Listen Now:
Before she went missing, 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings lived with her father, Ronald, his father's girlfriend, Misty Croslin, and her four-year-old brother in the small town of Satsuma, Florida. She was her dad's pride and joy, and many people say Misty took to her like a surrogate mother. Haleigh's biological mother lived a couple of hours away, and the kids visited her every other weekend.
But even though Haleigh's caregivers were loving, they weren't exactly your picture-perfect white-picket-fence family. Ronald had occasional brushes with the law, and the 17-year-old Misty, who usually watched the kids at night, struggled with substance use disorder. used drugs. Their parenting skills and relationship were put under a microscope in February 2009 when Haleigh disappeared from their mobile home in the middle of the night.
Sources:
“Amid Abuse Claims, Father of Missing Girl Hires Attorney.” WJXT, WJXT News4JAX, 19 Mar. 2009, https://www.news4jax.com/news/2009/03/19/amid-abuse-claims-father-of-missing-girl-hires-attorney/.
Clark, Jessica. “Former Detective in the Haleigh Cummings Case Believes He Knows Who Could Crack It.” Firstcoastnews.com, 9 Feb. 2019, https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/former-detective-in-the-haleigh-cummings-case-believes-he-knows-who-could-crack-it/77-44692d55-16cd-4afb-88c3-d1ebea77499f.
CNN, Cable News Network, https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/ng/date/2010-04-14/segment/01.
Collington, Theresa. “Did Haleigh Cummings Die of a Drug Overdose?” Wtsp.com, WTSP, 24 Sept. 2009, https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/did-haleigh-cummings-die-of-a-drug-overdose/67-391024446.
Curry, Christopher. “Haleigh's Dad Tells 'Today': Wedding Nobody's Business.” Gainesville Sun, The Gainesville Sun, 14 Mar. 2009, https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/local/2009/03/14/haleighs-dad-tells-today-wedding-nobodys-business/31601720007/.
“Dad Marries Girlfriend, 17, to 'Fulfill a Wish for Haleigh'.” CNN, Cable News Network, https://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/03/12/haleigh.father.married/index.html.
Daniels, Harriet. “Missing Putnam Girl's Father Cleared in DCF Abuse Inquiry.” The Star Banner, Ocala Star-Banner, 17 July 2009, https://www.ocala.com/story/news/local/2009/07/17/missing-putnam-girls-father-cleared-in-dcf-abuse-inquiry/31353181007/.
Eady, Aurielle. “'We Do Not Forget:' 13 Years since Haleigh Cummings' Disappearance in Putnam County.” Action News Jax, Action News Jax, 10 Feb. 2022, https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/putnam-county/we-do-not-forget-13-years-since-haleigh-cummings-disappearance-putnam-county/Y4353XHWR5HBTARBG763GVGNF4/.
Fuhrman, Mark. “The Murder Business.” Google Books, Google, https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Murder_Business/FcZUBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1.
“Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings.” The Charley Project, https://charleyproject.org/case/haleigh-ann-marie-cummings.
HLN. “5-Year-Old Gone after Sitter Tucks Her into Bed.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 May 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCRupQaFt9o.
Karen Voyles and Lise FisherStaff writers. “Inmate's Haleigh Letter 'Ludicrous,' Official Says.” The Star Banner, Ocala Star-Banner, 25 Sept. 2009, https://www.ocala.com/story/news/local/2009/09/25/inmates-haleigh-letter-ludicrous-official-says/31360968007/.
Kelly, Eileen. “'a Case That Sticks with You Forever'.” St. Augustine Record, 12 Feb. 2019, https://www.staugustine.com/story/news/local/2019/02/11/decade-later-haleigh-cummings-disappearance-still-mystery/5902784007/.
“Misty Croslin Attorney: She Told Who Took Haleigh Cummings.” Misty Croslin Attorney: She Told Who Took Haleigh Cummings | Jacksonville.com, http://web.archive.org/web/20100820075737/http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2010-08-17/story/misty-croslin-attorney-she-heard-haleigh-cummings-being-attacked-she.
“Nancy Grace : HLN : April 16, 2010 8:00pm-9:00pm EDT : Free Borrow & Streaming.” Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/HLN_20100417_000000_Nancy_Grace/start/2357/end/2417?q=haleigh%2Bcummings.
Oliver, Kealan. “Haleigh Cummings New Hope?: Divers Search Murky River for Missing Child.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 14 Apr. 2010, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/haleigh-cummings-new-hope-divers-search-murky-river-for-missing-child/.
Pace, Elizabeth. “Haleigh Cummings Disappearance: Detectives Revisit Case on 10-Year Anniversary.” Action News Jax, Action News Jax, 8 Feb. 2019, https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/haleigh-cummings-disappearance-detectives-revisit-case-on-10-year-anniversary/916409316/.
peinay. “Haleigh Cummings: Crystal and Atty Picazio on Nancy Grace.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Mar. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y8jxkU9qFs.
peinay. “Haleigh Cummings: Mr and Mrs Cummings on ‘Today.’” YouTube, YouTube, 13 Mar. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1PlszjkZ5Q.
Pinkham, Paul. “Misty and Ronald Cummings Splitting Up.” The Florida Times-Union, Florida Times-Union, 7 Oct. 2009, https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2009/10/07/stub-397/15971062007/.
report, Staff. “Timeline of Events in the Haleigh Cummings Case.” The Star Banner, Ocala Star-Banner, 13 Apr. 2010, https://www.ocala.com/story/news/2010/04/13/timeline-of-events-in-the-haleigh-cummings-case/31384348007.
Staff. “Search for Haleigh: A Timeline.” Gainesville Sun, The Gainesville Sun, 15 Feb. 2009, https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/local/2009/02/15/search-for-haleigh-a-timeline/31597160007/.
Townsend, Catherine, and Christine Colby. “What Happened to Haleigh? 5-Year-Old Florida Girl Went Missing Day of Caylee Anthony's Memorial Service.” CrimeFeed, 12 Apr. 2017, http://web.archive.org/web/20170701023801/http://crimefeed.com/2017/04/what-happened-to-the-other-girl-who-went-missing-around-the-same-time-as-caylee-anthony/.
Treen, Dana. “A Year Later, Haleigh Leaves behind Family Falling Apart.” St. Augustine Record, St. Augustine Record, 7 Feb. 2010, https://www.staugustine.com/story/news/local/2010/02/07/year-later-haleigh-leaves-behind-family-falling-apart/16072942007/.
Treen, Dana. “Haleigh Cummings' Family Life Unstable from Start.” The Florida Times-Union, Florida Times-Union, 19 Feb. 2009, https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2009/02/19/stub-52/15995791007/.
Treen, Dana. “Haleigh's Father to Marry 17-Year-Old Girlfriend.” The Florida Times-Union, Florida Times-Union, 10 Mar. 2009, https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2009/03/10/stub-359/15993537007/.
Treen, Dana. “Misty Croslin, a Central Figure in Disappearance of Haleigh Cummings, Says She Was Kept in the Dark about Long Drug Sentence.” St. Augustine Record, 10 Mar. 2016, https://www.staugustine.com/story/news/2016/03/10/misty-croslin-central-figure-disappearance-haleigh-cummings-says-she-was-kept-dark/16315218007/.
Treen, Dana. “Misty's Brother: She Wasn't Home the Night Haleigh Cummings Vanished.” The Florida Times-Union, Florida Times-Union, 23 Sept. 2009, https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2009/09/23/stub-380/15972537007/.
Treen, Dana. “New, Chilling Details in the Case of Haleigh Cummings.” The Florida Times-Union, Florida Times-Union, 20 Aug. 2010, https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2010/08/20/new-chilling-details-in-case-of-haleigh-cummings/984854007/.
Wallace, Eric. “Listen to the Fourth Episode of 'into Thin Air'.” WJXT, WJXT News4JAX, 21 Mar. 2019, https://www.news4jax.com/news/2019/03/21/listen-to-the-fourth-episode-of-into-thin-air/.