Girlfriend to dad: 'Back door's open and your daughter's gone'
<http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/12/missing.florida.girl/index.html?eref=rss_latest>http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/12/missing.florida.girl/index.html?eref=rss_latest Story Highlights * Father of missing child says he, girlfriend took and passed lie detector tests * Haleigh Cummings reported missing around 3 a.m. Tuesday, police say * 17-year-old girlfriend was caring for Haleigh on Monday night, police say * Authorities say they believe the girl was abducted; bounty hunter offers reward [] * [] [] Read * [] [] VIDEO * [] [] AUDIO [] By Ashley Fantz and John Couwels CNN SATSUMA, Florida (CNN) -- The father of a missing 5-year-old Florida girl said he and his girlfriend have taken and passed polygraph tests. Haleigh was reported missing by her father's 17-year-old girlfr Haleigh was reported missing by her father's 17-year-old girlfriend before dawn Tuesday, police said. Click to view previous image 2 of 3 Click to view next image [] On Thursday, Putnam County authorities continued working with the FBI and state investigators to search a five-mile area for Haleigh Cummings. The girlfriend, 17-year-old Misty Croslin, told police she was watching the little girl when she went missing sometime before dawn Tuesday. Ronald Cummings shares his double-wide trailer with Croslin, daughter Haleigh and 4-year-old son in the town of Satsuma. He said that when he returned home at 3 a.m. ET, he was surprised to see his girlfriend awake and asked her why she was up. "She said, 'Your back door's open and your daughter's gone,' " Cummings told Nancy Grace on her show on CNN's sister network HLN on Wednesday night. Video Watch Cummings describe his shock » Croslin waited until Cummings came home to phone 911 about the girl's disappearance, though it's unclear how long that wait was. Video Watch the father describe what happened » Police said Wednesday that Croslin had tucked the girl and her brother into bed at 8 p.m. before going to sleep at 10. The girl, boy and Croslin usually sleep in the same bed. Don't Miss * WJXT: <http://www.news4jax.com/news/18686639/detail.html#->Read what was said during 911 call * WFTV: <http://www.wftv.com/news/18689215/detail.html#->Watch Haleigh's father make a tearful plea Croslin told police she woke up around 3 a.m. to use the bathroom and returned to find the girl missing. The boy was still in bed, Cummings told CNN. A brick was propping the trailer's door open, Croslin told a 911 dispatcher. The father said he has only used the back door two times since he's been living in the trailer. Police say they believe the girl was abducted. "There's no longer any reason to believe that the child simply wandered outside," Maj. Gary Bowling of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday. The police must "assume abduction," he said, adding, "All the answers to why you'd want to take a 5-year-old are ugly." A familiar face from the Caylee Anthony case is involved in the search. Bounty hunter Leonard Padilla joined the hunt Tuesday and is offering a $25,000 reward for the girl's return. Padilla initially bonded out Caylee's mother, Casey, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the toddler's death, and then helped launch one of several searches for Caylee. Police have no official suspects, but are treating everyone they interview as one. "All the world's a suspect" now, Bowling said. [] Hear the frantic 911 call » A nationwide Amber Alert says the girl was last seen wearing a pink shirt and underwear. Ronald Cummings' father, Jack Cummings, said, "You see it on TV, but you never think it would happen to you." "I wish I could go out in the woods and search, but the police won't let the family go search," he said as his reddened eyes filled with tears. Croslin is staying with relatives as the investigation continues, said Bowling, describing the girlfriend as a "child herself." On Wednesday, Cummings pleaded for his daughter's safe return. "All I want is my child ... please ... all I want is my child," he said, his voice breaking. Also on Wednesday, Haleigh's maternal grandmother, Marie Griffis, told reporters that she feared the worst. "She's out there somewhere, I can feel her. I can feel her presence," Griffis told CNN affiliate WFTV-TV. "She's screaming." Video Watch grandparents plead for girl's return » Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, wept as she stood in front of reporters. "I just want whoever's got her to bring her home," she said. "That's all I want, is my baby home." Video Watch mother's tearful plea » Griffis said that her daughter and Ronald Cummings had a "rocky relationship" and that the two took turns spending weekends with their daughter. It's unclear if Sheffield and Cummings were ever married, but they are "legally separated," police said Thursday. Authorities were unable to answer media questions about how and why Cummings had custody of Haleigh. Sheffield lives near the Florida-Georgia line and has been interviewed by law enforcement, according to police. Investigators are looking into various angles of the case, including finding out the location of 44 registered sexual offenders who live within a five-mile radius of the Cummings home, said Lt. Johnny Greenwood of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. Though that number may sound high, it includes both Putnam and Palatka counties, which are separated by the St. Johns River, the law enforcement spokesman said. Police are offering but not requiring all those interviewed in the case to take polygraph tests. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 386-329-0800 or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse at 888-FL-MISSING. <*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/on+allposters+today.html>on AllPosters today <*}}}><<*}}}>< <http://astore.amazon.com/halthekin-20>Catholic on Amazon <*}}}>< + <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage <*}}}>< <*}}}><<http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Kingdom!<*}}}>< + "The fruit of abortion is nuclear war" - Bl. Mother Teresa + --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please note that I do not send or open attachments sent to this list. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Catholics on Fire" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Catholics-on-Fire May the blessing of Jesus and our Blessed Mother be with you -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
