Where Is Haleigh Cummings?
February 11, 2009 by Ruby
Putnam County, FL - I usually deal with fear and disgust by hiding behind humour, it works well for me most of the time. As I read about missing Florida girl, Haleigh Cummings, I feel a chill that no humour can mask. This makes writing far more difficult for me, no emotional buffers. At approximately 3:30 am yesterday morning, 5 year old Haleigh Cummings of Hermit’s Cove, FL was not in her bed when her father’s girlfriend checked on her shortly before her father arrived home from work. In fact, she was nowhere to be found at all. By 11:00 am an Amber Alert had been issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Haleigh "Doodlebug" Cummings
I want to say that something feels incredibly wrong here, but that what could possibly feel right? Still, things don’t add up in my head, I feel as though I am being fed a maggot infested diseased shit sandwich disguised as a simple cow patty. What makes it worse is that the facts seem to be different depending on the time and the news source.
While Haleigh’s father was at work, his 17-year-old girlfriend, Misty Croslin, was watching Haleigh and her little brother. Croslin put Haleigh to bed at around 8 p.m. Croslin, who went to bed at around 10 p.pm, states she woke up at 3 a.m. to use the bathroom and discovered Haleigh was not in her bed, but her brother was. She could not find the girl in the double-wide trailer, and then called 911. During this phone call, Haleigh’s father returns home from work. Here is a partial transcript of the phone call:
CALLER: I just woke up and my back door was all open and I can’t find my daughter.
DISPATCH: Can’t find what?
CALLER: My daughter.
DISPATCH:Ok. When did you last see her?
CALLER: Um, we just like, you know, it was about 10 o’clock. She was sleeping (inaudible).
DISPATCH: Ok. How old is your daughter?
CALLER: She’sShe reviews
5.
DISPATCH: OK. What was she last seen wearing, Ma’am?
CALLER: She was in her pajamas. We were sleeping.
DISPATCH: OK. Alright, you said your back door was wide open?
CALLER: Yes, with a brick. Like, there was a brick on the floor. Like, when I went to sleep the door was not like that.
DISPATCH: Was your back door locked do you know?
CALLER: Yes. The back door always stays locked.
FATHER: I just got home from work, my 5-year-old daughter is gone. I need someone to be here now. I’m telling you. If I find whoever has my daughter before you all do, I’m killing him. I don’t care. I’ll spend the rest of my life in prison.
DISPATCH: It’s OK sir, we got them on the way. Can you give me a description of the pajamas she was wearing?
FATHER: I don’t (expletive) know I was at work.
I have pieced together the two separate calls (the father seems to hang up on 911 and the dispatcher calls them back) and you can listen to them here:
-Morbid
Police are treating everyone as suspects, investigating those closest to Haleigh, as well as the 45 registered sexual offenders listed as living within a 5 mile radius. (Perhaps its past time to move?) Haleigh Cummings, nicknamed Doodlebug, is 5 years and 5 months old, she is white with dirty blonde hair, she has brown eyes, weighs 39 lbs, is 3 feet tall and was last seen in her bedroom with her 2 year old brother, wearing a pink shirt and underwear. I’d also like to point out that she has the sweetest smile.
Putnam County deputies, officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Volusia, Marion and Flagler Sheriff’s Offices are searching the local area with helicopters, boats and search dogs, the case is currently considered an abduction and at this point Texas Equusearch has also joined the hunt. Police have also spoken with Haleigh’s mother, 23 year old Crystal Sheffield who was at home in MacClenny, FL at the time of the abduction. She is not considered a suspect, and as all family members in this case has been co-operative with investigators.
Update - There was some confusion, or at least some inconsistencies, with the different news reports coming out yesterday. Especially in regards to where the three were sleeping, if the brick was propping the door open or just on the ground and if Croslin was awakened by Ronald when he returned home. But as of this morning, it seems as if these new details are correct:
- The 17-year-old was sleeping in the same room as Haleigh and her 2-year-old brother, Ronald Cummings Jr.
- It was a cinder block that was being used to prop open the back door.
- When Ronald returned home, Croslin was already awake and on the phone with 911
4:15 pm on February 11th, 2009
Thanks for the quick write up DG! I sure hope they figure out what’s going on and quickly. Please don’t let this be another Jessica Lunsford!!!
4:18 pm on February 11th, 2009
Nor another Polly Klass. It doesn’t sound good, though. Dad out to work, 17 year old live in girlfriend (that’s a mind boggler by itself) left in charge of Dad’s kids all night. Daughter disappears…got a bad bad feeling about this.
4:40 pm on February 11th, 2009
Is the two year old his child also? I read in one news report that his 17 yo gf has a child also, just wondering if the 2 yo might be hers.
I don’t know about anyone else but my gut at seeing dad tells me something is fishy, it feels almost put on some how not sincere. I guess time will tell, I pray this is not a copycat of Caylee. If the doors where locked and there is no sign of forced entry into the dwelling then what happened the child didn’t evaporate.
4:47 pm on February 11th, 2009
I cannot imagine what the family is going through! Pray for her safe return. Although I do have agree with swade. something smells fishy… and I did change my panties today!
I wouldn’t be surprised if the g/f has something in this, especially if the 2 yr old is hers.
4:55 pm on February 11th, 2009
The 2 yr. old is his child their mother’s name is Crystal Sheffield. I feel at this time that both the father and the girlfriend seem shook up from this and I’m not going to jump to any conclusion without more facts. I pray with all my heart she will be found and unharmed. However, my gut tells me this is not good.
DG, awesome write up.
4:57 pm on February 11th, 2009
It’s been a long time since I have posted, although I still read every article everyday. I just can’t help the feeling that something is off with the story. I hope I am wrong, and that the little girl is found, but children do not just disappear with no sign of forced entry. It really seems like there has to be something else to this story and when I first heard about this little girl, I automatically thought the girlfreind is involved. Maybe I am reading too much DD and jumping to conclusions; I sure hope I am wrong!
5:13 pm on February 11th, 2009
Any of you who think the father or girlfriend are involved, I recommend you seek out the recordings (not the transcript) of the 911 call. Once I listened to that, I felt pretty sure that this was not their doing.
You know, we hear these things day in and day out, and so often our alarm bells sound and we think, “that person does not sound ‘right’ for someone whose child is missing.” I’ve got to tell you, these two sound just like how I imagine that sort of grief/shock/horror/fear to sound. It sounded very ‘right’ to me.
I don’t know what happened to that little girl. But as I read in a statement somewhere by LE, there’s not really ANY good scenario possible when a 5 year old goes missing from her bed in the middle of the night. And my gut tells me it’s not the girlfriend, and probably not the dad. Time will tell.
Poor little munchkin.
5:23 pm on February 11th, 2009
I just listened to the 911 call and I dont think the dad has anything to do with it! The girlfriend maybe! I am just wondering why the door would be proped open in feb?
5:27 pm on February 11th, 2009
The door wasn’t propped open by them. The gf said the door was closed when she went to bed around 10. It was open when she awoke to use the bathroom and found Haleigh gone.
5:30 pm on February 11th, 2009
I’d have to eyeball the 17-year-old gf first.
5:31 pm on February 11th, 2009
Supposedly they never locked their doors. I bet they do now!!
5:41 pm on February 11th, 2009
OMG…This sounds like the case back in 02 about Danielle Van Dam. She was abducted by a Pedo neighbor and then raped and murdered. Praying that Haliegh is safe some place. Sick feeling in my stomach
5:50 pm on February 11th, 2009
Oh, I do too! I hope and pray they find her soon, alive and unharmed, but my gut is also telling me the opposite. I never wanted to be so wrong in my life! Please let someone find her safe and well!
6:04 pm on February 11th, 2009
I have to say I had the chills when writing this, and with every new piece of info I read; and now they are saying volunteers are not needed. Bad vibes, very bad vibes…
I really hope Haleigh’s ok, but it really doesn’t feel like it… what her grandmother said especially bothered me, “”She’s out there somewhere, I can feel her. I can feel her presence, she’s screaming”
I could almost swear i feel the same thing
6:07 pm on February 11th, 2009
I hope for a safe return, until I hear otherwise.
but the gut doesn’t like it at all.
6:11 pm on February 11th, 2009
Oh, that’s so hard to take in right now! I’m going to do my best to stay positive for Haleigh!
I forgot to say earlier, but Thanks so much DamagedGoods for writing this and also to Ruby for FP it! I hope this has a good outcome, I really do!
6:14 pm on February 11th, 2009
As you read back through the archives, there have been several children found unharmed, but this is feeling too much like the stories like Caylee’s.
I sincerely hope I’m wrong. What possible motive could there be for this?
Good luck to the searchers, do your jobs well.
6:29 pm on February 11th, 2009
Listening to the 911 call, I am left feeling that the 17-year-old does not have anything to do with this. Of course that could change with more info, but her actions on the phone call do not seem to be from someone who has anything to do with the disappearance.
6:32 pm on February 11th, 2009
Where can I access the 911 call?
6:38 pm on February 11th, 2009
I just added it to the story for you. Took me a sec to piece them together.
6:53 pm on February 11th, 2009
Also, I thought it was weird that the girl happened to be on the phone with 911 when the dad got home. You know what I thought first? That the girl may have left the two alone in the trailer and had just returned back to the trailer before her boyfriend got home from work.
7:09 pm on February 11th, 2009
Oh, now wouldn’t that be an interesting twist? She’d still be distraught and sound genuinely upset on the 911 call, because she didn’t want or plan for the girl to be gone. But she felt culpable. Interesting possibility. Especially if she had gone out while they slept before, and it was a pattern known to neighbors??? Hmmm….
7:09 pm on February 11th, 2009
I didn’t think it did either. Listening to CNN today they said she was extremely upset and is staying with family at this time. I keep finding more articles and the more I read the more I feel this is not good. But I’m still praying for her safe return.
7:29 pm on February 11th, 2009
Interesting point, especially since she’s only 17 y.o. Ruby’s correct, the neighbors may have noticed something. Also interesting that she’s staying with family now, but I don’t want to read anything into that until more information is known.
Does not look so good, though. Hoping I’m wrong.
7:54 pm on February 11th, 2009
Thanks Morbid.
I listened to the recording and I too sensed sincere panick from this girl. But then Morbid throws in another possible scenario and my heart sunk.
Based on the fact she is only 17, perhaps she did go out that night. She is still a teenager. She may not have thought about all the possible things that could go wrong by leaving small children alone. That may be where the panick comes from.
I just hope we are all talking out of our behinds and she is safe. *KEEPING FINGERS CROSSED***
8:06 pm on February 11th, 2009
When I read those words…I got a chill down my spine.
I pray Haleigh is found soon and safe.
8:59 pm on February 11th, 2009
The 911 call makes me sick to my stomach. I will also pray for Haleigh.
9:04 pm on February 11th, 2009
That also makes me wonder if maybe she had someone else at the trailor and he/she left she didnt lock the door?
I have read 2 diff versions of this,,,,#1) she was in bed with the dads girlfriend and when girlfriend woke up she was gone.,,,,#2) She was sleeping in the other bedroom with her little brother.According to the sherriff the 17 yr is wasnt the most mature 17 yr old very “child like;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;”According to Misty Croslin, she had been alone in the house with Haleigh and the child’s 3-year-old brother, Ronald Jr. Croslin said that when she had fallen asleep, Haleigh was next to her in the bed; however, when she later woke up to go to the bathroom—minutes before Cummings arrived home from work—she discovered that Haleigh was missing. Croslin also stated she observed that a rear door to the trailer was ajar and that a brick had been used to prop it open. Croslin further said that she observed a blanket and sheets scattered on the wooden ramp leading from the door.
And # 2 saying she was in bedroom and sleeping with 2/3 yr old brother
“She’s afraid of the dark,” Cummings told First Coast News. “She didn’t leave my house. Somebody came in my back door and stole my child while I was at work.”
Another version is:From True Crime Report and he really makes sense,,
;;;;;;;;;;Haleigh’s father has insisted that she was afraid of the dark and would not roam at night. This may have been why he was so certain right away that his daughter had been abducted. A 2-year-old child was asleep in the same room as Haleigh, and he was fine. Police said there was no sign of forced entry into the mobile home.
The odds are, most of the time, that a child as young as Haleigh Cummings is more likely to fall prey to someone close to her.
One crime writer is comparing this with the Jessica Lunsford kidnapping lets hope theres a diff out come then that family had.;;;;;;;;;;The police must “assume abduction,”
“All the answers to why you’d want to take a 5-year-old are ugly,” Officer Bowling said.
Police have no official suspects, but are treating everyone they interview as one.
“All the world’s a suspect” now, Bowling said.
Haliegh I hope you are home safe and sound soon!!!
9:50 pm on February 11th, 2009
I’m crying as I listen to the 911 call. It’s just heartbreaking.
9:58 pm on February 11th, 2009
Dad of missing Leesburg boy supports Haleigh’s family
By Christopher Curry
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 5:16 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 5:31 p.m.
PALATKA – Joshua Duckett, the father of missing Leesburg toddler Trenton Duckett, traveled to Putnam County Wednesday to support the families of a 5-year-old girl who was reported missing early Tuesday morning.
Duckett also helped the girl’s father as a liaison of sorts with the media, bringing new photos of Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings to reporters and giving interviews on TV
10:05 pm on February 11th, 2009
ok heres my 1 cent worth
the girlfriend was in bed oron the couch with her lover, the lil girl came in and caught them, to which the 17 yr old freaks out afraid the girl will tell and in a heat of the moment thing, she goes missing, did the 17 yr old have the boytoy take her somewhere or did she take her somewhere? like morbid the first thing to catch my eye was that she was on phone with 911 when daddy was coming in the door, trying to be more convincing maybe? time will tell be safe sweet girl, ill be prayng for you
p.s. i went and voted DD rocks solid
10:07 pm on February 11th, 2009
I also thought Misty might have had company in the house who unlocked the back door for later return, someone whose interest was in Haleigh all along. I hope they had someone well trained to question the boy – many 2 to 3 year olds notice enough and can communicate one way or another.
10:34 pm on February 11th, 2009
This is terrible. Another baby missing from her home while she was sleeping. Why and how does this happen. She is such a beautiful little girl. You know DD’ers, this isn’t good. Chances are………. I don’t even want to say it! She has been missing since Monday…. ummm, poor baby girl.
I am going to pray for this family tonight, this is heartbreaking.
10:38 pm on February 11th, 2009
10:51 pm on February 11th, 2009
I don’t think the dad or girlfriend had anything to do with this darling girl’s disappearance. In the 911 call they just sound so shocked and distraught, going crazy waiting on law enforcement to arrive. They’re so out of their minds they can’t even clearly answer the most basic questions like what does she look like and what was she wearing. Which is precisely the state I’d be in if one night my daughter were suddenly gone. And I think the weight and height put out probably aren’t accurate – I think they were the best estimate of a distraught parent in the absence of the actual child.
My best hope is that somehow the mom has her, because there’s no other scenario anyone wants to contemplate. But I’m sure law enforcement has already checked her out 9 ways to sunday. So my best hope is shit.
10:53 pm on February 11th, 2009
Doped up and high, really? To me she sounds like someone teetering on the edge of hysterics. I don’t wanna hang with the stoners you know.
11:05 pm on February 11th, 2009
reminds me of the FL case of baby Sabrina, where the parents went to sleep and woke up to the little girl missing and the garage door open.
11:16 pm on February 11th, 2009
i wish for this little girl to be found safe and sound, but i know it isn’t very likely.
didn’t sabrina’s parents leave the garage door open? i thought they said they always left everything unlocked.
i don’t know, the 17 year old live-in girlfriend is what makes me think something isn’t right here.
11:16 pm on February 11th, 2009
I am not saying either way, the dad sounds frantic, the gf, not so much until the dad starts to lose his mind. Could she have gotten lost and hid somewhere because she’s scared?
I hope Haleigh is ok.
11:31 pm on February 11th, 2009
Haleigh “Doodlebug” Cummings. What a sweet girl. I don’t want to say it, but I don’t think little Haleigh is alive. It’s been too long with nothing turning up. I hope I’m wrong, God, I hope I am, but my gut says she’s no longer with us.
I don’t think the father had anything to do with it. I think some perv spotted her and had his eye on her for some time. He snatched her when he saw an opportunity. My husband came home and was very distressed about it. The idea that a child seemingly safe in her home, is taken right out of her bed….its every parents nightmare.
Sweet Haleigh you have a smile I won’t certainly forget…please, be found alive and well.
11:50 pm on February 11th, 2009
I had trouble with this one as well. I couldn’t bring myself to even read the thread on the Forums.
This story sends chills. One feels their home is the safest place for their child. Those of us who are parents, know we go to sleep at night sometimes with one eye and ear open, but often more than we like, security in our surroundings takes over and our sleep can be too sound. I can not imagine what it would be like to wake up and find my child missing.
I feel for this little girl and her family I am scared for all of them. I listened to the 911 recording and I am hearing a man moaning in physical agony over his daughter. This guy isn’t faking. At least my hinky meter isn’t telling me such. As for the girlfriend, she is young and her emotions are different but still she is panicked and you can tell she can’t think clearly.
I keep thinking about that one little girl (last year or the year before) and the neighbor had her. He was a registered sex offender. Was a huge story so I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, just can’t think of her name. They questioned him several times and the break didn’t come via their interrogation. Usually, it’s someone close to the family or familiar with the family and the layout of the home or has a similar home. I am thinking he was watching and seized the opportunity.
I do hope they find Haleigh soon. My heart goes out to all.
Thanks DG and DD for covering this story.
11:53 pm on February 11th, 2009
Jessica Lunsford. And at this point, it seems more frighteningly like that case. It doesn’t seem a thing like Caylee Anthony’s case, although I keep reading that for some reason.
12:19 am on February 12th, 2009
I wanted to thank Ruby for posting this for me, and Morbid for adding more details, and everyone else for reading.
It seems she’s still missing, and every minute makes the worst more inevitable
12:30 am on February 12th, 2009
*sigh*
I can feel the pain in his voice. I would just lose my mind…
Hurry home little one.
6:24 am on February 12th, 2009
MY PRAYERS ARE WITH THE FAMILY
VERY SAD, I WILL PRAY FOR HER SAFE RETURN
6:44 am on February 12th, 2009
this case is so confusing. I can only hope for the best.
Seriously though, 17?? How old is the father?
Aw, Haleigh. So young and adorable. Please make your way home soon. I pray that you are okay.
8:11 am on February 12th, 2009
Wonderful write up, DG. I am with you. I’ve a horrible feeling on this and I still have a gut feeling that the 17 yr old has something to do with this.
8:53 am on February 12th, 2009
25 I think I read, which isn’t very old. They’re low income too. I think a 17yr girlfirend seems pretty par for the course, so whether people disapprove or not, I’m not sure why is raises so many eyebrows. I think she was just the person who was supposed to be watching when a kid disappeared. There’s gotta be a shitload of blame, even unspoken, coming her way.
9:07 am on February 12th, 2009
Praying for her safe return.
9:43 am on February 12th, 2009
I read yesterday that the dad is 24. I agree with Castille. I think for the income and class level as well as the demographic a 24 year old man with a 17 year old girl is par for the course. And also taking that into consideration, 17 years old in certain communities is about the age when young girls are best at playing house.
I would give the family the benefit of the doubt, especially considering that there are 40 sex offenders within a 5 mile radius. How hard would it be to jimmy the lock on a mobile home door? And I’d venture to guess it would be an older mobile home, not a newer upgraded home.
This is heartbreaking and no less tragic than if it were in an entirely whitebread suburban community where the couple was in their 30’s with a 7 year age difference and they forgot to set the burgler alarm.
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