200 volunteers search for missing girl

Putnam County Sheriff's Deputies are on day four of searching for Haleigh Cummings. For the first time, deputies are getting help from a private search team. Texas based Equusearch gathered 200 volunteers and headed out around 9:30 a.m. Friday.

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> Click here for a PHOTO GALLERY of the search

Equusearch President Tim Miller plans to focus on the wooded area behind Haleigh's home. He could not say exactly where they would be searching because it is under investigation. He said because Haleigh has been gone for 4 days, the chances of finding her alive were not good. Still, he remains optimistic and has a feeling she's still alive.

Searchers headed out on horses, ATV's and bicycles. Volunteer Jim Bailey doesn't know Haleigh's family, but felt a need to help search. "Just out of my heart I feel sorry for the family. It's a warm feeling to help," Bailey said.

He came prepared with a hiking stick and other equipment. "This stick I have is good for searching, scratching the ground and keeping animals away," he added.

Haleigh was last seen on Monday night at 10 p.m. in her mobile home on Green Lane in Satsuma. Investigators said she was sleeping in the same bed as her 3-year-old brother and her father's 17-year-old girlfriend, Mistie Croslin.

When Croslin woke up around 3:30 a.m., the same time Haleigh's father, 25-year-old Ronald Cummings, got home from work, they realized Haleigh was gone and called 911.

Cummings said he and Mistie would never do anything to hurt Haleigh. "She had nothing to do with this, we've both, I had nothing to do with this," Ronald said.

While investigators said Croslin told them she was sleeping in the same bed with Haleigh and her baby brother, Croslin told media a different story. "I put her to bed around 8 o'clock and I woke up and she was gone and the back door was wide open. The last time I seen her was when I put her to bed. She was in her bed in front of the tv and me and junior was in, were in my bed," Croslin said.

Both Croslin and Cummings have taken polygraphs. Deputies would not release the results of those tests. When Sheriff Jeff Hardy was asked if there was a suspect, he replied, "The world is a suspect." He says they plan to interview family members again. When FOX 35 inquired about two two having a relationship that is illegal because of their ages, Hardy said it was not the focus of the investigation.

Sheriff Hardy said they have been searching for more than 88 hours and his team plans to expand his search. According to Hardy, he went up in a helicopter and saw lots of thick and dense areas that need to be searched.

Hardy has 50 law enforcement officers out searching. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also assisting. According to Hardy, the homes of 44 sex offenders in the area have been searched. However, when asked if every single home in the quarter mile area was searched, Hardy replied, "I can't say every single property has been searched."

When FOX News used the Jessica Lunsford case as an example, Hardy replied, "I will not compare this case to any others."

Four years, 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford was kidnapped from her Homosassa home in the middle of the night, while her grandparents were sleeping. Her body was discovered a few doors down, in the same home where deputies knocked earlier, but didnt go inside. At that time convicted sex offender John Couey was hiding Jessica in a closet. Investigators say he kidnapped, raped and buried Jessica alive under the front door step. Couey was sentenced to death.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Special Agent Dominick Pape says the FDLE is assisting in lab work. Neither Pape or Hardy would say what they were testing. While Hardy says he's had 350 leads, when FOX 35 asked if any of them were good leads, he wouldn't comment.

Haleigh is 3 feet tall and weighs 39 lbs. She has blonde hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information should call the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Anyone interested in volunteering with Equusearch should go to 194 E. Buffalo Bluff Road in Satsuma.