Haleigh Cummings’ dad, Ronald Cummings and Misty Croslin became engaged 4 days ago, March 8, 2009. They were to marry today, March 12, 2009, but rumors abound the wedding has been canceled. Read more and see photo’s and a video below.
Ronald Cummings Tattoo
Five year old Haleigh Cummings was abducted from her bed in Satsuma, Florida during the middle of the night, February 10th, 2008. Police are still baffled by her disappearance and continue their search for this little girl. She was last seen alive by babysitter and live-in girlfriend of 26 year old bio-dad Ron Cummings, Misty Croslin ,17 years old. Now they are engaged to marry … supposedly today,Thursday, March 12, 2009.
This case rival’s that of Caylee Anthony for salacious, tawdry twists and turns.
Last week, Ron Cummings decided to get a picture tattoo of Haleigh with the inscription Daddy’s little girl, at a cost of $400.00. He said a friend paid for it.
This week, Ron Cummings proposed to Misty Croslin …. 28 days after his daughter went missing, and she said yes, of course. What kind of people think of marriage during a time like this?
Misty stated people would question their decision to marry, and Ron Cummings own mother, Teresa Neves, had this to say:
“It will be very small and private, Misty is actually fulfilling the wishes of Haleigh. Haleigh and Junior have often talked about how they would love to have Misty for their Mommy. They’ve asked daddy several times why you don’t marry Misty?
Misty has said she promised Haleigh she would be part of their wedding someday, yet the other day after releasing balloons in the air for Haleigh, Ron Cummings wrote this on his balloon:
“Misty and Daddy got married, just like you wanted, we love you.
Can you imagine how that child felt if she actually saw that on TV? But … they are doing it for Haleigh and Junior, because the kids want it …. how many of you would allow a 4 and 5 year old to decide such a life changing event? What is going here?
We also have bio-mom Crystal Sheffield, who postponed her own wedding due to Haleigh’s abduction thinking of filing for custody now. She has retained an attorney, Kim L. Picazio, that seems to actually have the childrens’ best interest in mind. You can read about the mother’s custody issues at artharris.com, aka The Bald Truth.
So today is supposed to be the wedding day for Misty and Ron … yet the church will not marry them. Ron Cummings’ church even put up a disclaimer. Neither will anyone else they have contacted. (i.e. the funeral home, where the director declined to perform the ceremony because his notary had expired).
Meanwhile, Haleigh is still missing. She has blond hair and brown eyes and is 3 feet tall. Please call the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office at 386-329-0800 if you have any information regarding Haleigh Cummings.
Note: Any notary in Florida is allowed to perform the marriage ceremony.
Update: Apparently, the wedding is still on.
Haleigh’s Father and Teen Bride are expected to honeymoon in New York City. First Coast News has learned the father of Haleigh Cummings will marry his teen girlfriend and be in New York City Friday for a morning appearance as newlyweds on The Today Show on NBC.
Marrying, traveling from Satsuma, Florida to New York City for a honeymoon and to appear on national television. Spending money on a tattoo of his missing daughter and an engagement ring for his child bride. This is all going on at the same time that the Putnam County Sheriff’s office is moved on to a new area to continue their search for Ron Cummings’ daughter Haleigh. Captain Dick Schauland reported that about 100 officers have been combing a wooded around the Cummings’ home.
UpDate It has been confirmed that Ronald Cummings and Misty Croslin have married…at an undisclosed location in Waleka, Fl.
Ronald Cummings & Misty Croslin - Photos
Ronald Cummings - Video
March 12th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
While I’m sure there are valid reasons to question this guy, I have to say I’m getting a little sick of the “In this economy you spend money on that?” stuff.
It’s really none of our business how this guy or his friends spend their money. He is under no legal obligation to undertake any specific efforts or costs. If there are questions about the girl’s disappearance as it relates to the father let’s discuss that. I couldn’t care less about his tattoos.
As an aside, this post could stand to read less like a really long instant message and more like actual journalism. Ellipses all over the place, all kinds of questions (
March 12th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Crap, here I am ragging on the lack of professionalism and I go and accidentally post before I am finished. Stupid.
Anyway I was just going to say that asking a series of questions is not a good stylistic device, particularly when you follow those questions with like 8 question marks.
Don’t pay attention to me, I’m just a jerk.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Well, as you can tell, I’m not a journalist..just an ol’ broad with an attitude and a lot of questions. Carry on.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Don’t go insultin’ us by calling us journalists, and I’m a lawyer who is used to being insulted. Journalists are right above the DMV lady and right below the Post Office lady. Lawyers are just above the Post Office lady, so we’ve got that going for us.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
amazing …I can’t even think of another word
March 12th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
the ONLY reason that they are getting married is because they THINK that if they get married a husband and wife cannot be forced to testify against each other!!
However, they need to do some research before they jump to that conclusion, cause the law stipulates that In the case where there is a minor child involved, a husband and wife CAN be forced to testify against each other!!!
They are in on this whole thing together, and IT WILL COME OUT!!! Bet on that!
I dont know ronald or misty personally, But I DO know Crystal… And I am praying for you girl!!
March 12th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Gee, just like Casey, with the tattoo, Ronald–Maybe Misty (she’s 19, according to one of her MySpace profiles, haha) is pregnant, like all his other 17-year-old girls.
How many things are wrong with this picture? Crystal’s stepmother is, like, 3 years older than Crystal, and she’s, like, pregnant, too. These folks have a lot more need of OB/GYN than they do of dentists.
Just think, Misty (I know it’s difficult)–somewhere, right now, age, like, 12 or 13, is the, like, mother of Ronald’s, like, NEXT baby….
March 12th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
If they truly wanted to get married for Haleigh, then surely they would wait until she comes home so that she can join in the celebrations as they claim she wanted?
Unless of course, they know she is dead?
Or perhaps she is being hidden somewhere by somebody who will ‘find’ her so they can share the reward money and sell their story to the media?
That happened recently in England. Google Karen Matthews. Luckily she and her partner in crime were caught.
Something is not right here.
Where is the money for the honeymoon in NYC coming from? Is it being paid for by a media outlet for the story?
March 13th, 2009 at 4:03 am
Like I said, these people’s financial situation is nobody’s business but their own. If there are actual questions regarding their involvement in an apparent crime, let’s talk about that. Who has what tattoo has absolutely no relevance.
March 13th, 2009 at 4:45 am
I wouldn’t be surprised if they are doing this for the reward money. Think about it, have a friend keep Haleigh while waiting for the reward money to get up there pretty high. Then, the person who is keeping her drops her off somewhere then stops to call authorities stating that they think they have spotted Haleigh. Bam! Reward money in hands of friend and then later split with Ron and Misty! Think about it!
March 13th, 2009 at 6:12 am
I think he married her to try to avoid being charged with sex with a minor.
March 13th, 2009 at 6:31 am
I think that everyone should stop ragging on the father and Misty. I honestly dont think that they have anything to do with the disapearance of Little Haleigh. I have been following up on this case every single day since little Haleigh went missing as I am a mother of 2 and I dont know what I would do if this ever happened to one of my kids. If you look at all the pics on the internet the pics are of Haleigh and her father. Do you see one pic of Haleigh and her BIo mom??? NO you dont. And when Haleighs Bio mom talks at press confrences and all, she looks like she is trying to cry….there are no tears. She wipes her friggen face and there are no tears to wipe. WTF. I think the Bio mom has something to do with it. When you see Ron and Misty, their emotions are real.
I hope they find this little girl. I pray for her safe return to her daddy every night. To the Cummings Family. My thoughts and prayers are with you!
March 13th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I find the whole case really strange, i am a mom myself any i dont really understand how a person can be sleeping in the same room as kids, have another person enter the room and not wake up… my kids dont even sleep in my room and i wake up to the slightest noise, i cant imagine someone being in my house, never mind my own room and not waking up, that i will never understand, theres also something about ronalds eyes when he talks about the situation that really disturbs me, i believe that both him and misty know more then they say, im not saying they have done anything to haylay themselves or even planned her disappearence but there is something not right…
March 13th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Hey, just maybe Bozo Baez found these Cummings people and paid them to pull a stunt like this to take the heat off of Casey for a while. No, even he couldn’t be that stupid. Or if not Baez, maybe one of the Anthonys. With all of this craziness going on…who knows. Maybe we should ask Padilla what’s going on. He always seems to have the answers.
March 14th, 2009 at 4:38 am
This is absolutely outlandish… Why is the Dad not out searching for this child? The Law Enforcement may not want him next to their searches, but, If I were the parent of this child, no one would stop me from searching for her, no one. My time would be hers, and hers alone. Rings, trips, honeymoon? This girl he married was the last known person to see that child.. Doesn’t he get it? The last Known person. This is overwhelming. The man wants the public to focus on Haleigh instead of his personal life. I believe had he focused on Haleigh and her baby brother, Haleigh would still be safe at home.
March 14th, 2009 at 5:10 am
I guess, I really wasn’t finished in what I had to say also.. I’m not a journalist, nor an attorney.. Just a Mom, Grandma and an old Cop. I will tell you point plank, this case does not make sense. At this point the Law Enforcement Officers, out in the areas around the home are not looking for a living child. It has gone far beyond that point. They may well have two varing search parties, one within the homes surrounding the trailor and working the incoming reports, the other is looking for remains.
You have to ask yourselves, why this child, and why this home to enter with the intent to take a child. First they had to have known there were children in the home. Two, they had to know where the children were sleeping. Three, they had to know who would be home and who would not. Four, they had to know where the child’s clothing was to dress her. Five, they had to know the child would not be fearful of them, to wake her and take her out of the home, after dressing her. Without her crying and screaming. Now, stop and think..
March 14th, 2009 at 8:40 am
@Mlee: I couldn’t agree more. While initially not suspecting the dad, my hinky meter went off after calling many tattoo parlors and having them tell me that they have never done a picture tattoo of someone still living.
March 15th, 2009 at 11:53 am
@JoAnne, I never thought about that, but I will be very honest, it doesn’t appear to be a good likeness to Haleighs image, not at all. And I read that the Mother had a wedding planned and she has postponed her wedding, which I thought was very appropriate. I don’t think stones need to be cast at the Mom. If she had been involved in taking Haleigh. Had she been involved, she, Haleigh and the baby boy would be long gone. I have noticed the variance in stories about that night, can’t quite get the story straight. Within a few weeks, the real interrogations will begin. And I can assure everyone, they would not start requesting DNA from family members, unless they need confirmation. Also, the dogs never hit on anything but remains, never.. if they hit on something in that dumpster, even if nothing was found by human search, something had been there. And the remains the dogs hit on, is always human. And, I assure you, since nothing was found in the dumpster, there was always a possibility the dumpster had been emptied. Although, there are times they bring in a new dumpster and replace the one that was there. In that case the remains could have come from another unsolved case. Anything is possible. But, I am sure the dump is being combed very carefully. This time the Sheriff’s Office has learned from the Anthony case, and everything is being keep very quiet. It will hit with a loud bang, when their ready.
March 16th, 2009 at 5:40 am
I believe that Ronald Cummings did the best he could with the knowledge he has. I am sick of everyone putting him down. Just because you do not have much money or education does not mean that you can not love and raise your children with all the best intentions. For a Father to get sole custody in the state of Florida really speaks volumes to me. Personally, I think that the egg donor (Bio Mom) is no kind of mother at all. period. So I do not want to hear anything she has to say. As for Misty, just because she is the stepmom that does not mean she does not take wonderful care of those children or love them as her own. I am a stepmom too. I know I have been a better parent to my boys than they ever have had. In fact, they tell my husband if we ever break up they are staying with me.
March 16th, 2009 at 5:51 am
Has anyone stopped to think that maybe Ronald and Misty got married for the same reason that many marriages happen in the first place. Maybe Misty is pregnant and thats the cause for the rushed wedding especially with her being 17. Just a thought.
March 20th, 2009 at 4:15 am
Many good points about the marriage here. I also think that Ron THOUGHT Misty couldn’t be testify against him if he married her. I’ve read comments that Misty must be pregnant. So what? Who gets married at a time like this? He didn’t marry Crystal, and she had two kids with him, so that doesn’t fit. Innocent people do NOT plan any type of wedding while their daughter is GONE. He doesn’t know if she’s missing or dead, so how does this marriage beneift anyone at a time like this? He thinks he is sooo smart. He’s a control freak.
March 21st, 2009 at 3:11 am
misty was rewarded with the little marriage thing….rewarded for her silence…
March 26th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Yes Mzfitz..a reward for her silence! What gets me is that Cummings says he can’t stay in the mobile home where Haleigh went missing. Wait, she’s only “missing” right? Or is she dead and he can’t stand to be there where she may have been murdered? If my daughter went missing, I certainly would not move somewhere else if I thought she would be coming home soon…Another guilty gesture on Ron’s part.
March 29th, 2009 at 10:01 am
A few comments. No, Ron and Misty didn’t get married because she MAY be pregnant. Ron isn’t morally concerned about that, or he would have married Crystal..(they had 2 kids but didn’t worry about a wedding!)
Joanne…I have been saying this all along. He “memoralized” her..But wait, she’s not dead, right..just “missing”.
Mlee…Got ya, old cop. This is an “inside job”..
I keep going back to the fact that Ron can’t live there. Why not if she’s coming home? Something happened that he can’t face.
March 29th, 2009 at 10:05 am
That’s the ugliest darn tattoo I’ve seen. Looks like a banshee, not a child.