MEDIA / LINKS ONLY - No discussion

Haleigh's brother: Man took her from bedroom
Published: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 10:31 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 10:31 a.m.
<snipped>
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&#8217;s Capt. Dick Schauland confirmed that officers had received the lead but didn&#8217;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. &#8220;Everything they were able to find out from him they are following up on,&#8221; Schauland said.

Article:
http://www.gainesville.com/article/...e=Haleigh-s-brother-Man-took-her-from-bedroom
 
Mother Of Missing Girl Hints At New Lead
Haleigh Cummings' Mother Says Younger Brother May Have Information
POSTED: 12:15 pm EST February 24, 2009
UPDATED: 4:32 pm EST February 24, 2009

<snipped>
PALATKA, Fla. -- The younger brother of a missing Putnam County girl may have provided investigators with a new lead.
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&#8217;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?"


Video: Haleigh's Brother May Have Provided New Lead
http://www.wesh.com/video/18786243/index.html

Video: Investigators Continue Search For Haleigh
http://www.wesh.com/video/18778183/index.html

Updated Images Of Haleigh Cummings:
http://www.wesh.com/slideshow/news/18711660/detail.html

Article:
http://www.wesh.com/news/18784308/detail.html
 
'Man in black' took Haleigh, family told mom
Helen Eckinger | Sentinel Staff Writer
4:00 PM EST, February 24, 2009
<snipped>
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. 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.
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.

Article:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-bk-haleigh-update-022409,0,6637323.story
 
Another Reward Increase in Search for Haleigh
Created: 2/24/2009 2:03:19 PM
Updated: 2/24/2009 2:46:05 PM
<snipped>
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.

Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/amberalerts/news-article.aspx?storyid=132087&catid=295
 
Tip Leads Detectives To St. Johns Co. In Search For Haleigh
Search For Missing 5-Year-Old Continues
POSTED: Tuesday, February 24, 2009
UPDATED: 6:27 pm EST February 24, 2009
<snipped>
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- A tip about a possible Haleigh Cummings sighting led investigators to St. Augustine on Tuesday -- day 15 in the search for the missing 5-year-old girl.
On Tuesday morning, officers searched an area in St. Augustine near some railroad tracks around state Road 16 and U.S. Highway 1 after someone called to say he or she saw a man walking with a girl who fit Haleigh's description.
Police eventually located a man in the area who was walking his daughter to school. Still, there was no sign of Haleigh.

Other tips of possible sightings of the missing girl have led investigators on searches as far as Tennessee, where officers searched after receiving a lead that Haleigh was seen getting into a vehicle outside a restaurant. However, like many others, that turned out to be a false lead.

Investigators Continue To Follow Tips In Haleigh Case: Video
http://www.news4jax.com/video/18788008/index.html
Article:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/18786578/detail.html
 
Signs for Haleigh Cover the First Coast
Created: 2/24/2009 3:35:38 PM
Updated: 2/24/2009 5:09:05 PM
<snipped>
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.
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.


12PM Report "The Search For Haleigh": Video 2:13
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...5d8baed17bdf7&maven_referralObject=1044310688

5PN Report "Signs for Haleigh Cover the First Coast": Video 1:24
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...f43367513e061&maven_referralObject=1044710343

5PM Report "The Search For Haleigh": Video 1:36
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...f43367513e061&maven_referralObject=1044727316

Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/amberalerts/news-article.aspx?storyid=132090&catid=295
***************************************************************************
Haleigh's Brother Says He Saw the Suspect
Created: 2/24/2009 4:55:05 PM
Updated: 2/24/2009 5:55:50 PM
<snipped>
"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.


6PM Report "Haleigh's Brother May Have Seen Abduction": Video 1:48
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...f43367513e061&maven_referralObject=1044750154

Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/amberalerts/news-article.aspx?storyid=132095&catid=295
 
Haleigh's Mom Holds Special Church Service
Created: 2/24/2009 8:55:58 PM
Updated: 2/25/2009 12:07:04 AM
<snipped>
WELAKA, FL -- A few miles south of the family campsite in Satsuma, Haleigh Cumming's mother attended a church service where people prayed for the the girl's safe return.
A few dozen people gathered in the small church, encouraging the family not to give up hope young Haleigh will be found alive.
[Haleigh's mom, Crystal Sheffield, told First Coast News' Erich Spivey she will stay in Satsuma for months, if that's how long it takes to find Haleigh.
Ronald Cummings made another plea for Haleigh's safe return Tuesday, but didn't take any questions from reporters.


11PM Report Haleigh's Mom Holds Special Church Service: Video 2:38
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...d0b7d36168356&maven_referralObject=1045002593

Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/amberalerts/news-article.aspx?storyid=132133&catid=295
 
Geraldo faces his nightmare
Story updated at 6:58 AM on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009
<snipped>
In his long career, Geraldo has done good stories, important stories. But whatever the story, from war to hurricanes, The Story inevitably seems to be Geraldo.
So was anyone surprised that when Geraldo came to Putnam County, the focus of the Haleigh Cummings story shifted from a missing 5-year-old girl to an omnipresent 65-year-old TV journalist?

Beyond the questions about interview style, there are more significant ones. Like whether some of the allegations tossed out to a national television audience are even true. And whether any of this was relevant to Haleigh's disappearance. Or if it just made for good TV and further fueled message board judges and juries.
Some have defended Geraldo, saying he was getting to the bottom of the story. I'd put it a little differently. I'd say he got in the middle of the story. Yes, somehow it happened again. Geraldo's professional nightmare came true.

Article:
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/columnists/mark_woods/2009-02-25/story/geraldo_faces_his_nightmare
 
Cummings Family: Rumors Person Was Inside Home Are False
Last Update: 2/24 8:23 pm
<snipped>
SATSUMA, Fla. --- Annette Sykes says reports that her great-grandson saw a man dressed in black inside the house the night his sister disappeared are false. Sykes says Crystal Sheffield, Haleigh Cummings biological mother, went on the Nancy Grace show and said four-year-old Ronald Jr. told her a man in black took his sister.
&#8220;I carried him for the child psychologist to interview him&#8230;he spent quite a lot of time with two or three different ones. They said his story changed. Each time you ask him something, you know, you ask it a different way and he&#8217;d change his story,&#8221; said Sykes.


Rumors Person Was Inside Home Are False: Video
http://www.fox30online.com/mediacenter/[email protected]&navCatId=5

Reward Increased in Cummings Disappearance: Video
http://www.fox30online.com/mediacenter/[email protected]&navCatId=5

Disappearance Prompts Alleged Internet Scam: Video
http://www.fox30online.com/mediacenter/[email protected]

Missing Girl&#8217;s Family Reacts To Geraldo&#8217;s Interview : Video
http://www.fox30online.com/mediacenter/[email protected]&navCatId=5

Missing Girl&#8217;s Grandmother Talks About Suspicious Circumstances: Video
http://www.fox30online.com/mediacenter/[email protected]&navCatId=5

Slideshow:
http://www.fox30online.com/Photo.aspx?content_id=686bebad-a6e9-4112-822f-f4741706780c

Article:
http://www.fox30online.com/content/...s-Inside-Home-Are/retraOmmEkGCL_R0FwZ4DA.cspx
******************************************************************
Haleigh's Family Divided, Prayers United
Last Update: 12:55 am
<snipped>
SATSUMA, Fla. - On two seperate sides of Satsuma Tuesday night, in two different places, two seperate parents prayed but both for the same outcome--- the safe return of their little girl, five-year-old Haleigh Cummings.
Crystal Sheffield and her supporters gathered at Hope Lutheran Church for a prayer service.
Ronald Cummings and his family congregated inside the tent in their neighborhood for a candlelight vigil.


Search For Haleigh-Prayers: Video
http://www.fox30online.com/mediacenter/[email protected]&navCatId=5

Article:
http://www.fox30online.com/content/...ed-Prayers-United/a1lNujvjoU-1h1wLDTi4nQ.cspx
 
Anonymous pledge boosts Haleigh reward fund
After two weeks, Putnam detectives still search for the missing 5-year-old.
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009
<snipped>
Fifteen days after the kindergartner was reported missing, five detectives with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office remain on the case full time and can call on the remaining 12 detectives to assist, Capt. Dick Schauland saud.
He said the FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement also have agents working the case that has generated about 1,600 leads. Ground and other searches have been suspended as have daily news briefings in the case.

Article:
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-02-25/story/anonymous_pledge_boosts_haleigh_reward_fund
 
Child Support is an Issue between Haleigh's Parents
Created: 2/24/2009 8:58:26 PM
Updated: 2/25/2009 8:54:08 AM
<snipped>
Court documents show Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, is behind in child support by about $4,100.
A motion was filed by the state's Department of Revenue on Ronald Cummings' behalf against Sheffield for contempt. It was dated February 3rd, a week before Haleigh disappeared. A hearing was set for Sheffield for March 27.
Ronald Cummings, Haleigh's father, told First Coast News he received a copy of the document about the hearing the day before Haleigh vanished. Cummings appeared frustrated about the timing of the document's arrival and his daughter's disappearance.

"With this economy, people cannot find a job. She's looked, even at Burger King and McDonald's and at other restaurants," Griffis explained. "People are just not quitting their jobs...and so she can't find a job. It's not that she doesn't want to pay child support, she just can't find a job to pay child support."
Last week, on February 16th, the state signed a dismissal document which cancelled the child support contempt of court hearing until Haleigh is found. The dismissal document was filed in the Putnam County Clerk of Courts office Tuesday.


6PM Report "Child Support For Haleigh": Video 2:49
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...f43367513e061&maven_referralObject=1045291922

Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=132134&catid=3
 
Despite 'Sightings,' Tips, Investigators No Closer To Finding Haleigh
Search For Missing 5-Year-Old Continues Into 16th Day
POSTED: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
UPDATED: 2:08 pm EST February 25, 2009
<snipped>
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- An anonymous pledge of $5,000 on Tuesday boosted the reward for finding 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings to $25,500 as investigators said they are no closer to finding her on the 15th day than they were on the first. The sheriff's office has suspended daily news briefings because there's basically nothing they can report.
"The thrust of the investigation is the return of Haleigh, so we have to be very careful about the information we release," Schauland said Tuesday. "If there is any new information, we will get it out."

The family said they have also suspended daily searches, but they are organizing a search on Saturday and asking for volunteers to help.
The Cummings family continues to hold nightly vigils for Haleigh outside the separate makeshift camp sites in the Satsuma neighborhood where her mother and father have stayed since Feb. 10 when the girl disappeared from her bed.

Day 16 In Search, No Promising Leads In Haleigh's Case: Video
http://www.news4jax.com/video/18797738/index.html
Investigators Stop Talking About Haleigh; Family Keeps Hoping, Praying: Video
http://www.news4jax.com/video/18794405/index.html
Article:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/18793662/detail.html
 
Reward for Haleigh Now Tops $26,000
Created: 2/24/2009 2:03:19 PM
Updated: 2/25/2009 5:32:22 PM
<snipped>
SATSUMA, FL -- One day after an anonymous donor pledged $5,000 to the reward for finding Haleigh Cummings, another anonymous donor has added more money.
Today's announcement of an additional $1,000 reward now means the reward for finding the 5-year-old who has been missing for more than two weeks now stands at $26,500.

5PM Report "Another False Tip For Haleigh": Video 1:51
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...d0b7d36168356&maven_referralObject=1045735120
Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=132087&catid=3
 
First Look at Haleigh Home Video
Created: 2/25/2009 6:31:40 PM
Updated: 2/25/2009 10:06:23 PM
<snipped>
SATSUMA, FL -- Haleigh Cummings' family has given us home video of their missing daughter.
The home video was taken on Christmas morning at the Satsuma home she was last seen in on February 9th.
We've obscured part of the video at the request of the family so that Ronald Junior's face can't be seen.

The family wants everyone to take a good look at the video and hopes someone will recognize the 5-year-old.

'Haleigh Home Video": 1:15
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...d0b7d36168356&maven_referralObject=1045801856
6PM Report "A Couple From Tampa Help In The Search For Haleigh": Video 2:56
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...d0b7d36168356&maven_referralObject=1045788707
Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/amberalerts/news-article.aspx?storyid=132221&catid=295
******************************************************************
A Couple From Tampa Helps To Search for Haleigh
Created: 2/25/2009 8:09:16 PM
Updated: 2/25/2009 9:50:50 PM
<snipped>
SATSUMA, FL -- Bill Kyne and his wife, Diane, came all the way from Seminole, near Tampa, to help search for Haleigh Cummings in Satsuma Wednesday.
They met with Ronald Cummings, Haleigh's father, when they arrived in town.

"He just seems to be a genuine dad who cares for his kids and I can't imagine what he's going through," Mr. Kyne said.
He ate lunch with Cummings. Afterwards, Mr Kyne said Cummings explained there were no definite areas that could be searched, and no private property could be searched without the owner's permission. And so the Kynes chose to stay in Putnam County for the night, attend a vigil for Haleigh, and come back on the weekend to help with a possible organized search.

Cummings did not take questions from reporters again Wednesday but made another plea for help.
"Whoever has my daughter, please bring her home. Please bring her home. And if you're watching baby, I love you."
Two blocks away at Haleigh's mother's camp, Crystal Sheffield pleaded for her daughter's safe return as well.
"I just want to say, Haleigh, I miss you and I love you."


6PM Report "A Couple From Tampa Help In The Search For Haleigh": Video 2:56
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...d0b7d36168356&maven_referralObject=1045788707

Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=132242&catid=3
 
Donors warned of bogus Web funds for Haleigh
Published: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 2:11 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 2:11 p.m.
<snipped>
Fake online solicitations for donations are surfacing as the search for a missing Putnam County girl continues, more than two weeks since she vanished from her home. A donation fund has been set up to assist Haleigh Cummings' father and brother, but Web sites claiming to be collecting money for the 5-year-old and her relatives are false, said Jessica Watts with Watts Funeral Home in San Mateo. Watts' husband helped set up the donation fund at Bank of America. The funeral home also is selling T-shirts and buttons with Haleigh&#8217;s picture with proceeds assisting relatives. "We have not set up and I know the family has not set up any online donations," she said.
People who want to donate to the fund should write a check to the Haleigh Cummings Family Relief Fund and submit it at a Bank of America branch. Money from the account currently is being used to help Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, pay bills such as rent and car payments. He has not been going to work since his daughter was reported missing from the family's Satsuma home on Feb. 10. The Watts Funeral Home, located off of U.S. 17, can be reached at 386-328-1414.


Article:
http://www.gainesville.com/article/...=Donors-warned-of-bogus-Web-funds-for-Haleigh
 
UPDATED: Dumpster Scoured In Search For Haleigh; Nothing New Found
Investigator: Cadaver Dog Alerts Officers To Dumpster
POSTED: Thursday, February 26, 2009
UPDATED: 12:27 am EST February 27, 2009
<snipped>
Late in the afternoon, investigators converged on the neighbor to go through a Dumpster where cadaver dogs picked up scent. However, after about six hours of scouring through the Dumpster police said they found nothing that could be linked to the missing girl.
Investigators said three cadaver dogs noticed a scent in the same spot. The dogs and others had been combing the area as part of routine search.

"It could be various items, and may not necessarily be something related to the case," said Brian Selzer, of Canine Search and Rescue as investigators searched through the plastic bags found in the Dumpster.

Investigators said they did search around the same Dumpster days ago, shortly after Haleigh's disappearance, but found nothing. They said the never went into the Dumpster until Thursday evening. According to investigators, all of the garbage in the area in the days following Haleigh's disappearance was taken to a special part of the county's landfill and gone through piece by piece. They said there was no sign of anything relating to the missing girl.
The cadaver dogs are expected to return to the area on Friday to continue to search the area for clues.


Image: Haleigh And Her Dad
http://www.news4jax.com/image/18798745/detail.html
SLIDESHOW: Search For Haleigh Cummings
http://www.news4jax.com/slideshow/news/18703611/detail.html
Investigator: Cadaver Dogs Alert Officers To Dumpster: Video
http://www.news4jax.com/video/18807847/index.html
Family Wants People To Remember Haleigh's Face, Keep Watch For Missing Girl: Video
http://www.news4jax.com/video/18798833/index.html
Dogs Used In Search For Haleigh: Video
http://www.news4jax.com/video/18806491/index.html
Article:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/18805304/detail.html
 
A Father's Pain
Last Update: 12:37 am
<snipped>
His family's nightly vigil is now smaller, and closed to the media. And according to Ronald's family, he's not eating and not sleeping. "It's just unbearable. He's broken hearted. He's lost. His little girl's lost. He just wants her back home," says Ronald's grandmother, Annette Sykes.
Looking exhausted, Cummings made only one public plea Wednesday for his daughter's return. "Whoever's got my daughter, please, please, please bring my daughter home."

Search for Haleigh-Ron Cummings: Video
http://www.fox30online.com/mediacenter/[email protected]&navCatId=5
Article:
http://www.fox30online.com/content/topstories/story/A-Fathers-Pain/uQy9Xwcq3UG970Qektl_TA.cspx
***************************************************************************
Haleigh Church Service: Video
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1329229943?bclid=1308023108&bctid=13428408001

2/25/09 11PM News Report "First look At Haleigh In Home Video: 3:06
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...d0b7d36168356&maven_referralObject=1046042627
 
UPDATED: Amber Alert -- Nothing Found In Dumpster Search
Friday, February 27, 2009 2:47:28 AM
<snipped>
Three cadaver dogs alerted on the Dumpster around 3 p.m.
Investigators found brush and debris inside. All were remnants of a home being renovated.
The sheriff's office said they did not take anything from the Dumpster.
Bloodhounds had searched the area several times in the past. The dogs' handler described the incident as an anomaly.
The sheriff's office and the cadaver dogs will be back out for more searching on Friday.

NEW Slideshow - 19 images Included In Article!

VIDEO: Dumpster Search
http://www.cfnews13.com/MediaPlayer..._022620091145&cat=Local&title=Dumpster Search

Dumpster Search -- Raw Video
http://www.cfnews13.com/MediaPlayer...&cat=Local&title=Dumpster Search -- Raw Video

Article:
http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/...police_dogs_search_for_haleigh.html?refresh=1
***************************************************************************
Nothing Found In K-9 Search For Missing Girl
Putnam Co. Sheriff's Office Sent Several K-9 Search Teams
POSTED: 11:04 am EST February 26, 2009
UPDATED: 8:59 pm EST February 26, 2009
<snipped>
PALATKA, Fla. -- The Putnam County Sheriff's Office sent out several K-9 search teams Thursday to look for Haleigh Cummings, but found no new evidence.
The search, which Schauland described as routine, consists of several K-9 search teams from a non-law enforcement organization, Canine South. The dogs are trained specifically to seek human remains.
"Again, this search is not in response to information received, but rather as a proven protocol from other missing person cases," Schauland said in the news release.

Video: Chopper 2 Flies Over Haleigh Search Area
http://www.wesh.com/video/18801851/index.html
IMAGE: Searchers resumed looking for Haleigh Cummings on Thursday morning, using dogs in woods near her home.
http://www.wesh.com/image/18801625/detail.html
Sheriff's Office Uses K-9 Units To Search For Missing Girl: Video
http://www.wesh.com/video/18804074/index.html
Article:
http://www.wesh.com/news/18801629/detail.html
 
Haleigh's Father's Girlfriend Taken In For Questioning
Thursday, February 26, 2009 &#8211; updated: 12:20 pm EST February 26, 2009
<snipped>
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- Eyewitness News has learned that Misty Croslin, Haleigh's father's girlfriend was the last one to see the 5-year- old. Croslin was taken away for questioning again Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, seven cadaver dogs and nine officers were sent to search an area surrounding the home of missing five-year-old Haleigh Cummings Thursday. Deputies said the search was being conducted to make sure that nothing is overlooked.
The cadaver dogs and officers searched for human remains. Eyewitness News saw dogs sniffing along the panels underneath mobile homes in case a body was placed underneath.

VIDEO REPORT: Misty Croslin Questioned
http://www.wftv.com/video/18802229/index.html
RAW VIDEO: Girlfriend Comments On Cousin
http://www.wftv.com/video/18757783/index.html
Article:
http://www.wftv.com/news/18802080/detail.html
 

Staff online

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
158
Guests online
8,196
Total visitors
8,354

Forum statistics

Threads
627,533
Messages
18,547,636
Members
241,334
Latest member
gonegirldiaries
Back
Top