A holiday without HaLeigh

296 DAYS WITHOUT HALEIGH


A holiday without Haleigh
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. - The front of Annette Sykes house is beginning to look ready for the holidays. There are Christmas lights around the sides of Haleigh’s great-grandmother’s home, as well as red ribbons on all the trees. Those ribbons have been there long before the lights went up. They serve as a constant reminder that this family will never be whole until Haleigh is home.

“It was hard for her birthday, it’s hard today with it being Thanksgiving…it’s hard to give thanks without her here,” said Sykes.

Barely able to speak, Sykes summed up the holidays in one sentence.

“Without her here---it just won’t be the same,” said Sykes.

Annette says a typical Thanksgiving when Haleigh was home would consist of everyone going to a family member’s house, eating, and enjoying each other’s company.

“She would be at her Papa Jeff’s…he always cooks a big Thanksgiving dinner…just enough to feed an army basically. She’d be there with the other grandchildren, playing around, screaming and hollering. You know, basically having a ball,” said Sykes.

This Thanksgiving, the family will not be together. Annette says she may stop by her daughter’s house. She says Haleigh’s father Ronald is spending the holiday with friends. She says it’s sometimes easier for him to cope with memorable days like Thanksgiving without family around because they remind him too much of Haleigh.

“We try not to say anything with Ronald around because he’s so torn up. He just saying he doesn’t know how he’s going to get through it. And I can understand why,” said Sykes.

“It is really, really hard for him. He desperately wants his little girl back. He needs her and I know she needs him. I know how close they were, she’s daddy’s girl and she needs him back,” said Sykes.

Annette said anytime there is a holiday or special day that was memorable, it is very difficult for everyone who knew Haleigh. But, she says the worst has yet to come because Christmas was Haleigh’s favorite holiday.

“All holidays are terrible…but with Christmas coming up, you know, that’s a kid’s special time anyway. If Haleigh’s not here it won’t be Christmas,” said Sykes.

Annette made a plea to whoever has any information in the abduction of Haleigh. She said she doesn’t so much care about punishing whoever did it. She just wants Haleigh home.

“The main the thing that we want and have wanted for months now is just for Haleigh to be home. We had hoped that by now we’d have a really great thanksgiving with her here with us”, said Sykes.

“Please have a heart, have a soul, have a conscience, whatever it takes to bring our baby back home to us. Her dad needs her desperately. Her brother needs her, we all need her, and I know she needs us. I don’t care anymore, we just want Haleigh home…it’s not that we wouldn’t like to see them punished, but if we can get Haleigh back, I don’t care. We need her back. We want her back more than anything,” said Sykes.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says it continually conducts interviews with potential suspects in this investigation. It says the reward to bring Haleigh home is $30,000. If you have any information that can lead to Haleigh Cummings, call the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office at 386-329-0800. You can also remain anonymous and call in tips to Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-TIPS.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news...ithout-Haleigh