2009.03.18 Today's Current News - ***NO DISCUSSIONS HERE PLEASE ***

Status
Not open for further replies.

Angel Who Cares

If you seek an angel with an open heart, you shall
Joined
Sep 15, 2008
Messages
22,925
Reaction score
92
2009.03.18 Today's Current News - ***NO DISCUSSIONS HERE PLEASE ***

Haleigh Charity Organizers Refuse Donations From Accused Sexual Criminal
Created: 3/17/2009 7:02:51 PM
Updated: 3/17/2009 10:12:33 PM
<snipped>
Tuesday Regan told First Coast News, "This gentleman pulled in here and said, 'I don't want any recognition. I don't want anyone to know my name. I heard you need office supplies for the foundation for Haleigh.'"
Regan said the man told him he had furniture at his house he would donate.

Then Regan said he heard the man mention his name to a reporter from Orlando.
"The reporter asked the man his name and he said, 'Snodgrass. Daniel Snodgrass.' And that name went BING in my head," Regan told First Coast News.


Daniel Snodgrass was arrested in 2007 on two charges. One was sexual battery on a child as well as a lewd and lascivious charge involving a child.
Regan said he knew of Snodgrass' name and alleged history because he and others have been researching the area.

Regan said he waited for a colleague, Art Harris, to arrive at the headquarters before traveling to Snodgrass' home just a couple miles away.
Harris is an independent journalist, most known for his program called The Bald Truth. He said he saw desks and chairs at Snodgrass' home.

However, Harris had also investigated various individuals in the Satsuma area and had heard of Snodgrass.
Harris told First Coast New he asked Snodgrass if he had on an ankle monitor and Snodgrass said that he did.
Harris said, "It's a little strange that an accused child molester with an ankle bracelet... would come here to make a community contribution."

Snodgrass is out of jail on bond. His trial is set for this summer.
Captain Dick Schauland with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said investigators have checked into Snodgrass' location the night Haleigh Cummings disappeared. Schauland said the company which monitors Snodgrass' movements via GPS indicates he was not near Haleigh on February 9th.
Regan says he will not take any donations from a person who has been arrested for sex crimes with children.


03/17/09 5PM Report "Haleigh Charity Organizers Refuse Donations From Accused Sexual Criminal": VIDEO 1:27
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...stId=playlist&maven_referralObject=1063993751

Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/amberalerts/news-article.aspx?storyid=134030&catid=295
 
Haleigh's Mother's Attorney Says She Met With DCF
Created: 3/17/2009 8:40:05 PM
Updated: 3/17/2009 9:40:36 PM
<snipped>
Attorney Kim Picazio told First Coast News she supplied information she has gathered from people in Putnam County about the homelife of Haleigh Cummings and her younger brother inside their father's house.
Picazio said she spent 90 minutes with DCF's attorney, the agency's supervisors in Putnam County, and with DCF caseworkers Tuesday.
Picazio said she does not intend to help Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, file for custody of the children at this time.

Picazio said she will wait for DCF to finish an investigation before filing any legal action for custody.
Picazio said she has faith DCF will swiftly investigate the information she has brought to their attention.

Picazio first came to Putnam County last week at the request of individuals helping Sheffield's family.
Picazio said she first took on the case to help Sheffield deal with the media. She said she then learned about some allegations about the stability and safety of Haleigh and her brother's home.
Picazio has taken the case pro bono.


Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/amberalerts/news-article.aspx?storyid=134032&catid=295
 
Haleigh callers swamp center
Published: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 1:11 AM EDT
<snipped>
The disappearance of Haleigh Cummings has dramatically increased the number of calls to Crime Stoppers, a regional program designed to reward tips that solve cases.
"Normally we get 170 to 200 calls per month," executive director Suzanne DeWees said.
"Last month we had 1,112 calls."

To manage the increase, the center in Canada that fields the calls hired extra people, DeWees added.
In Canada?
Yes, she said, for legal reasons to protect the identity of callers.
"We use a Canadian call center because the tipster information and their phone number can never be subpoenaed," DeWees said. "All of our calls are 800 numbers that are forwarded to the Canadian call center."

And the large number of calls meant Crime Stoppers' monthly bill went up. A normal month costs the program $1,600, but the phone bill for February topped $5,000, DeWees said.
About half of the program's budget is paid by a grant from a state trust fund that receives some court cost levies in the courts.
"I write a grant requesting how I spend that money," DeWees said. "It is used for rewards, education, operational cost and salary."

Local fundraising efforts generate additional money for operations, she said.
"We have a very prominent community banquet that honors police officers each year - that's our biggest fundraiser," she said. "This year's will be in Daytona Beach."

A reward totaling $35,000 has been compiled for information in Haleigh's case.
"We will keep the money for a year and if the case goes cold, the money will be returned or donated to Crime Stoppers," DeWees said.


Article:
http://www.palatkadailynews.com/articles/2009/03/18/news/news01.txt
 
Questions about van connected to Haleigh&#8217;s disappearance
Last Edited: Wednesday, 18 Mar 2009, 6:18 PM EDT
Created On: Wednesday, 18 Mar 2009, 6:08 PM EDT
<snipped>
- Haleigh Cummings vanished 5 weeks ago and cops are fed up with her new teenage stepmother who can't seem to give police a straight answer. And now concerns about a van linked to this mysterious case. Matt Saffer reports.

Article:
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/031809_haleigh_van_questions
 
Cummings Family Responds To Child Abuse Allegations
POSTED: Wednesday, March 18, 2009
UPDATED: 6:29 pm EDT March 18, 2009
<snipped>
The family of Haleigh Cummings' father responded on Wednesday to serious allegations made by an attorney for the missing girl's mother.
"Haleigh is the most important thing that we've got going with this, as far as a missing person. But, equally as important is the safety of her brother or any other child in Putnam County," said Putnam County Sheriff's Office Capt. Dick Schauland.

He said the sheriff's office would investigate the allegations of child abuse and neglect that have come from Haleigh's mother's attorney against Haleigh's father.
"As DCF runs their investigation, we'll run a parallel investigation with them and make a determination whether there's anything to the accusations, and if so, if there's anything criminal about it or whatever has to be done," Schauland said.


Haleigh's paternal grandmother, Teresa Neves, said Cummings has never abused his children. She said Cummings welcomes the investigation.
"This is not the first time they've pulled this out -- it's not the first time. I don&#8217;t think it's going to turn out the way they want it to. They must want custody really bad," Neves said.
She said the abuse claims are taking the focus off the search for her missing granddaughter.

DCF couldn't say how long it would take to investigate the allegations, but officials said they would act swiftly because it involves the safety of a child.


VIDEO: Family: Cummings Welcomes DCF Investigation
http://www.news4jax.com/video/18961412/index.html

Article:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/18961094/detail.html
 
New Details About Evidence In The Haleigh Cummings Investigation
Last Update: 7:05 pm
<snipped>
Sitting in the driveway of Misty Cummings former home is a van driven by her sister-in-law. The light blue vehicle doesn&#8217;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.
&#8220;They put a lot of tape on it, and there was a lot of white powder on the windows, I guess that&#8217;s just to check things,&#8221; said Chelsea.

&#8220;We all started thinking about what could have happened that night&#8230;I realized the van was in a different spot.&#8221;
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&#8217;s home. Chelsea said she immediately noticed the van was not in the same spot she left it.
&#8220;I know I don&#8217;t park like that, and I was the last to drive the van.&#8221;
After a few hours, another sign the van was tampered with appeared.


&#8220;The day Haleigh went missing, everyone was looking for her&#8230;she (Misty) called me later that night and said 'Chelsea, please tell me you&#8217;re the one who put the scratch in my van.' I started crying and told her there&#8217;s no way I put the scratch in her van," said Chelsea.
A scratch leading from just behind the driver&#8217;s side door handle to the back tire is very visible. Chelsea said that scratch was not there the last time she drove it.
&#8220;The scratch---it runs all the way down the van. That&#8217;s something someone would know if you&#8217;re riding against something and steadily scratching it.&#8221;

All police would say about the van being impounded is that it was taken to the FDLE&#8217;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.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not accusing anybody&#8230;it&#8217;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,&#8221; said Chelsea.


Search For Haleigh-"Evidence Released": VIDEO 1:50
http://www.cbs47.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=30465@video.cbs47.com&navCatId=5

Article:
http://www.cbs47.com/content/topsto...ce-In-The-Haleigh/1k5Lp9GD2E2M74ZPyUJb7g.cspx
 
Grandma Defends Haleigh's Father
Created: 3/18/2009 5:54:37 PM
Updated: 3/18/2009 8:44:25 PM
<snipped>
Haleigh Cummings' great-grandmother, Annette Sykes, says the allegations that her grandson abused Haleigh and Haleigh's little brother are "garbage and hearsay."
Sykes told First Coast News Wednesday, "Ronald's a good daddy. I'm not saying he's perfect because he's not. He's a young father, but he loves his children. He provides for his children. He spends as much time as he can with them."

Picazio said she provided all of that information to the Florida Department of Children and Families Tuesday so that the agency can investigate.
"We're not worried about that [investigation]," said Sykes. "It's just a matter of if they want to investigate facts or if they don't want to take the time and go by hear-say."


As for the speculation that Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, is fighting for custody of her children, Picazio told First Coast News she is still not pursuing a custody battle at this time.

Haleigh's great-grandmother, Sykes, said even talking about it right now is wrong.

"The only thing that needs to be talked about is Haleigh Ann Marie Cummings! Nothing else," Sykes said. "If they want to do all that other stuff, they should've waited until Haleigh came home. Any issues they had should not be now. Now is not the time."


03/18/09 5PM Report "Ronald Cummings Is a Good Father": VIDEO 1:28
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video...t_amberalerts&maven_referralObject=1065168833

Article:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/amberalerts/news-article.aspx?storyid=134115&catid=295
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
97
Guests online
1,367
Total visitors
1,464

Forum statistics

Threads
589,163
Messages
17,915,069
Members
227,745
Latest member
branditau.wareham72@gmail
Back
Top