Haleigh Cummings was reported missing in February 2009 from her family’s home in Satsuma, Florida. This is an age-progressed photo to show what she might look like at age 8.

Haleigh Cummings Missing Since :02/09/2009, Missing From: Satsuma, Florida,

Classification: Endangered Missing, Sex: Female, Race: White, Date of Birth: 08/17/2003 (19)

Height and Weight: 3’0, 39 pounds, Age: 5 years old

Medical Conditions

Haleigh has Turner Syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects about one out of every 2,500 live female births. Turner Syndrome symptoms include, but are not limited to, slow growth of the long bones and ovaries, heart defects and vision problems, multiple birthmarks, and swollen fingers and toes. Turner’s Syndrome patients rarely grow taller than four and a half feet. Haleigh’s condition necessitates hormone treatments as well as monthly visits to a cardiologist and an endocrinologist. She may require medical attention.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Female Caucasian Brown eyes and blonde hair Haleigh has pierced ears and red highlights in her hair. She has a four-inch-round birthmark on the lower left side of her back. Her left cheek and right jawline also have brown birthmarks. Haleigh Bug is her nick name. Haleigh is quite petite for her age. She has chubby fingers and toes and a lazy left eye.

Details of Disappearance

Haleigh was last seen sleeping in her family’s trailer in the 200 block of Green Lane in the Hermit’s Cove area of Satsuma, Florida, late on February 9, 2009. At 8:00 p.m., she went to bed. Misty Janette Croslin (sometimes referred to in the media by her later married name, Misty Cummings), her father’s live-in girlfriend of five months, went to bed in the same room at 10:00 p.m. Haleigh’s three-year-old brother slept in the same room.

Ronald Lemyles Cummings, Haleigh’s father, finished his second shift and arrived home sometime after 3 a.m. on February 10. Misty informed him that she had just discovered Haleigh missing from her bed. The trailer’s back door was several inches open, and the screen door was propped open with a cinder block. At 3:37 a.m., Ronald and Misty called 911 to report Haleigh’s disappearance.

The officers discovered no evidence of forced entry into the trailer, but they are unsure whether the back door was locked. Ronald and Misty both insist it was, and Ronald claims the trailer was broken into.

Haleigh’s younger brother told police that a man dressed in black had come to their house that night and kidnapped his sister. Given his age, authorities are unsure how much credence to give to his story. A thorough search of the area revealed no trace of Haleigh. Her father stated that she would not have left home alone at night because she is afraid of the dark.

Haleigh was last seen wearing a pink shirt and underwear, according to initial reports, but police later stated that the shirt had been found. They wouldn’t say where, but Misty claims she found it in the laundry pile after being let back in. Investigators now say they have no idea what Haleigh was wearing the night she went missing.

This case summary includes photographs of Ronald and Misty. They married in March, a month after Haleigh went missing. Ronald stated that he believed Haleigh would have wanted it. Because Misty was only seventeen years old, they needed permission from her parents.

Ronald filed for divorce six months into his marriage, in October 2009. He cited irreconcilable differences as the cause, primarily the stress caused by Haleigh’s disappearance, as well as the subsequent police investigation and media attention. Ronald and Misty’s divorce was finalized in a matter of days because they had only been married for a short time and had no property or children together.

Every other weekend, Haleigh went to see her biological mother, Crystal Sheffield. This case summary includes a photograph of Sheffield. She and Ronald, who never married, divorced four years before Haleigh disappeared and battled in court for custody of their two children. Ronald sought custody because Sheffield admitted to using cocaine and Haleigh had missed several doctor’s appointments while under her care. Ronald, according to Sheffield, was violent. She attempted to obtain a protective order against him once, but the case was dismissed.

In December 2005, Ronald was granted full custody of both kids. Prior to Haleigh’s disappearance, he had a few minor run-ins with the law, mostly drug arrests, but most of the time the charges were dropped or he was given deferred prosecution.

After Haleigh vanished, Sheffield and Ronald both hired attorneys. Sheffield charged Ronald with child abuse and neglect through her attorney. Attorneys for both sides have since withdrawn from the case. The fiancé of Sheffield as well as other family members, friends of the family, and neighbors were questioned by the police.

Police questioned Misty regarding Haleigh’s disappearance numerous times and investigated the possibility that she wasn’t actually at home when the child vanished. Haleigh and her brother have a dedicated caregiver in Misty, who claims to have been at home the entire night and didn’t leave the kids alone.

Investigators have publicly questioned Misty’s account, claiming that she repeatedly changed her story and failed four polygraph exams as well as one voice stress test. They called her accounts “consistently inconsistent.”

Later, Misty and Hank Thomas “Tommy” Croslin Jr. claimed that Joseph “Joe” Overstreet had abducted Haleigh. Tennessee native Overstreet was in Florida at the time the child vanished. On February 9, he paid the Cummings a visit, and he left shortly before Haleigh vanished. He went back to Tennessee the following day. With this case summary are pictures of Overstreet and Tommy. Despite the fact that Overstreet is not listed as a sex offender, Misty claimed that he had sexually abused her as a child and had been involved in criminal activity his entire life.

Tommy was the first to accuse Overstreet of abducting a child. Tommy claimed that Overstreet had planned to steal a machine gun from the Cummings’ home, but when he couldn’t find it, he threatened Misty with a knife and abducted Haleigh. Five miles from Haleigh’s house, at the St. Johns River, Overstreet and Tommy drove. There, Overstreet threw the child into the water. Later, Misty corroborated his claim and admitted that she had lied earlier out of fear for her cousin.

Overstreet has been interviewed, but he maintains that he had no part in Haleigh’s disappearance. He has also not been charged or even identified as a suspect. In April 2010, authorities brought Misty to the dock and searched the river, but they turned up nothing of note.

In January 2010, Ronald’s cousin Hope Antwanette Sykes, Tommy, and Ronald were all detained on unrelated drug trafficking charges along with Donna Michelle Brock, a friend of Donna’s. Misty entered a no contest plea, while Sykes, Tommy, Ronald, and Brock all entered guilty pleas. Except for Misty, all of the defendants received prison terms of fifteen years; Misty received a sentence of twenty-five years.

In the summer of 2010, Hank and Lisa Croslin, the parents of Misty and Tommy, were also imprisoned on drug-related charges, though they weren’t associated with their kids’ drug cases. Since then, they have been released. In Tennessee, Overstreet is also charged with drug offences.

Macaroni and cheese is Haleigh’s favorite food, and she enjoys playing with her laptop and makeup the most. She was a kindergartener at Browning Pearce Elementary School in San Mateo, Florida at the time of her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved and is classified as a homicide.

Investigating Agency

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office 386-329-0801