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

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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 - NamUs - Charley Project -
 
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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.
I don't believe any of them at all. There might be a nugget of truth in there somewhere, but there's been so many lies told that it's impossible for me to rely on any of it.
 
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.
LE spoke to all parties.
LE chased down every member of the Satsuma-Croslin family, whether they left the state or not, and even threw many of them in jail for one little thing or another and questioned them and threatened them...

Timmy & Chelsea asserted "someone" stole or - at least - "borrowed" their van and used it without permission during the time Haleigh went missing and while cousin Joe was their houseguest. They claimed the van was dirtied, not parked where it had been left, and had scratches that weren't there before hand. Timmy/Chelsea's van was taken by LE for forensics. It was returned in a week or so - with no apparent progress. I believe the LE taking the van happened prior to anyone's incarceration.

Begs the question, who knew how to get Timmy/Chelsea's keys and "borrow" the van. Answer: all the Croslins and Joe.

Immediately after the van search, Timmy/Chelsea upended their family (3 daughters) and Satsuma/FL life and bolted to Cape Cod. Chelsea seemed to have family there. Satsuma LE followed them there to continue interrogations.

A few months later Tommy's wife Lindsy filed for divorce and fled Satsuma with her 3 kids as well. For their safety, she said.

If Haleigh ever had a chance, LE looking to the Croslin-gang (or for that matter - to Ron) for truth and assistance reduced that chance, IMO.

I'd like to understand why RON went right back into the drug biz with the Croslin family ... if ... he truly believed that Misty is the key. That is some serious thick-as-thieves code. More than a decade later, seeing Ron destroy his chance at freedom ... it's pretty clear Ron's his own worst enemy and

I found a couple of Nancy Grace reporting transcripts on a CNN records website ... and some other "investigative journalist" blogs - scroll down the CNN page to find the transcript ... and happy reading to you ... it might give you the sense of how nutzy this case was for months and years...

nancy grace on lisa croslin's arrest:
CNN.com - Transcripts

nancy grace on LE interviewing Chelsea and Lindsy
CNN.com - Transcripts

haleigh case investigator merchant stating LE believe they know what happened but Misty won't tell the truth so nothing they can prove and no one entered that trailer that night, just misty and the kids ... and the river is right there behind the trailer, so ... take that for what its worth:
Former detective in the Haleigh Cummings case believes he knows who could crack it

and this is just some more local color; art harris being an investigative journalist from the nancy grace team:
Tommy Croslin: Still Lying To Cops, Wife? - The Bald Truth | ArtHarris.com

and misty jailhouse calls on tape, a-la art harris:
Sex, Lies and Misty Croslin Tapes: Send $$! - The Bald Truth | ArtHarris.com
 
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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.
Well how long is that excuse good for? (lol!)
Seriously, I think they could but they won't.
Btw, I wonder how and by whom were all those jail-call videos and that video clip from the sheriff department of Ron and Misty obtained.
 
Well how long is that excuse good for? (lol!)
Seriously, I think they could but they won't.
Btw, I wonder how and by whom were all those jail-call videos and that video clip from the sheriff department of Ron and Misty obtained.
I believe it was a local news agency and they were able to obtain them because they didn't consider them important to the ongoing investigation into HaLeigh's disappearance.
 
I believe it was a local news agency and they were able to obtain them because they didn't consider them important to the ongoing investigation into HaLeigh's disappearance.
Well, I'm glad they're available but in my opinion, the local news reports I've seen leave much, much, much to be desired.
I think what frustrates me the most (in any case) is when reporters don't appear to listen, that is, they don't question what they're being told. They seem to either "um hum" or just nod in agreement and on to the next question.
One instance that stands out to me in this case is when Mechant stated matter of factly that it didn't make sense that a stranger came in and took Haleigh but didn't take the little boy who was also there and the reporter didn't ask why wouldn't that make sense. (Is he not ignoring a clue re motive and type of perp?)
He also stated matter of factly that propping a concrete block against a metal door should have made a noise loud enough that Misty should have woke up. Do people really take that to the bank? I'm very surprised that Merchant's comments/conclusions haven't been called into question. If they have, I haven't seen it.
Anyway, at this point, the only thing I see on-going is the excuse that Misty is the reason it's an unsolved case.
 
Timmy & Chelsea asserted "someone" stole or - at least - "borrowed" their van and used it without permission during the time Haleigh went missing and while cousin Joe was their houseguest. They claimed the van was dirtied, not parked where it had been left, and had scratches that weren't there before hand. Timmy/Chelsea's van was taken by LE for forensics. It was returned in a week or so - with no apparent progress. I believe the LE taking the van happened prior to anyone's incarceration.
Thanks for that info, too bad that I don't know what to make of it, lol!
Of course, I'd like to know more about it.
To my knowledge, there're no vehicle witnesses, and so I think that leaves a lot to consider.

A few months later Tommy's wife Lindsy filed for divorce and fled Satsuma with her 3 kids as well. For their safety, she said.
It's clear to me from the video of their jail calls that they loved one another, that they wanted to be together, stay together.
I'd like to understand why RON went right back into the drug biz with the Croslin family ... if ... he truly believed that Misty is the key.
In the first place, Ron never said he believed any such thing.
If fact, (from one of your CNN links) he was asked whether "Misty has the key " and he answered "No, I don't. I think they're barking up the wrong tree."
 
Thanks for that info, too bad that I don't know what to make of it, lol!
Of course, I'd like to know more about it.
To my knowledge, there're no vehicle witnesses, and so I think that leaves a lot to consider.


It's clear to me from the video of their jail calls that they loved one another, that they wanted to be together, stay together.

In the first place, Ron never said he believed any such thing.
If fact, (from one of your CNN links) he was asked whether "Misty has the key " and he answered "No, I don't. I think they're barking up the wrong tree."

What else did you expect him to say?
 
I don't understand, are you suggesting that I can read minds, lol!
Seriously, you seem to imply that he felt contrary to what he said and I have no idea where that comes from.

He wasn't going to say: "You're right, Misty knows everything. You need to keep trying to get her to talk." He was going to protect her as much as possible, JMO
 
I don't understand, are you suggesting that I can read minds, lol!
Seriously, you seem to imply that he felt contrary to what he said and I have no idea where that comes from.

more help:

MISSING: 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings — Vanished — Crime Library
Ron told a bounty hunter (Cobra Staub) that came to search/investigate/interview around Satsuma re: Haleigh - that he married Misty b/c he needed to keep her close and keep her around (and away from her family) so he could find Haleigh.
(see page 8 of this blog's record). note: not easy to find Cobra Staub's indie investigating stuff if you don't know Cobra's name.


Divorce final for missing girl's dad, stepmother - CNN.com


Investigators have said they do not feel Misty Cummings has told them everything she knows.

"The police have been telling me that I've been keeping Misty under my wing and that's why she hasn't talked to the cops," Ronald Cummings told a HLN's "Nancy Grace" producer earlier in October. "So now, here you go, I divorced her. So now go find my baby."

The Putnam County Sheriff's office said in August that "the evidence and investigatory effort has minimized the likelihood that Haleigh's disappearance is the work of a stranger." Ronald Cummings and Crystal Sheffield, Haleigh's mother, are not considered suspects, police said.

"Investigators believe that Misty Croslin-Cummings continues to hold important answers in the case," the sheriff's office said in a written statement. "She has failed to provide any sort of detailed accounting of the hours during the late evening and early morning of Haleigh's disappearance. Furthermore, physical evidence at the scene contradicts Misty's sketchy account of her evening activities."
 
more help:

MISSING: 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings — Vanished — Crime Library
Ron told a bounty hunter (Cobra Staub) that came to search/investigate/interview around Satsuma re: Haleigh - that he married Misty b/c he needed to keep her close and keep her around (and away from her family) so he could find Haleigh.
(see page 8 of this blog's record). note: not easy to find Cobra Staub's indie investigating stuff if you don't know Cobra's name.


Divorce final for missing girl's dad, stepmother - CNN.com
I remembered he said this to someone, but couldn't remember who. Thanks for the link!
 
He wasn't going to say: "You're right, Misty knows everything. You need to keep trying to get her to talk." He was going to protect her as much as possible, JMO
I see no reason to think that Ron ever believed that Misty had anything to do with Haleigh's disappearance.
MISSING: 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings — Vanished — Crime Library
Ron told a bounty hunter (Cobra Staub) that came to search/investigate/interview around Satsuma re: Haleigh - that he married Misty b/c he needed to keep her close and keep her around (and away from her family) so he could find Haleigh.
(see page 8 of this blog's record). note: not easy to find Cobra Staub's indie investigating stuff if you don't know Cobra's name.
I have no reason to believe that Ron married Misty because he thought of her as an enemy that he needed to keep close; they were already close and they were never enemies, even after their divorce.
As for the theory that they married to avoid testifying against one another, what's interesting is that once informed of the law, the theory is held onto but with the idea that Ron and Misty didn't know the law. (lol! I think that's called inference stacking. In other words, it's speculation.)
Anyway, needless to say, but I have no reason to believe that, either.
As for their marriage, all circumstances considered, certainly, odds were astromical that it wouldn't last.
 
Come on, Ron. Get it together. He can't seem to stay out of trouble. I find it very sad.
Indeed, very sad.
Yes, he could have killed someone with his car, but he also could have killed himself.
He appears to me as without hope and unable to cope.
Bottomline, I think he needs serious mental health treatment, not (even more) prison time.

That reporter said Ron would only talk to him about Haleigh's disappearance, so did he get an interview or why not?
Btw, Ron's always said that, that he wanted the focus to be on finding Haleigh. I don't know how many times I've heard him express that in some form or another, but the focus turned elsewhere and that's where it remains and needless to say, that's also very sad.
 

By FOX 35 News Staff
Published February 22, 2023 4:24PM

ORLANDO, Fla. - In Florida, there are nine children that have been reported missing to law enforcement and have never been found, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's website.

The majority of the kids were either kidnapped or disappeared under suspicious circumstances, authorities said.

Here are the Missing Child Alerts/AMBER Alerts that remain active in hopes that the community will come forward.

<snip>

HaLeigh Cummings

  • Missing Since: 2/10/2009
  • Missing From: Satsuma
  • Age Missing: 5
  • Age Now: 19
  • Sex: Female
  • Race: White
Haleigh was last known to be sleeping at her home in the area of Hermit's Cove in Satsuma. She was reported missing by her then-babysitter Misty Croslin, launching a manhunt and garnering national media attention. Since then, Croslin has been serving time for trafficking illicit drugs and is set to be released from prison in 2031.

Haleigh's disappearance is considered a homicide case that remains unsolved. Deputies said the child has never been found.
 
I see no reason to think that Ron ever believed that Misty had anything to do with Haleigh's disappearance.

I have no reason to believe that Ron married Misty because he thought of her as an enemy that he needed to keep close; they were already close and they were never enemies, even after their divorce.
As for the theory that they married to avoid testifying against one another, what's interesting is that once informed of the law, the theory is held onto but with the idea that Ron and Misty didn't know the law. (lol! I think that's called inference stacking. In other words, it's speculation.)
Anyway, needless to say, but I have no reason to believe that, either.
As for their marriage, all circumstances considered, certainly, odds were astromical that it wouldn't last.

Well, I've done a bit of pulling info from the past as you and others didn't have the opportunity to spend the years many of us have with this case and seemed interested. And it is a very interesting case until you realize it's just one false red herring after another from the Cummings/Croslin gang.

This is one of those cases where onlookers are trying to interpret a world they can't understand (unless perhaps they have experienced life through a similar Cummings/Croslins drug addiction/crime/poverty -laced prism). ALL the Croslins jumped in and offered different and conflicting versions of that night, including their visiting cousin and their "mysteriously moved" van. Misty was either continuing or coming down from a raging 4 day binge the night Haleigh went missing. Her stories/theories to LE (as eyewitness) are always "well here's a dream I think I had but maybe it was actually real". Ron suffers tremendous guilt; he can't admit it; he hasn't explained his quicky marriage divorce to Misty. The marriage was during the 3 months when the 2 were rounding and interviewing national network talk shows and getting many donations and free honeymoons to Disney and all sorts of public support etc.. Misty was underage and the national coverage initially suggested that Ron/Misty was a statutory rape situation. A great reason to marry up and quash that while touring the talk shows. Or maybe what Ron told Cobra was the truth - keep enemies closer; perhaps Misty's family being enemies, perhaps to distance Misty from her family to get her to confess who helped her dispose of Haleigh. Or maybe both. Ron did what the cops wanted him to do in the end - which was to separate himself from Misty and the Croslins. Except, he didn't. For economic reasons he continued running drugs with the gang; most of us don't understand that because most of us don't understand that there is a code - honor amongst thieves - in the drug world and how that works. If you're in that world, overdoses - accidents - happen, bodies disappear, and you live day to day hoping that you and your loved ones and your children somehow escape that particular fate.

IMO, the folks who best understand this gang, this environment, this culture ... are the local sheriffs and local investigators. And they believe to this day that Misty is the key. Again, IMO, I think they believe there was no kidnapping and that Misty was so trippy that night when 911-responding LE arrived, that she must have had some kind of help. IMO, for at least 2 months Ron was quite vocal (national tv) as to his kidnapping theory - as if he knew of drug or gun world thugs he (or Misty or other Croslins) associated with had kidnapped Haleigh. Ron even said Haleigh's mother Crystal arranged for HER gang to kidnap Haleigh. IMO, Ron must have let LE know who he suspected for kidnapping - LE investigated, came up dry. They cleared Crystal. They cleared Ron. And they are still staring at Misty.

At this point, I fear there's no character in this story that ... 13 years later ... that can tell a credible story. Except maybe Tommy or Timmy.
I returned to this thread for Haleigh's anniversary; I'll end my annual visit now.
Tommy's out soon and Ron has to have trial or plea/sentence still ... so ... I might check in for supporting character news... otherwise ... see y'all next year.
 
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Well, I've done a bit of pulling info from the past as you and others didn't have the opportunity to spend the years many of us have with this case and seemed interested. And it is a very interesting case until you realize it's just one false red herring after another from the Cummings/Croslin gang.

This is one of those cases where onlookers are trying to interpret a world they can't understand (unless perhaps they have experienced life through a similar Cummings/Croslins drug addiction/crime/poverty -laced prism). ALL the Croslins jumped in and offered different and conflicting versions of that night, including their visiting cousin and their "mysteriously moved" van. Misty was either continuing or coming down from a raging 4 day binge the night Haleigh went missing. Her stories/theories to LE (as eyewitness) are always "well here's a dream I think I had but maybe it was actually real". Ron suffers tremendous guilt; he can't admit it; he hasn't explained his quicky marriage divorce to Misty. The marriage was during the 3 months when the 2 were rounding and interviewing national network talk shows and getting many donations and free honeymoons to Disney and all sorts of public support etc.. Misty was underage and the national coverage initially suggested that Ron/Misty was a statutory rape situation. A great reason to marry up and quash that while touring the talk shows. Or maybe what Ron told Cobra was the truth - keep enemies closer; perhaps Misty's family being enemies, perhaps to distance Misty from her family to get her to confess who helped her dispose of Haleigh. Or maybe both. Ron did what the cops wanted him to do in the end - which was to separate himself from Misty and the Croslins. Except, he didn't. For economic reasons he continued running drugs with the gang; most of us don't understand that because most of us don't understand that there is a code - honor amongst thieves - in the drug world and how that works. If you're in that world, overdoses - accidents - happen, bodies disappear, and you live day to day hoping that you and your loved ones and your children somehow escape that particular fate.

IMO, the folks who best understand this gang, this environment, this culture ... are the local sheriffs and local investigators. And they believe to this day that Misty is the key. Again, IMO, I think they believe there was no kidnapping and that Misty was so trippy that night when 911-responding LE arrived, that she must have had some kind of help. IMO, for at least 2 months Ron was quite vocal (national tv) as to his kidnapping theory - as if he knew of drug or gun world thugs he (or Misty or other Croslins) associated with had kidnapped Haleigh. Ron even said Haleigh's mother Crystal arranged for HER gang to kidnap Haleigh. IMO, Ron must have let LE know who he suspected for kidnapping - LE investigated, came up dry. They cleared Crystal. They cleared Ron. And they are still staring at Misty.

At this point, I fear there's no character in this story that ... 13 years later ... that can tell a credible story. Except maybe Tommy or Timmy.
I returned to this thread for Haleigh's anniversary; I'll end my annual visit now.
Tommy's out soon and Ron has to have trial or plea/sentence still ... so ... I might check in for supporting character news... otherwise ... see y'all next year.
This is the scenario that I remember, too. In fact, I got to know somebody online who personally knew Misty’s mother, and she believed the same scenario as well. @Olenna , you summed this up quite nicely and I too believe that unless you have a concept of the chronic drug user world, this explanation is difficult to understand. This group has their own rules and protecting their stash is number one.
 
The missing list. The unidentified kidnapping girl is really creepy. Don't know who she is. No missing reports match apparently. And what 3 people take a very young boy during a home invasion?. Not a custody issue. But strangers. And 20 yrs ago?! I agree that they should have listed all missing children. No matter how long ago it was. They are still missing. Martha Jean Lambert. Missing since November 1985.
 

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