SATSUMA, FL -- The teen who was the last person to see Haleigh Cummings (special report) before she disappeared disputes reports that she was sleeping next to the 5-year-old.
Haleigh vanished from her home early Tuesday morning. 17-year-old Misty Croslin, who is the girlfriend of the Haleigh's father, was there at the time.
According to initial reports, Croslin had been sleeping next to Haleigh. On Thursday, she told reporters she had been sleeping beside Haleigh's younger brother.
Croslin said she discovered Haleigh missing around 3 a.m. just as the girl's father, Ronald Cummings, was arriving home from work. They both called 911.
Croslin said Haleigh was in her own bed when she went to sleep. When Croslin awoke hours later, the teen said Haleigh "was gone."
Investigators are treating the girl's disappearance as an abduction.
CROSLIN, CUMMINGS TAKE LIE DETECTOR TESTS
Family members, friends and others who know Haleigh Cummings have been interviewed by investigators, and in many cases, offered lie detector tests.
That includes Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings and Misty Croslin.
Cummings said he believes he and Croslin passed the tests. Croslin has been in the spotlight as she was the last person to see Haleigh. "I don't care what people are saying about me because I didn't do it," she told Jacksonville.com.
At a news conference Thursday, Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy confirmed that Croslin had taken a polygraph test, but he wouldn't discuss the results. He did say that all family members have been "extremely cooperative."
The search for Haleigh entered into its third day on Thursday with the arrival of the Texas-based group Equusearch, which was recently involved in the Caylee Anthony case. Sherriff Hardy said search efforts were being expanded to include aircraft and horseback searches of rough terrain.
Investigators are also looking closely at 44 registered sex offenders who live within a five mile radius of Haleigh's home.
“We’ll expand this investigation as far as it needs to go,” Hardy said.
