Police Follow Up on New Leads in 5-Year-Old Haleigh Cummings Case

Florida investigators began day three of latest search for missing 5-year-old.

ByABC News
February 17, 2009, 9:51 AM

April 15, 2010 — -- Misty Croslin, the last person to have seen 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings before she disappeared more than a year ago, was taken by investigators Wednesday night to the Florida dock where more than 40 divers searched for the missing girl.

Wearing handcuffs and a black jail uniform because of pending drug charges unrelated to Haleigh's disappearance, Croslin stood on the dock among investigators at the murky waters of the St. John's River five miles from where Haleigh was last seen, according to ABC News' Orlando affiliate WFTV.

Croslin had been transferred earlier this week from the jail where she was being held to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office for questioning about the little girl. Officials have yet to explain how Croslin fits into their investigation.

Haleigh disappeared Feb. 10, 2009, when she vanished from the home of her father, Ronald Cummings, in Satsuma. Satsuma is 60 miles south of Jacksonville.

The third day of searching has so far brought no new information to the case, but investigators have said they are working on a tip that suggested they might find physical evidence in the river that could explain Haleigh's disappearance.

In a statement on the department's Web site, Putnam County Lt. Johnny Greenwood characterized the search as "meticulous" but said that the search has "failed to yield any items of evidentiary value in the case."

Greenwood also shot down rumors that police had made an arrest in the case.

"There is currently no one in law enforcement custody as the result of the investigation into Haleigh Cummings' disappearance," Greenwood said.

But members of Haleigh's family have pointed fingers at Croslin's cousin, Joe Overstreet, who was in Florida visiting the little girl and her family when she first went missing.

Croslin's grandmother, Flo Hollars, told the Florida Times-Union that one of her sons said he knows Overstreet took Haleigh at knifepoint on that February night, which Overstreet of Nashville, Tenn., has denied.

Hollars said Croslin's brother, Hank "Tommy" Croslin Jr., who is also in jail on unrelated drug charges, told her that Overstreet, "Took Haleigh out of the Satsuma trailer where she lived after he was unable to find a machine gun the two men were going to steal. Overstreet put a knife to the throat of Misty Croslin, then Haleigh's father's girlfriend, and took Haleigh."

In an interview with the media Thursday in Nashville, Overstreet, 20, broke into tears when he was asked about any possible connection to Haleigh's disappearance.

"If I knew who did it, I would go straight and call the cops and tell them who did it," said Overstreet, according to ABC News' Nashville affiliate WKRN.

His attorney, Shawn Sirgo, said his client is being targeted by family members.

"I do believe siblings have gotten together, substantiated a story that they can't even keep straight, that the lies lead to lies, that the admissions keep modifying," Sirgo said.

Overstreet was interviewed by several Florida investigators earlier this week at the FBI headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., but has always denied any involvement.