WELAKA, Fla. – December 10th will mark 10 months since Haleigh Cummings was taken from her Satsuma home in the middle of the night. Her family is getting ready for Christmas, but spending the holiday without Haleigh is almost too much to bear.
“If I could get anything for Christmas, it would be Haleigh. No doubt. That’s all I want for Christmas,” said Haleigh’s father Ronald Cummings.
Ronald invited Action News teams over to his house to speak with him and his mother about the holidays. Ronald has moved a massive memorial filled with Haleigh’s toys and pictures to the main room of the Welaka home he’s staying in. The memorial takes up an entire wall of the living room.
Christmas was Haleigh’s holiday according to Ronald and his mother. On Christmas, Haleigh was one of the most animated of all the children that came over to enjoy the holiday.
“The table’s about a mile long. Everybody in the family is here. The kids are stacked head-high with presents. And Haleigh, she’s very animated, she gets so excited. It’s just going to be horrible if she’s not here,” said Haleigh’s Grandmother Teresa Neves.
Ronald remembers the holidays when Haleigh was home as well.
“A typical Christmas would be the whole family gets together at my grandma’s house. We eat a real big dinner, and then we open a lot of presents when we’re done eating. A lot of presents, a lot of smiles from the children. It’s going to be hard,” said Ronald.
Ronald says the reason they’re even celebrating this year is for Haleigh’s 4-year-old brother Ronald Jr. Haleigh’s Grandmother says whenever they’re out shopping for presents, Ronald Jr. constantly reminds her to buy something for Haleigh. She thinks in some way, it still hasn’t settled in that his sister is gone.
“It’s the same for everyone in this family. We just want whoever has her, let her go. You can have anything we have, just bring our little girl home,” said Teresa Neves with tears in her eyes.
“Thanks to all the law enforcement that was involved in helping look for Haleigh. Thanks for all the ones still looking for her. Please continue to look for her. I need to find my daughter. She’s not yours, she has a family who loves her,” said Haleigh’s father Ron.
December 10th will mark the 10-month mark since Haleigh disappeared. Her family tells Action News a candlelight vigil will be held the night of December 10th to keep the awareness up about Haleigh. The reward for information on Haleigh’s whereabouts is up to more than $30,000. If you have any information, call police.
