HALEIGH CUMMINGS - 5 yo - Satsuma FL - The Beginning

4,000 Leads Remain In Haleigh Case

5-Year-Old Girl Vanished From Florida Home In February

POSTED: Friday, June 5, 2009
UPDATED: 10:50 am EDT June 5,2009

Excerpt:

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- More than 4,000 leads need to be followed up on in the case of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings, according to Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Cummings vanished from her Putnam County home in February and has not been seen since.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and the state attorney's office participated Thursday in a roundtable hosted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to further discuss the case.

Read the entire article here: http://www.clickorlando.com/news/19667249/detail.html

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

http://www.thesky973.com/pages/4014463.php

We will we running our regular Blog Talk Radio segment The News In
Review on Sunday at 3pm Central. We will be discussing the latest
developments and theories in the very disturbing Haleigh Cummings case.
The ‘tentative’ panel will be the Barrett’s, TJ Hart, Art Harris, William ‘Cobra’ Staubs, Denny Griffin, and Ms Pickles.
It should be an interesting show. Although not connected directly to
the Haleigh Cummings case there was an interesting development in
Florida this week. Following a 10 week investigation by multiple
agencies 77 people were arrested on child pornography charges, even
more disturbing 17 of them were in possession of a ‘How To’ video. Yes
folks, a How To Molest Children And Not Get Caught video! If that does
not make your blood run cold I do not know what would. This video
apparently includes advice on techniques for infants through early
teens.
Another topic that I am sure is going to rear its ugly head is the
lack of useful information that is being disseminated from Law
Enforcement. The press could do a great deal to move this case forward
if we were better informed. As it stands right now one of our main
sources on the ground has essentially been muzzled. Not everyone might
agree with some of Cobra’s actions, but he certainly knows how to shake
the trees.
The Sunshine Laws which have been a huge benefit to the press in the
Caylee Anthony case are not applicable at this stage in the Haleigh
Cummings case. No one has been charged yet, and until that happens the
police are not obliged to share anything.
Is Haleigh still alive? Actually there are some credible theories
that say yes. There are even some actual locations being talked about.
Following up on a subject that is clearly a Hot Button with TJ, I am
almost bound to bring up the subject of that Back Door again. I have
figured out that the quickest way to provoke TJ into a rant is say
something like “So, what do you think about the back door to the
Cummings home”.
To tune in just go to www.blogtalkradio.com
a few minutes before we go on air and you will see the link on the
front page. We will also have our chat room open, and of course we will
be taking your calls live.
Simon and Jan Barrett

Dirty Pool In The Haleigh Cummings Case (part 2)

Posted on June 12th, 2009
by Simon Barrett in Society and Culture
Read 1,292 times.

EXCERPT:

The Haleigh Cummings case has become somewhat of an obsession to a few of us in the press. This likely has not bought us much credibility nor love from the people involved, the lawyers, and Law Enforcement.
One of the favorite salvos to fire at us in the press is that we pick sides. Yes we do. No finer example would be a book written by my friend Don Bracken Words Of War. Often today the press is somewhat muzzled, in the US it is not by governments, it is by the corporate world, we have to tow the corporate banner. Well that does not work for me.
The ‘New Press’ so we are told is the wold of the blog, Bloggers are not open to corporate pressure. Is that really the case? I think not.
I have to keep this persons identity veiled, although I am sure that Kim Picazio will put two and two together in short order. Just in case you have being living under a large rock for the past several months Kim Picazio is the attorney representing Crystal Sheffield, the biological mother of missing Haleigh Cummings.
Read the rest here:
http://www.bloggernews.net/121234

Dirty Pool In The Haleigh Cummings Case (part 3)

Posted on June 13th, 2009
by Simon Barrett in All News, Society and Culture
Read 1,402 times.

EXCERPT:

Much internal scuttlebutt has been generated between some of us press types about Kim Picazio recruiting a small army of bloggers to overwhelm the news sites that are still critical of the Haleigh Cummings case. I have heard lots of rumors, even that Ms. Picazio is actually paying people to post pro Crystal comments. How much credibility I give that is a bit of an unknown. Should that be true, she is playing in a very unhealthy pond.
What I am firmly convinced of though, she is actively recruiting her little group. As I am sure Ms P will be reading this, we have put our heads together, and we know who the ringers are! Ms P may know the law, but we know technology. Playing in our sand box makes for an interesting situation.

Read the rest here:
http://www.bloggernews.net/121238

Todays panel consisted of the Barrett’s, Art Harris, Ms. Pickles, Denny Griffin, and William Cobra Staubs.
Today’s unexpected guest was Richard Grund. This poor man has to deal with both cases, his son Jessie is one of the ’scape goats’ that Baez and his seven legal dwarfs are going to try to pin the murder of Caylee Anthony on. While the chances of success are zero, it does mean that Jessie Grund has to be put through the microscope for no good reason. I like Richard Grund, he is a good man, he is also a man of the cloth. Hardly the Muslim fanatic, more the gentle person that you grew up with that was the local vicar, parson, or whatever name you would like to apply.
I have not tried to contact Jessie as I do not want to taint the prosecution case. Richard Grund also cared enough about the Haleigh Cummings disappearance to ask, as a personal favor,”Cobra will you look into this”?
If you missed the live mayhem, actually I think Art Harris summed it up best “I was just enjoying the Wild West”, you can listen to the whole show here.
Simon and Jan Barrett
http://www.bloggernews.net/121325

Satsuma, Florida- Haleigh Cummings has been missing for over four
months. What are the chances she is still alive? Statistics say slim to
none. There is a revolving door of unanswered questions, quite possibly
never to be answered. Where are the ground searches? Where is the media
attention she so rightly deserves? Who is out there searching for
Haleigh? Very few stand at this crossroad pining for her still,
enduring its unforgiveness. Giving up is an option I am not willing to
accept. Longing for Haleigh has become an empty pit of heartache and
pain with no relief in sight. Who is out there for Haleigh now?

Deep down in the core of the garbage that has consumed her
disappearance, there is still a missing child. Who seems to have been
forgotten. Her angelic face burned into my mind, and branded into my
heart. She is always there as a constant reminder of our failure to
her, we have all let her down in one form or another. Even those
closest to her who are suppose to care the most have failed. She has
been twisted into a smut filled, tabloid, he said, she said circus full
of venom, slander, lies, and rumor. Pathetic and weak is what it has
become. With no thanks to lawyers involved in the mix, her search has
been shifted into an irrelevant custody battle that holds no validity
in her search.

They call themselves professionals, these lawyers, the ones who feel
the need to shift attention from Haleigh’s search effort to their own
causes of nonsense. While I’m sure they hold plenty of degrees and
certificates to prove their qualities, their actions degrade their
worth. More of a shame is these lawyers have taking the attention off
of this missing child to direct it on their own self righteous agendas.
These lawyers truly are her Achilles heel, more concerned with their
own agendas then continuing the search for this child.

Haleigh Cummings is not a custody battle, nor is she a platform to spew
gossip, hate, and rumors. Does anyone remember Haleigh is still out
there missing? It has been previously reported the need of assistance
from a cadaver dog. My heart sinks deep within my soul at the mere
thought that a cadaver dog needs to be called in. It turns my stomach,
tears form in my eyes, devastation has taken over destroying everything
in its path.

There has been quite the ripple in the mud puddle concerning Crystal
Sheffield’s lawyer Kim Picazio, seems Mrs. Picazio has been sucking up
some unwanted attention from us here in the press. Some of the
attention she has received from us appears to not shed her in such a
positive light. I for one think her professionalism was left at her
home when she blew into town. She is the one shifting attention from
Haleigh’s search to a custody battle
over Haleigh’s younger brother Jr. Cummings. To me it seems Mrs.
Picazio would rather be out using her time and resources to find
Haleigh not polluting an already garbage ridden drama. It’s my opinion
that Kim Picazio needs to back off of us here in the press, we all
stick by one another. I would think it would behoove Mrs. Picazio to
play nice with those of us in the press covering Haleigh’s
disappearance.

Haleigh Cummings is a five year old girl, she has curly blonde hair,
and brown eyes. She weighs around thirty nine pounds and is about three
feet tall. She has a birthmark on her left cheek. Haleigh has been
missing long enough for her appearance to change, children grow fast.
She may be disguised. Haleigh has a medical condition that requires
regular treatment, she also has a breathing issue that requires aid of
a breathing machine. If anyone reading this has any information
regarding about Haleigh Cummings, we urge you please don’t wait to
contact Putnam County Sheriffs immediately at 386-329-0800. Thank you,
Haleigh needs all the positive attention she can get.

Haleigh Cummings - Some Thoughts From TJ Hart

Posted on June 24th, 2009
by Simon Barrett in All News, Society and Culture
Read 1,254 times.
EXCERPT:
These are the raw unedited notes from TJ Hart of The Sky 97. Gainsville Florida. Most of you likely only know TJ from his appearances on our radio show, I am privileged to say I know TJ a little more, I class him as a friend. I think these rough notes express quite eloquently the frustration he feels with this case. It is a frustration that I share with him. The question that we in the press keep asking ourselves is ‘what can we do to move this case forward’.
http://www.bloggernews.net/121358

This is a long read, and a very long post if I had chosen to put it here. It's a synopsis and rehash of alll the facts in this case. Good stuff for even those who though they knew the backstory...

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/forensics/haleigh_cummings/1.html

GLEN ST. MARY, Fla. -- Investigators
with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement were searching property around the Baker County home of
the mother of a 5-year-old girl missing since February.Haleigh
Cummings disappeared from her father's home in Putnam County on Feb. 10
and an Amber Alert was issued. More than 4,000 tips have come in, but
there have been no confirmed sightings.Haleigh's parents were never married and have lived apart for several years.Putnam
County officials spend Friday searching the property where Crystal
Sheffield lives with her mother. Channel 4 confirmed that investigators
are digging on the property, cadaver dogs are on site and a pond is
being searched by diver.Investigators said they learned in
interviews with the Sheffield and Griffis families that some horses
were buried on their 30-acre property a couple of months ago.
Investigators said at midday they had already uncovered one dead horse.
They were also going to search nearby property and a pond belonging to
another family member.A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office dive team and Baker County deputies assisted in the search.Officials said they have no expectation that Haleigh's body is there, but they are conducting a search out of "due diligence."Sheffield
told Channel 4's Laura Mazzeo she is glad that police searched their
property even though she knew they would not find anything useful. She
said she hopes they will search and research any area necessary until
Haleigh is found.Earlier this month, several agencies involved
in the investigation met to review evidence and found some leads still
needed to be followed and some evidence needed to be analyzed.Sheffield
recently closed an information center she had maintained near the home
where Haleigh disappeared, saying she needed to stay closer to her
Baker County home for medical reasons

Authorities on Friday dug up the remains of a horse and other
animals at the Baker County home of a grandmother of missing Putnam
County girl Haleigh Cummings to ensure that her body is not among them.

The search took place at the 25-acre tract belonging to Marie Griffis, Haleigh's maternal grandmother. Putnam County Sheriff's Lt. Johnny Greenwood said authorities had earlier
conducted a ground search of the home. They were told by a family
member that a horse and other farm animals were buried on the land. "We
are going back over our notes and conducting secondary searches. There
has not been any new information leading us that way. We are pretty
much going to dig up the horse," Greenwood said. "There is no
information that she is buried there at all. We just want to cover our
bases to make sure we don't leave any stone unturned." Several agencies were assisting in the search, including Baker and Duval county sheriff's offices. Haleigh,
5, vanished from her Satsuma home in February when she was with her
little brother and Misty Croslin, the then-girlfriend and now the wife
of her father, Ronald Cummings. Croslin told authorities she woke about
up 3 a.m. to find Haleigh missing. Cummings was at work. Extensive searches were conducted for weeks after the disappearance in Satsuma and elsewhere without success. Greenwood said it was likely the search of Griffis' property would wrap up on Friday. "We
are checking every place more than one time," he said. "Just because we
checked it before doesn't mean we didn't miss something."

It's been five months since 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings disappeared from the bedroom of her family's trailer home in Satsuma,
a rural community north of Ocala National Forest. Haleigh, with her
blond hair and eager smile, captured the attention of the Nancy Grace
media brigades just after the memorial service for the previous missing-Florida-child-of-the-moment, Caylee Anthony.
But since then, law enforcement officers have searched 4,000 leads and come
up with no suspect in a case they are treating as an abduction. Most
media outlets have stopped sending camera crews to Satsuma. Yet a Fort
Lauderdale bounty hunter has made the search for Haleigh his mission,
investing thousands of dollars and jeopardizing his day job as a bail
bondsman in his quest.

"You got to be crazy to do this shit," admits William Staubs, who goes by the nickname "Cobra." "I just pray
that she's still alive."

Built like a hillbilly hockey player, with cowboy boots, a ponytail,
and gold chains around his neck, Staubs is no stranger to difficult
cases. Two years ago, he chased a fugitive from East Naples,
Christopher Riendeau, who'd skipped out on a bond for drug charges and
begun hiding out near military bases. Staubs and his partner tracked
Riendeau across several states, finally busting him in Tennessee and
discovering his cache of pipe bombs and grenades. (Riendeau was later sentenced to five years in state prison for making the bombs.)

Staubs, who has five kids of his own, says he started worked on the Haleigh
case as a favor to Richard Grund, whose son, Jessie, was once engaged
to marry Caylee Anthony's mother, Casey. The bounty hunter drove up to
Satsuma in March and stayed for nearly a month, spending 22 hours a day
interviewing the locals and combing the swamps and woods around town.
He'd come back to his hotel room by 1 a.m. to catch Nancy Grace's
latest spin on the story, then leave again by 4 a.m.

Soon, Staubs became convinced that a member of Haleigh's family committed the
crime. On the night she disappeared, Haleigh was at home with Misty
Croslin, her dad's 17-year-old girlfriend, whom he later married.
Haleigh's mom, Crystal Sheffield, had custody of her daughter every
other weekend.

Staubs is still working on the case and claims
he's racked up $50,000 in expenses and lost wages on the search. Even
if he finds the missing girl alive, Staubs says he wouldn't want to
return her to either of her parents. "It's a turmoil of shit up
there," he says.

Posted By Simon Barrett on the Blogger News Network~

Our good friend TJ Hart of The Sky 97.3 has just sent me this update about the Haleigh Cummings case.

On June 4, 2009, The Florida Department of Law Enforcement hosted a roundtable
including the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies on the
abduction of a 5-year-old Satuma girl with the intention of holding a
second such meeting in 30 days if the case was not solved by then.
That date has come and gone with no resolution in the abduction of Haleigh Cummings and no second roundtable has been planned.
“No second FDLE roundatable has taken place yet, but we do talk to
FDLE nearly every day on this case,” said Lt. Johnny Greenwood with the
Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in an interview with me on 97.3 The Sky
Friday afternoon.
The first roundtable meeting nearly a month ago produced the
surprising information that several pieces of evidence previously
gathered by techs had not yet been analyzed.
Haleigh Cummings was last seen between 8pm and 10pm February 10,
2009 in her father’s Hermit’s Cove home in Putnam County near Satsuma,
Florida. The girl was in the care of Haleigh’s father’s 17-year-old
girlfriend–now teen bride Misty Croslin-Cummings. Misty was the last
person to see Haleigh and her inconsistent timelines given to police
have been frustrating for investigators in this case.
Since then, a search of the Baker County farm where Haleigh’s mom,
Crystal Sheffield, lives with her mother, Marie Griffis, took place in
late June and turned up nothing more than a few animal bones.
Lt. Greenwood said that search which involved 43 officers, some
cadaver dogs and a diver for the ponds on the property was a part of
their due diligence. They wanted to search the farm after hearing from
family members in conversations that a horse had been buried on the
property.
Over 4000 leads have come into the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. They still have plenty of information to sift through.
Lt. Greenwood did clear up a question as to who was now in charge of
the investigation into Haleigh’s disappearance. Greenwood told me that
when the investigation first began, Detective John Merchant, who
handles the department’s murder investigations, and Detective Peggy
Cone, who primarily deals with missing persons, worked together leading
the case. He said that Merchant was more visible because he was seen in
the media transporting people for questioning.
Greenwood said Friday that Merchant is very busy with a couple of
recent murders in the county and that Detective Cone is now seen more
publicly as the investigator in charge of the Haleigh investigation.
Putnam County Sheriff’s officials have stated repeatedly that no one has been cleared in the investigation.
I spoke recently with several family members and each of them is
expressing frustration in the slow movement in the case. One relative
who has been virtually silent for months told me Friday night that if
some level of satisfaction is not met in the next couple of days, that
silence will likely be broken.
I received word from South Florida late Friday afternoon that
private investigator Cobra Staubs is assembling a new team that will
independently and aggressively pursue all leads in case of missing
Haleigh Cummings.
Haleigh is described as a 5 year old white female. She is
approximately 3′0, 39 lbs, blonde hair & brown eyes with light
peanut-shaped birth mark on her left cheek. Unknown clothing
description.
Haleigh was last seen at her residence in the Hermit’s Cove area of
Putnam County on February 9, 2009 between the hours of 8-10pm.
A statewide Amber Alert has been issued. An additional $35,000 in rewards have been posted.
If you have any information and wish to remain anonymous, please
call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS (8477) or you can Text your tip
by Texting “TIP231 plus your message” to CRIMES (274637).

Requests Made for a 2nd Search Near Haleigh Cummings’s Home

Posted on July 12th, 2009
by Simon Barrett in Society and Culture
Read 1,125 times.

An Update from our very good friend TJ Hart of The Sky 97.3
TJ Hart Reporting
Over the course of the investigation, several psychics and some family members of Haleigh Cummings have asked the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office to search a nearby property one more time for clues in the disappearance five-year-old Haleigh Cummings.
Haleigh Cummings was last seen between 8pm and 10pm February 10, 2009 in her father’s Hermit’s Cove home in Putnam County near Satsuma, Florida.
The girl was in the care of Haleigh’s father’s 17-year-old girlfriend–now teen bride– Misty Croslin-Cummings. Misty was the last person to see Haleigh and her inconsistent timelines given to police have been frustrating for investigators in this case.
The property in question is just through the wooded area behind the former home of Ronald Cummings and has a green trailer on in it. The man who lives in the trailer is reported to be a rent-free tenant of a landlord who has granted him permission to reside there.
It is this trailer that has psychics and some members of Haleigh’s family convinced that the child’s body might be buried there.
Previous comments made by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and by Major Gary Bowling state that every square inch of the wooded area has been searched and so has the property in question.
I was filing live reports from Hermit’s Cove for 97.3 The Sky and for several CNN Headline News programs (Nancy Grace, ISSUES with Jane Velez-Mitchell and PRIME NEWS with Mike Galanos) the day the cadaver dogs were there and hit upon the dumpsters. I saw the dogs roaming through that wooded area, but not on the property where the green trailer sits.
These requests have come in to law enforcement ever since Haleigh vanished. One woman told me she was ordered not to contact the sheriff’s office anymore with her claims regarding the trailer.
I wrote to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Saturday asking if another search of the property could be conducted. It wasn’t because I believe in psychics–It’s only because history shows there might be a good reason to look again.
The body of 9-year-old Jessica Lundsford might not have ever been found had it not been for the people in that Homasassa, Florida neighborhood who insisted the property where John Evander Couey had been staying be searched again.
In that case, Couey–a repeat sex offender–took the girl from her unlocked home and held her captive at the trailer where he was staying with a relative. Over several days, Couey sexually battered the girl and fed her pizza while hiding her from his relatives. Couey panicked after police came by the trailer but didn’t bother to go inside. He dug a hole on the property, bound and gagged the girl and gave her a stuffed dolphin to hold (so she wouldn’t be afraid) as he placed her in a plastic bag and buried her alive.
Maybe this property is worth another look?
So far, over 4000 leads have come into the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Putnam County Sheriff’s officials have stated repeatedly that no one has been cleared in the investigation.

TJ Hart
http://www.bloggernews.net/121555

REPORTER’S NOTES 7/15/2009
by TJ Hart
I post today as a frustrated man who is starting to feel like the
cost of doing Haleigh updates and keeping her name and picture in the
public might not worth the trouble anymore.
I have had this feeling before. And I will overcome it again.
It is very frustrating to only report how the investigation is going
so far and how the girl’s family is reacting to the investigation. But
it’s all the there is to factually go at this point.
You need to know that there are 2 main reasons for the national media moving away from this story:
1) Slow movement in the investigation
2) The devolving and ugly side-taking, cross-fence sniping that
would make the producers of the Jerry Springer Show sick. This does not
play well with national audiences and the networks know it!
If anyone really knew where little Haleigh is, she’d be home right now.
You no longer have to feel helpless as you follow this story.
I want to give each of our readers with the opportunity to empower yourself in the search for Haleigh.
The invitation is sincere and open to any and all who believe they can help.
1) Physically get to Satsuma.
2) Check in with LE.
3) Scour the woods.
4) Take some chances walking through the swamps, rivers, bayous and ponds and not get taken down by a gator or a snake.
5) Personally confront those you believe are “hiding something.”
6) Bring the child home.
7) Stay around for all the trials that will follow.
God bless you if you can pull it off.
If you cannot physically do this, but your heart is in the right place:
1) Call or write your Putnam County Commissioners and Sheriff’s Office and demand action and answers on this case.
2) Call and write your Florida State Representative or State Senator and demand action and
answers from LE.
3) Exercise your right as a citizen of the US to vote any office
holder out of a job at the ballot box should the appropriate actions in
getting this case solved not be expedited to the best of the office
holder’s ability.
Remember, until this nation turns totally to socialism, it’s still a
free and representative republic where the office holders work FOR you
and don’t CONTROL you.

Haliegh Cummings: Father Wants Mother/Family Investigated
July 15, 2009 by: Express

PRESS RELEASE- HALEIGH CUMMINGS CASE FROM HALEIGH CUMMING’S FATHER- RONALD, ATTORNEY




RE: Haleigh Cummings Caseit is safe and appropriate to state that most child abductions are perpetrated not by strangers, but by family members for purposes of illegally changing custody. Crystal Sheffield does not have custody of the parties’ two children, including her daughter Haleigh, which is a social stigma in the eyes of some.

There is often a history of conflict between the parents, with a variety of disputes involving their children. This has certainly been true with Ronald Cummings and Crystal Sheffield.

This press release is in response to the Friday, June 26, 2009 dig and excavation on land owned by Crystal Sheffield’s family in Baker County, Florida.

Forty police officers from five agencies reportedly participated.

The following is a quote from Lieutenant Johnny Greenwood, spokesman for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. The quote was printed in the Saturday, June 27, 2009 Gainesville Sun:
“We are going back over our notes and conducting secondary searches. There has not been any new information leading us that way. We are pretty much going to dig up the horse… There is no information that she (Haleigh) is buried there at all”.

Animal remains were recovered, as expected.

This office certainly hopes that no one in law enforcement is operating on the theory that Haleigh was murdered by her mother’s family.

There is however a more plausible explanation. While this office does not have the statistical data that criminologist possess,

There was in fact a pending contempt hearing for back child support against Crystal Sheffield when Haleigh went missing, which is a possible motive, since she was facing jail incarceration.

This office has provided to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Children and Families confidential memos dated April 1, April 6th, and April 17, 2009, that addressed these issues in great detail and correlated this to the crime scene which showed no signs of forced entry and the fact that Haleigh would have unlocked the door for a family member. The crime scene also featured a door propped open as if staged. A stranger perpetrator would likely have left the door shut to gain time for escape. This supports the notion that someone was trying to divert attention from himself or herself.
We are not making any accusations against anyone. We are asking that Crystal Sheffield’s family be investigated in the same thorough, rigorous manner that Ronald Cummings and Misty Croslin Cummings have been investigated. In addition to Crystal’s mother and family in Baker County, Crystal’s father Johnny Marcus “Marty” Sheffield resides in Putnam County, a few miles from where Haleigh went missing.

We hope that law enforcement follows family leads wherever it might direct them, including out of state. The FBI and out of state law enforcement agencies could possibly be of great assistance.

The perpetrator of this offense no doubt never contemplated on February 10, 2009 that this case would receive such media attention.

Continuing attention may yet lead to this case being solved.

http://www.cayleedaily.com/2009/07/haliegh-cummings-father-suspects-motherfamily-in-disappearance/

For Haleigh Cummings' grandmother, it's not knowing what happened to the 5-year-old girl that tears her apart.
Is Haleigh alive or dead? Did someone take her from her father's
doublewide mobile home early Feb. 10 or did she wander away in the
middle of the night?
"If she is alive, are they taking care of her, feeding her? We wonder if we are going to ever
see her again," Marie Griffis said.
Since Day One, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said it believes the girl
was abducted from the home hidden beneath towering trees near the end
of a sparsely populated rural dirt street.
Ironically, Haleigh was reported missing just hours before a memorial service was
held in Orlando for 2-year-old Caylee Anthony, whose body had been
found after months of searching. The victim's mother, Casey Anthony,
has been charged with first-degree murder. That case has somewhat
overshadowed Haleigh's disappearance because of the heavy news media
coverage in the Orlando area.
After searching thousands of acres on foot, on horseback and from the air and
following hundreds of leads, digging through trash bins and
interviewing dozens of people, the sheriff's office still doesn't have
a suspect in Haleigh disappearance. A reward of $35,000 has not broken
the case.
"We have to operate on several theories. Stranger abduction is one of
them," Maj. Gary Bowling said. "We are investigating every possibility.
There any number of things that could have happened."
Investigators quickly contacted all the sexual predators living in the area, about 60
miles southwest of Jacksonville, to eliminate them as possible suspects.
"We are working on it every day," Bowling said. "There has been a high
level of frustration from the beginning of not being able to get to the
logical conclusion, solve the case and return Haleigh to her family."
Authorities first learned of Haleigh's disappearance in a 911 call from Misty
Croslin, the 17-year-old live-in girlfriend of Ronald Cummings, the
girl's father. She told investigators Haleigh was missing when she
awoke at about 3 a.m. and noticed the back door was propped open with a
brick. Cummings, who worked a night shift at a bridge manufacturing
company, arrived home about that time.
Investigators sealed off the area, searching
it on foot with dogs and later horses. Airplanes and helicopters looked
from the air, while boats plied the nearby St. Johns River.
After a round-table discussion in early June with the sheriff's office,
Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the FBI and the State Attorney's
Office, it was announced that there were still more than 4,000 leads
being followed.
"We are not ruling out any possibility," Bowling said. Another meeting is expected soon.
While the search continued, a soap opera developed. Haleigh's parents never
married, and bad blood developed after they split. Cummings, who had a
job, was given custody of Haleigh and her brother.
Cummings' family was barred from the mobile home for several weeks, so they set
up a camp down the street, sleeping on cots, watching a big-screen
television. About a half-mile away, Haleigh's mother, Crystal
Sheffield, and Griffis erected a large tent. Both camps catered to the
growing media crowd.
The Sheffield-Griffis family believe Cummings and Croslin have been inconsistent in their
stories to authorities. In a TV interview Sheffield also accused
Cummings of physically and verbally abusing her while she was pregnant
with Haleigh and of hitting the girl. But in another TV interview, she
said Cummings is a good father who would not hurt the girl.
About a month after the little girl disappeared, Cummings and Croslin married
and then appeared on NBC's "Today" show while on their honeymoon.
After questions developed over the care of Haleigh and her little brother,
both Sheffield and Cummings obtained free legal counsel.
A call to Gregory Kimball, an attorney representing Haleigh's father, was
not returned and a woman who answered the telephone at the office said
Cummings was no longer doing interviews.
Deputies recently searched the property near Glen St. Mary in north Florida
where Griffis and Sheffield live. They found nothing.
Griffis believes the case will eventually be solved.
"I still think the police have something. They just haven't put it all
together yet. When they get all this evidence in and they can put all
this stuff in one big pile, they will tell the people what they have
and make an arrest," she said.
Ernie Allen, president and CEO of The National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children, said while speed is important, someone knows what
happened to Haleigh and law enforcement just needs their information to
solve the case.
"There is hope that Haleigh Cummings is alive and she is recoverable," Allen said, adding
that only a third of stranger abductions result in death.

Ronald Cummings, the father of a Putnam County 5-year-old who has
been missing for five months, has been cleared in an abuse
investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Children and
Families . Haleigh Cummings has not been seen since she was reported missing from her Putnam County home on Feb. 10. On Thursday, Ronald Cummings' attorney announced in a news release that
they had been notified the DCF investigation had been closed with no
evidence of abuse.Attorney Greg Kimball with the law practice of
Kimball & Snider in Palatka, which represented Cummings pro bono,
said there are no other pending legal matters in this case."Now it's just about where is Haleigh," he said.Cummings will retain custody of his son Ronald Cummings Jr. In addition,
Cummings and his wife, Misty Croslin Cummings, who reported Haleigh
missing, both agreed to attend parenting classes.According to
John Harrell, a spokesman for DCF's northeast region, the investigation
was closed a few weeks ago with no indicators of abuse. He said the
couple were strongly encouraged to attend parenting classes, "to cover
issues like age-appropriate supervision and other topics."As for
Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, it was stated in the release that
an agreement of visitation has been "judicially approved regarding
Ronald Cummings Jr. and parental rights." Details were not provided.
Sheffield's attorney, Kim Picazio, did not immediately return telephone
calls on Thursday.Kimball said Sheffield has visitation rights with her son and that some other family law issues were modified.Kimball and Snider said their office has provided information to the Putnam
County Sheriff's Office regarding Haleigh's disappearance that they
believe might be beneficial to the search."But at this point in time, there is nothing further for us to do," they wrote.So far no one has been identified as a suspect in Haleigh's disappearance
nor has a motive been released. Earlier this week, Lt. Johnny Greenwood
with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said while the case is not
considered cold, there are no plans for additional searches unless
warranted by credible new leads.Kimball said the family is unsure of how it will continue the search for Haleigh, largely relying on law enforcement.

Haleigh Cummings – Unsubstantiated Reports – Attorneys On The Out

Posted on July 16th, 2009
by Simon Barrett in All News, Op-ed, Society and Culture, crime
Read 315 times.

It is often hard to figure out what is real and what is Memorex. But there are a couple of very interesting stories floating around. As we are unable to confirm them at this time, I’ll just keep them in the rumor category.
The first one concerns Ronald Cummings, and the rumor is that his Lawyers have dropped him like a hot potato, they supposedly are claiming that their mission is done. They entered the case solely to represent Ronald in the abuse and custody issues surrounding Ron Jr. The Gainsville Sun says:

On Thursday, Ronald Cummings’ attorney announced in a news release that they had been notified the DCF investigation had been closed with no evidence of abuse.
Attorney Greg Kimball with the law practice of Kimball & Snider in Palatka, which represented Cummings pro bono, said there are no other pending legal matters in this case.

Hot on the heels of this development is the rumor that Kimball & Snider have gracefully bowed out of the case. Too hot for the company? One has to wonder! I found it interesting that when Kimball & Snider first got involved they made a huge deal about them representing Ronald Cummings, and made it perfectly clear that they wanted nothing to do with representing Misty.
The really hot news though concerns Crystal Sheffield, the biological mother. To quote Nancy Grace “BOMBSHELL”. I have now talked to three people, and they are credible, Kim Picazio got her walking papers, her pink slip! Picazio has been ‘representing’ Crystal Sheffield from the early days.
The loss of Kim Picazio from this case can only be viewed as a positive move. I was concerned early on in the case, everyone seemed to be ‘lawyering up’, yet the choice of representatives seemed odd.
I am not a fan of texting, but I understand that Picazio is, so here is a text ‘KP RIP’.
Maybe with a clean field we can all move on to the problem. Where is Haleigh?
Lets find her, lets bring her home!
Simon and Jan Barrett, and just about everyone else
http://www.bloggernews.net/121593

Both Attorneys Out in Haleigh Cummings Case

Posted on July 17th, 2009
by Simon Barrett in Society and Culture, crime
Read 95 times.

I have just received this update from TJ Hart of The Sky 97.3 confirming the rumors that were circulating yesterday afternoon about Kim Picazio being out of the Haleigh Cummings case. Simon

97.3 The Sky learned Thursday afternoon that the attorneys for the biological parents of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings of Satsuma may have been released.
Kim Picazio, the attorney representing Haleigh’s mother, Crystal Sheffield, on a pro-bono basis confirmed by telephone to 97.3 The Sky Thursday at 6:31 p.m. ET that she had filed the paperwork in court earlier that day for termination of representation.
Picazio chose not to go on the record when asked how this decision came about. However, Crystal Sheffield’s mother, Marie Griffis, claims Picazio was fired over alleged inside leaks in the investigation.
Apparently Ronald Cummings has released his attorneys as well as indicated in this written statement from the Law Office of Kimball and Snider:

This office has been successful in handling the DCF investigation and resolving family law issues between Ronald Cummings and Crystal Sheffield. We undertook this representation pro bono as a public service to not only Ronald Cummings, but to the citizens of Putnam County in the interest of clearing up these controversies. There are no pending legal matters involving Ronald Cummings. We are ending today our representation of Ronald Cummings on good terms. Our website, findhaleighnow.com will remain online but will not be updated.
It appears to be as much strange as it is ironic that both lawyers are out at the same time.
TJ
http://www.bloggernews.net/121598

Haleigh Cummings – The Significance Of Firing Kim Picazio

Posted on July 17th, 2009
by Simon Barrett in Op-ed, crime
Read 1,205 times.

Yesterday was quite a day in the Haleigh Cummings story. What had been on the insider rumor mill for weeks actually came to pass. Crystal Shefield fired attorney Kim Picazio. You notice the use of the word ‘fired’, well that was what happened.
It was with humor that I read this comment emailed to BNN from another site:

FYI - Art asked me to let all of you know that Kim Picazio just resigned as Crystal’s’ lawyer, and sent an e-mail to PCSD this morning as to same.

Rubbish, she was canned. Picazio had become a huge obstacle in moving the case in any direction. I will not resort to the gutter tactics employed by certain web sites but I will share a little information. What the general public may not be aware of is that a heated war of words has been raging for weeks in email. And while Picazio was not the instigator, she was certainly a willing participant. As the venom grew, so did the CC list. Often the content of the email was overshadowed by the CC list.
CNN, Fox News, Putnan County, the FBI, oh it made for an interesting read!
Most of us included in this ‘lofty’ group opted to sit back and watch the drama unfold. And unfold it did, each day brought new and entertaining accusations, most on a schoolboy vendetta level. This in my mind was a potentially career damaging move. While most of us press types merely enjoyed a ’round the water cooler’ chuckle over the steady stream of asinine exchanges, it was clear that some on the CC list might take a slightly different view.
It became not a question of ‘IF’ just a question of when. I am sure that Picazio has learned a great deal from her 15 minutes of fame. Not all fame is good for your career. One lesson learned early on in my life was in a sport I participated in, the only way to move forward was to take on opponents that were better than you. Picazio derailed herself by getting embroiled in a pointless email war with someone who no one has ever heard of, and to put the icing on the cake, does this in front of us all. Ouch!
I pick my battles wisely, and this is one battlefield I am glad I kept out of.
The upside of this development is that maybe, just maybe, the case can move forward once more. Get the personalities out of the equation and who knows where this can go, and how quickly. Haleigh Cummings father Ron also finds himself without representation. His lawyer has withdrawn from the case stating:

This office has been successful in handling the DCF investigation and resolving family law issues between Ronald Cummings and Crystal Sheffield. We undertook this representation pro bono as a public service to not only Ronald Cummings, but to the citizens of Putnam County in the interest of clearing up these controversies. There are no pending legal matters involving Ronald Cummings. We are ending today our representation of Ronald Cummings on good terms. Our website, findhaleighnow.com will remain online but will not be updated.

Unofficially that translates into, we are not making any money, and this case is a can of worms. Sticking around makes no sense.
I suspect that Law Enforcement is also interested in these developments, maybe Ronald Cummings will once more be willing to get around the table and talk.
I am also sure that there are elements of the investigation team that are shedding few tears about the loss of Picazio. Grumbles abound that Picazio was leaking confidential information to the press. Well she certainly was not doing it to us at Blogger News, but, there are enough bread crumbs left to trace an interesting trail to another web site. That is speculation, but I am certain that if this ever became a legal issue it would make for a very interesting series of discovery.
For five months we have been sidelined and snowed with BS. Maybe we can once more get to the solution, where is Haleigh Cummings?
Simon Barrett
http://www.bloggernews.net/121602

EXCERPT::

Exclusive: Haleigh Mom Mystery Donor Records


By Art Harris, (c) The Bald Truth, (c) artharris.com, all rights reserved
The Bald Truth has obtained exclusive copies of personal cashiers checks, deposit slips and correspondence from the Texas mystery donor named Barbara that reveal new details of the kind-hearted woman and her cash gifts to a grieving mother of a missing child for $12,000 in back child support Haleigh Cummings mother owed father Ronald.
According to her financial records, including cashiers checks she drew on her account at Chase, she initially only counted on paying off $4,000 of back child support, then agreed to put up three times that amount.
“When I began this process of contacting you to help resolve Crystal’s outstanding child support,” she writes Sheffield’s attorney, in e mails Barbara released exclusively Sunday to The Bald Truth, “it was my intent to help out a grieving mother that was doing everything in her power to find her child. That intent has not changed just because the dollar amount has increased.”
http://www.artharris.com/2009/07/06/exclusive-haleigh-mom-mystery-donor-records/#more-2360

Haleigh Cummings Update: Frustration In the Investigation

Posted on July 21st, 2009
by Simon Barrett in Society and Culture, crime
Read 528 times.

I just received this update from TJ Hart of The Sky 97.3 and wanted to pass it on to our readers. I think that one thing is becoming abundantly clear, it can be summed up in one word ‘frustration’. Simon
“We are working on it every day,” are the words of detectives and officers at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in Palatka, Florida tasked to solve the case of missing five-year-old Haleigh Cummings who was last seen February 10, 2009 in her father’s Satsuma home.
Lt. Johnny Greenwood said, “There has been a high level of frustration from the beginning of not being able to get to the logical conclusion, solve the case and return Haleigh to her family.”
Frustration is the word that describes the feelings of Haleigh’s family members, law enforcement, local officials and those who simply follow the case.
One person contacted me Monday nervously asking why the electronic sign in front of the Putnam County Emergency Operations Center no longer displayed Haleigh’s Amber Alert message and the picture of the little girl.
Thinking something had broken in the case, I called Putnam County authorities who told me “Unfortunately, the only thing that has broken was the sign.” They said they hoped to get it fixed soon with the Amber Alert displayed once again.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office first learned of Haleigh’s disappearance in a 911 call from Misty Croslin, the 17-year-old live-in girlfriend of Ronald Cummings, the girl’s father. Misty told investigators Haleigh was missing when she awoke at about 3 a.m. and saw the back door was propped open with a brick. Cumming ,arrived home about that time from his job on the night shift at a bridge company, .
Police sealed off the area, searching it on foot with dogs and later horses. Airplanes and helicopters looked from the air, while investigators and divers searched with the use of boats on the nearby St. Johns River.
The investigation has gone non-stop since day one.
After a round-table discussion in early June with the sheriff’s office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the FBI and the State Attorney’s Office, it was announced that there were still more than 4,000 leads being followed.
A second meeting was intended, but never convened.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has also assisted in the case. But just what is FDLE’s role in these situations?
The FDLE employs analysts and forensic experts it can deploy to assist local departments. FDLE supervisors also can take over an investigation that might grow beyond the capabilities of a smaller force.
“The extent of our involvement is going to vary from case to case and agency to agency,” FDLE spokeswoman Kristen Perezluha said.
Generally, FDLE takes the lead in multi-jurisdictional crimes and assists with local cases, she said.
“Definitely our role is not to step on anyone’s toes but to offer assistance,” Perezluha said.
When help is needed, local law enforcement knows whom to contact. FDLE’s seven regional offices have long-established relationships with local departments and sheriff’s offices, she said.
FDLE has a Child Abduction Response Team, which pools resources from several agencies to help with searches. CART members go door-to-door and ask specific questions, allowing investigators to cover ground that would otherwise take officers days.
Another notable FDLE program is the Regional Domestic Security Task Force. Created after 9-11, it operates much like CART, pooling resources and preparing to handle a domestic-security issue.
Many concerned citizens have been applying pressure to local and state office holders, law makers and commissioners with emails demanding prompt and responsible action in solving the case.
Law enforcement has its hands full as they are now plowing through over 5,000 leads.
Lt. Johnny Greenwood with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office has told me over and over again, “No one wants a resolution to this case faster than they do.”
TJ Hart
http://www.bloggernews.net/121633