother Marie Griffis.

They bring pillows, blankets, tents and chairs, and every day more hot food.

And Sunday night Marie Griffis's coworkers, other Baker County school bus drivers, came to the family vigil to show their support.

Neither Griffis or her daughter, Haleigh's mother Crystal Sheffield, have been able to go home to Baker County now for two weeks.

Griffis says she isn't discouraged that there have been no new developments in the last few days.

And she plans to continue on with the vigils every night, for as long as it takes.

"We all feel like Haleigh's okay, I guess you could say it's mom's intuition and because she's my maternal grandchild, my close connection with her, I know she's okay. In the pit of my stomach I know she's find, i just don't know where she's at."

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...131963&catid=3

[One2Snoop]

Fox anchor banned from camp of missing girl's father

Geraldo Rivera was issued a trespass warning on Saturday

* By Paul Pinkham, Deirdre Conner
* Story updated at 11:40 AM on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009


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.
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.

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/met...g_girls_father

[One2Snoop]

Transcripts of the Geraldo interview that turned confrontational

* By Deirdre Conner
* Story updated at 7:22 PM on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009

The partial transcript of Geraldo Rivera's interview with the mother and father of missing five-year-old Haleigh Cummings is below. It was provided by Fox News Channel to the Times-Union.



INTERVIEW # 1 WITH RONALD CUMMINGS

FEBRUARY 21, 2009

[00:00:13]

RONALD CUMMINGS : This is uncalled for.

GERALDO RIVERA : Chad and Marcus told me that during the vigil, you told them you were 75 percent sure who took Haleigh.

RONALD CUMMINGS : 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.

[00:00:43]

GERALDO RIVERA : Did you tell them that, though? Maybe you weren’t -- maybe you were just [OVERLAP] were just -- are they lying?

RONALD CUMMINGS : Yes, they’re absolutely lying. No, for no reason have I ever told anybody that I have any clue where my child is at. If I had any clue where my child -- you know, national TV, they’re a bunch of liars. Chad and whoever told you this are a bunch of liars. I never even spoke with them.

GERALDO RIVERA : They told -- they told me that you hit Haleigh. Is that true?

[00:01:13]

RONALD CUMMINGS : No. 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.

GERALDO RIVERA : You never backhanded her to the face?

RONALD CUMMINGS : [OVERLAP] Never. Never have I ever backhanded my child in the face, ever.

GERALDO RIVERA : Did you hit Crystal when she was pregnant?

[00:01:37]

RONALD CUMMINGS : No. I did not. Never.

GERALDO RIVERA : You didn’t hit her in the back of the head and kick her?

RONALD CUMMINGS : No. No. I never have.

GERALDO RIVERA : You swear to God you never hit your pregnant woman?

RONALD CUMMINGS : [OVERLAP] Never. Never, never have I ever hit any woman, period. Never. And I’d like to know where all these allegations are coming from because I would like to talk -- talk to law enforcement and have these false allegations, um, known that, um, the false allegations against me, somebody needs criminal charges pressed against them.

[00:02:02]

GERALDO RIVERA : What about the allegations of cocaine use, methamphetamine use?

RONALD CUMMINGS : There’s nothing. I do not do drugs.

GERALDO RIVERA : You don’t do drugs? All those arrests were all --

RONALD CUMMINGS : No.

GERALDO RIVERA : Do you work for the police? Are you an informant?

RONALD CUMMINGS : No, I am no an informant. I do not work for the police. I work for PDM, which is a, um, bridge building company. That’s who I work for.

GERALDO RIVERA : And you’ve never been involved in the drug trade?

RONALD CUMMINGS : No.

GERALDO RIVERA : And when they tell me they saw bricks of marijuana that you had in the house, plants all around the house, is that a lie?

[00:02:31]

RONALD CUMMINGS : It is absolutely a lie and I would like to know where the information is coming from so that I can get, um, the proper authorities to take care of this.

GERALDO RIVERA : You’re -- put all this stuff aside. If some associate of yours, some associate that had something to do with drugs and this is not about drugs but if these people are on the dark side of life, don’t you think that you should share that information? Share -- tell us about -- when you told Marcus and Chad that you were 75 percent sure and you had your gun ready and your -- and you had your gun ready and you were gonna go get em, didn’t you say that? Isn’t that a fact, Ron?

[00:03:09]

RONALD CUMMINGS : No, it is not a fact.

GERALDO RIVERA : Why would they make that up? Why would they make that up?

RONALD CUMMINGS : I don’t know why they would make [OVERLAP] for you. But I -- I am fixing [OVERLAP] to have the law called right here, right now because you’re making up things or they’re making up things and you’re getting into --

GERALDO RIVERA : I am -- I am relating to you what they are saying.

RONALD CUMMINGS : [OVERLAP] My face, man.

MALE : You need to back off, man. That’s my son.

[00:03:29]

GERALDO RIVERA : Alright. Well I’m sorry -- I am sorry for what has happened.

FEMALE : No, you’re not sorry. [OVERLAPPED CONVERSATION]

MALE : You need to go.

FEMALE : We are -- [OVERLAPPED CONVERSATION] Listen. You wanna come up here and make [OVERLAP] allegations. Why don’t you go back to --

GERALDO RIVERA : These are not my allegations, mamn. These are not my allegations. You have to understand that.

FEMALE : [OVERLAP] Okay. [OVERLAP] All we care about --

[00:03:46]

GERALDO RIVERA : You have to understand this is not my allegation. Don’t touch him, don’t touch him, please. We’re leaving. Come on, let’s go. Let’s go.

RONALD CUMMINGS : [OVERLAP] I wanted you to see that all this is about is my daughter. I love you, baby. [OVERLAP] If you are out there, I want you to know that I love you and I will find you, baby. I love you. And two, whoever -- whoever has you, please bring my daughter home to me. I love my daughter. I love you, baby. I will find you.

[00:04:15]

GERALDO RIVERA : You believe she’s alive then?

RONALD CUMMINGS : I’m always gonnd believe that my daughter’s alive until they find her. [SILENCE]

[END OF TRANSCRIPT]

continued....

[One2Snoop]

INTERVIEW #2 WITH HALEIGH’S MOM CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD & HALEIGH’S GRANDMA MARIE GRIFFIS

FEBRUARY 21, 2009



[00:00:08]

GERALDO RIVERA : When Ron Cummings is seen on television, most often, he is crying or in mourning or other conduct appropriate to a father whose daughter has gone missing. But the family on the mother’s side tells a much different story and a much different image emerges of Ron Cummings. Crystal, is not a fact that he was abusive to you?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Yes he was. He -- when I first got pregnant with Haleigh, he punched me in the back of the head and before then, he was verbal. I mean he was just very abusive.

GERALDO RIVERA : What did he call you?

[00:00:43]

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Stupid [BLEEPED: *****.] You stupid [BLEEPED: — —.] You [BLEEPED: *****]. I mean you name it, he said it.

GERALDO RIVERA : Describe when he punched you when you were pregnant.

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : We were living in Leesburg at his mother’s house. And I had just found out I was pregnant. We were both doing cocaine and I stopped and I walked in the bedroom and he was doing it.

[00:01:14]

And I was like, you know, how are you gone do this in front of me after I just found out I was pregnant and I just stopped? And he got very ****** off and I had my -- I was facing -- I had my back turned to him. He punched me in the head and then I turned around and he kicked me off the bed.

GERALDO RIVERA : And he knew you were pregnant when he kicked you?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Yes he did. He knew.

GERALDO RIVERA : And was he abusive, basically, throughout your relationship?

[00:01:43]

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : The whole time. I mean his mother knew, his granny knew. His granny even told me once, um, I don’t know why you’re with him.

GERALDO RIVERA : Why did you stay with him?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Because I was scared to leave.

GERALDO RIVERA : Are you frightened of him even today?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Yes I am.

GERALDO RIVERA : Why?

[00:02:02]

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Just because of all the things he’s done to me.

GERALDO RIVERA : Are you fr-- frightened that he’ll come after you?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Sometimes I am. I mean he’s called and wanted me to come back several times and I have went back a couple times just to be with my kid and he was still the same and I left. It hurt to leave em but I’m not gonna put myself through that.

[00:02:30]

GERALDO RIVERA : Do you believe his story about what happened?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : No, I don’t. I mean I know he loves Haleigh and -- [PAUSES] -- his temper, I mean it could get bad enough for him to hurt Haleigh. But I do know he loves Haleigh. Haleigh is his heart and everybody knows that.

[00:03:02]

GERALDO RIVERA : Has he ever hit Haleigh?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Um, my cousin, Candice, told me when we got down here for this incident, that, um, he come to her house -- it was Ronald, Haleigh, Junior and Misty. And Haleigh bumped into him or smarted off to him and she said he just backhanded her. And she fell flat on her face on the porch.

[00:03:29]

GERALDO RIVERA : Marie, you have a picture of Haleigh.

MARIE GRIFFIS : Yes.

GERALDO RIVERA : Do you want me to see it?

MARIE GRIFFIS : Yes. You get it.

GERALDO RIVERA : Alright this is a picture, a disturbing picture, that shows Haleigh with an obvious black eye, a cut on her nose and the -- a bruise that goes from the top of her left eye all the way down to the left side of her cheek.

[00:03:58]

Now I understand the school records indicate that she had an accident at school. Are these injuries the result of that accident?

MARIE GRIFFIS : Uh, that’s what we were told, that she fell at school and -- or who was pushed at school by -- by another child and that she fell catching the sidewalk and that was the results of it. But if you fall on the sidewalk, why didn’t her hands get skint, her knees get skint?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : [OVERLAP] The nurse said that all she had was a scratch on her nose.

GERALDO RIVERA : So you -- you -- do you believe that Ron Cummings hit this child?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : I don’t know if he hit her or if she fell down or any other incident happened. But that did not happen at school. The nurse said she had a scratch on her nose.

[00:05:22]

GERALDO RIVERA : And you have witnesses that he has hit this child?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Yes.

MARIE GRIFFIS : Yes.

GERALDO RIVERA : Do you believe that Ron Cummings knows who took Haleigh?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : Yes. I mean he’s told my brother and my fiancé that he knows -- he’s 75 percent sure he knows where his daughter is. He said on TV that he had no enemies.

GERALDO RIVERA : Is that true?

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD : No. He’s got plenty of enemies.

CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD: I KNOW WHEN HE’S REALLY CRYING, THAT IS FAKE

[END OF TRANSCRIPT]

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/met...onfrontational

[One2Snoop]

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

Story updated at 11:40 AM on Sunday, Feb. 22, 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.

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/met...ut_of_scrutiny

[One2Snoop]

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

Geraldo interviews Haleigh Cummings father, Ronald Cummings.

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 (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 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.

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

[One2Snoop]

2 Weeks Into Hunt For Haleigh, Police Have Nothing To Report
Putnam Deputies Ban Fox News' Geraldo Rivera From Satsuma Scene

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009
UPDATED: 1:33 pm EST February 23, 2009

PALATKA, Fla. --

One of the rituals that has defined life in Putnam County since 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings disappeared Feb. 10 continues, but another has ended.

For 13 nights, Haleigh's family and friends hold candlelight vigils praying for her return. Some evenings, the whole family has come together. Sunday, like many other nights, Haleigh's mother and father held separate observances.

But another ritual -- a daily new briefing by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office -- didn't happen Sunday, and officials said no briefing is planned for Monday.

Dozens of county detectives, along with agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI, continue working their way through 1,600 tips that have come in about Haleigh's disappearance. Deputies are seen coming and going from the Satsuma neighborhood where Haleigh disappeared.

While the official ground searches were suspended, volunteers on horseback spent the weekend looking for the missing kindergartner around the Satsuma home where Haleigh lived with her father, Ronald Cummings, and his girlfriend, Misty Croslin.

The family is trying to keep the focus on the search and the investigation and not on the rumors and accusations involving both sides of the family.

On Saturday evening, that tension boiled over during an interview between Cummings and Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera.

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.

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.

"I knew it was going to fester and explode," Marie Griffis told Channel 4 on Sunday.

Griffis then turned the focus to where both sides of the family want it to be: "Whoever has Haleigh, just bring her home."

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.

Previous Stories:

* February 22, 2009: 1,600 Leads, Family Distractions In Haleigh Case
* February 20, 2009: Family Holds Vigil, Prays For Haleigh For 11th Night
* February 20, 2009: New Searches, Larger Reward In Hunt For Haleigh
* February 19, 2009: Haleigh's Mother Pleads For 5-Year-Old's Return
* February 19, 2009: Dad To Haleigh: 'We Will Find You'
* February 18, 2009: Reward Increased $16,000 In Haleigh Case
* February 17, 2009: Tip: Dad's Girlfriend Wasn't Home When Haleigh Disappeared
* February 17, 2009: Investigators In 2nd Week Of Hunt For Haleigh
* February 16, 2009: Week After Haleigh Goes Missing, Police Keep Working
* February 15, 2009: Authorities Scale Back Search For Haleigh, Not Investigation
* February 15, 2009: Putnam Chief: 'We're As Optimistic Now As We Were On Day 1'
* February 14, 2009: Search For Missing 5-Year-Old To Continue Into Weekend
* February 14, 2009: Ramped-Up Search For Haleigh Turns Up 'Items Of Interest'
* February 13, 2009: Several Groups Offer Help In Search For Haleigh
* February 12, 2009: Girlfriend Describes Waking Up, Finding Haleigh Gone
* February 12, 2009: Search For Haleigh 'Will Expand As Far As It Needs To Go'
* February 12, 2009: 48 Hours Pass With No Sign Of Missing Girl
* February 11, 2009: School Prays For Haleigh's Safe Return
* February 11, 2009: Detective: Haleigh's Disappearance Considered Abduction
* February 10, 2009: Family, Friends Pray As Search For Missing 5-Year-Old Continues
* February 10, 2009: 5-Year-Old Vanishes From Bedroom; Father Says She Was 'Stolen'

http://www.news4jax.com/news/18776448/detail.html

[lorettalockhorn]

Sheriff's Office: No New Leads In Search For Haleigh
Investigators Speak With Haleigh's Father Again

SATSUMA, Fla. -- The Putnam County Sheriff's Office canceled its daily news conference on Monday in the search for Haleigh Cummings.

The sheriff's office said it canceled the news conference because it had no new information or leads to share.

Haleigh, 5, was reported missing from her Satsuma home early in the morning of Feb. 10 by her father's girlfriend, Misty Croslin, 17.

Despite the canceled news conference, investigators were still hard at work in Satsuma on Monday.

Investigators spoke with two people related to the case on Monday -- Haleigh's mother's fiancé, Chad Griffis, and Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings.

Haleigh's maternal grandmother, Marie Griffis, said Chad Griffis has nothing to hide. Marie Griffis is also Chad Griffis' stepmother....

http://www.wesh.com/news/18775072/detail.html

[One2Snoop]

Updated: 4:00 p.m.

'Man in black' took Haleigh, family told mom

Helen Eckinger | Sentinel Staff Writer
4:00 PM EST, February 24, 2009

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that members of its child-protection team interviewed Haleigh Cummings' 4-year-old brother in the days after his sister's disappearance.

Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, 23, appeared on the Nancy Grace show last night and told Grace that Ronald Cummings Jr., 4, said a "man in black" had taken his sister from the double-wide trailer where they lived with their father, Ronald Cummings, 25, and his girlfriend, Misty Croslin, 17.

Capt. Dick Schauland of the Sheriff's Office would not say what Ronald Jr. told investigators, but said a detective would have been assigned to follow up on any information gleaned from the interview.

Croslin told investigators that she, Haleigh and Ronald Jr., went to sleep in the same bedroom Feb. 9, and when she woke up at 3 a.m. Feb. 10, Haleigh was gone.

A $25,500 reward is being offered for information that helps investigators find Haleigh and/or leads to the conviction of whoever took her. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-TIPS.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...tory?track=rss

[lorettalockhorn]

Haleigh's Brother Says He Saw the Suspect


SATSUMA, FL -- It's those last moments before Haleigh Cummings disappeared that police want to know about.

They are relying on a four-year-old, Haleigh's little brother, Ronald Junior, for help.

"He was asleep. I got there 10 minutes after we noticed she was gone. I had Junior, he said he didn't know anything...said he was asleep," Haleigh's great grandmother, Annette Sykes, told First Coast News on Monday.

Detectives have talked to the child. Relatives on both sides say he told police he saw a man in a ski mask come in their trailer and leave with his big sister.

"They questioned Junior. I asked them (police) about it. They couldn't tell me anything other than he's a little child. He was questioned and the story went from one thing to another and another," says Sykes.

Child psychologist Dr. Lynn Wadelton says the average four-year-old can give an accurate account of what they witness. But there are factors that can sometimes cloud the story.

"The research on four-year-olds in general, says that the amount of time that elapses between when they first see something and the things they see in the interim can affect their memory and can be confused."

Wadelton says interviewing a child has to be done carefully, without suggesting details. "They will try to ask questions that don't lead in a particular way, like was it a car or truck. They might say 'how did they leave.'"

She says police look for key factors in a story, like consistency and is the child telling the same story to several different people.

"It's not just the words a child says, the non-verbals, the emotions that goes with the words they're telling."

Police won't comment about the interview. They say they are following up all information that comes in to investigators...

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...132095&catid=3

[lorettalockhorn]

Signs for Haleigh Cover the First Coast


JACKSONVILLE, FL -- It's a picture you've seen all across the news. Now you'll see it a little more. From the backs of businesses, to the sides of trucks, Haleigh Cummings' picture will be there.

John Arwood may not be able to search the First Coast himself, but he owns and operates 4000 dumpsters and a fleet of utility trucks through Arwood Waste & Demolition. They travel all over, and now so will Haleigh's picture.

"There's thousands of people looking, but I can do one thing, is to get a picture out, all over the city, all over the county, northeast Florida, to southeast Georgia. I can do that to help find her," says Arwood.

To get the sign out there, Arwood called a friend. Steve Hunt owns Signs of All Kinds. When Arwood asked about ordering the signs, Hunt said he'd do it for free and went right to work.

"We need eyes everywhere to find this little girl. By making these stickers and putting her picture out everywhere, that's eyes looking at her. Hopefully somebody will recognize her and lead to her being found safe," says Hunt.

It's something both of these fathers and grandfathers say is a no-brainer. They want to help search for Haleigh, and they can do that by using tools of their trade.

"I've got grandkids and great-grandchildren, so I do not want this to happen to any of them if they come up missing," says Arwood.

Steve Hunt says he will print out signs and give them to anyone who wants one for free. For more information, call Signs of All Kinds at 904-707-6416.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...132090&catid=3

[lorettalockhorn]

Another Reward Increase in Search for Haleigh

SATSUMA, FL -- After more than two weeks of searching, and still no sign of Haleigh Cummings, the reward for finding her got larger today.

According to Capt. Dick Schauland with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, an anonymous donor has added $5,000 to the reward, bringing the total amount available for finding the 5-year-old girl to $25,500.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...132087&catid=3

[lorettalockhorn]

Mother Of Missing Girl Hints At New Lead
Haleigh Cummings' Mother Says Younger Brother May Have Information

PALATKA, Fla. -- The younger brother of a missing Putnam County girl may have provided investigators with a new lead.

Haleigh Cummings, 5, was reported missing from her Palatka home during the early-morning hours of Feb. 10.

During an interview with CNN's Nancy Grace Monday evening, Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, hinted that her 4-year-old son gave authorities a new lead.

"When I’d see him on my visitation, all he said was, 'I wanna find my sissy.' He said something about somebody in black took her," Sheffield said.

Haleigh's paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves, said she questions Sheffield's decision to disclose this information.

"I don't feel like anybody should have said that," Neves said. "We don’t know who has my grandchild. And if that is somebody who would hurt my grandchild, or if you are that person and you feel like he could identify you, what would be your next move then? You know?"...

http://www.wesh.com/news/18784308/detail.html

[One2Snoop]

Tip Leads Detectives To St. Augustine In Haleigh Search

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- Detectives following a tip, searched in St. Augustine near some railroad tracks around SR-16 and US-1, but nothing turned up. Putnam County investigators told Eyewitness News Tuesday that an anonymous donor gave $5,000, bringing the reward to $25,500.

Volunteers continue to search surrounding areas for the little girl.

Investigators are no longer conducting ground searches, but said they're following up on over 1,600 tips.

http://www.wftv.com/news/18793086/detail.html

[One2Snoop]

NANCY GRACE

February 24, 2009
• Investigation Continues into Disappearance of 5-Year-Old Haleigh


February 23, 2009
• Haleigh`s Brother Says Man in Black Took his Sister


February 20, 2009
• Girlfriend`s Cousin Eyed by Police in Missing Haleigh Case


February 19, 2009
• Sex Offender Arrested Near Missing Haleigh`s Home


February 18, 2009
• More Investigative Documents, Photos Released in Caylee Murder Case


February 17, 2009
• Police Pursue New Leads in Missing Florida Girl


February 16, 2009
• Angry Anthony Family Jailhouse Confrontation on Tape


February 13, 2009
• Mystery Evidence Recovered in Search for 5-Year-Old


February 12, 2009
• NANCY GRACE for February 12, 2009


February 11, 2009
• Search for Florida 5-Year-Old Missing From Own Bed

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ng.html

[One2Snoop]

Video of missing girl
released

Last Edited: Wednesday, 25 Feb 2009, 7:27 PM EST
Created On: Wednesday, 25 Feb 2009, 7:18 PM EST

Video at the link below...

- The family of missing five year old Haleigh Cummings released a video of the child Wednesday.

The little girl has been missing for nearly three weeks. Up until Wednesday only pictures were released. But as the family continues their exhaustive efforts to find the little girl, they released a video showing her from last Christmas.

It was the first time people could see something other than a photo of the girl and the family is hoping that being able to hear her voice, see her face and her mannerisms might help bring her home.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news...9Haeligh_Video

[lorettalockhorn]

Detectives Want DNA from Haleigh's Mother

SATSUMA, FL -- Investigators want a DNA sample from Crystal Sheffield, the mother of Haleigh Cummings, while cadaver dogs scour the woods and fields around the girl's home for any signs of the missing girl.

The five-year-old has been missing since she went to bed on the night of February 9th.

Late Thursday afternoon, detectives came looking for Sheffield, who had apparently gone to the doctor.

The detectives are trying to track her down after going to the wrong office. Investigators would not comment on what type of DNA sample they need, or why.

All morning, the cadaver dogs have been looking through and under a number of people's homes in Heleigh's neighborhood.

"They've been in my home," said neighbor James Batchelor. "They've torn it apart. All the buildings out there they've been in them twice."

The dogs are trained to specifically seek out human remains and are part of Canine South, a non-law-enforcement group specializing in canine searches.

"Today's search is not in response to leads received from the family or the public, but as a routine procedure that has proven itself in other missing child cases," said Captain Dick Schauland with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. "This search is being conducted to insure that no possibility is overlooked in the search for Haleigh."

Ron Wirth, a former FBI agent who's been doing general analysis on the investigation as a representative of First Coast Crime Stoppers, says the move to get the DNA from Haleigh's mother may be about evidence.

"They may be seeking the biological mother's DNA to establish a basis for test comparisons on items that they have found, or will find, to positively identify or eliminate those items as evidence in this matter," said Wirth.

Wirth says the new search with cadaver dogs is also not unusual at this stage in the investigation.

"If a body began to deteriorate you might get some gasses that the dogs could hit on," said Wirth.

Thursday's ground search is the first major organized effort in some time.

Investigators have been chasing false leads across the First Coast and in Tennessee since shifting the search for Haleigh to more of an investigative approach in the case last week.

The family spoke briefly to the media Thursday afternoon. Teresa Neves, Haleigh's grandmother, expressed concern over the dwindling crowds of media. She also said Ronald Cummings and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Misty Croslin, are still together as a couple.

The reward for information leading to Haleigh is up to $26,500. Call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS if you have any information. You will remain anonymous and could recieve a cash reward if your information leads to an arrest.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...132277&catid=3

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/b...32315&catid=17

[lorettalockhorn]

Haleigh Search Moves to Nearby Dumpster

SATSUMA, FL -- Late Thursday afternoon, investigators, who have had their busiest day in about a week, went to the neighborhood behind Haleigh Cummings' house and began searching through a construction dumpster.

After 5 p.m., the search moved into the Villas neighborhood, which is just on the other side of a fence from where Ronald and Haleigh Cummings' house is.

First Coast News Erich Spivey says investigators were following a tip from area neighbors.

It is not clear if this is the first time this area has been searched, or specifically what searchers are after as they looked through the large dumpster.


http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/b...32315&catid=17

[One2Snoop]

Canines search area near
Haleigh’s home

Last Edited: Thursday, 26 Feb 2009, 11:44 AM EST
Created On: Thursday, 26 Feb 2009, 9:55 AM EST

SATSUMA, Fla. - The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said several canine search teams are searching the area near the home of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings.

The sheriff’s office said the want to insure that no possibility is overlooked in their search.

“Today’s search is not in response to leads received from the family or the public, but as a routine procedure that has proven itself in other missing child cases,” Sheriff Jeff Hardy said.

The canine search teams are a part of Canine South and the dogs are specifically trained to seek out human remains.

However, the sheriff's office said they continue to hope that Haleigh is found alive and in good health.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news..._Haleighs_home

[lorettalockhorn]

Haleigh's Mom Talks to First Coast News

SATSUMA, FL -- Angry over rumors she was in hiding today, Haleigh Cummings' mother spoke to First Coast News to clear the air.

Crystal Sheffield spoke with First Coast News Jackelyn Barnard at 6 Thursday evening, and expressed her feelings over the rumors about her.

"I'd like it to stop," she said, adding that while her daughter is missing, she isn't going anywhere.

The rumor that she wasn't available started Thursday when investigators went looking for Sheffield to get a DNA sample, which Sheffield confirmed. First Coast News confirmed Sheffield did give a DNA sample to investigators today.

She said she wasn't hiding from anyone.

"It's very frustrating...I'm very mad right now," she concluded.

To see the entire interview, click the video to the right.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/a...2320&catid=295

[One2Snoop]

Search continues near Haleigh Cummings' home
Detectives find nothing after searching through dumpster yesterday.

Walter Pacheco | Sentinel Staff Writer
9:26 AM EST, February 27, 2009

Deputies searching for Haleigh Cummings said nothing surfaced from Thursday's dumpster search in Putnam County.

Three cadaver dogs alerted at the dumpster located near the home of the missing 5-year-old girl. Detectives sorted through tons of trash, but nothing of interest to the case was discovered inside the receptacle.

Seven teams of cadaver dogs spent the day searching the area around the Cummings home.

The canine teams will continue checking the area today.

Captain Dick Schauland of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said the search was not the result of any new information received, but a return to areas previously searched to ensure nothing had been overlooked.

Schauland said the cadaver dogs will alert to the scent of humans, as well as "any human matter such as a bandage with blood on it, or personal hygiene items."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS (8477).

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,2290405.story

[One2Snoop]

Haleigh's Home No Longer A Crime Scene

Friday, February 27, 2009 – updated: 12:52 pm EST February 27, 2009
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- Haleigh's house in Putnam County had been cordoned off as a crime scene ever since she disappeared earlier this month. But Friday, the crime scene tape finally came down.

Haleigh Cummings' Green Lane home where she was abducted from in the middle of the night is no longer a crime scene. However, Ronald Cummings said he won't live in his home after knowing his little girl was taken out of her bed.

VIDEO REPORT: Crime Tape Comes Down
IMAGES: Tent Cumming's Family Is Living In

Meanwhile the search teams canvassed the thick wooded area for clues.
Cadaver dogs continue to search areas around the home of Haleigh Cummings Friday. Thursday one dog alerted on a nearby dumpster, but a thorough search found nothing.

The wooded areas are new to the cadaver dogs. The sheriff's office wants to make sure nothing was missed in the search.

Bryan Selzer and his dog Eli came from Jacksonville to aid in the search for Haleigh Cummings Friday afternoon.

"We're just doing a different area today. We're hitting mostly the wooded area that we are searching and again we are searching that for the second time to make sure that everything's covered," said Selzer.

Seven cadaver dogs searched the wooded area and investigators said they are trained to sniff out human remains. The specially trained dogs searched the Cummings' neighborhood Thursday and found nothing but rotting trash in a dumpster.

Selzer said going through the woods is more difficult than it looks.

"It just takes a lot longer; we have to take more breaks more often for the dogs to recover. But it's do-able but just takes longer," he said.

The trained volunteers said they'll be searching until the end of the day.

http://www.wftv.com/news/18811135/detail.html#-

[lorettalockhorn]

Geraldo At Large excerpts, 2/28/09:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sAYN7hq9Xs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAzAkdmh2Hw

[lorettalockhorn]

Ronald Cummings Gets Tattoo of Haleigh


PINELLAS COUNTY, FL -- The father of a missing girl now has an image of her face tattooed to his leg.

Ronald Cummings traveled from his home in Putnam County to a tattoo parlor in Pinellas County to get a tattoo of both his children.

"Daddy's little girl, always," said Cummings.

Haleigh's father said someone else covered the $400 bill for the tattoos but he wouldn't say who.

"All I want to do is plead for the life of my daughter."

The five-year-old girl has been missing since she went to bed on the night of February 9.

Call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS if you have any information. You could be eligible for a reward which is now up to $26,500.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...132714&catid=3

Video and photos on this page.

[lorettalockhorn]

Caylee Anthony, Haleigh Cummings: Cases' key similarities, differences
Eight months later, Caylee Anthony and Casey Anthony remain squarely in the spotlight. Yet only a few weeks after Haleigh Cummings disappeared, interest in her case is dwindling.

The day everyone said goodbye to Caylee Marie Anthony, the world learned about another missing little girl.

So TV trucks rolled from the 2-year-old's memorial in Orlando to a double-wide trailer about 80 miles away in Putnam County — the place where 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings was last seen alive.

"It was deja vu all over again," said Bob Longo, news director for WESH-Channel 2.

During the following days, the pack of satellite trucks parked near Haleigh Cummings' home in tiny Satsuma rivaled the media turnout after Caylee's remains were found in December near her home in east Orange County.

But soon, reporters on the latest missing-little-girl story began leaving Satsuma.

It wasn't deja vu after all.

Haleigh's story is fading after three weeks, but the Anthony saga has remained in the headlines for almost eight months.

The contrast between the tents and trailer in Satsuma where Haleigh's family pleaded for her return and the Anthonys' suburban home points to one of the reasons Haleigh's story is fading from the headlines, said Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar at the Poynter Institute.

"I think the greatest difference between the Caylee story and the Haleigh story is social class," said Clark, whose institute is a school for journalists in St. Petersburg. "I don't believe that working-class Americans get a very fair shake in the news media in general."

Only a handful of reporters remain in this isolated community north of the Ocala National Forest — even though investigators said Haleigh was abducted and they think she is alive...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,5058660.story

[lorettalockhorn]

Family straightens up in Cummings home while others prepare to move vigil site

SATSUMA - Members of Ronald Cummings' family spent Thursday afternoon sorting and picking up the contents of the mobile home where 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings was last seen.

"I'm just picking up the mess that was made, I guess, when everybody was going through everything," said Annette Sykes, Haleigh's paternal great-grandmother.

"They even tore out the wall where the hot water heater was."

She said when the media is allowed to tour the house, it will look as close as possible to when Ronald Cummings, his daughter Haleigh and son Ronald Jr., lived there.



"The toughest part was working in her room," she said. "It's when I come out, when I'm done, when I leave."

Teresa Neves, Haleigh's paternal grandmother, said she tried to help, but couldn't because it was emotionally too difficult.

"I couldn't do it. My sister tried and she couldn't do it," Neves said.

"I can't imagine how they're doing it; she filled that house with a lot of laughter. I just don't know how they're doing it."

She said she told her mother when she went to the mobile home to pack and clean she didn't know how they could emotionally do it.

At 3:27 a.m. Feb. 10, Haleigh was reported missing by Misty Croslin, the girlfriend of Haleigh's father, who was babysitting the girl when she vanished.

Croslin told deputies she put Haleigh and Haleigh's little brother in the same bed at about 8 p.m. the night before, a Sheriff's report said.

The report said that at 10:30 p.m. both children were put to bed and Croslin laid down with them.

When Croslin awoke at 3 a.m. she discovered Haleigh was missing, the report said.

An Amber Alert was issued a short time later that triggered a massive search and investigation involving local authorities and the FBI.

Tips called in to law enforcement for the missing Satsuma girl are up to 2,400, said Capt. Dick Shauland, spokesman for the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

"Some are valid and some aren't, but we have to check them all," he said. "We still have five detectives working on the case, running down leads."

On Thursday afternoon, Neves said Ronald was passing out flyers for his missing daughter.

"He found some places that didn't have flyers and that's what he's doing today, passing out flyers."

Neves said family members missed a certain item while cleaning inside the Cummings home.

"There is something missing from the trailer that should be there," she said. "I don't know if it was taken for evidence or whoever took Haleigh took it."

The missing item belongs to Haleigh, she said.

"It's something that should always be there for her," she said.

Neves said she could not explain what the item was because of the ongoing investigation.

Shauland said he had no idea what Neves was talking about, when authorities removed items as evidence a receipt for each item was issued to the family.

"We turned the house back to them sometime last week," he said. "We've not had anything to do with the house since then."

According to Marie Griffis, Crystal Sheffield's mother and Haleigh's grandmother, their tent at the entrance to Tyler Street off Buffalo Bluff Road may have to be moved.

"Right now I don't know if we will have to move or not," she said. "The owner of River Villas requested we find a place to move."

She said the family would try to move across the canal into a field that Texas-based Equusearch used for staging purposes.

"We may go to an empty lot on Hoot Owl Ridge Road," she said. "Crystal (Haleigh's mother) wants to stay as close as she can and I will be here as long as I can."

http://www.palatkadailynews.com/arti...ews/news01.txt

[lorettalockhorn]

Reminders of missing girl throughout home

SATSUMA - Christmas toys that were never assembled still wait on the porch of the mobile home where Haleigh Cummings disappeared last month.

Inside the home Friday, the mess caused during the investigation was cleaned up. Annette Sykes, Haleigh's paternal great-grandmother, showed reporters photos of Haleigh and her father, Ronald, that were on the walls of the family room.

As she walked through Ronald Jr.'s room, she said Haleigh and her brother often played together.

"They played in both rooms depending on what they were going to play," she said. "If they were going to play girlie things they would play in Haleigh's room. If they were going to play with cars and trucks they would play in Junior's room."

In Haleigh's room, her favorite things - makeup and fingernail polish - remain on the 5-year-old girl's dresser.

"She loved Hannah Montana," she said.

Haleigh was reported missing on Feb. 10 at 3:27 a.m. Authorities say the child was last seen the night before.

A massive search and criminal investigation appear to have yielded few results. No arrests have been made, no suspects have been identified and Haleigh remains missing.

Haleigh was being cared for by Ronald Cummings' girlfriend, Misty Croslin.

A report by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office says Croslin last saw Haleigh about 10:30 p.m. Feb. 9 when she went to bed with the children.

"Neither of the children slept in their rooms," Sykes said Friday. "They wouldn't sleep by themselves."

In Cummings' and Croslin's room, where Haleigh slept on a small mattress next to her father's bed, her favorite DVD was still in a player next to a television above her bed.

Sykes said Croslin got up to use the bathroom about 3 a.m. Feb. 10 and Haleigh was missing. Sykes walked to a door that leads from the kitchen through a laundry room and to a side door.

"This is the door, the back door where they took her out," she said. "You have to push on the door really hard because that's the way they put it in there. A block had the screen door propped open and the back door was wide open."

The side door was rarely used by Cummings, Sykes said.

"The only time this door was open was when they washed and vacuumed the car, because this door was so hard to open," she said.

Meanwhile, the tent and camper set up in front of a home on Tyler Street where the Cummings family has maintained a vigil for Haleigh will be removed by order of the county, Teresa Neves, Haleigh's paternal grandmother, said.

"You can have a 14-day permit, but campers and tents are only allowed in campgrounds," she said Friday.

"Basically they said we are breaking the law because we are not in a campground."

She said she was hoping there would be enough parking at her mother's house in Welaka so the family could move the tent there.

"I think we will have the vigil Sunday at 5:30 p.m. then move Sunday night," she said.

http://www.palatkadailynews.com/arti...ews/news01.txt

[dan_uk]

Haleigh's Family Being Asked to Leave Temporary Home


SATUMSA, Fla. - Ronald Cummings and his family are being told they can no longer live in the camp site where they have been staying since little Haleigh went missing.

The family received a notice from Putnam County on Friday. There is no word yet on when they will have to move. Ronald Cummings and his family have refused to stay in the home since Haleigh disappeared.

Haleigh was last seen in her mobile home on Green Lane in Satsuma. Investigators said she was sleeping in the same bed as her 3-year-old brother and her father's 17-year-old girlfriend, Mistie Croslin. When Croslin woke up around 3:30 a.m., the same time Haleigh's father Ronald Cummings got home from work, they realized Haleigh was gone and called 911.


Haleigh has not been seen since and no suspects have yet to be identified. The 5-year-old is 3 feet tall with blond hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about the girl is urged to contact the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at (386) 329-0800 or call 911.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news...eighfamilymove

[lorettalockhorn]

Haleigh's Father Pops Question to Teen Girlfriend

PALATKA, FL -- The father of Haleigh Cummings has asked his teenaged girlfriend to marry him.

Ronald Cummings, 25, popped the question to Misty Croslin Sunday night at Chili's, with several family members around them.

She said yes.

Outside the Putnam County Courthouse where Croslin and Cummings went Monday to get the paperwork for a marriage license, Croslin showed off her ring.

"Everybody's probably going to take this marriage thing the wrong way but it's not," said Croslin. "Everything's still focused on Haleigh. This is what Haleigh wanted. She's always talked about it."

Croslin said Haleigh even called her "mom."

Since Croslin is only 17, the paperwork has to be filled out by her parents...

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...133274&catid=3

[lorettalockhorn]

Family of Haleigh Cummings Gets Visit from Family of Tiffany Sessions


SATSUMA, FL -- A family whose daughter disappeared 20 years ago has stopped by Satsuma to visit with Haleigh Cummings' family.

Tiffany Sessions, a college student, vanished from the Universty of Florida in 1989.

Monday, her father, Patrick, and brother, Jason, drove to Satsuma to support Haleigh's family.

Tiffany Sessions was last seen on February 9th, the same day of the month Haleigh was last seen.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/a...3266&catid=295

[lorettalockhorn]

Parents Make Emotional Plea for Haleigh's Return

SATSUMA, FL -- Haleigh Cummings' parents had to fight through tears Tuesday afternoon as they made yet another plea for the return of their missing 5-year-old.

At a news conference hosted by the Justice Coalition, Ronald Cummings told his daughter, "You'll always be daddy's little girl; I love you."

He then said, "Please, if you have my daughter, bring her home."

Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, echoed that. "Bring her home, please," she said, crying.

Justice Coalition Executive Director Ann Dugger announced that the Justice Coalition is adding more money to the reward, bringing the total reward for the return of Haleigh and the arrest and conviction of the person(s) who took her to $35,000.

Dugger then added, "It's not about the money; it's about doing the right thing...

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/l...133387&catid=3