FL HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Missing from Satsuma, FL - 10 Feb 2009 - Age 5

Haleigh's photo is shown age-progressed to 15 years. She was last known to be sleeping in her home, in the area of Hermit's Cove in Satsuma, Florida, on the evening of February 9, 2009. Haleigh was discovered missing during the early morning hours of February 10, 2009. She may still be in the local area. Haleigh's ears are pierced.
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Haleigh was last known to be sleeping in her family's trailer in the 200 block of Green Lane in the area of Hermit's Cove in Satsuma, Florida, late in the evening on February 9, 2009. She went to bed at 8:00 p.m. Her father's live-in girlfriend of five months, Misty Janette Croslin (sometimes identified in the media by her later married name, Misty Cummings), went to sleep in the same room at 10:00 p.m. Haleigh's three-year-old brother was also sleeping in that room.

Haleigh's father, Ronald Lemyles Cummings, finished working second shift and arrived home sometime after 3:00 a.m. on February 10. Misty told him she'd just discovered Haleigh was missing from her bed. The rear door to the trailer was several inches ajar and the screen door had been propped open with a cinder block. Ronald and Misty called 911 at 3:37 a.m. to report Haleigh's disappearance.

The police found no sign of forced entry to the trailer, but they are uncertain whether the back door was locked. Ronald and Misty have insisted that it was, and Ronald maintains the trailer was broken into.

Haleigh's younger brother told investigators that a man dressed in black had come to their home that night and taken his sister. Authorities aren't sure how much credence to give to his story, given his age. An extensive search of the area turned up no sign of Haleigh. Her father stated she wouldn't have left home by herself at night, as she is afraid of the dark.


In October 2009, six months into the marriage, Ronald filed for divorce. He cited irreconcilable differences as the reason, mainly the stress caused by Haleigh's disappearance and the subsequent police investigation and media attention. The divorce became final within days; since Ronald and Misty had only been married a short time and they didn't share any property or have any children together, there was little to discuss.

Police repeatedly questioned Misty about Haleigh's disappearance and looked into the possibility that she wasn't in fact at home when the child disappeared. Misty describes herself as a devoted caregiver to Haleigh and her brother and said she had been home the entire night and hadn't left the children alone.

Investigators have been publicly skeptical of Misty's story, stating she failed four polygraphs and one voice stress test, and changed her story multiple times; they described her accounts as "consistently inconsistent."

NCMEC -

Have you seen this child? HALEIGH CUMMINGS

Missing From: SATSUMA, FL. Missing Date: 02/10/2009. Haleigh's photo is shown age-progressed to 15 years. She was last known to be sleeping in her home, in the area of Hermit's Cove in Satsuma, Florida, on the evening of February 9, 2009. Haleigh was discovered missing during the early morning...

api.missingkids.org

NamUs -

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Charley Project -

Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings – The Charley Project

HALEIGH CUMMINGS is still missing from Satsuma, FL since Feb 2009.

Haleigh was discovered missing during the early morning hours of February 10, 2009. She may still be in the local area.

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[Regina]

As I recall, LE kicked out Ron/Misty and worked that trailer/house over as a crime scene for 10 days or so... Found exactly ZIP evidence ... at least that was made public. LE consistently says nothing from the trailer search or from Misty's various statements leads anywhere.

But evidence was there, wasn't it? The way I understand the info, they had at least 10 days to find the shirt yet they didn't find the shirt!

 

[Olenna]

But evidence was there, wasn't it? The way I understand the info, they had at least 10 days to find the shirt yet they didn't find the shirt!

What evidence? I'm thinking we don't know all evidence LE found searching/working Ron's trailer. (I earlier said "ZIP" - but should have clarified; if LE found relevant evidence in trailer (other than Haley's shirt), it was not reported.) We don't know what DNA they collected - or didn't.

What's been reported is that while LE worked the trailer as crime scene, LE brought Misty through the trailer again, going over her original statements, etc. Misty confirmed the shirt (still in the trailer) WAS the shirt she'd previously told LE Haleigh had worn to bed. Also LE reported - when that happened - when Misty saw that shirt - she broke and cried - with genuine grief.

Later, LE reported that Misty's story changed from "I woke up and Haleigh was gone and the cement block held the door open - kidnapping" to "I hid under the covers with BB and only heard sounds" - to - ".. I heard Haleigh cry ... to " I saw they put her in a bag ... to "she was dumped from this dock". Also reported: through her many interviews, Misty would show odd/erratic emotional affect - sometimes flat, sometimes exaggerated - sometimes appearing under-the-influence.) She failed lie detector test(s).

IIRC - Misty "arranged" the drug sale meet-up with the buying party. Facing 25 years, she had good reason to trade info on Haleigh for a reduced drug sentence. Rather than cooperating, Misty played more games.

All statements from LE after the gang's incarceration assert LE's belief that Haleigh is dead and likely disposed in a body of water. As far as LE is concerned (and consistently reports) their investigation tells them that "Misty is the Key" ... ad nauseum.

Revisiting this mess of a case ... is always so frustrating.
At best, it's a brutal reminder of the thousands of devastated innocent lives lost and/or destroyed by the Sackler legacy and the policies that supported it.

 

[Olenna]

Well, my point was that I don't think LE confirmed the info. The only LE person who I recall spoke who spoke about it- that a grandmother said she saw Haleigh at 7 pm- came across to me as skeptical of the info.
Anyway, do you know what time the ac guy was there?

I'd only be guessing - but it was somehow part of the timeline - so - afternoon? (I allowed myself only 5 minutes to look it up. No luck.)

 

[Regina]

I'd only be guessing - but it was somehow part of the timeline - so - afternoon? (I allowed myself only 5 minutes to look it up. No luck.)

Well, it's my impression that it was sometime after Ron had already gone to work, but you don't seem to think so since you said that it was the grandmother's info that cleared Ron.

 

[Regina]

What evidence?
What's been reported is that while LE worked the trailer as crime scene, LE brought Misty through the trailer again, going over her original statements, etc. Misty confirmed the shirt (still in the trailer) WAS the shirt she'd previously told LE Haleigh had worn to bed. Also LE reported - when that happened - when Misty saw that shirt - she broke and cried - with genuine grief.

Sounds to me like the shirt is evidence that up until then, LE had apparently over-looked.
Btw, was it mentioned whether the clothing that Haleigh had worn to school was found?

IIRC - Misty "arranged" the drug sale meet-up with the buying party. Facing 25 years, she had good reason to trade info on Haleigh for a reduced drug sentence. Rather than cooperating, Misty played more games.

My take on the drug selling is that it was so they could use but also make money. Unacceptable, sure, but surely not surprising.

 

[Olenna]

Sounds to me like the shirt is evidence that up until then, LE had apparently over-looked.
Btw, was it mentioned whether the clothing that Haleigh had worn to school was found?


My take on the drug selling is that it was so they could use but also make money. Unacceptable, sure, but surely not surprising.

Can't recall if Haleigh's school clothes from that day were discussed.

Agree that selling meds 10 pills at a time or so ... was a source of income for this economically challenged group.

Occam's razor:
Haleigh was dosed by someone who cared for her but felt like they deserved a break (and thought it harmless).

Follow-up:
Upon Haleigh's death - panic, disposal of body and a plan to feign kidnapping.
Could Misty pull ALL that off with no physical assistance?
If not, who helped Misty - along with an honor a code of silence - even if it meant losing 10+ years of their life to incarceration?
Tommy hovered. Timmy bolted. Chelsea offered red-herrings, Lindsy & kids faded away. Joe lawyered-up. Hank & Lisa kept vigil.
As someone else pointed out, it's a FAMILY code.
IMO - that rings true.

 

[Regina]

All statements from LE after the gang's incarceration assert LE's belief that Haleigh is dead and likely disposed in a body of water. As far as LE is concerned (and consistently reports) their investigation tells them that "Misty is the Key" ... ad nauseum.

Ad nauseum, indeed!

Can't recall if Haleigh's school clothes from that day were discussed.

Bummer.

Agree that selling meds 10 pills at a time or so ... was a source of income for this economically challenged group.

Well, I was thinking of just Ron and Misty, that it's my impression that Ron never went back to work and so needless to say, he'd need to get money somehow. (And I think that under the circumstances, even a former user would be at risk of using again.)
Kind-of off-topic but not returning to work seems to me to be not so unusual.

Occam's razor:
Haleigh was dosed by someone who cared for her but felt like they deserved a break (and thought it harmless).

Follow-up:
Upon Haleigh's death - panic, disposal of body and a plan to feign kidnapping.
Could Misty pull ALL that off with no physical assistance?

Reading between the lines, (to me, anyway) the police don't think so, which I think implies that they accept it as a fact that she didn't leave the house.
Regardless of what they think, there's no evidence that Misty did anything wrong to Haleigh, nor that she knows who did.

 

[Regina]

The video below is the only newscast about Haleigh's disappearance I've come across that isn't (to me) in some way very disappointing...
Anyway...
I'm moved by what Ron said, and I hope he can believe and keep believing and find comfort in that belief.
"I believe God will deliver daddy's little girl, Haleigh, home; whether it's home to me or home to him, God will deliver her home."

 

[Regina]

I've just read the case info on The Charlie Project website and I don't think it's a fact that Joe Overstreet "visited the home on Feb. 9 and left only hours before Haleigh vanished".
Also, to my knowledge, the 911 call was made at 3:27, not 37.

 

[Kimster]

I've just read the case info on The Charlie Project website and I don't think it's a fact that Joe Overstreet "visited the home on Feb. 9 and left only hours before Haleigh vanished".
Also, to my knowledge, the 911 call was made at 3:27, not 37.

One of those reports may have come from this article?

Chilling new details about the fate of missing Haleigh Cummings emerged Thursday from the attorney of Hank "Tommy" Croslin Jr., proposing that the 5-year-old was dead hours before her disappearance was reported.

Croslin, now 24, was with his cousin Joe Overstreet when the two went to a Putnam County boat ramp with the girl where she was dumped into the St. Johns River inside a bag, said attorney James Werter.

"He saw Joe take Haleigh down to the dock," Werter said Thursday. "When he came back, he didn't have Haleigh."

Werter said Croslin has been telling authorities since April that he and Overstreet, who is from Tennessee, went to the Satsuma mobile home where Haleigh was being watched by Croslin's sister and that Overstreet grabbed Haleigh.

New, chilling details in the case of Haleigh Cummings

Chilling new details about the fate of missing Haleigh Cummings emerged Thursday from the attorney of Hank "Tommy" Croslin Jr., proposing that the 5-year-old was dead hours before her disappearance w…

www.jacksonville.com

 

[Kimster]

There's so many stories about this case that I have a hard time remembering them all - who said them, etc. I used to keep up with all the stories, but so much time has passed that it's not easy to recollect anymore.

 

[Olenna]

There's so many stories about this case that I have a hard time remembering them all - who said them, etc. I used to keep up with all the stories, but so much time has passed that it's not easy to recollect anymore.

thought bubble: Ah, but ... in hindsight ... that was the plan after all. All the stories. All the red herrings. All the murky muddy. Like a bad hazy trip.

 

[Kimster]

thought bubble: Ah, but ... in hindsight ... that was the plan after all. All the stories. All the red herrings. All the murky muddy. Like a bad hazy trip.

Very true. If/when HaLeigh is ever found, the chances for a conviction of the person(s) responsible might be next to nil.

 

[Regina]

One of those reports may have come from this article?

There's so many stories about this case that I have a hard time remembering them all - who said them, etc. I used to keep up with all the stories, but so much time has passed that it's not easy to recollect anymore.

Yeah, surely, that article (or one like it) is where that info came from, but again, it's info that's stated factually when it isn't a fact. In other words, the only fact is that Tommy said that, not that what he said was true.
I don't know what you'd make of his motive to lie, but he'd already spent several months behind bars and was still facing an unknown amount of time in prison, so I'm not surprised.

 

[Regina]

Very true. If/when HaLeigh is ever found, the chances for a conviction of the person(s) responsible might be next to nil.

I try to be positive...

Do you happen to remember whether a search warrant on the home was ever obtained and published by the media?

 

[Olenna]

Yeah, surely, that article (or one like it) is where that info came from, but again, it's info that's stated factually when it isn't a fact. In other words, the only fact is that Tommy said that, not that what he said was true.
I don't know what you'd make of his motive to lie, but he'd already spent several months behind bars and was still facing an unknown amount of time in prison, so I'm not surprised.

iirc: Before trial - under custody for drug charges - they were all seeking a reduction of time deal for being "cooperative" with the Haleigh investigation.

Also, neither Misty or Tommy didn't mind throwing cousin Joe under the bus ... apparently.
Those 2 with the changing stories for Haleigh's gone-missing night. SMH.

 

[Regina]

iirc: Before trial - under custody for drug charges - they were all seeking a reduction of time deal for being "cooperative" with the Haleigh investigation.
Those 2 with the changing stories for Haleigh's gone-missing night. SMH.

Right, the story changed after the arrests, not before, but the problem with the story is that there was/is no evidence to support it.

Also, neither Misty or Tommy didn't mind throwing cousin Joe under the bus ... apparently.

Well, can you think of anyone better? lol!
Seriously, I know LE had at one time expressed some sort of interest in Joe, and so I wonder whether that's where the idea came from.

 

[Olenna]

Right, the story changed after the arrests, not before, but the problem with the story is that there was/is no evidence to support it.

Well, can you think of anyone better? lol!
Seriously, I know LE had at one time expressed some sort of interest in Joe, and so I wonder whether that's where the idea came from.

iirc: Joe is part of the "Croslin family" - a cousin - grandson of Granny Flo - and he was definitely in Satsuma-town visiting and definitely staying at Timmy's house and using Timmy's van and visiting at Ron's trailer and having a tiff with Ron, who didn't care for him much at all ... at the time Haleigh went missing. (Some sort of Ron/Joe tiffin' over a gun. Misty, Timmy or Tommy witnessing the tiff.) Quite a few folks knew of and spoke of the tiff over a gun. Ron and Joe at odds, etc. Many of the Croslin gang (and their vehicles) all ended up suspects at one point or another.

Beyond Joe ... and early on ... other non-Croslin characters were raised as having a motive ... druggies ... gun traders ... The logic there was, whoever had a dust-up with Ron had to be asked questions. Ron was that kind of guy ... who dealt with folks who might ... take Haleigh away ... for ransom ... over a deal gone sour. So they said.

So Misty said.

LE did their jobs and chased down/questioned a lot of folks ... even Misty's party girlfriends ... that didn't need chasing. They learned a lot about the Croslin/Cummings but nothing about Haleigh.

 

[Regina]

iirc: Joe is part of the "Croslin family" - a cousin - grandson of Granny Flo - and he was definitely in Satsuma-town visiting and definitely staying at Timmy's house and using Timmy's van and visiting at Ron's trailer and having a tiff with Ron, who didn't care for him much at all ... at the time Haleigh went missing. (Some sort of Ron/Joe tiffin' over a gun. Misty, Timmy or Tommy witnessing the tiff.) Quite a few folks knew of and spoke of the tiff over a gun. Ron and Joe at odds, etc.

Unless I heard it directly from Ron and/or Joe, I wouldn't believe it. At this point, it appears to me that the source of that info is Tommy.

 

[Kimster]

I try to be positive...

Do you happen to remember whether a search warrant on the home was ever obtained and published by the media?

No, I do not remember that at all. Because it was an ongoing investigation, I don't think we were able to get Sunshine Law docs IIRC.