*Amber Alert* for Haleigh in Florida

Sounds like another CIA job.I hope they find her alive.Once every 3 months on the dot this happens.

I thought Haleigh was a city in Florida.

*pin*

There was something off about the 911 call from the 17 year old girlfriend who was supposedly sleeping in the same bed as the child when the 'abduction' took place. Somebody in that direct family circle knows where that little girl is.I pray she comes to no harm, but, it does not look good at this point. Her real mother is here now, if I were her, I'd have that girlfriend in a headlock until she sang!

i agree nothing sounds right about what the girlfriend says...or why did she not call 911 as soon as she realized the little girl was gone...better yet what the hell is he doing shacking up with a 17yr.old...and why would any one with small children live in area full of pedos...

get the lie detector out, and hook it up to the parents.

both the father and girlfriend took and passed the test...the dogs did pick up a scent of her near the water, blocks from the trailer where she was taken...

54hrs. later and she is still missing...
this poor little girl living in a trailer with her daddy shacked up with a 17yr.old cause mama is far away...
doesn't mama care that she lives in a zest pool of pedos...

how the hell do you take a child from bed without waking two other people beside her?
all i can think is her little mouth being cover by a demon...she awoke to evil eyes...
targeted from the beginning as bait...
this is when i question why why why must little girls disappear???
how does this happen???
why are pedos allowed to live around children???

and why did the girlfriend wait to call 911???
then Caylee popped into my mind...
Haleigh = Caylee = both from florida...

it's always so disturbing what happens...

Something seems majorly out of sorts with the girlfriend.

Her story just seems unbelievable and too convenient.

The police won't say she passed the polygraph test.
[link to www.foxnews.com]

A news video said the FBI has been called in and they were talking to the girlfriend.

So, why is a 17 year old girl playing house with an adult man she's only known 4-6 months? And why, in the 911 call did she refer to Haleigh as "our daughter"? Clearly she knows Haleigh isn't her daughter but that shows that the girlfriend's mindframe isn't where it should be, she's delusional to an extent.

Delusional young women do all kinds of strange things.

[link to profile.myspace.com]

There's the girlfriend's my space page.

She was last logged in on 9/11/08, has no friends there, tries to look slutty in her pictures, and has a strange poem posted that may or may not be meaningless to this:

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets
So love the people who treat you right
forget about the ones who don't
and believe that everything happens for a reason
if you get a chance, take it, if it changes your life, let it
nobody said that it would be easy
they just promised it would be worth it.

There's strange dramatic highlighting and underlining of words in her poem.

She's a delusional young woman, IMO. Lies about her age on that page, says she's 19.

The last person to see the missing is always a suspect.

Her story is weird.

She just happened to get up to use the bathroom as the father was almost home. Really it's the last possible chance timewise, if she was guilty, to start a drama.

Who would be so bold to go in and take the child from a room with other people in it? They couldn't know those folks wouldn't wake up, were heavy sleepers, whatever.

Maybe the girlfriend lied. Maybe she wasn't home the whole time. Maybe she'd been regularly sneaking out at night to go party, whatever, and made a practice of showing up back there just before the father would come home from work.

That makes more sense than somebody breaking in quietly and taking the child from a room full of sleeping people. That she just came home herself, found the child missing, saw the door propped open, and had to quick fabricate a cover story because of her own negligence leaving the kids alone.

Other possibilities too with this. It's just not right.

The girlfriend is fishy. And it's fishy that the police won't say she passed her polygraph test. And that the fbi are now interviewing the girlfriend.

The person to be held responsible here is the FATHER.
WTH is he doing livng with a 17 yr old?

Something else was odd in the articles. The grandmother says she can feel that Haleigh is still alive somewhere, that she can feel her screaming.

Then the dad parrots that in a later article. Says the same thing.

Are they the psychic family or not too bright?

Stats are that most abducted children are dead and their bodies disposed of within hours of going missing.

If it was Haleigh's footprint leading to the river it means she was with somebody she felt good about going off into the night with. That's just weird.

Could the girlfriend have accompanied Haleigh to the river?

It's a strange chancey scenario that an abductor would do that. They want to do it swiftly, quietly. Grab their prey, silence their prey, get prey to their safe place to molest and kill and dispose of them. To them it's an object, not a person.

Girlfriend explains more about missing Haleigh

"I don't care what people are saying about me because I didn't do it."

By Dana Treen Story updated at 12:34 PM on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009

Ronald Cummings, father of missing Satsuma 5-year-old Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings, with his girlfriend Misty Croslin with a family photo from better times Thursday morning.

Law enforcement officials believe Haleigh was abducted.



SATSUMA – The 17-year-old girlfriend of a Putnam County man whose 5-year-old daughter has been the focus on an intense three-day search has taken lie-detector tests and passed as far as she and her boyfriend know.

“I took two of them,” Misty Croslin said this morning down the street from where Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings vanished late Monday or early Tuesday. Haleigh’s father, Ronald Cummings, 25, said he also was tested and believes both he and his girlfriend passed.

“We have all offered to take lie detectors,” Cummings said of his family, who is staying nights mostly huddled beneath a canopy near the Green Lane mobile home that is still roped off by investigators. He said he is willing to do what is needed.

“If you need to draw blood, draw blood,” he said.

His girlfriend also has been under a lot of scrutiny for being the last one to see her.

"I don't care what people are saying about me because I didn't do it," Croslin said.

Croslin said she had little to tell investigators about what happened Monday night. Because Tuesday was a school day, she put the kindergartner to bed about 8:15 p.m. and crawled into the same bed about two hours later.

Cummings' other son, 3-year-old Ronald Cummings Jr., was in the same bed.

Croslin said she did not hear anything or notice anythin amiss until she got up around 3 a.m.

“When I went to sleep she was there,” she said. “When I woke up she was gone.”

She said taking the polygraph in a pair of sessions was taxing.

“I was so shook up that night, I kept moving,” she said. “I couldn’t stay still. I was crying.”

A little more than 50 hours into the search, Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy said efforts are expanding to include horseback searches of the palmetto scrub and pine woods across the south Putnam community.

He said Croslin had taken a polygraph but would not discuss outcomes of any of the tests.

“Misty has been interviewed extensively,” he said. He said neighbors in the area have been helpful and that family has been “extremely cooperative.”

Croslin said a pair of her nephews who are about Haleigh’s age were at the couple’s place about 5 p.m. Monday.

Cummings, who was at work and arriving home just as Haleigh was discovered missing when Croslin woke up to go to the bathroom, said he has no idea who might try to take his daughter.

He said he tends to stay to himself.

“I don’t make friends, I don’t make enemies,” he said.

Hardy said efforts today include more searches from the air and on water. Texas EquuSearch, a group specializing in horseback searches also arrived and is setting up to begin mapping out the scrub.

“We’ll expand this investigation as far as it needs to go,” Hardy said. “We worked late into last night interviewing people.”

Hardy said items have been sent for lab analysis but would not say what those were.

He said no favorite toys or other items of Haleigh’s appears to be missing from the mobile home off Buffalo Bluff Road.

“The best-case scenario is that we find this child alive and well,” he said.

[link to www.jacksonville.com]

Haleigh's father appears on 'Nancy Grace'

By Lise Fisher
Staff Writer


Published: Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 8:04 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 8:04 a.m.



PALATKA - The father of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings asked for her safe return in a nationally televised interview Wednesday night.

Authorities: No suspects in case of missing Putnam girl
Ronald Cummings, 24, spoke on CNN's "Nancy Grace" show. He was asked about a cinder block that supposedly had been used to prop open a back door at the home. Authorities reported the door was discovered ajar and, in a 911 call, Cumming's girlfriend said the door normally was locked.

Cummings said he didn't think he had seen the block before but he could have been mistaken. Officers confirmed this week that they were looking at the block.

Cummings also talked briefly to reporters near his neighborhood late Wednesday and said he had taken and passed a lie detector test.

Investigators reported they were offering the tests to anyone they have interviewed but said they would not confirm who took the tests or the results.

Haleigh's case has been receiving national attention from media with local, state and federal officers working to locate the little girl. But authorities have not reported any new leads in the case. On Wednesday, officers announced they were treating the child's disappearance as an abduction after finding no proof the child simply wandered away from her home in Satsuma, located in southern Putnam County about 10 miles south of Palatka.

[link to www.gainesville.com]

"Police said they are looking into a bitter custody battle between Haleigh's parents. But they said all of the little girl's family members have been extremely cooperative and are not suspects."

[link to www.wftv.com]

Missing Girl's Father Says Door of Home Forced Open


SATSUMA, FL -- The search for missing Haleigh Cummings will continue under the cover of darkness in the neighborhood where she disappeared early Tuesday morning.

Cummings was reported missing by her father when he returned home from work in Palatka after 3 a.m.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office says a rear door to the trailer was found open. The girl's father, Ronald Cummings, told First Coast News the door was forced open.

Law enforcement from neighboring counties and the FBI assisted in the search with helicopters and boats. Search teams combed the woods and divers worked the waters of the nearby St. Johns River.

Nancy Bump lives on the neighborhood and knew something had happened when she heard a helicopter circling overhead before sunrise.

Bump says search dogs led investigators to the river near her home.

"They walked right down to the end of the dock and ever since then they have been looking in the water," said Bump.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement first issued a Missing Child Alert before upgrading it to an Amber Alert for the missing girl. Haleigh was last seen wearing a pink shirt and underwear. Call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS. You'll remain anonymous and could receive a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your information leads to an arrest.

[link to www.firstcoastnews.com]

* * * * *

This is very unusual. Since when is a child abducted and taken down the road to the end of a dock?

Search dogs usually are trained to smell live bodies, and cadaver dogs to hit on the smells from dead bodies. But usually not both.

So, who would take a live child down the street to a boat at the end of a dock? Sounds way too James Bond for a typical abduction.

Or a live child to throw her in the river?

This was very well planned. Especially if the perp brought a cinderblock with them to prop the door open (dad doesn't remember seeing the cinderblock before), then whisked the child off to a dock. It's like too much trouble. The average perp isn't going to take all those risks being seen by others. Pervs usually grab some kid and throw them in the trunk of their car and take them to someplace isolated closeby to molest them, then kill them.

Pervs usually pick a target more accessible to them.

You wouldn't think the perv would walk down the street carrying the child, so then it had to be in a car. But if the perp had a car, why bother with the dock unless it's to dump a body? And again, the dogs usually are trained to only hit on one or the other, live scent or cadaver scent.

then mom hired someone to take her, and this sets them up.

or they asked the wrong questions during the lie detector test.

or she wandered out, and, egad, is gator food.

and the GF waited to call 911. she was too busy taunting gators.

So...do lunch with psycho Casey Anthony's suicidal father, why the hell not.



Caylee Anthony's Grandfather in Putnam County for Support


SATSUMA, FL -- The grandfather of Caylee Anthony, the little girl from Orlando found dead last December, is in Putnam County to offer support to the families of Haleigh Cummings.

Haleigh has been missing since she went to bed Monday night.

George Anthony is now meeting with Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings. Authorities tell us the two will have lunch together.

Caylee Anthony disappeared last summer. Police found her remains last December. Caylee's mother Casey is charged in her killing.

[link to www.firstcoastnews.com]

"She was sleeping right next to me," Misty Croslin told Palatka Daily News. "I can't believe I didn't hear anything."

[link to www.associatedcontent.com]

Wow ... just wow.

Yeah, I know. And that same guy who searched for Caylee Anthony from Texas with that big search team, Leonard Padilla, is also going to be helping this search for Haleigh.

Familiar faces in hunt for Haleigh

By Monica Stein @ February 12, 2009 6:39 AM

A massive search continues for a 5-year-old Putnam County girl.
Many of the same search teams active in the hunt for Caylee Anthony are arriving in Satsuma, offering a helping hand in finding Haleigh Cummings, the Satsuma kindergartener believed abducted late Monday night.

Her grandmother says she's afraid of the dark and would not have walked away.

Also now in Putnam County, California bounty hunter Leonard Padilla.

"By offering a twenty-five-thousand dollar reward for the live return of her by Saturday midnight, that it will trigger something in somebody's mind." Padilla hopes whoever has Haleigh thinks the cash is more valuable than the girl.

As for a suspect, police say they still don't have one, even after questioning dozens of people who have had any recent contact with Haleigh.

[link to wdbo.com]


* * * * *



Cindy Anthony bans Leonard Padilla from Caylee Anthony memorial


Bounty hunter Leonard Padilla will not be attending the public memorial service for Caylee Anthony scheduled for Tuesday. “I’m not invited,” Padilla said.

According to Padilla, Caylee’s grandmother, Cindy Anthony, has stated publicly she does not want him at the service. “She specifically stated in the media that she didn’t want me there, so I can’t go.”

Padilla and his nephew posted a $500,000 bond to bail Caylee’s mother, Casey Anthony, 22, out of jail in Aug. 2008, amidst much dismay and outcry from the public.

Shortly after bailing Anthony out of jail, Padilla’s relationship with the Anthony family began to sour. He has made a number of television appearances stating his belief that Anthony murdered her daughter.

Anthony eventually returned to jail and is now charged with the first-degree murder of her daughter, Caylee.

Padilla said, “It’s a battle of the titans. She [Cindy] figures its Cindy’s memorial, not Caylee’s, so she can invite and disinvite me, I’ve got no problem with that.”

The public memorial service for the slain toddler will be held at the First Baptist Church of Orlando on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, at 10 a.m.

[link to www.examiner.com]

* * * * *



Second Caylee memorial
held at former crime
scene

Created On: Monday, 09 Feb 2009, 11:59 PM EST

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - A group of about 50 people gathered at the site where the remains of Caylee Anthony were discovered for an emotional memorial service on Tuesday.

Cindy Anthony said Padilla was not allowed in to a large memorial held earlier Tuesday at First Baptist Church of Orlando Tuesday, so Padilla decided to hold his own memorial on Suburban Drive at the location where meter reader Roy Kronk found Caylee's remains last December.

The ceremony took place at the same time as the church service.

Padilla organized the alternate memorial with Richard Grund, the father of Casey Anthony's ex-fiance, Richard Grund. He said the service gave people a chance to grieve.

The group left stuffed animals at the service and also added personal notes to a large board bearing Caylee's name.

On Monday, some questioned Padillas motives and whether he belonged in Central Florida.

“This is America and I have no reason to believe I do not have a place here,” Padilla said. “I bonded her daughter out. I am probably the one guy who never made one red cent off of this thing. I pay my own expenses...I never pass the plate or pass the hat for charity like all the other people she's dealing with. Paid my way 100 percent, so I can be here if I want it's my dime."

* * * * *

[link to www.myfoxorlando.com]



Eyewitness News has learned that George Anthony and the father of missing toddler Trenton Duckett, Josh Duckett, were assisting in the search.

Bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, who was involved in the search for Caylee Anthony, joined the search for 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings. Padilla is offering a $25,000 reward for her safe return.

Founder of Texas-based EquuSearch, Tim Miller, who's volunteer group helped look for Caylee Anthony, was also assisting in the search for Haleigh.


[link to www.wftv.com]

Something strange could be going on here.

*****A well-known face with the search for Caylee Anthony has also attached himself to the case - Nationwide Bounty Hunter, Leonard Padilla. When I asked him if he would also be organizing a search party for Haleigh, he joked, "Only if no one makes me submit to a polygraph test."

* * * * * *

Local News

Reporter's Notebook: National Focus on a Small Florida Town

By Tiffany Griffith @ February 11, 2009 4:22 PM Permalink | Comments (4)





Day to day, I'm never sure what direction I'll be taking the WOKV news vehicles in. And when I started my work week, I wouldn't have guessed it would be in a small town in south Putnam County.

The last time I came to Putnam, it was for another case related to an Amber Alert. And unfortunately, the same sort of call has assembled Jacksonville, Orlando and Gainesville media in Satsuma - a town that by all accounts was not prepared for it.

On my first day here, and within minutes of my arrival, I was invited by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to join them on their boat as they assisted with the search for 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings along the St. Johns River. A helicopter searched from above, while dive teams took turns searching through the cold, murky water. A sonar vessel from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office moved in soon after to do a 3-D scan of the water near Haleigh's home.

In addition to JSO, Putnam County authorities have received assistance from over 20 different agencies from the local, state and federal level, including the FBI, FDLE and the sheriff's offices in Marion, Volusia and Flagler.

Now, on day two, citizens are also organizing to help in the search and rescue effort. Joshua Duckett, who's son, Trenton, mysteriously disappeared from Lake County in 2006, has become an unofficial spokesperson for the Cummings family - sharing photos with the media on the family's behalf.

A well-known face with the search for Caylee Anthony has also attached himself to the case - Nationwide Bounty Hunter, Leonard Padilla. When I asked him if he would also be organizing a search party for Haleigh, he joked, "Only if no one makes me submit to a polygraph test."

And on the heels of that internationally known case, I can tell you many reporters at the staging area are wondering, "Is this going to become the Caylee Anthony case all over again?" A few of the same players are involved, including CNN and FOX calling for the TV reporters to do live shots. And the police presence is heavy.

But, we can only hope that this story has a happier outcome. Authorities are officially calling this an abduction. They don't believe the little girl is in the area anymore, so the case is focusing on clues from outside the area and interviewing those who are close to the home. Family members and those close to the family are being questioned and offered polygraph tests. Plus investigators are making it their mission to interview all 44 sex offenders that live in the area. A detailed timeline of the past 30 days is being drawn up to see what, if anything, lead up to the abduction. Day and night searches on the ground, in the water and from above have reportedly generated no new clues. Volunteers are expected to assemble for another ground level search.

The family of Haleigh Cummings now sits yards away from the home the girl disappeared from - supporting each other along the roadside anyway that they can. They held a candle light vigil Tuesday night, sharing prayers for Haleigh's safe return. The young students of Browning Pearce Elementary, where Haleigh went to school, are also sending their love to their fellow classmate, as their concerned parents went home with missing persons flyers and an informative letter about the abduction.

There are no specific suspects to name at this time, but Putnam County authorities say everyone is a suspect at this point.

[link to wokv.com]

Yeah.

What's jumping out at you the most?

2005 Documents Claim Haleigh Cummings Wandered Off

Reported by: Kristen Cosby
Email: [email protected]
Last Update: 9:29 am



SATSUMA, Fla.-- A document filed by the mother of missing girl Haleigh Cummings claims she wandered off when she was in her father's care in 2005.

The document is a "Motion for Rehearing and Objection to Findings of Magistrate." It was filed by Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, in January 2006. Sheffield filed it after Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, was granted primary custody by a judge in December 2005.

The motion says "During or about the month of July 2005, Ronald failed to keep control of the toddler Haleigh while she was in his care, and allowed her to wander off. The child was found and rescued by the mother, floating face down in the canal behind the house. The mother rescued and revived the child."

CBS47/FOX30 asked Sheffield about the incident Wednesday. She said she was outside Ronald's mother's house putting Haleigh's younger brother, Ronald Cummings Jr., in his car seat. She claimed Ronald Cummings Sr. was responsible for Haleigh. Sheffield said she asked Ronald where Haleigh was and he didn't know. She claims she soon found Haleigh in the canal.

Sheffield never called police about this incident and there is no other record of it taking place. A judge has yet to change Ronald's primary custody status.

According to the "Report and Recommendation of the General Magistrate" obtained by CBS47/FOX30 at the Putnam County Courthouse, a judge granted primary custody to Ronald after Sheffield failed to appear at the custody hearing.

Ronald told the judge Haleigh has Turner Syndrome and needs hormone treatments by an endocrinologist. He said Sheffield frequently failed to take Haleigh to her doctors appointments.

Haleigh's father also told the judge Sheffield had a drug problem and was unemployed.

Sheffield was granted visitation rights with both of her children. She can see them every other weekend and on certain holidays. The judge also ordered her to pay child support to Ronald.

Haleigh's father returned home from work 3 a.m. Monday and discovered his daughter disappeared from her bed. Police issued an Amber Alert for her a few hours later. Investigators believe she was abducted.

[link to www.cbs47.com]

Turner syndrome, a medical disorder that affects about 1 in every 2,500 girls, is a genetic condition in which a female does not have the usual pair of two X chromosomes. Girls who have this condition usually are shorter than average and infertile due to early loss of ovarian function.

About Turner Syndrome
Turner syndrome (TS) was first described in 1938 by Dr. Henry Turner, an endocrinologist, who noted a set of common physical features in some of his female patients. It is the result of a chromosomal abnormality in which a female infant is born with only one X chromosome (instead of two) or is missing part of one X chromosome.

In most cases, untreated females with this disorder are short in stature (average final adult height is 4 feet 7 inches) and may have a variety of associated physical features and medical problems.

Because females with TS don't have proper ovarian development, they usually don't develop all of the secondary sexual characteristics expected during adolescence and are infertile as adults. However, advances in medical technology, including hormonal therapy and in vitro fertilization, can help women with this condition.

Other health problems that may occur with TS include kidney and heart abnormalities, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes mellitus, cataracts, thyroid problems, and arthritis.

Girls with TS usually have normal intelligence, but some may experience learning difficulties, particularly in mathematics. Many also have a problem with tasks requiring spatial skills, such as map reading or visual organization. Hearing problems are also more common in girls with Turner syndrome.

Although they aren't at increased risk for psychological problems, some girls do have problems with body image or self-esteem and some may also be hyperactive.

Despite the physical differences and other problems that can occur, with appropriate medical care, early intervention, and ongoing support, a girl with Turner syndrome can lead a normal, healthy, and productive life.

Diagnosing Turner Syndrome
Upon physical examination, a doctor may note certain physical features of Turner syndrome, which can include:

short stature

"webbing" of the skin of the neck (extra folds of skin extending from the tops of the shoulders to the sides of the neck)

a low hairline at the back of the head

low-set ears

abnormal eye features, including drooping of the eyelids

abnormal bone development, especially the bones of the hands and elbows

a lack of breast development at the expected age (usually by age 13)

an absence of menstruation (amenorrhea)

a larger than usual number of moles on the skin
Girls with TS can vary widely in their characteristics or symptoms. Some have many features or symptoms; others have only a few.

A special blood test that looks at chromosomes — a karyotype — is used to diagnose Turner syndrome. Several physical characteristics may be noted at birth, which can alert a doctor to the possibility of TS and prompt him or her to order a karyotype. Results that indicate TS will reveal 45 chromosomes (only one X chromosome) instead of the normal 44 autosomes and 2 X chromosomes (XX) typically found in females. In some girls with TS, two X chromosomes are present, but one is misshapen or missing a piece.

Treating Turner Syndrome
Because TS is a chromosomal disorder, there's no cure for the condition. However, a number of treatments can help:

Growth hormone, either alone or with other hormone treatment, may improve growth and will usually increase final adult height — often into the normal range if treatment is started early enough. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved growth hormone for the treatment of Turner syndrome, and most insurance plans now cover this special treatment.
Estrogen replacement therapy is often started when the girl reaches 12 or 13 years of age to stimulate the development of secondary sexual characteristics (breast development and menstrual periods). This therapy will not reverse infertility, however.
Cardiac surgery may be necessary to correct specific heart defects.
Recently developed reproductive technologies can help women with Turner syndrome become pregnant. Fertilized donor eggs can be used to create embryos, which can be inserted into the uterus of a woman with TS. With the help of hormone treatment, the woman can carry a developing fetus to term.
Learning Differences
Most girls with Turner syndrome have normal intelligence. However, some have learning problems, and early consultation with a developmental pediatrician may help them.

Girls with TS can be screened to determine whether cognitive problems may affect their education. Also, a special battery of tests called psychoeducational evaluation can be used to identify specific problems. Your daughter's doctor can help you determine whether this testing is appropriate for her.

The Turner Syndrome Society of the United States stresses the importance of assessing your daughter's intellectual, learning, motor skills, and social maturity before enrolling her in kindergarten. If learning problems are identified, early preventive and intervention strategies, if needed, can help.

Helping Your Daughter
Although your daughter may have specific medical problems and different physical characteristics caused by Turner syndrome, you can do many things to help her develop daily living skills and cope with new or challenging situations (note: height-related issues may be less important to girls who undergo improved growth with growth hormone treatment):

Follow her lead regarding how much information she wants to share with others. Make sure she knows the facts and then allow her to explain TS to her friends and relatives, if she wants.
Treat her according to her age (not her size) when considering the amount of responsibility given to her and the types of social activities she enjoys.
Arrange your home so that it's comfortable for her (provide sturdy footstools in the bathroom and kitchen and easy access to clothing, closets, personal care items, and other necessities). Kitchen chairs or stools that have rungs are especially helpful, as it can be tiring for her if her feet don't reach the floor.
Carefully assess her classroom environment. Ask for help from teachers to provide appropriate accommodations in the classroom so that she can reach water fountains, classroom materials, and supplies. The same suggestions apply to the school's library and gymnasium.
Help her cope with new situations and encourage her to ask her friends for help, too.
Compliment her often on her strengths and coping skills. Be patient, positive, and open to discussions about her limitations and fears.
Allow her to try on different clothing styles until she finds what flatters her or suits her personality. This can help build a more positive body image and self-esteem.

Encourage participation in activities in which height isn't an issue, such as skating, diving, horseback riding, babysitting, or volunteer work. Volunteering, in particular, can be a big confidence booster.
If she is depressed or having problems with her self-esteem, consider counseling and treatment by a mental health professional. Don't ignore your gut instinct if you think she's sad or withdrawn.
Take care of yourself. You won't be able to provide good care for your daughter if you neglect your own needs. Your community may offer TS support groups or you may want to join the Turner Syndrome Society of the United States. Or consider starting your own support group for parents.
Remember that although Turner syndrome can affect your daughter in many ways, it's only a small part of her total physical, emotional, and intellectual being. Don't hesitate to enlist the help of her doctor, developmental pediatrician, or other medical specialists and mental health professionals. And don't let your daughter's diagnosis or medical problems define who she is.

[link to kidshealth.org]

Poor little thing, her treatments had to be very expensive.

Possible the 17 year old girlfriend could have resented that big time, that her boyfriend couldn't take her out much, spend much on her, because the money had to go for Haleigh's health care and always would go for Haleigh's health care.

Just speculating. But there's one of the oldest motives in the world, money.

Then again, she does refer to Haleigh as HER DAUGHTER. Doesn't mean she didn't secretly resent her though. Especially as attached as the dad seems to be when the cameras are rolling.

Then again, according to the mother, dad didn't even care to watch Haleigh enough to keep her from nearly drowning in a canal.

Then again, maybe it's a neighborhood perv.

Or something the Anthony's cooked up to throw suspicion elsewhere off of Casey. She did go missing the night of their memorial service, how coincidental, and there's George right there.

And Padilla right there.

And Duckett with the killer/molester father and the still missing 2 year old right there, trying to act as this dad's spokesman.

Too weird, all of it.

Girlfriend Describes Waking Up, Finding Haleigh Gone
Search For Missing 5-Year-Old Expands On 3rd Day


WJXT-TV
updated 39 minutes ago
SATSUMA, Fla. - The 17-year-old girlfriend of a man whose 5-year-old daughter disappeared early Tuesday morning told Channel 4 that she woke up, found the kitchen light on, the back door wide open and the girl missing.

Haleigh Cummings was last seen at 10 p.m. Monday in her father's mobile home in Satsuma, where Misty Croslin said she put the girl to sleep in a bedroom with her 3-year-old brother. At 3:30 a.m., the girl was reported missing. By first light, a massive search was under way and an Amber Alert was issued.

Croslin has been interviewed by detectives and volunteered to take a lie-detector test -- which she said she passed -- but had not spoken publicly until midday Thursday when she spoke to Channel 4's Laura Mazzeo.

"I didn't hear anything at all. If I'd heard something, I would have got up and I wouldn't have let them take her," Croslin said.

Croslin said after putting Haleigh to sleep about 8 p.m., she was up doing laundry, which was right by the back door, which she knew was locked when she went back in the bedroom. She said she put a blanket on Haleigh and lay down beside her.

It's unclear whether Croslin left the bedroom prior to Haleigh disappearing. Croslin's account indicates that she left the room at some point. She said she woke up about 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom.


"I didn't make it to the bathroom. I seen the kitchen light on and I walked in the kitchen and the back door is wide open," Croslin told Channel 4's Laura Mazzeo. "I go in the room and she's gone. And that's all I know. When I went to bed she was there and then when I got up and she was gone."

Police have said they believe Croslin was with Haleigh until waking up at 3 a.m. Investigators said Croslin called 911 to report the girl missing about the time Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings Jr., came home from working a night shift at his job in Palatka. [

Listen To Croslin, Cummings Calls To 911

]

Croslin said she and Cummings, 25, had been dating for five months. Cummings had legal custody of Haleigh and her brother.

Croslin said Haleigh and her 3-year-old brother "loved her like their mom."

"I love her like she's my own," she said. "I just want her to come home."

Croslin said she doesn't blame herself, but she's emotionally devastated and just want to know that Haleigh is safe.

"I wished they'd took me instead of her, because I could have fought," Croslin said. "She's only five; she can't really do anything. What do they want with a little 5-year-old?"

Search For Haleigh Expands

Putnam County's sheriff said Thursday morning that detectives have followed leads and interviewed everyone connected to the kindergartner and that new resources were joining the search.

"We'll expand our investigation as far as it needs to go," Sheriff Jeff Hardy said. "As far as whether or not Haleigh is still in the area, that is an unknown."

On Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Haleigh's father made pleas for the safe return of his daughter on CNN, NBC and other national news outlets.

"I'd like to say if anybody's watching and they've seen the picture of my daughter and they've seen her anywhere, please get in contact with local law enforcement officer or Crimestoppers," Cummings told Channel 4 Wednesday night. "I know what happened to my daughter. She came up missing out of my house in the middle of the night. Besides that, no I don't know."

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office said they must assume Haleigh was abducted because house-to-house searches of the neighborhood Wednesday found no evidence that she wandered away.


Cummings, Croslin and other family members and acquaintances -- even an air conditioning repairman that was at the house Monday -- were interviewed and offered lie-detector tests.

Hardy would not confirm who had taken polygraph tests or discuss the results.

"Everybody, including the family -- and I want that for the record -- has been extremely cooperative with us," Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy said.

The third morning after an Amber Alert was issued for Haleigh, Hardy said a renewed ground search would begin Thursday of the five miles surrounding the Cummings' home. Low cloud ceiling in the morning prevented helicopters from being used, but boats and divers were still in the St. Johns River, which is only about 1,000 yards from the mobile home park.

Texas Equusearch, a mounted search-and-rescue group which helped search for missing Orlando toddler Caylee Anthony last fall, was to arrive in Satsuma on Thursday.

"A fresh set of eyes and they'll be able to cover some of the terrain that's very difficult to get to and they'll be able to get to it by horseback," Hardy said.

Caylee's grandfather, George Anthony, came to the Putnam County command post on Thursday, met with Ronald Cummings, his familiy and friend and offered any support they needed.

Celebrity bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, who was also involved in the Anthony case, has offered a $25,000 reward if Haleigh is returned before midnight Saturday.

The missing girl's loved ones have stayed in a tent yards away from Cumming's double-wide mobile home for most of the past two days as they leaned on each other for support.

While Cummings and Haleigh's mother are divorced and their relationship was described as rocky, mother Crystal Sheffield said "We get along."

"I don't know where she is or who has her. I just want her home," said Sheffield.

Haleigh's grandmother, Marie Griffiths, said the little girl would never willingly go with a stranger, but she still has hope the 5-year-old is alive.

"Haleigh is living and breathing. I don't feel that there's anything that has happened to her bad," Griffiths said.

Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy said early Thursday that searches for Haleigh by air, ground and water would continue through the day. In addition to dozens of deputies and officers from surrounding counties, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI were also involved in the case.

Authorities ask anyone with any information to call the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 386-329-0800 or the FDLE's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse at 888-FL-MISSING.

[link to www.msnbc.msn.com]