Nancy Grace: New Information in the Haleigh Cummings Case

CNN's Nancy Grace reports that Haleigh's father Ronald and stepmom Misty Croslin had a fight just before the child disappeared.

Florida Amber Alert for Cassius Turner, Age 3

UPDATE

Cassius Turner has been found safe. Police are questioning Alex Lakhno.

Bottom l: Cassius Turner Top, Right: Alex Lakhno

​

Original Post

An Amber Alert has been issued for 3-year-old Cassius Turner. He was last seen in the company of Alexander "Alex" Lakhno, age 28. The brown-haired, brown-eyed Sarasota, Florida toddler was clad only in his pajamas.

Cassius is just 2 feet tall and weighs about 50 lbs. Alex Vladimir Lakhno is 6'4", nearly 250 lbs and has brown hair and eyes. The pair may be in a silver, 2001 Toyota Solara with Pennsylvania plates, #HBM 5426.

Lakhno was on probation for a felony count of grand theft auto at the time of the disappearance.

At least one source described this abduction as the result of a custody dispute.

Please contact the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office at 941-861-4900 if you have any information regarding the abduction of Cassius Turner.

[CodeAmber.org, Miami Herald/AP] 

Haleigh Cummings' Dad Speaks Out After Wife Flunks Polygraph

CNN's Nancy Grace grills Ronald Cummings over his wife Misty Croslin's failure to pass a polygraph concerning the disappearance of his daughter, Haleigh. "Something is wrong with her story," says a pissed off Nancy.

AMBER ALERT: Briant Rodriguez, Age 3

Briant Rodriguez

A violent home invasion in San Bernardino, CA has led the State of California to issue an Amber Alert. Two armed men charged into the home of 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez on Sunday. They bound the little boy's mother and other children in the home before they ransacked the place, taking money and valuables.

The following comes from CodeAmber.org:

Briant Rodriguez an Hispanic male, 3 years old, 3' tall with long curly brown hair and brown eyes and weighs 40 pounds. He was last seen wearing a yellow shirt, blue-striped shorts and black sandals.

The suspects are both Hispanic males. One suspect is described as being approximately 5' 5", 18 to 20 years old with a thin build. He was last seen wearing a black baseball cap,blue jeans and a green shirt. The second suspect is described as being approximately 5' 10", 24 years old with a thin build. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, black boots and had a white bandanna covering his face.

Obviously, police believe the men are dangerous.

No word in any of the articles or the Amber Alert text about a suspect vehicle.

Call the San Bernardino Sheriff at 866-346-7632 if you have any information that could help bring this little boy back home again.

Haleigh Cummings: Holes in the Story?

A CBS report about police scaling down the search for 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings.

During a news conference held this afternoon, investigators indicated that details about the clothes Haleigh Ann Marie Cummings was wearing when she vanished were different from what was originally reported.

Police just aren't sure what Haleigh Cummings was wearing when she disappeared, after all. At first she was reportedly wearing a pink shirt and underwear, but now police say not to focus on the little girl's clothing - focus on her face.

Haleigh's status as a missing person has also been changed - she's considered endangered, as well. She probably always was, but police in Putnam County have pointedly changed the flyer giving details about Haleigh to read "ENDANGERED."

Investigators have re-examined a number of places they'd already covered and they still don't feel any closer to solving the mystery behind this child's disappearance. Everyone is basically still a suspect. Except, perhaps, for the infamous 44 local sex offenders mentioned so often in initial coverage of the case. Putnam County authorities say the sex offenders' homes have been searched, the offenders questioned, and none of them are suspects or persons-of-interest in this case.

Does this change in the description of Haleigh's clothes represent new holes in the story of that night as it's been told so far? It was hard to tell from the press conference, as police refused to elaborate much past telling the public to focus on Haleigh's features, her physical appearance. Still - it is grist for the mill for those who are already deeply suspicious of Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, and his teen girlfriend, Misty Croslin.

Call 1-888-277-TIPS if you think you have information that might lead to the whereabouts of Haleigh Cummings.

[News4Jax.com]

Haleigh Cummings: A Reader Chimes in

A segment of Nancy Grace's show addressing new items found in the search for Haleigh Cummings.

A particularly astute reader, "curiosityhasme", left the following comment on a previous entry about the disappearance of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings from her North Florida home. I'm posting it merely as food for thought for others. I happen to agree with this person's conclusions, for the most part. It should be stressed, however, that this is pure opinion on the part of the anonymous commenter as well as me, your friendly neighborhood crime blogger:

Five tip-offs for this arm-chair sleuth:

 1.  Contradictory statements to begin with.  Could be the girl WAS in the same bed to begin with and WET the bed. THEN was put in other bed.  Misty talks about her wetting the bed (recently) and she "washed the blanket." If she is 5 year-old girl with Turner's syndrome, living in emotionally and physically abusive environment, further explains why still bedwetter.

2.  Father hothead and has lengthy criminal history - also domestic violence, reports of child abuse. Known fact that one of the leading causes of death in children are parents who go berserk due to bedwetting, over-discipline and possibly beat to death.  Could have physically assaulted, broken limbs, bruises - only recourse was to throw her in the river, and place cinder block at back door to "cover" himself.  Also reports that phone calls between two in early morning hours before he returned home, so if truly missing, he wouldn't have stayed at job 'til finished.

3.  His dismay and tears are over what he did, and yes, he wants her back - but not because of abduction that never happened  He is remorseful, like many abusers who do it over and over and over. Think sheriff's dept going along with story to get the goods on Dad and girlfriend.

4.  Misty going along with story, but because she is young and not real bright, (like Ronald) they have really given themselves away with talk of bedwetting and now knowledge of truancy - in kindergarten of all things - which is another sign of physical abuse and healing injuries.

5.  Child missed so much school that bio Mom said if missed anymore, father could be arrested. Contempt of Court entered against father on Mon 2/9 -hours before child went missing.  Father didn't want to lose son, lose job, nor go to jail.

Father murdered unintentionally, life in prison.  Girlfriend accomplice - serving 30+ years in the big house.

Case closed.

Again, I'm not so sure about the "Case closed" portion of 'curiosity's' comment, but the rest of it seems pretty plausible. What do you think?

Nancy Grace's Interview With Crystal Sheffield, Haleigh Cummings's Mom: Discrepancies Emerge?

Haleigh's grandmother addresses the friction between Ronald Cummings and Crystal Sheffield.

Crystal Sheffield is the biological mother of Haleigh Cummings, the 5-year-old who vanished from her North Florida home early Tuesday. Sheffield spoke to Nancy Grace on HLN tonight and some possible discrepancies in the story of the child's disappearance seemed to emerge. A show transcript should be available here sometime this evening.

Based on Grace's interview with Sheffield, it seems like the story of Haleigh's sleeping arrangments isn't straight.

At one point, Crystal Sheffield was told the same story that made it into most published accounts of Haleigh's disappearance -- that Haleigh was in the same bed with Ronald Cummings's girlfriend, 17-year-old Misty Croslin and Haleigh's little brother, Ronald Cummings Jr. Responding to Nancy Grace's questions, Sheffield said, "I was told they was all three in the same bed," but then she revealed that she had since heard a different story: "I've heard that Junior was in another room, and it was just and Haleigh in the bed and now I'm hearing that they were hearing that they were both in the other room and she was in the bed by herself, Haleigh and Junior was in their own room."

Grace, a former prosecutor, probed deeper. She said, "Miss Sheffield, please go through that with me one more time. First you thought they were all three in the bed together sleeping, waiting on the father to get home. He was at work, then you were told what?"

Sheffield responded, "That first I was told they was all three in the same bed [...] Then it was junior was in the kids' room in his bed and it was Haleigh and Misty in their bed, in the big bed, and then I heard that Haleigh and junior were both in their room, in their own room not Misty's room."

Later in the same interview, Nancy Grace addressed the question of the open back door Ronald Cummings found when he came home from work that morning. Crystal Sheffield has some doubts about the story of the open door. Grace asked, "Crystal, you have a problem with the door as well, what are your thoughts?"

Sheffield answered, "Yes, I just, it's just the door was locked like they said it was. Ronald said he locked that door when he left for work and its supposed to lead high up enough to where Haleigh could not reach it, I just don't understand how somebody got in there and nothing was broke on the door."

Nancy Grace said, "It was a padlock? Or a deadbolt, someone had to have a key..."

Sheffield replied, "A dead bolt, a dead bolt."

Crystal Sheffield does not live with her children, so it isn't clear as to how she knows some of these details. It is clear that there may be some interesting variations in the story Misty Croslin has told police since Haleigh Cummings disappeared. Based on Nancy Grace's interview with Crystal Sheffield as well as articles like this one, published in the Gainesville Sun, it is also clear that there are deep divisions between the people who love the missing child.  

Search and rescue groups are converging on Satsuma, Florida to help find Haleigh, and Putnam County authorities have said that everyone is a suspect, at the moment. Up to 44 sex offenders live within 5 miles of the Cummings residence, one of them less than a quarter mile away. Police have termed Haleigh's disappearance an abduction, so surely the sex offenders are receiving a great deal of scrutiny.

If you think you know something relevant to this investigation, contact the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at (386) 329-0808.

Police Say Haleigh Cummings Disappearance is an Abduction

Audio in the video above is the actual 911 call made by Misty Croslin and Ronald Cummings early Tuesday morning.

Multiple press reports this morning indicate that Florida authorities believe Haleigh Cummings was abducted early Tuesday. As suspicious as many may find the demeanor of Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, or his teenage girlfriend Misty Croslin, Putnam County investigators are treating 'everyone' as a suspect. Police have also pointedly stated that Cummings and Croslin have been cooperating with the investigation. They seem to believe the little girl was taken from her bed, silently, as Croslin and Ronald Cummings Jr. -- Haleigh's little brother -- slept nearby. Calling this an abduction may mean that the focus on local sex offenders -- there are 44 within 5 miles of the Cummings residence -- is intense. The search for Haleigh continues on land and in the water.

If Haleigh was indeed taken in the night by a stealthy sex predator, her vanishing is truly every parents' worst nightmare. Anyone bold enough to do such a thing has probably done it before. I'd lay bets that local sex offenders who also have, let's say, burglary raps will be of particular interest to the cops who want to bring Haleigh home again.

If you have information pertaining to Haleigh Cummings's disappearance, call the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at (386) 329-0808.

[MSNBC/WJXT]

Still No Sign of Haleigh Cummings

Police and volunteers are still searching in and around rural Satsuma, Florida for 5-year-old Haleigh Ann Marie Cummings.

Haleigh vanished sometime between 10 p.m. Monday night and 3 a.m. Tuesday morning. According to WDBO radio, authorities have released the 911 call Haleigh's father made when he came home early Tuesday. Ronald Cummings had discovered that the rear door to his double-wide was open and his daughter was missing. Via News4Jax.com we have a transcript of his dialogue with the 911 operator:

CALLER: I just woke up and my back door was all open and I can't find my daughter.

DISPATCH: Can't find what?

CALLER: My daughter.

DISPATCH:Ok. When did you last see her?

CALLER: Um, we just like, you know, it was about 10 o'clock. She was sleeping (inaudible).

DISPATCH: Ok. How old is your daughter?

CALLER: She's 5.

DISPATCH: OK. What was she last seen wearing, Ma'am?

CALLER: She was in her pajamas. We were sleeping.

DISPATCH: OK. Alright, you said your back door was wide open?

CALLER: Yes, with a brick. Like, there was a brick on the floor. Like, when I went to sleep the door was not like that.

DISPATCH: Was your back door locked do you know?

CALLER: Yes. The back door always stays locked.

FATHER: I just got home from work, my 5-year-old daughter is gone. I need someone to be here now. I'm telling you. If I find whoever has my daughter before you all do, I'm killing him. I don't care. I'll spend the rest of my life in prison.

DISPATCH: It's OK sir, we got them on the way. Can you give me a description of the pajamas she was wearing?

FATHER: I don't (expletive) know I was at work.

A police spokesperson has said that the case is "truly still a whodunit." Authorities still aren't sure whether they have an abduction or a simple missing child on their hands. The same spokesperson, Maj. Gary Bowling, also told reporters that police "haven't lost ground, but we haven't gained any ground that we can you know plant a stake in and say yeah we're making progress in this area."

At this time, neither Misty Croslin, Ronald Cummings's teen girlfriend, nor Cummings himself are considered suspects. Up to 25 registered sex offenders live in the area, and police are questioning them as well.

Haleigh's father has insisted that she was afraid of the dark and would not roam at night. This may have been why he was so certain right away that his daughter had been abducted. A 2-year-old child was asleep in the same room as Haleigh, and he was fine. Police said there was no sign of forced entry into the mobile home.

The Cummings residence is on a rural road in a heavily wooded area. I'm tempted to reject the idea of a sex offender kidnapping the little girl, but then I realize that in some ways, this case bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the disappearance of Jessica Lunsford.  

Except, that is, for the age of the missing child. Every time I've written about a missing child who fell prey to a sexual predator, that child has been at least 7 or older. Predators who target children as young as 4 or 5 certainly do exist -- but they are relatively rare. Rarer still -- silent snatching in the dead of night. Joseph Edward Duncan III snatched two children in the dead of night, but he killed the childrens' family to eliminate witnesses -- and just maybe because he wanted to.

The odds are, most of the time, that a child as young as Haleigh Cummings is more likely to fall prey to someone close to her.

The Amber Alert for Haleigh is still active. If you have information regarding the disappearance of this little girl, call the Putnam County Sheriff at 386-329-0808.  

Additional links: TampaBays10.com, MyFoxOrlando, a mobile webcam on the scene.

SCRATCH THAT: True Crime Report on Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell, Discussing Haleigh Cummings Disappearance

UPDATE: I won't be on the show tonight. I'll be enjoying Papa Johns at home and not worry about whether I have spots on my shirt or not -- HLN has an affiliate reporter on-scene. So watch anyway, dammit.

ORIGINAL POST:

I'll be a guest on Issues With Jane Velez Mitchell tonight on CNN Headline News (HLN). We'll be discussing the still-unfolding story of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings. Haleigh vanished sometime early Monday morning from her bed in a mobile home in rural Satsuma, Fla. I've been updating this post about the case all day. The segment in which I will appear should air sometime between 7:30 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. [Link: Putnam County Sheriff's flyer about the disappearance -- PDF.]

Missing in Florida: Haleigh Cummings, Age 5

Haleigh Cummings, age 5

Thousands are gathering in Orlando or watching TV this morning, remembering Caylee Anthony. In another part of Florida, another child has vanished, and this time there was no one-month delay in reporting the disappearance.

Haleigh Cummings, age 5, was last seen around 10 p.m. Monday night in Satsuma, Florida. Haleigh was staying with her father, Ronald Cummings, and his girlfriend, Misty Croslin. The little girl's father was at work when she vanished. Misty Croslin told police she realized Haleigh was missing around 3 in the morning.

Putnam County officials said there was no sign of forced entry into the house, but they didn't know if all the doors and windows were locked when Haleigh disappeared.

Haleigh is wearing a pink shorts and a tan shirt. She is 3 feet tall, has blond hair, brown eyes and pierced ears.

Details about this disappearance are still trickling in, but CBS47.com reports that "[police] believe Cummings may be endangered." Authorities are searching in and around the Hermit's Cove area in Satsuma [see map below -- also, the name of the community has been misreported as "Hermus." The Ocala paper linked in paragraph 2 above states that Haleigh was staying at a home in the Buffalo Bluff neighborhood].

If you have any information pertaining to the whereabouts of Haleigh Cummings, you can call the Putnam County Sheriff: (386) 329-0808 or 1-888-FL-MISSING.

[MissingKids.com, Sun-Sentinel.com] 

I will update and/or revise this post as needed.

UPDATE

According to Fox News, both Ronald Cummings and Misty Croslin are being questioned in connection with Haleigh's disappearance. Are Cummings and Croslin suspects? Police spokesperson Sgt. Jason Nettles tells Fox "I don't know that for sure."

Cummings also spoke to Jacksonville's Channel 4. From the article in the preceding link: "Ronald told Channel 4 there is no doubt in his mind that she was abducted and he'll do anything to get her back. [...] Haleigh is afraid of the dark and there's no way she would have gone out in the middle of the night by herself." 

The same report indicated that a 2-year-old child was in the same room as Haleigh. That child was unharmed.

View Larger Map

AMBER ALERT, CALIFORNIA: Lisa Ruelas and her Children

California authorities have issued an Amber Alert for 38-year-old Altadena resident Lisa Ruelas and her sons, Gabriel and Evan. Police have reason to believe that Ruelas plans to kill her sons before she commits suicide. Ruelas's husband died over a year ago and she may still be despondent over that death. Ruelas is driving a Saturn minivan with a luggage rack, license plate #5SNJ931. [San Jose Mercury-News]

Updated: Ex-Cop David Dietz Allegedly Kidnaps 3, May Be in Georgia

UPDATE, 1/05/09

The standoff ended without violence. David Dietz is in custody and Eva Arce-Perez and her son Allim Dietz are reportedly safe. Source: WLTX.com.


UPDATE, 11:19 p.m. ET

The South Carolina Amber Alert for Allim David Dietz, his mother, and Jamie Lynn Burgess has been canceled. The Georgia State Patrol is currently engaged in a standoff related to this case at a Red Roof Inn in Madison, GA. The standoff has been called a "hostage situation." A number of law enforcement entities are at the motel. A SWAT team and armored vehicles are present. Source: WISTV.com.

Original Post

South Carolina law enforcement officials have an Amber Alert out for 7-month-old Allim David Dietz, his mother Eva Arce-Perez and Jamie Lynn Burgess, age 17. Authorities in West Columbia, SC say the two women and infant were kidnapped Saturday night by Arce-Perez's estranged husband David Dietz, age 25. Dietz, a former cop, was allegedly laying in wait around 11 p.m. when Arce-Perez, Burgess and little Allim arrived at West Columbia residence on North Lucas Street. Dietz was wearing police gear when he accosted the trio -- a black uniform clearly labeled "police." Dietz is considered armed and dangerous; he fired shots into another vehicle as he left the scene. Some reports indicate that a female in her 20s may have assisted Dietz in the abduction. Arce-Perez is 5'0" and weighs 120. She was wearing blue pants, a white shirt and a black jacket. Burgess had bi-color hair, multiple piercings and braces. Georgia authorities have also issued a Levi's Call in the belief that Dietz may be in the state. [TheState.com, WRAL.com, 11Alive.com]

UPDATED: Triple Homicide, Disappearance Lead to Amber Alert for Hayes and Haley Heatwole

*** See update at bottom of post ***

Three people are dead and North Carolina authorities have issued an Amber Alert for two missing children. A 911 call came into Buncombe County Sheriff's Deputies today from a home on Old Highway 19-23 near Asheville, NC. When the authorities arrived they found two dead bodies inside the home and a third dead body in another residence nearby. The names of two victims are being withheld, the third victim is the missing childrens' mother, Angela Heatwole. The missing kids are Hayes Heatwole, age 6, and Haley Heatwole, age 10. Hayes is a blue-eyed boy with long blond hair and glasses. Haley has brown hair and hazel eyes. Police think the children are with Richard Heatwole. They may be in a white Toyota Tundra with North Carolina plates. Richard Heatwole may be armed and dangerous. At one time Richard Heatwole was the owner of Big D's Golf Range & Pro Shop on Old 19-23 there in Candler, but more recently he'd been advertising Big D's Handyman Service.

Heatwole has a record in Florida for possession of a controlled substance and marijuana possession. For a man nicknamed "Big D" he isn't very large -- his page with Florida corrections lists Heatwole as 5'7" and 155 lbs.

I have a sneaking suspicion this story may be a little too close in some respects to the terrible saga behind Bruce Pardo's Santa-suited Christmas Eve massacre, when all is said and done. [FoxCarolina.com]

UPDATE, 1/02/09

Richard Heatwole has committed suicide and Haley and Hayes Heatwole are safe.Heatwole killed himself after a police standoff at the residence of a relative in Taylorsville, NC.

Nevada Amber Alert: Julian Alarid, 6 Months Old

Police in Nevada are on the lookout tonight for 6-month-old Julian Alarid. They believe he is with his father, Stephen Alarid, age 46.

Stephen Alarid was having some kind of meeting with Julian's mother, Staci Warner, when he became angry. Alarid initially took off with both mother and child in the car. Then he let Staci go and told her she wouldn't see her infant son again.

Stephen Alarid is 5'10" and weighs around 200 lbs. He has brown hair but may shave his head. Alarid has brown eyes and on his left arm, a tattoo of a snake. The USMC bulldog can bee seen on Alarid's right arm along with a dolphin.

This is Stephen Alarid's MySpace profile. There's not much there short of a strange, silly photo (see above) and Alarid -- or "Tuna Can's" details. Those indicate that he considers himself a "swinger," and that his occupation is "heart breaker."

Stephen Alarid may be driving a '98 Toyota Camry. The car has a professional Firefighter plate, #0839. There is a warrant out for his arrest. [KTNV]