SATSUMA, Fla. -- After the sun set on Tuesday, the bright lights came on at the Putnam County Command Center near the home where 5-year-old Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings was last seen.

Local detectives and even investigators with the FBI remained at the scene and said they would continue to feverishly work the case throughout the night.

According to detectives, when dealing with missing children, the first 24 hours are crucial. At 10 p.m. on Tuesday, investigators said they were very aware that it had been a full day since Haleigh was last seen and they were working hard to make every minute count toward finding the missing girl.

"We feel good about what we're doing, but we feel really desperate that 24 hours have passed now and we don’t have a clue where this child is," said PCSO Major Gary Bowling.

Haleigh was last seen in her Satsuma home on Green Lane with her 2-year-old brother and her father's 17-year-old girlfriend. The girlfriend told police she put the children to bed at 10 p.m. Monday but when she awoke at 3 a.m. to use the bathroom Haleigh was missing and the back door of the home was open.

The 17-year-old called 911 for help as Haleigh's father returned home from an overnight shift at work:

CALLER: I just woke up and my back door was all open and I can't find my daughter.
DISPATCH: Can't find what?
CALLER: My daughter.
DISPATCH:Ok. When did you last see her?
CALLER: Um, we just like, you know, it was about 10 o'clock. She was sleeping (inaudible).
DISPATCH: Ok. How old is your daughter?
CALLER: She's 5.

Haleigh's father and grandmother are pleading for the safe return of their little girl. The 5-year-old girl is described as having blond hair and brown eyes, is 3 feet tall and weighs 39 pounds.

DISPATCH: OK. What was she last seen wearing, Ma'am?
CALLER: She was in her pajamas. We were sleeping.
DISPATCH: OK. Alright, you said your back door was wide open?
CALLER: Yes, with a brick. Like, there was a brick on the floor. Like, when I went to sleep the door was not like that.
DISPATCH: Was your back door locked do you know?
CALLER: Yes. The back door always stays locked.
FATHER: I just got home from work, my 5-year-old daughter is gone. I need someone to be here now. I'm telling you. If I find whoever has my daughter before you all do, I'm killing him. I don't care. I'll spend the rest of my life in prison.
DISPATCH: It's OK sir, we got them on the way. Can you give me a description of the pajamas she was wearing?
FATHER: I don't (expletive) know I was at work.

"We have no suspect information. We're not focusing on any person as a person of interest right now. It is truly still a 'who done it,' meaning whether it's an abduction or a homicide or if she just wandered out," Bowling said Tuesday night.

Since the search for Haleigh began, there have been boats out on the nearby St. Johns River, a helicopter in the sky and search dogs on the ground all in hopes of finding a clue to the girl's whereabouts.

Still there has been no sign of the missing child.

Community Gathers, Prays For Missing Girl

As the search for Haleigh continued to get more desperate with each passing hour, friends and neighbors in the area came together for support.

Twenty-four hours after the girl was last seen, her family members, friends and neighbors gathered to hold a candlelight vigil to pray Haleigh's safe return.

"Father, we're asking that she's going to be released tonight, so we can go home and celebrate your goodness and bring her back," said one neighbor as he led the group in prayer.

"She's the most precious thing in our life. We want her to come home," said Haleigh's grandmother, Teresa Neves. "Please bring my baby home. She's an angel, she's never done anything bad. She is such a good girl and she does not deserve this. I know she has to be scared to death without her daddy … let her go. Bring her home."

"Please call and giver her to the police department so I can get my daughter back, please. All we want is my child, that's it. I just want my daughter back," said the child's father, Ronald Cummings. "Somebody has her. They have her hidden. I just want my daughter back, that's it. That's all I want."

Friends and neighbors have been offering their support, but all the family really wants is answered prayers.

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.