New Details About Evidence In The Haleigh Cummings Investigation

March 18, 2009

SATSUMA, Fla. -- Sitting in the driveway of Misty Cummings former home is a van driven by her sister-in-law. The light blue vehicle doesn’t look like anything out of the ordinary, but it was something investigators thought important enough to impound and analyze at their crime lab for weeks.

The woman who drives that van is Misty Cummings sister-in-law, Chelsea Croslin. Misty was the last person to see Haleigh the night she was taken. Chelsea said the family got the van back just before the weekend.

“They put a lot of tape on it, and there was a lot of white powder on the windows, I guess that’s just to check things,” said Chelsea.

“We all started thinking about what could have happened that night…I realized the van was in a different spot.”

Chelsea Croslin said the night Haleigh disappeared, a family member was staying with them. She says around 4 a.m., when Misty called them to tell them Haleigh was missing, they went outside to the van to drive to Haleigh’s home. Chelsea said she immediately noticed the van was not in the same spot she left it.

“I know I don’t park like that, and I was the last to drive the van.”

After a few hours, another sign the van was tampered with appeared.

“The day Haleigh went missing, everyone was looking for her…she (Misty) called me later that night and said 'Chelsea, please tell me you’re the one who put the scratch in my van.' I started crying and told her there’s no way I put the scratch in her van," said Chelsea.

A scratch leading from just behind the driver’s side door handle to the back tire is very visible. Chelsea said that scratch was not there the last time she drove it.

“The scratch---it runs all the way down the van. That’s something someone would know if you’re riding against something and steadily scratching it.”

All police would say about the van being impounded is that it was taken to the FDLE’s crime lab in Jacksonville, analyzed, then released. They would not comment on any specifics of what was searched or if anything was found in the van.

Chelsea Croslin believes the only explanation is that at some point during the night Haleigh was taken, the family member staying with her took the van. Police said they have tracked that man down and questioned him. They also said he has not been ruled out as a suspect.

“I’m not accusing anybody…it’s just me being a mom and believing what I believe and piecing things together. I almost feel like I might know who it is,” said Chelsea.

One thing that sticks out to me is, why was the blanket off of Ron and Misty's bed in the van that was at her sister-in-law's house? That makes no sense if Chelsea had been driving it for any period of time, days or hours. This changes my whole view on Misty Croslin Cummings. If the blanket was on their bed the night before, how did it get in the van the night of Haleighs disappearance, only to be confiscated by the sheriff's dept with the van?

Misty said after she covered Haleigh up she made the big bed and went to sleep. Where was Junior when she was making the big bed? In it? That's kind of hard to do, especially with the mattress up against the wall as shown in photo's. Or did she mean she threw the newly washed window blanket over the top of the bed? If so, that is not what she said.

The best reason for Misty to say she knows nothing about the "disappearance" is Ron screaming that he will kill who ever stole his daughter. He is violent, has a history of violence and there is no reason to believe he wouldn't kill Misty.