WESH 2 Caller Says Crews Searching In Mondex...

Crews Searching Rural Pond In Haleigh Cummings Case
WESH 2 Caller Says Crews Searching In Mondex Subdivision
POSTED: 11:18 am EDT September 19, 2009
UPDATED: 6:10 am EDT September 21, 2009

http://www.wesh.com/news/21005898/detail.html

PALATKA, Fla. -- The Putnam County Sheriff's Office said it received information over the weekend that there is possible physical evidence in the Haleigh Cummings investigation located in a large pond south of Palatka.
A WESH 2 caller said crews were searching in an undeveloped subdivision in Putnam County called Mondex on Saturday and Sunday.
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"It's a place back in here in the ponds that (are) further on down, where they go to have their fun in the mud holes, but very few people come back in here on the north end of the Mondex," said Putnam County resident Ronald Charles Ussery.
Locals said it wouldn't be a shock if Haleigh's body was found in the area.
"I wouldn't be surprised, because there are so many rumors that she's out here," said Putnam County resident Brooke Owens. "We've been hearing so much, so I wouldn't be surprised."
PCSO Lt. Johnny Greenwood said Saturday that Sheriff Jeff Hardy wanted to quell any rumors that Haleigh's body had been recovered. He also said that the PCSO has received numerous calls regarding a search currently being conducted south of Palatka.
"It has been our position that we will not discuss operations or searches prior to their completion," Greenwood said.
Saturday's search is the result of one of more than 4,000 tips received in this case, Greenwood said.
Divers from the PCSO, St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and Clay County Sheriff's Office conducted underwater searches in the area. In an attempt to assist the divers, the decision was made to lower the water level in the pond to reduce the search area, Greenwood said.
It took some time for the pumps to work and the water to recede, but it eventually drained, helping searchers look for evidence and possibly find out what happened to Haleigh.
The brother of the missing girl's baby sitter spoke with investigators this week after being arrested on a grand theft charge. Although the sheriff's office said it wasn't related to Haleigh's disappearance, Hank Croslin agreed to be questioned about that case. Authorities said three other inmates also were questioned.
Greenwood said, although coincidental, the recent interviews did not provide the information which led to the search. However, he would not release any details about the interviews.
"Although we continue to interview people in this case every single day, there have been no significant developments to report," Greenwood said.
Croslin's sister, Misty, was baby-sitting Haleigh when the girl vanished from her father's mobile home in February.
Haleigh's paternal great-grandmother said the police department hasn't been very forthcoming with information on its investigation.
"We want Haleigh home, we want Haleigh found, and we would appreciate the sheriff's department doing whatever they can and whatever they have done," said Haleigh's paternal great-grandmother Annette Sykes. "But the fact of the matter is we don't know anything that they've done because they haven't bothered to tell us. All we get is they are following leads. Well, they've been following leads since the day they she was gone. What does that mean?"
Sykes said she knew nothing about this weekend's search.
"Well, I'm following leads, and that's exactly what I did yesterday when I went down there -- I followed a lead," she said.
The search for physical evidence through Sunday night, as the last person to see the Haleigh was brought into the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. WESH 2 News has learned that Misty Croslin, the wife of the child's biological father, was picked up by investigators, brought to the sheriff's office and released hours later.