Florida Girl Abducted, Police Say

Florida Missing 5-Year-Old Haleigh Cummings Disappeared From Dad's Mobile Home; Family Pleads For Her Return..

by CBS/AP

Published: Thu, February 12, 2009 - 10:02 am CST Last Updated: Thu, February 12, 2009 - 10:05 am CST

(CBS/ AP) Investigators say they're treating the disappearance of a 5-year-old north Florida girl as an abduction.

The Putnam County sheriff's office said they are assuming she was abducted because house-to-house searches of the neighborhood found no evidence that she wandered away.

Haleigh Cummings was last seen Monday night in her father's mobile home in Satsuma. The rural community is about 70 miles north of Orlando.

Appearing on CBS' The Early Show, Ronald Cummings, the girl's father said he had no clue where his daughter could be.

"I don't have any idea why anyone would abduct anyone's daughter," he said.

Cummings had an emotionally-charged exchange with a 911 operator upon reporting Haleigh missing when he returned home from work early Tuesday.

"I just got home from work and my 5-year-old daughter is gone," Cummings told a dispatcher on a 911 call. "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."

His girlfriend had woken up and discovered the child was missing.

Asked if the little girl may have wandered away, Theresa Cummings, Haleigh's grandmother said, "Absolutely not."

"Haleigh is afraid of the dark," she told The Early Show.

Authorities have searched the neighborhood and divers have probed the adjoining St. Johns River.

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Tide Fan Says:

Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 9:10 am

IMO What the fater said to the dispatcher is not normal for the circumstances….sounds “scripted” to me.

bobcat Says:

Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 8:49 am

First it was Casey and Stacey (Peterson) both missing wives and now it’s Caylee and Haleigh, missing children from Florida. Get ready for the new round of conspiracy theorist, this time in the name game copycat murders.

cmb1 Says:

Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 8:19 am

Where is the mother? It said the dad had custody of 2 children? 17 years old, she is not old enough to be living with a man? babysitter? Something is not right about this..

DEW26M Says:

Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 4:55 pm

This seems eerily similar the “Calley Anthony” and “JonBenét Ramsey” cases. I bet we’ll find out later that foul play was involved by the Dad’s girlfriend, or both parties. Just so odd that anyone with children, or taking care of children goes to bed without locking the place up. I agree with Katw, I check my doors twice, and then the wife will also, and we live in a town “where nothing happens”, but that don’t mean it can’t.

heiffer71 Says:

Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 4:44 pm

Lord, lets just hope they find her. We can point fingers later.

Katw Says:

Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 2:03 pm

In one article it stated that a back door was left unlocked, well I do not go to bed without checking all doors I catch myself checking twice sometimes.Why, especially when you have children in the house whether theres a man in the house or not should you not secure your selfs these are crazy times, people use your heads! Something does not sound right either, this truly should not have happened.