Haleigh's family remains divided 6 months later
Grandmother wants peace but sees too many issues
- By Dana Treen
- Story updated at 7:35 AM on Monday, Aug. 10, 2009
Six months into the unsolved disappearance of Haleigh Cummings, those who deeply love her believe she is still alive.
Its about the only thing the two families closest to the investigation of her disappearance agree on.
With Monday marking the six-month anniversary of her case and next weeks arrival of her sixth birthday, her divided family has even scheduled separate events in Putnam County.
It doesnt matter what anybody says, we just want the safe return of Haleigh, said Annette Sykes, whose grandson Ronald Cummings is Haleighs father. Nothing else matters.
Cummings and Crystal Sheffield, the long-estranged parents of Haleigh and her 4-year-old brother Ronald Jr., see each other only to exchange the boy at a pre-arranged stop in Florahome, about midway between Cummings home in southern Putnam County and Sheffields in western Baker County.
Tension between Cummings, Sheffield and their families has hummed like high-voltage background noise since the beginning of the case.
Sheffields mother, Marie Griffis, said law enforcement authorities have asked the two families not to have contact beyond the exchanges of Ronald Jr.
I feel like that maybe if the families could speak with each other and put differences aside that maybe it would help the case, but there is too much going on down there and it is being pushed our way to blame us for what happened in Putnam County, Griffis said from her home outside Sanderson where Sheffield also lives.
She said her family has been accused of abducting Haleigh and hiding her with family out of state.
She said she has no idea how her granddaughter vanished but said the kindergartner was living with Cummings and his 17-year-old girlfriend when she was reported missing.
I dont know what, I dont know how but they were the last people to see my granddaughter, Griffis said. Theyre the last two people to see her. Theyre accountable for her whereabouts.
Cummings said he and former girlfriend Misty Croslin who he has since married and is now Misty Cummings have been unfairly targeted.
There should have been more attention to Crystals family, he said. I think they should have paid more attention to everyone rather than just me and Misty.
He said questioning should have been broader.
They didnt have the big picture, he said. Why do they not question everybody?
Cummings: It went personal
In recent interviews at Sykes Welaka home where Ronald Cummings, 25, and his wife live, he told the Times-Union the Putnam County Sheriffs Office focus was shortsighted.
Standing outside wearing T-shirts with Haleighs likeness, Ronald and Misty Cummings said they gave dozens of hours of interviews in February and March, including her longest, which she said occurred just before the couple were married.
I think the longest time I was in there was eight hours, she said.
Ronald Cummings said the investigation went in the wrong direction.
They took a child-abduction investigation and made it a personal investigation, he said. Instead of keeping the focus on finding Haleigh, they made the focus on Misty and what she was doing one weekend and what happened six months ago and what happened seven years ago. It was tunnel vision.
Cummings has cut off interviews with investigators.
Besides No I didnt have nothing to do with my child being missing, what do you say? he asked.
Maj. Gary Bowling, director of law enforcement for the department, said detectives would like to interview Cummings again but have been resisted.
The interviews with Misty Cummings have produced different pictures, he said. She was alone with Cummings children the night Haleigh disappeared. She has told authorities she woke up about 3 a.m. and found the 5-year-old missing.
Weve said from day one Mistys story is absolutely filled with inconsistencies, Bowling said.
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/me...aleighs_family_remains_divided_6_months_later
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My opinion on this is that both families are not worthy of children, BUT, that said...
I CANNOT, and I mean I absolutely cannot see the puzzling support for Ronald. Almost obsessive support, and it has become so personal to posters over the last few months, almost like they cannot admit RC is not father material, even hold him up as an honorable man.
Compare to other MP cases we discuss and you WILL NOT see support for others who have a child go missing on their watch. He is not.
And really, I'm not even arguing it.
Just my observation that RC is a match waiting for a gas can.
IMO.