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February 28, 2009
Teams with dogs report no results
Topics: News
By Larry Sullivan and Kristin Chambers
Published: Saturday, February 28, 2009 1:57 AM EST
SATSUMA - Searchers using dogs trained to find human remains continued searching woods and marshes Friday for a 5-year-old girl missing since Feb. 10.
Accompanied by deputy sheriffs, the teams began combing the rugged area early Friday morning.
The object of their effort is Haleigh Cummings, a blond-haired, brown-eyed kindergartner whose disappearance has brought the nation's attention to Putnam County.
Authorities reported no findings on Friday.
*
No suspects have been identified in the case and no arrests have been made.
No additional searches were planned today.
As the hunt for Haleigh entered the weekend, Ronald Cummings was allowed to re-enter the doublewide mobile home he shared with his daughter on Green Lane.
"He didn't want to go in the house," Teresa Neves, Haleigh's paternal grandmother, said Friday.
"Haleigh filled that house with laughter. He cannot go in there and live without Haleigh. It still has all of her pictures, toys and memories. He can't do that."
According to Neves, Cummings only entered the house to get clothes.
About the time most Putnam residents left for work Friday morning, deputies and the dog-and-handler teams gathered on an empty lot not far from the Cummings' rented house. Their task was to finish a close check of property within a quarter-mile of the home.
The land had been searched before.
But Friday, it was different. It was the second day searchers led dogs trained to find dead bodies.
"Today, it's going to be a lot rougher," Capt. Richard Harrell told the searchers. "Good news is two-thirds of it's done. Bad news is the third that's left is the worst part."
The deputies were there for safety and in case a crime scene was discovered. The work would not be completed quickly, Harrell warned them.
"It's very hard on the dogs, the area we're going into," he said. "So it will be moving slow."
Haleigh's family knew the implications of the latest search, and fought to stay positive.
"My baby's alive," Neves said. "I trust the detectives to find my baby. If you're looking in the woods or in the river, you're not going to find my child."
Crystal Sheffield, Haleigh's mother, said that she was handling the situation "alright" and that she has even been out searching herself. She said she has feelings her daughter is near.
"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't," Sheffield said. "I don't know how I feel."
Thursday night, the family and television viewers watched as more than a dozen deputies carefully searched a large trash bin of brush, leaves and construction debris not far from the Cummings home.
The search was prompted by alerts given by three cadaver dogs.
More than four hours later, and under the piercing glare of spotlights, authorities said nothing related to Haleigh's disappearance was found.
"I was glad that she wasn't found last night," Sheffield said Friday. "That was a big relief."
Authorities have deployed different types of searches in the wake of Haleigh's disappearance, which began when she was reported missing at 3:27 a.m. Feb. 10.
The effort with the cadaver dogs was a routine response by investigators, said Capt. Dick Shauland, a spokesman for the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
"The search was not the result of any new information received, but was a routine procedure of re-checking areas that had been previously searched to be sure that nothing had been overlooked," Shauland said.
While searches have been under way, the sheriff's office also has continued its criminal investigation into Haleigh's disappearance. This has included repeated questioning of the girl's family members and others who were around her, authorities said.
Polygraph tests have been conducted, but investigators have not revealed the results.
Putnam County authorities have been joined in the case by officers from Palatka, neighboring counties, state agencies and the FBI.
Haleigh was last seen by neighbors playing outside the home Feb. 9.
Misty Croslin, who is Ronald Cummings' girlfriend, was babysitting Haleigh and said she last saw the girl about 10 p.m. Feb. 9.
Haleigh was gone at 3 a.m., Croslin has said.
kchambers@palatkadailynews.com
Posted by admin at February 28, 2009 7:59 AM
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