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

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.

Haleigh Cummings: New Search for Missing Girl

Haleigh was first reported missing by her father, who made a chilling 911 call when he discovered her missing.

"I just got home from work and my 5-year-old daughter is gone," he told a dispatcher. "If I find whoever has my daughter before you all do, I'm killing them. I don't care if I spend the rest of my life in prison."

Cummings had left Haleigh and her 3-year-old brother in the care of Croslin, who was 17 at the time.

"She was sleeping right next to me," Croslin told the Palatka Daily News. "I can't believe I didn't hear anything."

Cummings told police that when he returned from work early that Tuesday morning, the back door was propped open and Haleigh was gone.

"Somebody came in my back door, broke into my home and stole my daughter," he said.

"I don't know why somebody would take her," Crystal Sheffield, the girl's mother, said at the time of her daughter's disappearance. "I'm scared for her. She is probably scared and cold and hungry."

Throughout the ordeal, members of Haleigh's family have shown dogged determination.

"If I lost hope, what does she have left then?" Ronald Cummings told ABC News' Orlando affiliate WFTV in February 2009. "Like I gave up on her? I'm not giving up on her. Never."

Florida police treated Haleigh's disappearance as an abduction, investigators said early on in the investigation, after concluding she did not simply wander off alone.

"All the world is a suspect," Det. John Merchant of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office told reporters at the time of her disappearance. "We are going to treat everybody, every family member, every associate, like a suspect until we eliminate them."

As police launched a massive search effort that included divers and K-9 units, Sheffield begged for her daughter's return.

"Whoever has her, I know you're watching," she told "Good Morning America" in February 2009. "She ain't done nothing wrong. Please bring her back."

In June 2009, vowing to leave no stone unturned, investigators dug up much of the 30-acre Glen St. Mary home of Haleigh's grandmother, Marie Griffis, but only recovered animal remains.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.