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Nancy Grace

Police Pursue New Leads in Missing Florida Girl

Aired February 17, 2009 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old little girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone -- gone, vanished into thin air, the back door propped wide open. The father comes home from the night shift to find not a single trace of little Haleigh.

Bombshell. Literally in the moments before we go to air tonight, local WJXT reports the girlfriend/baby-sitter was not -- repeat, not -- sleeping in the home with the children when little Haleigh disappears, what the girlfriend first told police, a bed she was reportedly sharing with the girlfriend/baby-sitter and her 4-year-old little brother. Where was she? What was the scenario that night? After claiming she passed not one but two polygraphs, the girlfriend`s apparent lie at the least costing police invaluable hours at the get-go in the search for Haleigh!

And in another major development, police announce they have in their possession the pink shirt little Haleigh reported wearing the night she disappears. Turns out she wasn`t wearing it at all. How -- how -- can you not know what your child`s wearing after you bathe and dress them for bed? This leaves us with no clothing description, information critical in bringing Haleigh home!

And tonight, police on the search for a nearby and unaccounted-for sex offender. Offense? A 2002 break-in of a trailer in the middle of the night to molest an 11-year-old little girl. Sound familiar? Tonight, with the investigation turned upside-down, where is 5-year-old Haleigh?

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

911 OPERATOR: OK. What`s your address?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, Green Lane (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: What`s the numerical?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The numerical? What`s that?

911 OPERATOR: The number. Green Lane?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

911 OPERATOR: OK, when did you last see her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just, like -- you know, it was about 10:00 o`clock. She was sleeping (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: OK. How old is your daughter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s 5.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER: Hello?

911 OPERATOR: OK. What was she last seen wearing?

CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE) the middle of the night.

911 OPERATOR: Ma`am?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was in her pajamas. We were sleeping.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER: I just got home from work, my 5-year-old daughter is gone. I need somebody to be here now, I`m telling you.

911 OPERATOR: OK. Listen to me. Listen to me. We`ve got two officers...

CUMMINGS: If I find whoever has my daughter before y`all do, I`m killing him. I don`t care. I`ll spend the rest of my life in prison, I`m telling you. You can put it on the report, and I don`t care.

911 OPERATOR: OK. It`s OK, sir. We`ve got them on the way. OK, can you give me any -- what kind of description of her pajamas that she was wearing?

CUMMINGS: I don`t (DELETED) know! I was at work!

911 OPERATOR: OK, sir, we`ve got them coming, OK?

911 OPERATOR: What`s her date of birth?

CUMMINGS: Y`all are (DELETED) playing games, man! I`m going to (DELETED) kill somebody!

911 OPERATOR: OK, tell him we understand. We need to get her date of birth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s her date of birth?

CUMMINGS: (DELETED) her birthday! We need to find her! (DELETED) her date of birth!

(END AUDIO CLIP)

GRACE: I agree with the father. Who cares about the date of birth at a time like that? Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. As we go to air, local WJXT reports the girlfriend/baby-sitter was not -- was not -- sleeping in the home with the children the night little Haleigh disappears out of her own bed. And in another major development, police announce they have the pink shirt Haleigh reported wearing when she goes missing. Police losing critical hours at the onset all because of a single lie?

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just woke up, and our back door was open, and I can`t find my daughter.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I laid down (INAUDIBLE) I mean, I`m not positive what time. It was, like, 3:00. You know, it was (INAUDIBLE) 3:00 o`clock in the morning. I got up. And I got up because I had to use the bathroom, but I didn`t make it to the bathroom. I seen the kitchen light on and I walked in the kitchen, and the back door`s wide open. And I didn`t notice about Haleigh then until I seen the back door open. And I (INAUDIBLE) and`s was gone. And that`s all I know, is when I woke up -- when I went to sleep, she was there, and then when I woke up, she was gone!

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CUMMINGS: Hello?

911 OPERATOR: OK, sir, let me talk to your wife. Let me get some information from her.

CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: Can I talk to her?

CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: OK.

CUMMINGS: How the (DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole (DELETED)!

(END AUDIO CLIP)

GRACE: There we see at the very beginning if we had only understood then what we know now. As we go to air, local stations reporting the baby- sitter not at home the night little Haleigh goes missing.

Out to Jennifer Bauer at the command center with WJXT. What`s happening?

JENNIFER BAUER, WJXT: Well, Nancy, I`m going to be very clear. We are reporting, WJXT out of Jacksonville, that so far to date, police have received some 1,200 tips and leads. One of those leads is that Misty Croslin, the baby-sitter, may not have been home the night Haleigh disappeared. And police tell us they`re looking into it as a possibility. They have not confirmed she was not in that home, but they tell us they are looking into it as a possibility.

GRACE: What is the alternative? Where is the tipster saying she was?

BAUER: That we don`t know. Police are telling us they`ve received 1,200 tips. Yesterday, they had 500. They have more than doubled the amount of tips in just one day. And they`re coming in from everywhere. They`re coming in by phone. They`re coming in by e-mail. People are faxing. People are calling. So you know, police are trying to make sense of all of this.

We got this information late today. And when I called detectives just about an hour ago to confirm all of this information, they said, We`ve gotten a lot of information, but we can confirm that it`s something we`ve heard. We are looking into it as a possibility.

And considering we have been here for eight days, police have not gotten very specific to this point about some of those leads that have been coming in. So this is definitely a development. This is definitely new information that we didn`t have yesterday, or we didn`t even have this morning.

GRACE: And Jennifer Bauer, joining us tonight from WJXT, what can you tell me about the description of what little Haleigh was wearing when she was last seen? That`s wrong, too?

BAUER: Well, we have to be very careful, too. Police are not telling us how they got it or where they got it, but they are telling us that they have in their possession that pink shirt they originally thought Haleigh was wearing the night she disappeared. To me, that opens up a lot of questions. But detectives are being very tight-lipped because, again, they keep telling us they keep reiterating they do not want to compromise this investigation at this point.

So the only information they`re willing to say is that that pink shirt they thought Haleigh was wearing that night, they have with them. We don`t know where they got it. We don`t know where they found it. We just know they have it.

GRACE: Let`s talk about what the scenarios are. Let`s unleash the lawyers. We`re taking your calls live. Susan Moss joining us out of New York, child advocate, Raymond Giudice out of Atlanta, defense attorney, Greg McKeithen, former prosecutor, current defense attorney also out of the Atlanta jurisdiction. Susan Moss, what do you say?

SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: This 17-year-old is no Rip Van Winkle. Her story makes no sense. Her argument that she was sleeping in the bed and then she wasn`t woken up when a door was opened, when a cinderblock was placed by the door, and when this child was taken -- I don`t buy it.

GRACE: What about it, Ray? Could both scenarios be true?

RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Sure. Sure.

GRACE: Could she -- let`s just give her the benefit of the doubt for a moment. Could she have, if this tipster`s correct, left the home to go out -- partying, I don`t know, go somewhere -- and someone come in the home while she`s gone? Just because she wasn`t there does not necessarily mean she`s responsible for the disappearance.

GIUDICE: Absolutely. I think we need to separate the question of whether she made an irresponsible act and wasn`t there at the time, as opposed to any involvement in the actual disappearance and potential harm to the child. There`s no allegation and no evidence of that. And I think everyone should stay on that track for now.

GRACE: But of course, Greg McKeithen, you know, when you`re trying to find a missing girl and you find out someone may have lied at the very beginning, that`s serious.

GREG MCKEITHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That is, I agree. And that is an issue that has to be explored. And whether or not she...

GRACE: Explored?

MCKEITHEN: ... intentionally misled the police.

GRACE: Explored? That`s putting perfume on a pig, McKeithen!

MCKEITHEN: That...

GRACE: If this girl is lying about what happened that night, I want to do more than a little exploration.

MCKEITHEN: Well, I think we must examine the totality of the circumstances in the statement, Nancy, to find out exactly what did she say and what did she not say. Maybe there`s a simple omission of information.

GRACE: You know what? You`re right. It could be. And right now, Ms. Bauer is reporting it as a tip that police are following up onto.

T.J. Hart, the news director at WSKY, 97.3 Fuhrman. T.J., thank you for being with us. Did we ever get any clarification regarding where everybody was sleeping? Let`s say the girlfriend was home. First of all, they were all three in the bed together. Then the story shifted. The children were in another room. Then the story shifted again. She was in bed with the little 4-year-old boy and the little girl was sleeping in another room. Has that been clarified?

T.J. HART, WSKY: No, that hasn`t, as a matter of fact. And in fact, it is a topic of discussion just about anywhere you go in this part of Florida. And you know, people are discussing this story at all hours of the day and night, and it all centers on the inconsistencies of this story and the bedroom situation as to where the kids may or may have been and where Misty might or might not have been.

GRACE: Well, Mr. Hart, I can tell you, unless there`s been a drastic change since I left home, I know what pajamas the twins have on. I can tell you exactly what they`re wearing.

HART: Yes, you would know, if you`re a parent, and you are.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: I know every single button that they`ve got on tonight. So how can you be confused about a pink T-shirt?

On the other hand -- back to Giudice -- both things could be true. The baby-sitter may have put her in the pink T-shirt and then later finds the T-shirt on the floor.

GIUDICE: That`s right. And we don`t know where the police found the pink T-shirt. Was it outside the home?

GRACE: That`s what I`m telling you, Ray.

GIUDICE: I agree. Oh, absolutely, both alternatives are true. So before we start accusing this young lady of serious crimes...

GRACE: OK, you know what?

GIUDICE: ... she has inconsistencies...

GRACE: Hold it for a moment. Thank you. Joining me right now, Teresa Neves, the paternal grandmother of little Haleigh. Ms. Neves, thank you for being with us. What do you make of this scenario? Was the baby- sitter at home that night in bed with the little girl or not?

TERESA NEVES, PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER: I believe that she was. To the best of my knowledge, she was there. I had a family member there that night checking on the children, dropping off some clothes. So I know up to a point that she was definitely there. There`s no doubt in my mind that she was there, you know?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that`s -- I just didn`t hear it. And I wish I did because I wouldn`t let no one take her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you blaming herself?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just know, like -- I feel like that, you know, I wish that they would have took me instead of her, you know, because I could have fought. You know, she`s only 5. She can`t really do anything. And I just wish they would have took me instead of her! What do they want with a little 5-year-old?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s feeling helpless, not knowing if his daughter, Haleigh, is a few miles away or a few thousand. Today Ronald Cummings was adamant that he`s never giving up hope.

CUMMINGS: It`s not time to give up. It`s time to (INAUDIBLE) It`s still time to look. You know, my daughter is still gone somewhere, and we want her home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoever has her (INAUDIBLE) just bring her back. And Haleigh, if you`re watching, Mommy loves you. And I miss you! And I want you to come home!

CUMMINGS: Please bring her home. Please bring her home safe. And if she`s watching, baby, I love you. I`ll never give up on you!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. But first, to Teresa Neves, the paternal grandmother of little Haleigh. Ms. Neves, again, thank you for being with us. In light of the recent reporting by WJXT on a tip that police have received that Misty was not in the home when the little girl, Haleigh, goes missing, you believe she was. Explain.

NEVES: I do believe she was at home. I believe she`s a very responsible girl. I believe -- like I say, I had family members there that night, dropping off clothes, and so I know she was there up until a point. And I don`t believe that she left after that.

GRACE: OK. Good to know. And Ms. Neves, what do you make of the confusion about who was sleeping in what bed?

NEVES: I believe that`s a big misconception caused by the media. When she made the report, they were all sleeping together, and they were. They may not have been in the same bed, but they were all in the same room.

GRACE: OK. You know what? That makes sense. And I hope that you`re correct because it`s shifted and changed, but it may have been just been a manner of phrasing that made the inconsistency. And I also...

NEVES: Absolutely.

GRACE: Yes. And I also noticed that even though they are now exploring, investigating, whether or not she may have been home that night, they are still saying -- police are saying, anyway, that they don`t have information suggesting she wasn`t there. So unless they`re flat-out lying, they believe she was there, as well. Although...

NEVES: Absolutely.

GRACE: ... the tip is being explored. Also, Ms. Neves, while I`ve got you on the phone -- with me is the paternal grandmother of little Haleigh, who goes missing out of her own bed -- Ms. Neves, what about the pink T-shirt she was reported to be wearing the night she goes missing by Misty? Now we find out the police have that pink T-shirt. She wasn`t wearing it.

NEVES: We still say she was wearing it when she was put in bed.

GRACE: OK. So how did it reappear?

NEVES: I cannot answer that. I was not there when someone came in and took her. I don`t know.

GRACE: OK. Do you have any idea how they -- where they found the pink T-shirt?

NEVES: No, ma`am.

GRACE: OK. Ms. Neves, has anyone gone through her clothes to determine what`s missing, what she may be wearing, as a way to help find the little girl?

NEVES: That home is now considered a crime scene. No one is allowed in there.

GRACE: Well, do you think that someone -- you know, let`s go to Detective Lieutenant Steve Rogers. Shouldn`t someone go through the clothing with police to determine what`s missing? I mean, that`s kind of a tough thing to determine. You`ve got a 5-year-old little girl. She`s probably got a ton of T-shirts that she wears. It`s going to be tough to determine what`s missing, what one outfit may be missing.

DET. LT. STEVEN ROGERS, NUTLEY, N.J., POLICE DEPARTMENT: You`re absolutely right, Nancy. The police would take a relative in, perhaps a mother in, to look through the belongings. I got to tell you...

GRACE: No, the mother lives 150 miles away. It`s not going to be the mother.

ROGERS: I`m sorry.

GRACE: The grandmother says it`s a crime scene. She hasn`t been back in. So where does that leave me?

ROGERS: Well, it leaves us at ground zero, where the police are going to begin, meaning the person closest to this child. Look, Nancy, we`ve been through this a dozen times. And I`ve got to tell you that the police are going to start at ground zero, closest people to the child. They`ll probably end up there. And then we have a sex offender.

GRACE: You know, you`re right. Let`s go back to Jennifer Bauer with WJXT. Jennifer, what can you tell me about Chad Eugene Reynolds?

BAUER: The police are calling Chad Reynolds a sexual predator, Nancy, and he`s missing out of Marion County, which is the county just below Putnam here. He apparently, we`re hearing, failed to check in with his probation officer, and he was reported missing at the beginning of this month. Forgive me, but I believe it was February 3rd. Police have not been able to locate him since.

We did ask investigators about him, whether they`re concerned, whether they`re trying actively right now to locate him, and detectives here on this case tell us, at this point, he is not a person of interest, but of course they are actively trying to locate him. There is a warrant out for his arrest and they do want to talk to him. Again, he is considered a sexual predator, missing out of Marion County, which is one county south of Putnam County, which is where we are right now.

GRACE: You know, I`m noticing that the incident back in 2002 took place in Putnam County. It dealt with breaking into a trailer -- I`m looking right at the police report in my hand -- in the middle of the night to molest an 11-year-old little girl sleeping in her bed. Sounds extremely familiar.

Out to the lines. To Wonder in Massachusetts. Hi, dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: I`m good. What`s your question tonight?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, you know, everyone`s saying that -- how responsible this girl is. And when she noticed that the little girl was missing, your first instinct is to call the police, call 911. Why would she wait for her boyfriend to pull up in the driveway? Even the boyfriend says, Why are you telling me this? You should be on the phone calling 911. Why wouldn`t a responsible person call 911?

GRACE: To Teresa Neves, the grandmother of little Haleigh. What was the cause of the delay?

NEVES: Misty was trying to find Haleigh herself. She was going through the house, looking, you know, through closets, their playroom, what have you. She was looking for Haleigh herself when my son came home.

GRACE: Everyone, we are taking your calls live. With me, the grandmother of little Haleigh.

But another case, still no answers tonight in the murder of a 13-year- old Georgia boy, Chuckie Mauk. On this day, 1987, Chuckie riding home on his bicycle, Warner Robins, Georgia, stopped to talk to a man in a car. As Chuckie got back on his bike, the unknown driver fatally shooting Chuckie near a local convenience store. Please look at little Chuckie. If you have any information, call Houston County sheriff`s 478-542-2125. Tonight, we still remember Chuckie Mauk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CUMMINGS: Hello?

911 OPERATOR: OK, sir, let me talk to your wife. Let me get some information from her.

CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: Can I talk to her?

CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)

911 OPERATOR: OK.

CUMMINGS: How the (DELETED) can you let my daughter get stole (DELETED)!

(END AUDIO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Back to Haleigh`s grandmother. Teresa Neves is joining us tonight there from Satsuma. Ms. Neves, again, thank you. And you probably have no idea how many people are praying for Haleigh and for your family tonight. What do you believe, Ms. Neves? What do you believe happened to Haleigh?

NEVES: I believe that someone came in that house and took her. I believe that they either know my grandchildren and my family or Haleigh`s mother`s family, or they had to watch for a while because my son`s on the night shift. And you know, anybody who knows my son knows that he is very protective of his children. So no one would dare to come in when he is there. So you`ve got to be talking about somebody who knew my son wouldn`t be there.

GRACE: And tonight, Ms. Neves is standing by the girlfriend/baby- sitter, Misty, saying she was in the home and was sleeping there in the room with the children. We are taking your calls live. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities have received over 1,200 tips in the search for 5-year-old Florida girl, Haleigh Cummings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The original AMBER Alert say she was wearing a pink t-shirt when she disappeared. Well, investigators now said that`s not the case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We obtained information through our investigation that young Haleigh was, in fact, not wearing a pink shirt as reported at the time of her disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Law enforcement officials say they`re investigating new leads in the case. Leads obtained after canvassing the neighborhood where Haleigh lives with her father Ronald Cummings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s been a national manhunt from day one. We will take any lead any place, any time that we have mentioned earlier in press conferences. I don`t know where this investigation is going to take us. And every lead is critical.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police believe Haleigh was abducted in the middle of the night last week, taken from her own bed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re doing everything we can to recover this child. That`s still number one. We will not leave a stone unturned or lead not followed up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Putnam County Sheriff`s Office say they will continue to investigate until she is found, saying they will re-interview family and their associates.

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF MISSING 5-YR-OLD HALEIGH CUMMINGS: It`s not time to give up. It`s time to -- there`s still time to look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello?

911 DISPATCHER: OK, sir, let me talk to you wife. Let me get some information from her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man. (INAUDIBLE)

911 DISPATCHER: OK. Can I talk to her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) can you let y daughter get stole, bitch?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: We are taking your calls. Live out to Mary Jo in Mississippi. Hi, Mary Jo.

MARY JO, FROM MISSISSIPPI: Hi, Nancy. You`re so precious to all of us. We love you, your family and all of your staff.

GRACE: Thank you.

MARY JO: I have a question and a comment. I notice on the close-up of the young girlfriend that her eyes were very dilated, which it would indicate that maybe she`s on some medication or drug of some type, which could actually explain why she`s so confused with her answers.

Has anybody thought about giving her a drug test?

GRACE: To Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Dealer Breakers," what about it, Bethany?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Well, Mary Jo is correct. This is one of many things that the investigators are going to be looking at, and especially those who do the forensic psychological examinations. Was she on drugs? Was she a partier? Or was she a really responsible young woman? Because past behaviors are a predictor of future behavior.

When that 911 call comes in, Mary Jo, she identifies herself as the mother of the children and the little girl is her daughter. Was that confusion, panic, or was she exaggerating the nature of her relationship with the child to make it -- herself look like a better caretaker?

The hysteria, I`m very interested in that. Was she hysterical because the child was gone, or was she hysterical because she was terrified of getting into trouble with her boyfriend? I feel that perhaps her fear of Ron Cummings might be one of the biggest obstacles in this investigation, because a 17-year-old could be more afraid of the boyfriend than of the actual legal authorities.

And the final question was, predators are so cunning. Was there a child predator who was grooming her as well as the children, endearing himself to her in order to have access to the children?

GRACE: I want to go back to the grandmother of Haleigh, Teresa Neves is with us. Miss Neves, I don`t know what to make of the call. And it`s a legitimate call from Mary Jo in Mississippi. I can`t tell whether Misty Croslin`s eyes are -- look that way because she`s been crying so much.

She`s probably hasn`t slept a wink since all of this occurred. Or was there any drug history?

TERESA NEVES, GRANDMOTHER OF MISSING 5-YR-OLD, HALEIGH CUMMINGS: There is no drug history that I know of. And I would like to say that Misty has cried. The reason that Misty calls Haleigh, my daughter, my daughter, should be evident. I mean, Misty loved those children like they were her own.

GRACE: And Miss Neves, how long has she been taking care of them at night while the dad had the night shift?

NEVES: My son has not been on the night shift that long. So, I mean.

GRACE: So not very long.

NEVES: She was taking care of them. She has taken care of them -- well, pretty much since they`ve been together. I mean my mom and I are here. You know?

GRACE: How long have they been together?

NEVES: Five months. That.

GRACE: Miss Never.

NEVES: The night shift is only -- he`s only been on that like -- I mean I can`t give you an exact date, but I`m going to say he hasn`t been on that night shift four or five weeks.

GRACE: Miss Neves, the other evening I was told that Haleigh had missed a lot of school because she`s been sick. What has been wrong with her? Why has she been missing so much school?

NEVES: OK. I don`t know where your medical experts are, but Haleigh has Turner syndrome. And Haleigh has been sick a lot in her life. I mean, I personally have stayed in the hospital with her three times. Her immune system is not what it should be.

GRACE: We know for a fact, Miss Neves, that she was at school the day that she went missing.

NEVES: Yes, ma`am, she was. I picked her up from the bus stop.

GRACE: Let`s go out to Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation.

Marc, weigh in.

MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, first of all, I don`t think for one second that this young girl is going to be able to finesse law enforcement. Remember, there`s a multi jurisdictional task force that goes from highly trained FBI agents all the way down to the local authorities.

And if, in fact, she`s not telling the truth, which quite frankly, it seems like she`s not, because there are many inconsistencies, not only the ones she mentioned, but did she get up to go to the bathroom or did she get up to get a drink that night. Those are very, very different scenarios of their own.

But she`s not going to be able to finesse them if she`s lying. Right now her story is incredibly self-serving. It -- answers nothing but her own personal issues as to, she slept through the deal, she didn`t call 911 because she woke up at the very last minute. The clothing is miscalculated. There are -- there are many, many things wrong here.

Now, what law enforcement is going to do, they have 1,200 tips, but they`re not all of equal value. They have hard tips, they have soft tips, and a lot of them might even be a theory. They`re using a piece of soft where something like rapid start to help them prioritize those tips.

And for whatever reason, and I think it was calculated, they let this information out tonight that this little girl may not have been home. And they did that for a very specific reason. They`re probably leaning on her. They probably want to find out exactly what did happen and deal with all of these inconsistencies.

Because this is a search for the truth. And if people are not telling the truth in this effort to recover this little girl, it`s going to hinder that investigation, and it`s going to slow down that process and there is no time to slow down here.

Misty has to come clean with whatever happened, whether she`s involved, or whether she`s not involved. If she was not in the house, where was she, who was she with? If she was in the house, then why are these stories so inconsistent and why do they seem to shift a little bit here and a little bit there with the different tellings?

The truth is consistent. The truth does not change. Misty`s story is inconsistent at this point.

GRACE: You know, Marc Klaas, you said something that I found to be true during all the years that I prosecuted. The truth doesn`t change. Now, as you retell and retell and retell your story, you may remember details that you didn`t say the first or the second or the third time, small details may be added. Your story may become embellished as you tell it. You may remember something else.

But it`s very rare that it actually changes, that the story of the truth changes. It can be embellished, it can be added to, but not significantly changed.

I want to go back to the grandmother, Teresa Neves.

Miss Neves, do you mind just going over with me one more time where everybody was sleeping that night?

NEVES: Not a problem.

GRACE: OK.

NEVES: As I stated before, Misty, I believe, said that they were all sleeping together. And that was true, because they were all in the same bedroom. OK? Haleigh has a small toddler`s bed. And she was on the mattress on that toddler`s bed in the room with Misty and Junior.

GRACE: OK. And that leaves Misty and the little brother in the big bed?

NEVES: Yes.

GRACE: Everyone, with me tonight, Teresa Neves, the grandmother of little Haleigh. We`re going to break. We`re taking your calls live.

As we go to break, I want you to know about the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation. Joan Gaeta Lung Foundation treats the number one cancer killer in the world, lung cancer. Claiming more lives than breast, colon, prostate, melanoma and kidney cancer combined. 450 Americans die every day.

PS, you don`t have to smoke to get lung cancer.

Joan Gaeta, a beloved wife and mother of five, a teacher who lost her battle with lung cancer. In her honor, the second annual Dancing for Joan fundraiser for lung cancer research. It`s this Saturday, February 21, Marietta, Georgia.

For info or to make a donation, go to DancingForJoan.org.

And happy birthday to Florida friend of the show, Elyssa.

Elyssa, happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Phyllis Bard has watched from her front porch as cops pull into the Hermits Cove neighborhood one by one Monday afternoon in this otherwise quiet and sleepy little town. What was once her mother`s home is now the center of the investigation into Haleigh Cummings` disappearance.

PHYLLIS BARD, NEIGHBOR: She was really a delightful little girl, (INAUDIBLE) hugged me when I`d be taking clothes off my line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She says she knows the home where Haleigh lives inside and out. And yet even so, she says she couldn`t tell you offhand exactly where the light switches are located in the kitchen. The light 17- year-old, Misty Croslin, noticed were on when she saw the back door was wide open, making Bard wonder if the person who took the little kindergartner out of her bed perhaps may have been someone who had been in the home once before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: With me right now is Reverend Jesse Smallwood, who previously lived in the home from which Haleigh disappeared.

Reverend, thank you for being with us. Describe the home.

REVEREND JESSE SMALLWOOD, PREVIOUSLY LIVED IN THE SAME HOME WHERE HALEIGH DISAPPEARED: Well, it`s a typical mobile home. It was (INAUDIBLE) when we looked at it then it was not quite as sturdy as we expected.

GRACE: Reverend, let me ask you about the bedroom. The bedroom in which the little girl was sleeping along with.

SMALLWOOD: Would you mean the master or one of the two children`s rooms?

GRACE: To Grandmother Neves, weren`t they in the master bedroom?

NEVES: They`re in the master bedroom, yes.

GRACE: Reverend, it was the master bedroom.

SMALLWOOD: OK. Well, what would you like to know?

GRACE: Well, how big is it? Because we know the babysitter did not hear someone when they took the little girl.

SMALLWOOD: Well, it was 10 by 10, if I`m not mistaken, with a room tarp, with a huge garden tub in the corner. Left-hand corner of the room as you enter into the door. Because we had a queen size bed, and I`m 6`5", pretty big guy.

GRACE: OK.

SMALLWOOD: And I had bypass surgery, and so I could not get around in the room.

GRACE: Were you surprised when you heard that the babysitter did not hear someone take the little girl?

SMALLWOOD: Well, if they came in the back door, because it`s a long ways, because you had to come through the washroom, the kitchen, the dining room.

GRACE: So were you surprised?

SMALLWOOD: The double living room. Yes, I was.

GRACE: To Dr. Marty Makary, what can you tell me about the Turner syndrome the little girl suffers?

DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: Yes, Turner syndrome affects specifically young little girls, about 1 in 3,000 girls have it. And they have webbing of the neck. They have a somewhat shortened stature. Low setting ears.

And their mental capacity is normal, but their immune system is suppressed because their heart, essentially, does not pump as efficiently as most -- most young girls. And their hands and feet can sometimes be swollen. So expect their coordination to be a little off.

GRACE: That sounds exactly like what the grandmother, the paternal grandmother Neves was telling us. So not only has this child been taken from the home, she`s also suffering from this syndrome.

Please, everyone, the tip line, 888-277-8477. There is a reward. Please help us find Haleigh.

Right now, I want you to hear about a new book you`re going to want to read. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERYL CROW, SINGER: I think we`re going to look back on this day and remember this is the day that we seized the moment. To stop global warming or to slow down what`s already happened.

SEAN PENN, ACTOR: I think everybody`s support helps. And everybody`s challenge helps. You know, alternately when necessary.

MADONNA, SINGER: I love the words. I love what they implied. That we all have the responsibility to make the world a better place.

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know, I`m very surprised that those three have not been attacked earlier regarding their unsolicited opinions.

To Andrea Peyser, author of "Celebutards," she`s a "New York Post" columnist. This is incredible. Thank you for saying what so many of us have been thinking for so long.

Hit it, Andrea.

ANDREA PEYSER, AUTHOR, "CELEBUTARDS", NEW YORK POST COLUMNIST: Well, this book, you know, you`re going to have a lot of fun with it. But it makes a very important point. That -- like when Sean Penn goes to Iran and says that people who are screaming "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" don`t really mean it. Or when he goes to hang out with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who hates America as much as I hate liver, you know, they`re -- they`re really not doing very well for our own country.

We can`t shut them up, because we have free speech, which you don`t get in Venezuela, or you don`t get in Iran. But we do have to pay attention to what influences are getting out there.

GRACE: And Andrea, isn`t it true that some of the leaders that Sean Penn has lauded have systematically harassed, for instance, gay citizens, women in those areas, in that particular area are not protected as they are here in America?

PEYSER: Absolutely.

GRACE: And yet he lauds that country and those leaders?

PEYSER: Absolutely. I don`t know why. I mean, maybe because if they`re nice to him, you get a nice plug from Sean Penn. I know he got in trouble with some of his fellow cast mates and some of the makers of the movie "Milk" in which he played a gay American, because he was hanging out with Hugo Chavez who has, you know, clamped down on gay citizens in his country.

GRACE: Now why did you throw Gore in the pot? At least he knows what he`s talking about, to an extent, of course.

PEYSER: Well -- to an extent.

GRACE: To the extent that any politician really knows what they`re talking about. But how did he get in the pot with Sean Penn?

PEYSER: Well, yes. I call him the Paris Hilton of "Celebutards." I mean, he -- you know, he didn`t make it to be president, so he went to Hollywood with a very exaggerated view of global warming. Now I make a very important point that I don`t have an opinion on global warming. I do know that of all the hypocrisies, Al Gore lives in a mansion that drinks up 20 times the amount of electricity and natural gas of the average American home.

This is a man who says that our carbon footprint is going to destroy the world. So why can`t -- so you have to do as he says, not as he does. That`s the height of hypocrisy.

It`s also his view on global warming is much different than his co- Nobel Prize winners with the U.N. council. They see global warming as a very gradual increase of the ocean. Al Gore sees it as Florida is going to be under water next week, so I don`t know. You know.

GRACE: Now wait a minute, how does Martha Stewart end up in the same pack as Michael Moore, Al Gore and Tom Cruise?

PEYSER: There are three categories of "Celebutards" and some of the categories cross over. There are the hypocrites, the lunatics and the idiots. Now Tom Cruise, not for any political belief, but because he`s a complete lunatic as we`ve all seen, you know? When he went on on video and described how he`s saving the planet, uniting world cultures, he`s the only person who can do this.

Martha Stewart turned her trial, her felony trial into a business opportunity, and who is the third one? Yes, I mean, Michael Moore, he`s out there going to his Hollywood fans with fictionalized -- you know, he says that Europe is so superior to America. In Europe you pay 70 percent of your -- of your income in taxes to fund the health care.

GRACE: Everybody, with me, Andrea Peyser, author of "Celebutards." You can get it at Amazon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Everyone, with us tonight is a friend of the show and a friend of missing children. Andrea Peyser first told us about 16-year-old Chanel Petro-Nixon through her column and we helped to net search. The 16-year- old girl is still missing. Tonight on another note Peyser hits the bookstand with "Celebutards."

So Andrea, why did you turn your attention away from your pursuits, we all read your column every day, to focus on these nut jobs?

PEYSER: Well, somebody has to do it. You know, it makes some very, very salient points about America that we have the freedom here to trash our country and these people are doing it with both hands and both fists. And I don`t think it`s -- I think somebody has to speak up and say hey, you know, it`s not a perfect country, but it`s a pretty good one. You know?

GRACE: And you were mentioning Michael Moore as we went to break. Why?

PEYSER: Yes. Well, Michael Moore, he put up, he puts out films that are getting steadily more, you know, fictionalized. He called it -- you know, he put out "Sicko" where he said health care is.

GRACE: But they represent themselves as documentaries.

PEYSER: Exactly. Well, I would say that they`re fictional because, you know, you can do a lot of things with editing. We all know that, but you know, I really -- I love that he was on this station talking to Sanjay Gupta who said to him you`re pretending that health care is free in Europe, and Michael Moore had to admit that you had to pay with your taxes. So that`s that.

GRACE: Andrea Peyser writes every day in a "New York Post" column. She has helped us in the search for missing children and now her book is on the stand "Celebutards." Go to Amazon.com.

Right now I want to stop and remember Army Sergeant Wesley Durbin, 26, Hurst, Texas, killed Iraq. Turned down college scholarship to go to the marines, later left studies to reenlist in the army.

Dreamed of his degree in English. Family and soldiers say he can make anyone smile. Leaves behind parents Randy and Carol, brother Kenneth, widow and soul mate, Brandy, step-daughter Tamara.

Wesley Durbin, American hero.

Thanks to our guests and especially you for being with us. I`ll see you tomorrow night at 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.

END