Misty Croslin, Ron Cummings' girlfriend, appears on 'Today Show'

Helen Eckinger Sentinel Staff Writer
1:26 PM EST, February 20, 2009

Misty Croslin, the last person to see Haleigh Cummings before the 5-year old vanished 11 days ago, appeared on the Today Show this morning and answered some questions about her involvement in the case.

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In recent days, rumors have circulated about a relative of Croslin's who was in Satsuma at the time of Haleigh's disappearance, but has since return to Tennessee, and officials with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office have confirmed that they have spoken with the man.

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Today Show host Matt Lauer asked Croslin, 17, if she thought the relative had anything to do with Haleigh's disappearance."I really don't know. I don't know if he did or not," Croslin said.

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"That's an interesting way to answer the question," Lauer responded. "I think that a lot of people might say that, 'No, I'm positive that person had nothing to do with Haleigh.'"

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"I'm not quite sure at all. No . . . He's a criminal pretty much, he's been in trouble his whole life. I don't trust him," Croslin replied, adding that she hasn't spoken to the relative since he left Satsuma.

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Lauer also asked Croslin about a pink shirt that Croslin initially told detectives Haleigh was wearing the night she vanished. Sheriff's officials now say that they have the shirt and don't know what Haleigh was wearing when she disappeared, but have not elaborated further.

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Croslin told Lauer that she found the shirt when detectives took her back to the double-wide trailer she shared with Haleigh's father and his two children."I was looking by the dirty clothes for the clothes she was wearing earlier in the day for school, and I found that shirt and I showed the detectives," Croslin said. "If I was hiding something, why would I show the cops the shirt?

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Croslin also denied that she left the trailer at some point during the night Haleigh disappeared. The Sherriff's Office has confirmed that it is investigating a tip claiming to that effect."I was home. I was home. I don't know where anyone come with I wasn't home. I was home," Croslin said.

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Croslin said she woke up about 3 a.m., February 10, and Haleigh was missing. Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, 25, returned from work about five minutes later and told Croslin to call 911.

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Haleigh's grandmother and aunt said that they have heard reports that a cousin of Misty Croslin may be a pedophile, but they haven't received any definitive information to that effect. At a televised press conference, Teresa Neves, Haleigh's paternal grandmother, said that she never met the cousin, who she believes is named Joe and lives in Tennessee. (Joseph Miller, per my records, but I forgot to source that note.)

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Neves and her daughter, Crystal Cummings, said that Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, has spent most of Friday indoors. "It's been a rough day for him," she said. They also say they don't know what sort of tip prompted dozens of investigators to search a wooded area near Haleigh's home today.

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The Putnam County Sheriff's Office plans to have a press conference at 3 p.m.

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Maybe I'm getting soft, but I'm starting to believe her. She does not seem smart enough to have hatched some plan at the spur of the moment, or mean enough to hurt Haleigh. I feel like she's just a country girl who got caught up in something horrific that she can't explain. Maybe I'm wrong, but I hope I'm right.