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February 18, 2009
Clothing description for missing child changed
Topics: News
BY LARRY SULLIVAN
Published: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 12:29 AM EST
Palatka Daily News
Haleigh Cummings wasn't wearing a pink T-shirt when she disappeared from her South Putnam home more than a week ago, authorities say.
On Tuesday, the Amber Alert description for the 5-year-old girl was revised.
The T-shirt cited in the statewide notice is being held by investigators.
Law enforcement has that in our possession, Rick Ryan, chief deputy of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, said Tuesday.
The Amber Alert was revised at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
We changed information that young Haleigh was in fact not wearing a pink shirt as reported at the time of her disappearance, Ryan said at a late afternoon press conference in Palatka. The FDLE Web site has been updated as well as our signboard.
Ryan declined to say when or where authorities obtained the shirt.
We have an obligation to not jeopardize this investigation by releasing any information, he said. We are not going to talk about any investigation pertaining to this pink shirt.
The description was based on information provided to deputies by Misty Croslin, the 17-year-old girlfriend of Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings.
Croslin told authorities and the Daily News that she was asleep in the house with Haleigh and Haleigh's 4-year-old brother, and realized Haleigh was missing when she awoke about 3 a.m. Feb. 10.
The 911 call reporting Haleigh's disappearance was made at 3:27 a.m.
Authorities hope the public's attention will not be distracted by the change.
Now we want people focusing in on the face because we do not know at this time what the clothing was, said Dominick Pape, special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Jacksonville regional office.
Tuesday's revelation would be another change in the account Croslin has given authorities and the news media. At one point, she said she was sleeping in the same bed with Haleigh, then said she was in a separate bed.
In interviews with reporters, these inconsistencies have been attributed by Croslin and Cummings as a misunderstanding.
Croslin also has denied any wrongdoing.
In other developments:
More than 1,000 tips have been phoned in about the case.
Some 300 homes and 210 vehicles were checked during a sweep of Haleigh's neighborhood Monday night.
One tip prompted a renewed search of the St. Johns River, which is close to the Cummings home.
Wide-ranging searches of woods and other areas have been suspended, with authorities conducting smaller searches as warranted.
Staff writer Chris DeVitto contributed to this report.
lsullivan@palatkadailynews.com
Palatka Daily News
Putnam County authorities are still asking for the public's help in finding Haleigh Cummings, the 5-year-old Satsuma girl who was reported missing Feb. 10.
The county sheriffs office has received more than 1,000 tips about Haleigh.
Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida, in response to the heavy call volume, has agreed to manage the tip line, said Suzanne DeWees, executive director of the anti-crime organization.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 277-8477, DeWees said Tuesday.
Also, Crime Stoppers also has a text tipping program, and offers Web tipping as well. Go to westopcrime.com to submit a Web tip.
Or, they can text by phone to tips231 plus their message and send to crimes.
Posted by admin at February 18, 2009 7:35 AM
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