Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Girlfriend`s Cousin Eyed by Police in Missing Haleigh Case
Aired February 20, 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, 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 tonight. A new tip leads dozens of law enforcement to search deep in the woods south of the home where little Haleigh disappeared days ago. A simultaneous search goes down around the home of a convicted sex predator, a predator living less than one mile from Haleigh. He was taken into custody last night, but is he connected to Haleigh`s kidnap?
We also confirm tonight the FBI now on the heels of the girlfriend Misty Croslin`s cousin. His location? Tennessee. Croslin`s cousin visiting the night Haleigh vanishes, but suddenly, he takes off for Tennessee when Haleigh reported missing. In the last 24 hours, an alleged sighting of Haleigh, Knoxville, Tennessee. Detectives seize a car, processing that vehicle. They`re looking for evidence, but they refuse to reveal make, model or ownership.
And tonight, after the girlfriend taken in a squad car for over five hours of police questioning, Croslin raises her own suspicions of the unnamed cousin. As the FBI joins in the hunt, tonight where is 5-year-old Haleigh?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New details emerge in the search for 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings, who police believe was abducted from her own bed. As investigators searched specific areas today, more information is coming out about this alleged cousin who was at the home around the time Haleigh went missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell you that we`re not going to confirm whether or not he`s a sexual offender or predator. But have we in contact? Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to reports, the FBI`s investigating girlfriend Misty Croslin`s cousin, only identified as Joe. Some media outlets are reporting that the cousin got in an argument with Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, over a missing gun.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deputies say they`ve interviewed a cousin of Misty`s who was visiting from Tennessee before Haleigh`s disappearance. Cummings denies the two got into a dispute.
RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: There was no fight with no cousin over a gun. I don`t know where people are getting information from, but you know, people say a lot of things and they don`t know what they`re talking about. I don`t have any enemies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While Cummings denied any argument took place, his girlfriend, Misty Croslin, says that she doesn`t trust her cousin and isn`t sure if he`s involved in Haleigh`s abduction.
CUMMINGS: I`d like to tell my daughter if she`s watching, Baby, I love you and we will find you. I love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. A new tip leads dozens of law enforcement to search deep in the woods south of the home where Haleigh disappeared days ago. We also confirm tonight the FBI now on the heels of the girlfriend Misty Croslin`s cousin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities are out searching multiple locations again today as part of their investigation into what happened to 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings. After arresting a sex offender who lived less than a mile from Haleigh, officers began looking in the area near the sexual predator`s home today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we`re concerned about is the fact that we do have a sex predator that violated his curfew and wasn`t where he was supposed to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators say they aren`t ruling anyone out, including Misty Croslin`s cousin, who is reportedly being investigated by the FBI. Croslin herself says she can`t trust him, telling reporters he`s been in trouble his whole life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Misty don`t trust him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don`t, either. From the newspaper clips that we have and what we`ve heard, he might not be a very good person for Haleigh to be with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Law enforcement officials confirm they have been speaking with the cousin but refuse to comment on what information, if any, he`s provided them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never met the guy. I don`t know the guy. I know he came to visit Misty`s family, and he left the same day that my granddaughter left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re working leads now. And again, we have people we`re interviewing. We`re doing polygraphs. We have some new leads that have come in, and we`re going to go ahead and follow up on all of them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I miss the little girl. Look at every child you see. Look at every baby, every little girl you see.
CUMMINGS: I`d like to see my daughter brought home safe soon (INAUDIBLE) now, yesterday. I just want to thank everybody that`s been looking for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to T.J. Hart, the news director at WSKY 97.3 FM. T.J. is joining us there outside the family tent. The family has been forced to live in a tent. Their home is declared a crime scene. We have learned today that a local is donating an RV or a trailer of some sort for them to live in for the duration.
To T.J. What can you tell me about the search outside the home of that convicted sex offender?
T.J. HART, WSKY 97.3 FM: Well, this is a precautionary search, as we were told, of Timothy Loucakis`s home. He was arrested, as we mentioned at the top of the show, for violating his curfew. Now, he was sentenced in 2001 for child abuse and promoting sexual performance by a child. This is a follow-up to his breaking of curfew. They don`t believe this has anything to do with the disappearance of Haleigh, but they`re doing their follow-up on this just to be sure.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight out of LA, Gloria Allred, victims` rights advocate, Penny Douglas Furr out of Atlanta, defense attorney, and Joey Jackson, defense attorney out of New York.
Gloria, they did not arrest the man simply because of a curfew violation. Now, I`m not saying that this convicted sex offender who sent child porn over the Internet, trying to meet a 10-year-old little girl -- you know what? Whatever. I`m not saying he`s connected to Haleigh`s disappearance. But I am saying, and I`d put everything I own on it, you do not arrest somebody simply for a curfew violation, Gloria.
GLORIA ALLRED, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Well, it`s really hard to know why they arrested him. Apparently, that`s what they`re saying, and apparently, they have excluded him, as well, because -- since he was in his home wearing an ankle bracelet or other identifying equipment, they were able to pinpoint him as having been at his home or in his yard at the time of Haleigh`s disappearance. However, when they know that he has no -- that he has committed a curfew violation, then they have to make an arrest because this is a high-profile case.
GRACE: To Natisha Lance, our producer, also outside the family tent. Natisha, clearing him is based on a timeline given to us by the girlfriend, all right? So you know, we`ve got to confirm that timeline before he can be totally cleared.
NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: That`s right, Nancy. But what police are saying right now is that he was in his home zone area, which is within a mile of the Cummings home. Now, they`re also saying that this home zone area is not around the Cummings home. They feel comfortable with where he was at that time.
GRACE: To Tom Shamshak, former police chief. He`s now a private investigator and instructor at Boston University. Tom, can an ankle bracelet be beaten?
TOM SHAMSHAK, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Good evening, Nancy. Nancy, that`s an open question. People I`ve spoken to say they are not fool- proof. This material that is around the ankle is nylon-like, with electrodes and wires attached to it. It is locked by a mechanism. Again, people have said it is not fool-proof, so that`s an open question.
GRACE: Back to Natisha Lance, standing by outside the family tent along with T.J. Hart. Natisha, I understand that police searching outside the sex offender`s home, the cardilage (ph), or the area around his home, but also deep in the woods behind Haleigh`s home. Now, was that because of a tip?
LANCE: Yes. Police were led to this area based on a tip, Nancy. They said they would not confirm if this is an area that they have searched before, but they said they were led there by a tip. They were searching this area earlier this morning. It`s about 200 yards away from the Cummings home. And they said that they are going to continue doing their search. It`s taking a tactical approach to areas they are led to by tips.
GRACE: To Matt Zarrell, our producer, also covering the story. Matt, I want to talk to you very briefly about the girlfriend, Misty Croslin, who was picked up by law enforcement yesterday and interrogated for about five hours. According to her family and others, she has been extremely cooperative with police. She`s the last one to have seen little Haleigh. She is the one that discovered the pink shirt that she originally told police the little girl was wearing when she was taken. And the entire timeline is based on Misty Croslin`s story. Yesterday, did she drive herself to the police station?
MATTHEW ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: No. She was brought in an -- in a marked police car.
GRACE: OK. She was not handcuffed, correct?
ZARRELL: No.
GRACE: How long was she questioned?
ZARRELL: About four or five hours, from 12:00 to about 5:00 o`clock.
GRACE: Did she have a lawyer with her?
ZARRELL: Not that we know of.
GRACE: Do we know how many times she has been taken in for questioning?
ZARRELL: The family says at least three times that they know of. There could be another incident where they did talk to her.
GRACE: Matt Zarrell, was this her own volunteering to go in, or did they seek her out?
ZARRELL: Our understanding is police wanted to speak with her again and asked her similar questions to what she`s been asked before.
GRACE: So they wanted to re-question her on the same topics?
ZARRELL: That`s what she had said, yes.
GRACE: Let`s go to three very special guests joining us right now. Crystal Sheffield is Haleigh`s biological mother -- she is joining us there from Satsuma -- Crystal Cummings, the paternal aunt of Haleigh, and Teresa Neves, the paternal grandmother of Haleigh. Ladies, thank you for being with us.
First to Teresa Neves, the grandmother of little Haleigh. Teresa, what are police telling you today?
TERESA NEVES, HALEIGH`S PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER: Hard question to answer. I haven`t talked to anybody today.
GRACE: Tell me about the search...
NEVES: All I know...
GRACE: Tell me about the search behind the home.
NEVES: I didn`t know about it until the media asked me.
GRACE: How is your son holding up?
NEVES: My son has not come out of the tent today.
GRACE: Explain.
NEVES: He`s not doing well. He`s been out every day searching. You know, he was out with Equusearch and he was out with the volunteers. So today, he didn`t have anybody to go out with, and it`s very hard for him to just sit and wait.
GRACE: So your son has been out physically searching for his daughter, right, Ms. Neves?
NEVES: Absolutely. Yes, ma`am.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just woke up, and our back door was all open, and I can`t find our daughter.
911 OPERATOR: Can`t find what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daughter.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s all I seen, the back door open. And then I go in her room, and she`s gone! And that`s all I know! Because when I woke up (INAUDIBLE) when I went to sleep, she was there, and then when I woke up, she was gone!
CUMMINGS: All I want is my daughter. It doesn`t matter. It doesn`t matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you suspect she did anything?
CUMMINGS: I don`t have any suspicions of anybody. Anybody could have done anything. I don`t know what`s what. Obviously, if I knew what was going on, I`d have my daughter.
NEVES: His home is still a crime scene, but I don`t think if they opened it, my son would ever be able to go back in there. And I don`t believe that he wants to leave from right here where they took his baby until she comes home. He told me he will not leave unless they make him. He will not leave until somebody brings his baby back to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Teresa Neves, the grandmother of little Haleigh. Ms. Neves, I want to clarify what you just said. Did you say that your son is not searching today because he did not have anyone to search with?
NEVES: Yes, ma`am. There are usually people who come by and they say, We have four-wheelers, or we have horses, is there anything we can do for you? And he automatically responds with a, Yes, let`s go here and look. And some people, I`m not so sure they expect that. But yes. But there was nobody by today to offer that, so...
GRACE: He must be exhausted.
NEVES: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: Everyone, we need your help. Haleigh needs your help. Look at this little girl. She`s 5 years old. She is missing, Satsuma Florida. The tip line, 888-277-TIPS -- 277-8477. Her father is out physically looking for her. He is now living in a tent near his own home since it has been declared a crime scene. His mother says he may never be able to go back inside again where his little girl was taken from him.
Crystal Cummings, the aunt of Haleigh, tell me how the family is holding up.
CRYSTAL CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S AUNT: We`re doing the best we can right now. I mean, we`re not going to give up hope. I mean, every day, it`s more -- it weighs more and more on us, but we`re never -- we`re going to -- we`re going to keep looking and continuing to do what we can until Haleigh is brought home to us.
GRACE: This morning, the baby-sitter/girlfriend appeared on the "Today" show, talking about her own suspicions regarding a cousin now under scrutiny, the FBI on his heels. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, CO-HOST: Do you have any reason to believe that that relative of yours has anything to do with the disappearance of Haleigh?
MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S FATHER`S GIRLFRIEND: I really don`t know. I don`t know if he did or not.
LAUER: You`re not quite sure?
CROSLIN: I`m not quite sure at all, no.
LAUER: Can you tell me a little bit more about that person?
CROSLIN: He`s -- you know, he`s a criminal, pretty much. He`s been in trouble his whole life. I don`t trust him. No, I don`t.
LAUER: Have you spoken to him?
CROSLIN: I don`t trust -- I haven`t spoken to him since he`s left, no.
I was home. I was home. I don`t know where (INAUDIBLE) I wasn`t home. I was home.
LAUER: Apparently, when Haleigh was first reported missing, you said she was wearing a pink shirt and you have now said that, no, in fact, she was not wearing that pink shirt, and I believe that pink shirt was actually found at your home. Can you explain that discrepancy for me?
CROSLIN: I was in the house with the detectives. They were showing me -- I had to back in the house to show them some stuff. And I was looking by the dirty clothes for the clothes that she was wearing earlier the other day for school, and I found that shirt and I showed the detectives. If I was hiding something, why would I show the cops the shirt?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is the girlfriend, Misty Croslin, speaking out today -- it was on NBC`s "Today" show -- kind of addressing accusations that her story doesn`t add up.
Back to T.J. Hart, standing by outside the family tent. What can you tell me about this cousin? He has not been named a suspect. We know he`s in Tennessee. We also know that there has been an alleged sighting of her at a Carrabba`s restaurant in Knoxville.
HART: So far, we`ve been chasing the same trail probably for a couple of days now about this mysterious cousin. Now today, of course, he`s been identified as only Joe. His placement has been here in the area. Also, there have been reports of sightings in Tennessee, where a 911 call was made stating that -- a witness stating that they saw a girl who matched the youngster`s description. They also say she was accompanied by a white male, who tried to shield or to hide her face. It`s also been said by witnesses, too, that they left in a red Rav-4, which is the Toyota vehicle, if I`m not mistaken.
And so far, we were not able to get a confirmation or validation on that yesterday, but we have heard confirmation today at the 3:00 o`clock presser that this Joe fellow has been spoken to by the FBI.
GRACE: You know, it`s all very mysterious, as Hart says, Natisha Lance. Apparently, there was an argument between (SIC) the cousin of Croslin that evening, that he disappears around the same time that Haleigh disappears?
LANCE: That`s what we`re hearing from reports, Nancy. Apparently, there was an argument over a gun. Now, Ronald Cummings has said that there was no argument that happened. Apparently, this guy ended up...
GRACE: And could you explain to me why the gun was recovered from a ditch?
LANCE: That`s what reports are saying, the gun was later on recovered from a ditch. And after that time, the cousin then disappeared from the area. And the next day, Haleigh was missing.
GRACE: Everyone, quick break. We are live there in Satsuma, Florida, and the search for little Haleigh.
Tonight, the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation fighting the number one cancer killer in the world. Lung cancer claims more lives than breast, colon, prostate, melanoma and kidney cancer combined. You do not have to smoke to get lung cancer. Joan Gaeta, a beloved wife, mother of five, a teacher who lost her battle with lung cancer. In her honor, the second annual Dancing for Joan fund-raiser for lung cancer research this Saturday, Feb 21, Marietta, Georgia. For info or to make a donation, go to Dancingforjoan.org.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DISPATCHER: (INAUDIBLE) cannot find her 5-year-old daughter. The back door is open at this time.
DETECTIVE: I got the age on this kid. Is it a boy or a girl?
DISPATCHER: Whiskey foxtrot, last seen wearing her PJs.
DETECTIVE: 10-4
DETECTIVE: 1256.
DISPATCHER: 1256?
DETECTIVE: There`s a railroad track that runs right through there. Can we find out from CSX when the next train comes through?
DISPATCHER: 10-4.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEVES: My son would not allow anyone around his children who he thought would do anything to them.
CUMMINGS: If I find whoever has my daughter before y`all do, I`m killing him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He came as a relative. When I have friends bring over relatives, you know, I don`t ask them, Hey, can I see the criminal background check on your friend you`re bringing in here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did not carry a sign that says, I`m a sexual offender and I`m going to steal your child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We understand that the father, Ronald Cummings, is living in a tent near his home that has been declared a crime scene since his 5-year- old daughter was kidnapped in her sleep in the middle of the night.
Today he wanted to go searching, but no volunteers showed up. They are in Satsuma, Florida. So as we all sit down to dinner tonight, as we sit back on our sofas and flick channels, he is waiting, waiting for help, law enforcement working around the clock to find this little girl, who has a host of health problems. Won`t you help Ronald Cummings and his family bring this little girl home? There is hope that Haleigh is still alive.
I want to go back out to Natisha Lance, our producer standing outside the family tent. I want to delve more into the search outside the family`s own home. You have told me that a tip led police to go south, deep into the woods behind the family home. Why? And what, if anything, did they find, Natisha?
LANCE: Well, Nancy, they`re not revealing very much to us. They`re not telling us if they found anything. They said, at this point, nothing significant has been discovered. But once again, they are keeping things very tight to the vest. Now, they are saying that they were led there by a tip. However, they would not give us information as to what that tip said or when the tip actually came in. But they are saying that they did search that area and they will continue to search areas based on tips that come in.
GRACE: Dozens of law enforcement combing the woods deep south behind the home.
To Dr. Marty Makary out of Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Makary, Turner syndrome -- she has it. What is it? Is it common? And is it threatening?
DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV.: Yes, Turner syndrome affects about 1 in 3,000 little girls. It can cause a lot of deformities, like low-set ears, webbing of the neck. And their hearts oftentimes don`t pump as efficiently as normal otherwise healthy girls.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not going to exclude anybody from not being involved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you want to say to the people who are calling your story inconsistent, Misty? Do you have anything to say to that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty Croslin, Haleigh`s father`s girlfriend and the last person to see the little girl, spent hours with detectives. We`re told she was undergoing routine questioning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the tips warrant, the interviews were made not only with her but with the rest of the family, with neighbors. Whatever comes in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deputies say they have interviewed a cousin of Misty who was visiting from Tennessee before Haleigh`s disappearance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have people that we`re interviewing. We`re doing polygraphs. We have some new leads that have come in and we`re going to ahead and follow up on all of them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators made an arrest but stressed it`s not related to Haleigh Cumming`s disappearance. However, Timothy Loucakis is being questioned. Police say he`s a registered sexual predator who violated the terms of his terms of probation by violating curfew. Now he`s behind bars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s been national manhunt from day one. I don`t know where this investigation is going to take us and every minute is critical. So we will take anyone that will lead us to her recovery or lead us to a suspect.
CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, MOM OF MISSING 5-YR-OLD HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Ronald called me over there and the detective told me that they have found the shirt Haleigh was wearing. And I broke down and then I walked away and Teresa walked over to me and was talking to me and the detective walked and he was like, did you know -- do you know what happened? And she was like, yes.
And then he was like, you know that we found the shirt in the house? And that bothered me. I got the paper from the store and it said that Misty found the shirt and how, I guess, by the back door in the dirty clothes pile.
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: I don`t know if you can, but I cannot imagine coming home after work, for me, after this show at night, and going in to check on the twins and finding their beds empty.
That is what happened to Ronald Cummings coming home after the night shift around 3:00 a.m. His little girl, 5-year-old Haleigh is gone. Apparently tucked in to bed that night, a few hours later she seemingly vanished into thin air. The back door to the kitchen propped wide opened.
Where is Haleigh? Apparently, by all outward appearances, police still functioning under the theory that Haleigh is alive. Right now, police in Knoxville, Tennessee pursing a lead that she was spotted there while dozens of law enforcement searched deep in the woods around the home of little Haleigh and that, and a convicted sex predator living less than one mile away.
I want to go out to a special guest joining us there outside the tent where the father is having to live now that his home has been declared a crime scene. With me, Haleigh`s mother, Crystal Sheffield, her aunt, Crystal Cummings, and her paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves. The two sides of the families, joining together in the search for Haleigh.
To Crystal Sheffield, Haleigh`s mother. Miss Sheffield, I want to thank you for being with us at this very difficult time. What do you know about this cousin, this cousin not named a suspect, in Tennessee who was there in the area visiting when Haleigh went missing? What do you know?
SHEFFIELD: I know nothing about him. I don`t -- I`ve never met him. I know nothing about any of her family.
GRACE: Well, what do you know about an alleged argument that was had that evening?
SHEFFIELD: I`ve heard about it. I don`t know if it`s true.
GRACE: Back to Teresa, the grandmother of little Haleigh. What have you heard about an alleged argument regarding a gun? That gun later found in the ditch?
TERESA NEVES, GRANDMOTHER OF MISSING 5-YR-OLD, HALEIGH CUMMINGS: There was a gun that was found in the ditch. There was no fight. The gun incident was two weeks before Haleigh`s disappearance.
GRACE: And to Crystal Cummings, the aunt of Haleigh. Miss Cummings, what, if anything, do you know about this mystery figure, this cousin Joe, that apparently disappeared from town around the time Haleigh went missing?
CRYSTAL CUMMINGS, PATERNAL AUNT OF MISSING 5-YR-OLD HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I only know what Misty has told me. I don`t know -- I just found out his name by the media because, obviously, we get a lot of our information from the media. So I know of that by that. I have no idea what he looks like or anything. I mean, I don`t know much of him.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers, Gloria Allred, Penny Douglass Furr, Joey Jackson.
To Penny Douglass Furr, there was a sighting at a Carrabba`s, Italian restaurant there in Knoxville and it`s under very unusual circumstances. The police apparently are taking it seriously. And the people that make these sightings truly believe that they have seen the little girl.
PENNY DOUGLASS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They do, Nancy. And I find it very suspicious that the cousin left at the same time. Because if you`re cousin is going through this, wouldn`t she be going to your cousin instead of leaving your cousin?
I found it very suspicious that he`s not at least there giving her support even if he`s completely innocent. He has nothing to do with it. Why isn`t he there supporting his cousin through this very difficult period?
GRACE: You know, Joey Jackson, Penny Douglass Furr has an excellent point. Now I know you defense attorneys like to say you can`t read anything into that. People react differently or unusually when they are a target of an investigation. He is not a suspect.
Mr. Jackson, can authorities force Croslin`s cousin to return back to Satsuma for questioning?
JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, Nancy. You know what, he needs to be questioned. He needs to be evaluated for two reasons. One, his criminal background and the second reason being the inappropriate contact alleged have been engaged in by Misty. Now there`s an extradition code in Florida which would provide for him to be extradited as a material witness to give information in this case. And that should be exercised.
GRACE: Joey Jackson, is that true even if there is not an indictment yet?
JACKSON: Well, here`s the way it would work, Nancy. They would convene a grand jury for investigatory purposes.
GRACE: Jackson, Jackson.
JACKSON: This is the time.
GRACE: I don`t have time for a grand jury to convene.
JACKSON: What, no, well, let me say this, Nancy.
GRACE: You know as well as I do that every hour counts when a child is missing.
JACKSON: It does. But here`s what happens at the.
GRACE: A grand jury?
JACKSON: Let me say this. In order to get the extradition warrant signed by a judge, you have to follow protocol. So I agree that it would be a step that would waste time. However, it`s imperative that he be questioned about what he knows and when he knew it.
GRACE: Well, OK, here`s a crazy idea. I`m just going to throw at you three lawyers. Let`s go to expert trial lawyer, Gloria Allred. How about the Knoxville police going in, on his door and questioning him there?
GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIM`S RIGHTS ADVOCATE: Wouldn`t that be so much easier and wouldn`t that accomplish the goal that you just pointed out, Nancy, which is to get whatever information they need as quickly as possible and he could voluntarily agree to speak to them? He wouldn`t have to be extradited. He wouldn`t need a subpoena if he would do that.
GRACE: And I would -- while I was at it, Gloria, go ahead and put the icing on the cake. Strap up to a lie detector. If he`s got nothing to hide, answer those questions. We`re getting conflicting reports whether this guy is in Ashville or whether he is in Knoxville.
We do know Tennessee. We understand there was an argument over a gun around the time Haleigh went missing. The dad goes to work. The gun is later recovered from a ditch. The little girl is gone.
To Dr. Leslie Austin, psychotherapist. Dr. Austin, the girlfriend, Misty Croslin, who was babysitting that evening, has stated that this cousin made sexual advances on her in the past. Why would somebody like that even be allowed in the home?
DR. LESLIE AUSTIN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: If that`s true, a, it`s sad. That`s not.
GRACE: I mean, listen, Leslie. Come on, when I`m at home alone with the twins, somebody knocks at the door, I go to the door and say, go away.
AUSTIN: Sure.
GRACE: I don`t know who you are, but go away.
AUSTIN: Right.
GRACE: I don`t -- forget it.
AUSTIN: If that`s true, it`s really bad judgment and it also might be, if it`s true, that she has a victim mentality and was afraid to stand up to him but it`s really bad judgment, if it`s true.
GRACE: And let me reiterate, this cousin has not been named a suspect. And by allowing him to visit in the area does not necessarily mean he was in the home. So let`s not start putting blame on the victims.
Everyone, the tip line 888-277-8477. Ronald Cummings needs your help, volunteers in the Florida area.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 DISPATCHER: OK. Was your back door locked, do you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, the back door always stays locked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need somebody to get here now.
911 DISPATCHER: OK, let me to speak to him so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just got home from work, my 5-year-old daughter is gone.
911 DISPATCHER: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need somebody to be here now. I`m telling you.
911 DISPATCHER: Listen to me, listen to me. We got two officers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I find whoever has my daughter before you all do I`m killing him. I don`t care. I`ll spend the rest of my life in prison.
911 DISPATCHER: OK. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m telling you. You can put it on recording, I don`t care.
911 DISPATCHER: 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?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t (EXPLETIVE DELETED) know. I was at work.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK, sir. We got them coming, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mounted on horseback, Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, continues to search the area with family and friends and volunteers. Both sides of the family their canvassing is far from over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Someone`s face, poppy eyes, we don`t care. We will be here. We`re not giving up hope.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will be here through any day. Rain, shine, anything. I was here early this morning trying to save everything of Haleigh`s because I see children that come out here and donate their favorite toys. And that`s what we`re trying to do, is save everything, because we know that she`s going to come home and she`ll be able to play with everything that everybody has given her.
C. CUMMINGS: We want to say, whoever has her is -- if they could please contact someone or drop her off somewhere safe and even if it`s anonymous, just call in and tell us where she`s at. And we want to tell Haleigh, if she`s watching, that we love her and we`re doing the best we can. And the officers are doing the best they can to bring her home safely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Right now we understand that a camper has been donated by someone there in the local area for the father to live in. He`s been living in a tent ever since his home was declared a crime scene, when little Haleigh was apparently kidnapped in the middle of the night, in the wee hours of the night.
I want to talk about that sighting one more time in Knoxville, Tennessee at a Carrabba`s Italian restaurant.
T.J. Hart, WSKY 97.3 FM -- T.J., what exactly happened?
T.J. HART, REPORTER, WSKY 97.3 FM: What happened is that a tip came in saying that a little girl matching the description of little young Haleigh was spotted at this Carrabba`s restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was reportedly with a white male. The white male was constantly trying to shield or hide her face, according to witnesses. Now witnesses also say that the two later left in a red RAV4. Now we do have confirmation from the Tennessee.
GRACE: Everyone -- T.J., hold on just a moment. Hold on just a moment. There you see the RV, the trailer being brought by a donor there in the local area for the dad to live in. That is a state of affairs for Ronald Cummings. His daughter is gone. He`s physically searching for the little girl, living in a tent. And today, according to his mother, he waited for volunteers to show up so he could go out searching again and no one showed up to help him.
Police working round the clock, overextending themselves, to bring Haleigh home alive. Very quickly, back to T.J. Hart, I understood that volunteers were showing up in droves to look for Haleigh. What happened?
HART: Well, the scale was -- the search was scaled back on Monday and this tip came in, we understand, either last night or this morning, and immediately deputies were dispatched as soon as they could get some kind of order on this, 100 yards away from Haleigh`s home into a wooded area. They were not looking for volunteers at that time. They quickly went out and acted on the tip and now they are not saying anything more about it. No comment is what we`re getting from the Putnam County Sheriff`s Office and the FBI.
GRACE: Back to Crystal Sheffield, Haleigh`s mother, or biological mother.
Miss Sheffield, what can you tell me about the girlfriend, Misty Croslin, being the one that discovered the shirt she first told police she was wearing when she was taken?
SHEFFIELD: All I know is that they just found the shirt and then I heard that it was found in the house and then I read in the paper that it was discovered by her. And she just -- I guess she gave it to the police. That`s all I know.
GRACE: And to Teresa Neves, Haleigh`s grandmother. Miss Neves, the shirt, I just heard, it was inside the home or outside the back door?
NEVES: The shirt was in the dirty clothes, which is right inside the back door.
GRACE: OK. And.
NEVES: So if you were, if you were going to do the laundry, you would be standing in the back door.
GRACE: I got it. Miss Never, I also understood that Misty Croslin, the girlfriend, has taken not one but two lie detector tests. Why two?
NEVES: I do not know. My personal opinion is I really don`t care. I don`t care if they polygraph her a hundred times. They can come and polygraph every person who`s ever walked out here or breathe out here. And you know, they can continue to do that over and over until they find my baby girl. I don`t care.
GRACE: You know what? That is the attitude I wish other families would have when someone goes missing. Miss Neves, you`d be surprised how many people don`t cooperate. So I`d say, right on, you`re absolutely dead right.
Very quickly, back to Natisha Lance. Natisha, what more do we know about how many tips are coming in?
NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, they`re saying there`s about 1300 tips that are coming in and they continue to receive more and more tips and leads on a daily basis.
GRACE: To Dr. Marty Makary, you and I were talking about the Turner syndrome this little girl suffers from. Would an abductor really be prepared to take care of her health problems? She`s missed a lot of school. She`s been to doctors. She`s been to the hospital.
DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: It could be a lot of work. Yes, we do know that she`s missed lots of school. It`s probably related to the fatigue. It`s probably related to the fact her immune system is down. She probably has a lot of sore throats, coughs, lung infections and things like that that require a lot of medical attention.
GRACE: And back to Gloria Allred, victims` rights lawyer, joining us out of L.A., I was listening to what Misty Croslin, the girlfriend, said to Matt Lauer this morning regarding her cousin. She couldn`t really vouch for him or say whether he was involved or not. What do you make of it, Gloria?
ALLRED: Well, obviously, she has an apparently long standing issues with her cousin and maybe even suspicions about him. But you know, we don`t know what her motive is in saying that, whether -- we don`t know whether, in fact, he is guilty of doing anything to her that would have been inappropriate. We don`t know the timeline of when he was there and so there are a lot of questions that have to be answered.
GRACE: Everyone, very quickly, "CNN HEROES."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.
ROY FOSTER, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I actually joined the army right out of high school. I became introduced to alcohol once I was out. It was just simply drinking and drugging and I would then stay in the streets. I was looking for a safe haven. The places that I were introduced to were no better than on the street. It was humiliating.
That`s when the commitment in my heart, it was born. How can I turn my back and walk away and leave you right here? I can`t.
Nationwide veterans are neglected, homeless. Unacceptable. What branch of service?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Army.
FOSTER: Army. So was I. We are (INAUDIBLE), you know, brothers in arms. So no man left behind.
My name is Roy Foster. My mission is to help and empower homeless veterans. If you`re going to work for sobriety, you`ve got to change. Stand Down House provides services for veterans only, a safe, clean place to live. All the meals. To health services, the camaraderie, it is that internal gloom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I got back from Iraq it was difficult for me until I met Mr. Foster who helped me.
FOSTER: Tell him one of his brothers in arms came looking for him and let him know, yes, we will be back. They are the best and they deserve the best. What I do, I love. I love.
ANNOUNCER: Tell us about your hero at CNN.com/Heroes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and more important the people who touched our lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A treasure trove of discovery released by police and prosecutors. As we go to air, we are just now still sifting through all of it.
LANCE: We haven`t seen all of the diaries but she does go on to mention these new friends that she has. She said she has positive people in her life and she hopes that the future holds a lot more positive things for her. As she said, it`s happiest that she`s ever been.
GRACE: Well, you know what, Natisha, she`s going to make a lot more new friends behind bars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The search continues for missing 5-year-old Florida girl, Haleigh Cummings, who police believe was kidnapped from her own bed last week.
R. CUMMINGS: I`d like to see my daughter brought home safe soon. Real soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are reporting WJXT out of Jacksonville that so far today police have received some 1,200 tips and leads. One of those leads is that Misty Croslin, the babysitter, may not have been home the night Haleigh disappeared.
GRACE: But of course, Brad McKeithen (ph), you know, when you`re trying to find the missing girl and you find out someone may have lied at the very beginning, that`s serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is. I agree. And that is a news that has to be explored on whether or not she intentionally misled the police.
GRACE: Explored? Explored? That`s putting perfume on a pig.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army Captain Darrick Wright, 37, Nashville, Tennessee, killed Iraq. A University of Tennessee grad. Put his job on hold at the TVA to serve. A beautiful smile. Remembered for kindness and faith. Leaves behind parents Roy and Gloria. Three brothers, two sisters, baby boy, Trevor.
Darrick Wright, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. And a special good night from the New York control room. And happy birthday to the backbone of our show, there she is, Liz, our superstar. No, I didn`t really fire her.
Liz, we love you so much. And you`re finally 21, Liz. But I advise you, Liz, don`t drink. The devil`s in the bottle, Liz. So go celebrate. Happy birthday, baby girl.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern and until then, good night friend.
END
