Haleigh Cummings Update 4 March

Lester Cummings, the grandfather of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings, spoke to media Monday for the first time, pleading for everyone to not be distracted by controversies about his son, Ronald Cummings. "It's all about my granddaughter. This is the first time I've spoken to you. I'm not one to get in front of the camera. I'm just telling you anyone who's got her, please let her go."

WFTV reported that Lester Cummings' comments came after the Hide Away Bar suspended its annual bike week to raise money for Haleigh Cummings instead.

As the search for Haleigh Cummings enters its fourth week, the number of new leads in the case are winding down. Organizers at the Putnam County bar said that they hoped that their fundraiser would bring in more tips for investigators.

Fox Television's "America's Most Wanted" aired a profile of Haleigh for the second time Saturday evening. "AMW" reported that Misty Croslin, Ronald Cummings' live-in girlfriend, was questioned again by the police on February 25 and that Haleigh's brother had been interviewed by a child protection team. Although authorities were not forthcoming with any information for the public, they did say they were acting on what they had learned.

To further aid in the investigation and in hopes of helping some who may have seen her, the family released a home video of Haleigh Cummings. The video was shot on Christmas Day. In the video, Haleigh's little brother, 4-year-old Ronald Cummings, Jr., has had his face obscured by the family's request.


The video obscuring is possibly a safety precaution due to the disclosure by Crystal Sheffield, Haleigh Cummings' mother, on "Nancy Grace" that her son had told her that a "man in black" came into the room where he and his sister slept and took her away. Other than revealing to the public that the intruder wore black, it is unclear if Ronald Cummings, Jr., saw or heard anything else that may have been of benefit to investigators. Still, in the interest of the child's safety, as little public exposure as possible until his sister is found might be in order. It is unknown whether or not authorities wanted this information revealed, but, given that little Ronald told the police and his father this information shortly after Haleigh Cummings was abducted, it is likely that they did not.

Lester Cummings' remarks about his son are the result of rumors, police reports, and allegations by his ex-wife, Crystal Sheffield, that he did drugs and was verbally and physically abusive to her and Haleigh. Stories got to the point where Fox News' Geraldo Rivera, following up on those allegations, was angrily asked to leave the property where Ronald Cummings and his family have been staying since their trailor became a crime scene on February 10.

Haleigh Cummings was last seen by her babysitter, Misty Croslin, at 10 p.m. on the night of February 9. Later that night, at 3:27 a.m., after Ronald Cummings came home from work, a 911 call was placed. Croslin said that when she woke to go to the bathroom at around 3 a.m., she found Haliegh Cummings gone and the usually locked back door wide open. Misty Croslin maintains she was asleep just a few inches away in another bed in the same room.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office began treating the case as an abduction almost from the start and issued an Amber Alert.

Lester Cummings is correct in that the allegations against his son have become a distraction. Cases in the past have shown that when less information is forthcoming from the authorities, the media and public scrutiny seem to turn toward the families of the missing. Sometimes that scrutiny not only distracts from more important matters, such as finding a missing child, but dredges up unnecessary extraneous details. Some of those details might also become distracting to investigators who could be focusing on the investigation.

It is important in cases like Haleigh Cummings' that the public is constantly reminded of what the missing person looks like, because no one knows who or when a person who has seen a missing person might look up at a television screen (or access a website or see a poster tacked to a tree) and realize that they have information that could aid an investigation. Although it is common knowledge that the first 24-48 hours of an investigation are the most crucial, it is also a known fact that cases that have grown cold have been solved after weeks, months, or years because of someone recognizing a person in an image. This may become true of the Cummings case. These latest efforts -- the released video, the repeat airing of Haleigh Cummings' profile on "America's Most Wanted," the fundraiser at the Hide Away Bar, and other media exposure -- have the potential to bring this case to a close and return home a missing 5-year-old child.

All it takes is one person, one tip.

Someone should tell Mr. Cummings that people are interested because of the stupid stuff surrounding the case. When Haleigh was just another missing child from broken home very few people were interested. Searchers were pulling out and the police were even scaling back their search. Then the allegations of drug and abuse came out and now everyone is interested. At first I hoped that the family was making it all up to keep the press and public involved, but now it seems that the dysfunction is all too real. But at least Haleigh hasn't been forgotten, and that is what is really important when there is a missing child.

Other Haleigh Cummings Updates
source