Haleigh Cummings Update: Missing Child's Ex-Stepmom Says She Saw What Happened
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (CBS/AP) It's been over a year since Haleigh Cummings was reported missing from her father's northeast Florida home, but the case is far from cold.
PICTURES: Haleigh Cummings Missing
Investigators have been inundated by leads and tips, some helpful and some just plain frustrating, but the latest twist makes Haleigh's case one of the more puzzling child abduction cases in recent memory - Haleigh's former stepmother now claims to have witnessed the abduction.
Haleigh's former stepmother, Misty Croslin, who is said to be the last person to have seen her alive, pleaded guilty to drug charges unrelated to the missing girl's case Tuesday and her attorney, Robert Fields, told reporters outside the courthouse that Croslin claims to have seen what happened to Haleigh and who was responsible.
According to Fields, Croslin claims her cousin, Joe Overstreet, and her brother, Hank Croslin, Jr., came to the house the night Haleigh reportedly went missing looking for a gun that belonged to Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings. When they didn't find it, Croslin says Overstreet took Haleigh instead, stuffing the screaming 7-year-old inside a black bag, according to attorney.
Croslin says she was hiding under a blanket with Ronald Cummings' 3-year-old son during the incident but says she heard Haleigh's screams as she was being carried off as a "replacement" for the missing gun, according to Fields.
PICTURES: Haleigh Cummings Missing
Fields said Croslin gave her account to investigators after her arrest on the drug charges in January.
In a statement, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said authorities would not discuss any information about the case.
"The Haleigh Cummings investigation is far too important to be jeopardized by releasing this type of sensitive information," said Lt. Johnny Greenwood.
Investigators have reason to be skeptical of Croslin's information. Haleigh vanished from her father's home in Satsuma in 2009. Croslin was said was baby-sitting Haleigh at the time and told investigators at the time that she awoke at 3 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2009, to find Haleigh missing and a back door propped open by a brick.
Croslin's family has also pointed the finger at Overstreet before, claiming he was at the mobile home the night Haleigh disappeared.
Overstreet was arrested on drug charges last week in Tennessee, but he has never been charged or named as a suspect in Haleigh's disappearance. His attorney, Shawn P. Sirgo of Nashville, Tenn., said Tuesday that his client had nothing to do with the child's disappearance.
"I don't believe anything [Croslin] said," he said.
Tuesday marks Haleigh's 7th birthday. After Croslin's plea hearing, Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, told reporters that she believes investigators are doing the best they can.
"Do I believe my daughter's dead? No," Sheffield said. "And until they show me something, I won't."
Haleigh is blonde with curly hair. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 386-329-0808.
Complete Coverage of the Haleigh Cummings Investigation
