Misty Cummings makes a splash in Lake Mary and flies away The stepmother of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings was questioned in a road-rage incident on Wednesday and then left town today for CBS appearance
Walter Pacheco Sentinel Staff Writer
6:16 p.m. EDT, October 8, 2009
Eight months ago, Misty Croslin Cummings lived an obscure life in a double-wide in rural Satsuma, an isolated riverfront community near the Ocala National Forest.
But the disappearance of then 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings in February, when 17-year-old Misty was baby-sitting, has thrust her into the limelight -- and the exposure has been harsh.
She and Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, 25, married about a month after Haleigh vanished from their home in Putnam County -- a ceremony broadcast on national television.
Then this week, Ronald hit the airwaves with news of the couple's impending divorce, and Misty surfaced in Metro Orlando during an alleged road-rage incident on Interstate 4.
"Every place Misty Cummings goes, she takes destruction with her," Texas-based EquuSearch founder Tim Miller, who helped search for Haleigh, said Thursday.
Haleigh Cummings disappeared on the evening of Feb. 9, and she has not been found.
Authorities say the child was abducted, but no one has been charged or named as a suspect.
Misty Cummings was the last person to see her alive.
Investigators have accused her of giving a "sketchy account" of Haleigh's disappearance.
In the latest incident, deputies on Wednesday detained Cummings and one of Miller's volunteers for allegedly threatening a motorist in Seminole County.
Reports from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office show EquuSearch member Donna Michelle Brock, 43, of Georgia and Cummings chased and harassed a driver on I-4.
"These people are, like, seriously scaring me big time," Courtney Ballinger told a 911 dispatch operator at 11:16 a.m. Wednesday. A shaken Ballinger said the women threatened to beat her. Authorities questioned Brock and Cummings near the Lake Mary exit and later released both women.
Cummings told a reporter with WESH-Channel 2 that she and Brock never threatened anyone. She said Ballinger's vehicle almost hit their vehicle. "We flicked her off and went about our business," Cummings said at Orlando International Airport on Thursday.
Cummings was headed to New York, where she will appear Friday on CBS' "Early Show." In the brief interview, she also denied allegations that she failed a polygraph test about Haleigh's disappearance.
Miller said Cummings failed a polygraph, faked a session with a hypnotist and asked for "truth serum" -- actions that suggest inconsistencies in her account of Haleigh's disappearance.
Miller said Misty Cummings took a lie-detector test in attorney Mark NeJame's office in Orlando in August and she "failed it with 99 percent deception." She also failed a voice-analysis test, Miller said. After those two exams, Miller said she had asked if there was a "truth serum" she could take to help her pass.
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Misty Cummings knows exactly what happened to Haleigh," Miller said. "She knows where [Haleigh] is and that she is not alive."
Misty Cummings' attorney, Robert Fields, did not return calls to the Orlando Sentinel.
Adding to Misty Cummings' family drama is her husband's announcement Wednesday night on Nancy Grace's television show that they are splitting up.
"Both agreed it's time to move on," said Brandon Beardsley, the attorney for Ronald Cummings. Beardsley said he has not yet filed the divorce in court, but it is an "amicable dissolution."
In her airport interview, Misty Cummings said she didn't want to get a divorce, but she didn't want to fight her husband.
Misty Cummings' problems mounted more than a week after Haleigh had disappeared from the trailer she and Ronald Cummings shared on Green Lane in Satsuma, a rural community about two hours north of Orlando.
Deputies had received a tip Feb. 18 that she was not at home, as she had previously testified, on the night of Haleigh's disappearance.
Beardsley said Misty probably needs some time to get away from all the problems surrounding her and Ronald Cummings. "Their life together is miserable under all the media scrutiny," Beardsley said. "It's a strain, and it's become old."
Meanwhile, Ronald Cummings and his mother, Teresa Neves, taped an episode of Maury Povich's show today. The show will air at 1 p.m. Oct. 22 on WKCF-Channel 18. The focus is on missing children, and several families took part, a show spokesman. Croslin-Cummings was not on the show, the spokesman said.
Misty Cummings' Attorney Quits
Cummings Was Last To See 5-Year-Old Haleigh Cummings
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- The attorney for a Putnam County woman whose stepdaughter is missing has quit representing her.
Robert Fields will no longer represent Misty Cummings, 17.
Cummings is the last person to see 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings before she disappeared from a Putnam County home in February.
Fields said he withdrew over a disagreement in the way the case should be handled.
Last week was a rocky one for Cummings. She was involved in a road rage incident in Seminole County and announced she and her husband, Ronald Cummings, are divorcing after just a few months of marriage.
Friend: Misty Robbed While Buying Drugs Police Say Former Stepmother Of Missing Girl Robbed
POSTED: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
UPDATED: 6:47 pm EDT October 20, 2009
PALATKA, Fla. -- Palatka police said Misty Cummings, the former stepmother of missing 6-year-old Haleigh Cummings, and two other women were robbed Monday night.
Police said officers arrived at the Ragsdale Apartment Complex on Moody Road in Palatka at 8:15 p.m, Local 6 news partner WJXT reported.
According to one of the victims, Brandy Steedley, 18, the women had driven to the complex so that one of the girls in the car could make contact with a friend.
Police said as the girl was getting back to the vehicle, two or three unidentified men approached the vehicle. They reportedly grabbed Cummings and stole her purse.
Police said Cummings was able to get back in the vehicle and she and Steedley drove off. The third girl, identified as 22-year-old Melinda Santmyer, ran off on foot.
Officers located and interviewed Santmyer at an apartment in the complex. She told officers that the three women came to the apartment complex attempting to buy drugs.
Police said Santmyer told them she got out of the car to look for an unidentified man the women gave money to for drugs, and as she was going back to the vehicle, the men came up to them and stole Cummings' purse and her purse.
Cummings reportedly suffered minor injuries.
The incident comes just days after Misty and Ronald Cummings, Haleigh's father, finalized their divorce.
No suspects have been identified in the case. If anyone has information on the case, they are asked to call the Palatka Police Department at 904-329-0115.
By Art Harris, The Bald Truth, (c) artharris.com, all rights reserved
A high profile child finder and veteran of 1,100 missing persons searches, including Haleigh Cummings tells The Bald Truth that he believes the missing six year old is dead, and chances are slim her body will ever be recovered.
“I hate to say it, but there’s no possible way I think she’s alive,” Tim Miller, founder of Texas Equusearch, said in a phone interview with me Monday, taking a break from an unrelated search in the Nevada desert.
He’s not basing his words on hard evidence, but a lack of it, pointing to the “flunked” polygraph he arranged for ex-Haleigh stepmom Misty Croslin, recently divorced from Haleigh’s father, Ronald, and what law enforcement calls “consistently inconsistent” statements about what happened to the little girl she reported missing Feb. 10.
Both Miller and Putnam County Sheriff’s investigators have said they believe Misty holds the “key” to unlocking the mystery of the missing child, if she’d only turn it. But Croslin maintains her innocence, and says she woke up to find Haleigh gone.
Miller says he feels no good has come to Haleigh based on what eh says her ex husband has told him as well: that she did not sleep in the bed, that she did not wash clothes as she said because they were out of detergent, and that “he believes she was involved or knows who was. He always said, ‘Keep your friends close and enemies closer.”
“We’ve worked too many of these cases, and after spending all this time without any solid leads, you just get a feel for them,” Miller told me.
“She probably is dead,” one top law enforcement source confided. “That’s what statistics on these cases show, that if you don’t find a child right away, it’s likely something bad has happened. But we’re still working this like a child who is still missing.”
Asked what different techniques would be used on this and a child they believed to have been murdered, he said, “None. You can’t say for sure it’s a murder until and unless you find a body, and we haven’t. But we’re still holding out hope. You have to. We want nothing more than to bring a little girl home alive.”
“If anyone could give us any indication or a clue to follow that says she’s alive, we’d be on it in a heartbeat,” says Miller, who has moved on to other cases with more promise of bringing closure to parents by finding a child, or a body. He understands: his daughter, Laura, vanished and was found murdered, and he’s found some hope and redemption in helping other parents.
Meanwhile, The Bald Truth has learned that Misty Croslin has left the state of Florida, to join her family in Nashville. With few options in Satsuma, she’s hopped a bus to Nashville to help her grandmother, Flora Hollers, a friend confides.
Law enforcement sources tell me they are keeping track of her movements, but with no charges pending or imminent, she’s free to travel wherever she wants.
Joined: 23 Mar 2006
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Location: Almost Heaven
LovelyPigeonPosted:
Wed Oct 28, 2009 5:15 pm
EquuSearch Founder Compares Somer Case To Haleigh
Tim Miller Not Optimistic Haliegh Cummings Will Be Found
October 26, 2009
...
The Cummings' family continues to hold out hope that Haleigh will be found alive. Miller, however, is not as optimistic.
"I've worked a lot of these things...Haleigh is not going to be one of those miracles," Miller said. "I truly believe it's going to be a miracle if we find Haleigh's body some day ... and I just hate to be that blunt."
Evidently Crystal's own attorney could see her for what she is.
Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 11098
HeliPosted:
Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:34 pm
And how does this private communication end up on the internet?
Transcription Goddess
Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 24636
Location: Puffed Up DimWit
wildrosesPosted:
Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:14 pm
I only see three choices -
Crystal, her mother, or Picazio.
Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 11098
ObscuregawdessPosted:
Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:15 pm
Crystal had a blogger file a complaint to the Bar on Picazio, and she retaliated... This is the result... Sunshine Laws...
Bratty Mama
Joined: 02 Aug 2006
Posts: 14092
wildrosesPosted:
Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:29 pm
Obscuregawdess wrote:
Crystal had a blogger file a complaint to the Bar on Picazio, and she retaliated... This is the result... Sunshine Laws...
How can that be? Not only is the letter addressed to Crystal, it references "her" complaint/s.
Dear Ms. Sheffield:
All correspondence and documents submitted in this matter have been carefully reviewed. In your complaint, you allege...................
If someone took it upon himself/herself to file a complaint with the Bar, wouldn't the Bar be addressing that person's concerns with a letter to him or her?
Crystal must have signed the original complaint.
Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 11098
ObscuregawdessPosted:
Sun Nov 15, 2009 5:53 pm
wildroses wrote:
How can that be? Not only is the letter addressed to Crystal, it references "her" complaint/s.
Dear Ms. Sheffield:
All correspondence and documents submitted in this matter have been carefully reviewed. In your complaint, you allege...................
If someone took it upon himself/herself to file a complaint with the Bar, wouldn't the Bar be addressing that person's concerns with a letter to him or her?
Crystal must have signed the original complaint.
She did. She had a blogger write it for her, the original complaints. I am guessing someone offered or gave her a sample, bragging about their skills in being able to construct something useful. I am assuming she had to have approved and signed it. Either she was too lazy to do it herself, too poor to hire a professional or another lawyer to do it, or she was not smart enough to contact a place to help her. Maybe she does not have good writing skills either, I dunno.
Last edited by Obscuregawdess on Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:20 am; edited 1 time in total
Bratty Mama
Joined: 02 Aug 2006
Posts: 14092
ObscuregawdessPosted:
Mon Nov 30, 2009 1:39 pm
Cummings Family Faces Holidays Without Haleigh
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- Christmas lights are newly strung at Haleigh Cummings' father's and great-grandmother's home in Welaka in Putnam County.
However, the banner with the missing child's picture on it in the front yard may be the most important addition.
Annette Sykes, Haleigh's great-grandmother, said her family is having a hard time this Thanksgiving.
"It's really hard to give thanks when part of your heart and family is not here and you don't know where they are," Sykes said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Sykes said her family doesn't feel much like decorating for the holidays, but it was important to do it for Haleigh's younger brother.
"If it weren't for Junior, we probably wouldn't," Sykes explained, "but he has to have some kind of normal life."
As for the investigation, Johnny Greenwood with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said detectives and an FDLE agent are reviewing tips they have received about the Haleigh Cummings case.
At Hill's Hardware in Pomona Park in southern Putnam County, the seasonal message on an outdoor sign changes. However, the part that reads "Pray for Haleigh" has been up since February when she disappeared.
That's sad for John Woods, the employee who was inserting letters to spell "Happy Thanksgiving."
Woods said, "It's real sad. I'm real sad because I just had a little baby girl. I'd be sad if my girl come up missing."
Rodney Sheffield of Hill's Hardware told First Coast News, "We have been through a lot in Palatka looking for [Haleigh] and so forth. Our hope is they'll find her, hopefully alive and if not, at least it'll bring closure."
He looked at the sign and added, "One more prayer may help."
Back at Sykes' home in Welaka, red ribbons are tied to the trees. They're not for Christmas. Those ribbons have been up for months there. They are ribbons of hope for a little girl's safe return.
"Somebody's got to know something, and that person can come forward" without being identified, Sykes said.
As Christmas lights line her home and while telephone poles along the highway don festive lights as well, the signs of the holiday season seem to be all over Putnam County.
But there's still no sign of the little girl.
Haleigh was 5-years-old when she vanished Feb. 10 from her father's mobile home, just outside the community of Satsuma.
Misty Croslin, Haleigh's father's ex-wife, was babysitting Haleigh that night when she said she awoke about 3 a.m. and noticed the kitchen light on. The back door was propped open with a brick and Haleigh was missing.
Despite extensive searches and a $35,000 reward, Haleigh has not been found.
If you have information that can help investigators, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS. You can remain anonymous and could receive a cash reward if your tip leads to an arrest.
Haleigh Cummings' Mother Gets Temporary Custody Of Son
Josey Crews Gary Detman Jessica Clark Created: 1/20/2010 11:26:49 PM Updated: 1/23/2010 3:47:27 PM
PALAKTA, Fla. -- Crystal Sheffield has been granted temporary custody of her son Ronald Cummings Jr. after an emergency shelter hearing Thursday. The hearing was held after the arrest of the boy's father Ronald Cummings Sr. on drug charges.
Cummings had custody of his son prior to the emergency hearing. Permanent custody to Crystal Sheffield would have to be determined in another custody hearing.............................................
POSTED: Saturday, February 6, 2010
UPDATED: 9:29 am EST February 7, 2010
GLEN ST. MARY, Fla. -- The maternal family of Haleigh Cummings -- the Satsuma girl who went missing nearly a year ago -- held a 'Hope For Haleigh' Prayer Vigil on Saturday night.
More than 100 people gathered at Celebration Park in Glen St. Mary to pray for Haleigh's return.
Tuesday marks the one year anniversary of the day Haleigh was last seen. Marie Griffis, Haleigh's grandmother, spoke to Channel 4 about how her family is coping.
"We just want to know, is she here? Is she still with us? If she's gone to heaven to be with Jesus, I have a peace about it. God's standing with me, He's been with me through all this. I have a peace either way," Griffis said.
Haleigh disappeared from her home in Satsuma, in southern Putnam County, on Feb. 10, 2009. The 6-year-old stands 3 feet tall and weighs 39 pounds. She has blond hair and brown eyes.
Haleigh's father and former step-mother are in jail accused of selling prescription drugs, but their extended family will hold an event on Wednesday marking the anniversary of the girl's disappearance.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 386-329-0808 or Crime Stoppers at 888-277-TIPS.
Final Connection To Haleigh Cummings Leaves Neighborhood
SATSUMA, Fla. -- Later Wednesday, relatives of Haleigh Cummings will hold a candlelight vigil in the Satsuma neighborhood where she vanished a year ago.
But after the ceremony, there will be no one related to Haleigh living in the neighborhood. The final connection to the family moved out last weekend.
Ronald Cummings lived in a trailer with his girlfriend, Misty, a year ago when the girl disappeared. Deputies made the trailer off-limits for weeks, and her family never moved back into the home in the Satsuma neighborhood near Highway 17.
Misty's brother, Tommy Croslin, and her father, Hank Croslin Sr., lived about 100 yards away in the same neighborhood.
But neighbors say Hank Croslin Sr. moved out last Saturday, leaving behind some broken furniture and toys on the road. The seven neighbors First Coast News talked to Tuesday said they were glad all the relatives are gone.
"They were a nuisance to the neighborhood," said neighbor Stephanie Santos. "They were very scary to the kids."
Several other neighbors didn't want to be named or talk on camera.
Croslin Sr. was arrested last November and charged with doctor shopping, or getting the same prescription medication from several different doctors. He is out of jail on bond.
Tommy Croslin, Misty Croslin and Ronald Cummings are still in jail on drug charges. A Putnam County Sheriff's Office spokesman says their drug case is not connected to Croslin Sr.'s case.
"If they were into their own issues and all that, the girl doesn't have to be a victim," said Gerald Santos. "It's just a terrible tragedy."
Haleigh Cummings hasn't been seen since she went to bed at her father's home on Green Lane in Satsuma on the night of February 9. Early the next morning, Misty Croslin, Ronald Cumming's girlfriend at the time, called 911 to report Haleigh missing.
Investigators believe foul play is involved in Haleigh's disappearance. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office believes it is unlikely a stranger is involved. Authorities believe someone who knows Ronald or Misty had something to do with Haleigh's disappearance.
Investigators have followed up on more than 5700 leads, conducted more than 70 formal interviews, and checked out more than 600 false sightings of Haleigh across the country.
If you have any information on Haleigh Cummings, call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS. There is a reward of $35,000 for information. You don't have to leave your name.
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