Another dark marker looms in the search for missing five-year-old Haleigh Cummings who was snatched from her Satsuma, FL home in the early morning hours of February 10, 2009.
Law enforcement appears to be no closer to finding her today than they were four months ago.
Still, The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is insisting the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings is NOT a cold case. Sheriff Jeff Hardy stated in a press release Friday, "We are going to follow this to the end."
One glaring admission in that release was the acknowledgement that not all the evidence taken since Haleigh vanished has been analyzed.
What has happened since has been played out like a poorly scripted soap opera:
There is Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings Sr., who now only speaks through his attorneys, Kimball and Snider of Palatka, FL. The firm has made it clear they represent only Ronald and not his 17-year-old wife, Misty Cummings, who was the last person to see Haleigh.
Misty Cummings has been a focal point of law enforcement throughout the investigation. Investigators are frustrated with her inability to give them a consistent timeline of the events the day Haleigh disappeared.
Misty also reportedly spent the weekend before Haleigh's abduction on a drug and sex binge with another man arranged by friend Kristina Rene "Nay Nay" Prevatt.
Ronald and Misty suprised everyone by getting married while ground searches for Haleigh were taking place.
The couple then jetted to New York City to appear on the Today Show.
Meanwhile, Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield has been represented by attorney Kim Picazio to deal with media relations and to assist her in getting custody of her other child, Ronald Cummings Jr.
Crystal lives in Baker Co., FL. She did not have custody of either child at the time of Haleigh's disappearance. Until recently, Sheffield had owed Ronald over $4000 in back child support.
Crystal Sheffiled and her mother, Marie Griffis, now operate the Haleighbug Center from their hay farm in Baker County. The non-profit center for information regarding Haleigh had been on US 17 in Satsuma until a few weeks ago.
Crystal Sheffield's recent bouts with seizures made it difficult for her to travel back and forth to Satsuma from Baker County. She suffered one seizure while at the wheel of her moving car.
NEW MOVEMENTS IN THE CASE
Private Investigator William "Cobra" Staubs has been conducting his own investigation into the abduction of Haleigh Cummings.
Staubs efforts were temporarily halted after he ran into trouble with law enforcement over a charge of false imprisonment of an accused child sex offender who had been creating problems at the Haleighbug Center when it still operated in Satsuma.
Staubs is now back on the trail as an investigator. His bondsman's license has been suspended until his legal matters involving his false imprisonment charges are resolved.
According to Staubs, some cadaver dogs have been requested by an individual close to the family and another interested party. Both say the need for the dogs is to make sure all areas close by have been searched in the event law enforcement missed something. Those searches with the cadaver dogs could take place this week.
Most parties involved in the search for Haleigh, including law enforcement and Staubs, believe Haleigh is alive and well.
One source belives she might even be closer to her home than most think. That source is speaking to 97.3 The Sky. We hope to bring you further evidence soon that supports the claims of that source.
Putnam County
Sheriff's Office
Jeff Hardy, Sheriff
NEWS RELEASE
June 5, 2009
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement hosted a roundtable gathering Thursday (06/04/09) of all the different agencies and personnel involved in the investigation of missing five year old Haleigh Cummings. Approximately 40 people participated in the meeting to discuss what has been accomplished so far, what needs are still pending, as well as focus on any new directions that may be pursued. The assembly was attended by members of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office.
During the discussion, a review was conducted of the initial call, searches that had been performed, evidence that had been gathered, results of laboratory analysis of the evidence and the results of various interviews by the different agencies.
The participants determined there are still some of the more than 4,000 leads received to be followed up on, and different ways of prioritizing those leads were discussed. Also, quite a lot of evidence was initially collected by the FDLE Crime Scene Technicians. Some has not yet been analyzed, and priorities were set for that analysis. Each agency accepted responsibility for various continuing assignments as the investigation moves forward.
No suspects were identified as a result of this meeting, and no persons were eliminated. The participants emphasized that the Haleigh Cummings case IS NOT a cold case. There are still investigative leads to be followed, evidence to be analyzed, and previous interviews to be re-conducted. The group intends to meet again in 30 days if the case has not yet been solved.
Sheriff Jeff Hardy was very complimentary of the efforts thus far, and commented, "There were a lot of new ideas and a lot of things that we've looked at that we're going to look at again." He further stated, "We are going to follow this through to the end."
Captain Dick Schauland
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