Putnam County

‘We do not forget:’ 13 years since Haleigh Cummings’ disappearance in Putnam County

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — Thursday marks 13 years since Haleigh Cummings disappeared from her Satsuma home in Putnam County.

Authorities said she was 5 years old and a Kindergarten student at Browning-Pearce Elementary School when she went missing on Feb. 10, 2009.

Her babysitter Misty Croslin, who was 17 at the time, was the last person to see her, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said. Croslin reported Haleigh missing, launching a manhunt for the little girl.

Haleigh’s disappearance garnered national attention, but she has never been found.

Her case remains one of Florida’s seven unsolved AMBER Alerts.

Haleigh would be 18 years old now.

Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida is offering a reward of $15,000 for help finding Haleigh.

‘We do not forget,” is a statement the sheriff’s office shared online, along with an image of Haleigh at age 5 and an age progression photo of what she could have looked like at age 12. “Haleigh would be 18 now. She would be in college, technical school or possibly starting a job. Those opportunities such as graduating high school surrounded by family and friends was stolen from her,” the post added.

Croslin, and her former husband, Ronald Cummings — who is Haleigh’s father — have never been charged in Haleigh’s disappearance. However, they have both been serving prison sentences for drug trafficking since 2010.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Haleigh’s father is scheduled to be released on Oct. 19, 2022. Croslin is expected to be released on Sept. 5, 2031.

In the years since Haleigh’s disappearance, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has released two age-progression photos of her: one of what she would look like at age 8 and one of what she would look like at age 12.

In 2019, Action News Jax sat down with the lead detective in her case, Capt. Dominic Piscitello with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

“It’s kind of saddening because we haven’t figured it out,” Piscitello said. “This is a place where a little girl went missing from, an innocent child that had no control over anything in her life. She was merely a mechanism of her family and she is potentially gone because of what her family was or wasn’t, they didn’t keep her safe.”

In 2020, Action News Jax talked to Haleigh’s great-grandmother Annette Sykes, who was dying of stage 4 cancer, and her final wish was to find out what happened to Haleigh.

“I don’t have much longer and I want to know where she is and what happened to her before I die. I just want that little bit of peace, that little bit of knowledge. That’s all I’m asking for,” she said.

If you have any information that could help find Haleigh, you’re asked to call 911 or the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office at 1-888-277-8477 or at 386 329-0800.

Aurielle Eady

Aurielle Eady, Action News Jax

Aurielle Eady is a digital content producer for Action News Jax.