Haleigh Cummings Who? The forgotten Missing Florida Tot

Discussion in 'Crimes, Trials & Missing Persons' started by Moab, Apr 23, 2009.

  1. Moab

    Moab Admin Staff Member

    Haleigh Who? The forgotten Missing Florida Tot

    April 23, 2009

    [​IMG] I have received multiple emails in the last few days from readers who are anxious to receive updates on Haleigh Ann Marie Cummings, a 5-year-old girl from Putnam County, Florida, who disappeared in February 2009. It was not my intention to allow this case to fall by the wayside; this has been the case due to the many other missing person cases I have been working on in recent weeks. Nonetheless, it is my intention today to update you on the latest happenings - as slim and far between as they may be.
    Before we get into the newest details, I feel that a brief recap is in order for those of you who are not completely familiar with the case.
    Haleigh Cummings was last seen in the early-morning hours of Feb. 10, allegedly sleeping in her father's mobile home.
    According to John Merchant, a detective with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, police were first notified of the case at about 3:45 a.m., when they received a call from 17-year-old Misty Croslin, the then girlfriend (now wife) of Haleigh's father, 24-year-old Ronald Cummings.
    In the call, Croslin said that when she woke up, she discovered that Haleigh was missing and that the back door to the mobile home had been propped open.
    "Like, there was a brick on the floor," Croslin said. "Like, when I went to sleep, the door was not like that."
    When police arrived at the mobile home in the Hermit's Cove area of Satsuma, they were greeted by a frantic Ronald Cummings. When deputies were finally able to calm him down, he explained that he had last seen his daughter at about 10:00 p.m. that night before he left for work. When he returned home, at about 3:45 a.m., his girlfriend had told him that his daughter was missing.
    According to Misty, she had been alone in the house with Haleigh and the child's 3-year-old brother. She said that Haleigh was next to her in the bed when she had fallen asleep; however, when she later woke up to go to the bathroom - minutes before Cummings arrived home from work - she discovered that Haleigh was missing. Her original story has since varied.
    Upon receiving the report, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement responded by activating its Child Abduction Regional Team and, within an hour, over 130 officers from at least 10 county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies were searching for Haleigh.

    In the days that followed, Haleigh's mother, 23-year-old Crystal Sheffield, traveled from Georgia to Florida to assist in the search effort. Since that time, she has been very vocal in terms of her opinions of Ronald and his girlfriend, and has made allegations of possible child abuse; law enforcement has looked into those claims, and found no indication that anyone had ever abused Haleigh.
    In the days and weeks that have followed, several tips have poured into the police, including one from a local resident who alleged that Misty was not at home the night Haleigh disappeared. It has further been alleged that the night Haleigh was abducted was not the first time Croslin had sneaked out while Cummings was at work and his kids were sleeping. There have been further allegations regarding her activities at that time; however, that information has not officially been released.
    In March, Misty announced that Ronald had proposed to her and, in the days that followed, the couple wed in a private ceremony.
    On April 3, Ronald was notified by his employer, PDM Bridge, that he had been fired because he had not come to work since his daughter had gone missing. In response, Ronald's lawyer, Greg Kimball, released a public statement, which reads in part:
    "From the time of Haleigh's disappearance, Ronald Cummings was told that his employer was holding his job open. He was told by his employer that he could start back to work on Monday, April 6, 2009. Ronald agreed to this date and was prepared to go into work when he was told on Friday, April 3, 2009 that the offer to return to work was being withdrawn for ‘abandoning his job.’"
    In the midst of all of this, licensed bondsman and surety agent William "Cobra" Staubs was hired by an anonymous source to investigate Haleigh's disappearance. Staubs attempted to get Ronald and Misty to agree to a reenactment of the night Haleigh went missing, but that fell through when Misty allegedly refused to cooperate. Since that time, Staubs has been working various angles and, according to ***********.net, has been bailing out of jail people who are connected to the case.

    <center>[​IMG]</center> On April 20, the mother of Ronald's 20-month-old son from a previous relationship, Amber Brooks, 20, was arrested on charges of cocaine possession. Arrested with her was Kristina "Nay Nay" Renee Prevatt, 18, a woman who recently gave an interview to artharris.com in which she allegedly describes a lurid sex, drug, and alcohol party that Misty had supposedly gone to on the week before Haleigh went missing.
    Staubs posted the girls' bonds because he believes they have information that is vital to the case. What, if anything, he has learned from them is unknown.
    So where does all of this leave us today? According to the Putman, Florida County Sheriff's Office, they have investigated over 1,400 tips and reported sightings. None of them have revealed what happened to Haleigh; however, the investigation is still active and the task force has yet to be scaled back.
    Authorities will not comment on whether they are focusing their investigation on Ronald and Misty or other family members, and will say only that they have yet to rule "anyone" out.
    Hence, the investigation continues…
    Haleigh Cummings is described as three feet tall, weighing 39 pounds, with blonde hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 386-329-0808 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS.
     
  2. Barbara

    Barbara FFJ Senior Member

    This is just such a sad sad story.

    This story is destined to have a very unhappy ending for Haleigh, and yes, I'll say it here: this BETTER have a very unhappy ending for Misty!

    I believe Misty is in this up to her eyeballs

    I wonder if Misty likes water sports: I'm thinking waterboarding; maybe that will bring Haleigh home and bring some peace and justice for yet ANOTHER child who was probably just in the way of a good time for someone.

    &*!@$%#
     
  3. "J_R"

    "J_R" Shutter Bug Bee

    There is so much BS floating around this case my boots are not tall enough. 'Nuff said.
     
  4. Little

    Little Member

    Poor little Haleigh is the forgotten person because everyone surrounding her is so danged worried about protecting their own butt because of either sleeping around or drugs. That's one big heap of white trash to sort through.

    IMO Ron needs to put everything he knows, thinks he knows, and might know on the doggone table to eliminate all these side freak show carnival events and just find a way to get his daughter back.

    Barbara - you make a very good argument for interrogation methods. I think Misty is the key here.

    Little
     
  5. Elle

    Elle Member

    When I first read this sad story, like the others, I felt girlfriend Misty was involved. I think she saw Haleigh as a threat to her relationship with her Dad.[​IMG]
     
  6. Little

    Little Member

    That's a pretty good theory Elle.

    Little
     
  7. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Someone knows what happened to this child. The "newlyweds" know, IMO. Misty told lies, about this little girl's disappearance and admitted on national TV in an interview that she had lied to LE. The father knows what happened, IMO, and if not involved, is in deep denial. Marrying that underage idiot while his little girl is missing on her watch told me all I need to know about him.
     
  8. AMES

    AMES Member

    I wonder if Misty did sneak out to attend some sort of party, if Haleigh may have woke up and went looking for her. That thought is far fetched...I know. It just occurred to me.

    I find it odd that Misty woke up to go to the bathroom just MINUTES before Ronald arrived home from work. Her bladder and Ronald's time punch clock, are on the same schedule.
     
  9. Moab

    Moab Admin Staff Member

    More than likely she was just getting home from the party!
     
  10. Little

    Little Member

    This is one of those cases where I just can't seem to get a good grip on what happened to this darling little girl.

    Like the title of this thread, it seems to those closely involved it's about everything BUT Haleigh. How can they not have any idea what happened to her? What are the odds of some stranger just happening to be in that neighborhood, and just happening to enter that home? I'm not saying it couldn't have happened that way, just that (IMHO) the odds are against that.

    I wonder just how much Misty knows, and how much Misty is afraid to divulge just what was going on that night.

    This is a very frustrating case. I feel very sorry for her mom Crystal.

    Ames, I feel the same way. What a coinkidink that Misty's nature call was almost at the exact time Ron got home from work.

    Little
     
  11. Elle

    Elle Member

    No way did Misty want this little girl to be #1 in her Dad's life, because this was where she wanted to be.

    I agree with everything you are all saying here, girls.
     
  12. Moab

    Moab Admin Staff Member

    HaLeigh Cummings’ story on ‘Maury’ show (video)

    HaLeigh Cummings’ story on ‘Maury’ show (video)


    On Thursday, the story of missing Satsuma, Fla. girl, HaLeigh Cummings, was part of the ‘Maury’ show.
    Host, Maury Povich, examined the issue of missing children and included the story of several families of children who've disappeared.
    In an emotional appearance, HaLeigh’s father, Ronald Cummings, and his mother, Teresa Neves, made a heartfelt appeal to the public to help find the missing 6-year-old.
    http://www.examiner.com/x-1168-Crime-Examiner~y2009m10d22-HaLeigh-Cummings-story-on-Maury-show-video
     
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