PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – For the public, the family pictures and home video of Haleigh Cummings that her family shared on Wednesday are a new glimpse into the life of the 5-year-old, but for the missing girl's loved ones, the photos and video are memories of the young girl they've been praying for 16 days will come back home.
Haleigh's family allowed Channel 4 to show a home video of the child opening Christmas presents in hopes any new glimpse may trigger a new tip that might lead to their little girl.
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For Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, the video filled with happy memories and the hope that Haleigh will soon be home are what get Sheffield through this difficult time.
Some of the Cummings' family photos were taken years and others were taken months ago. The family said it just wants people to take another close look in case they've seen Haleigh somewhere.
Despite 'Sightings,' Tips, Investigators No Closer To Finding Haleigh
An anonymous pledge of $5,000 on Tuesday boosted the reward for finding 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings to $25,500 as investigators said they are no closer to finding her on the 15th day than they were on the first.
A sighting Tuesday morning of a girl that fits Haleigh's description prompted a search near railroad tracks along U.S. Highway 1 in St. Augustine. Police eventually located a man in the area walking his daughter to school, but there was no sign of Haleigh.
Wednesday morning, there were reports of possible sightings at a mall in Grand Junction, Colo., and a truck stop in Fort Wayne, Ind., but detectives have ruled them out.
"So far, they've all been false sightings, but by all means if people see something they think might be it, they should call and it will be checked wherever they are by the local authorities. You never know when the right one is going to come in," said Capt. Dick Schauland, of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
Schauland said eight detectives are spending full-time pouring through more than 2,000 tips that have been phoned in and agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI continue to work the case. More deputies are available if a credible lead needs investigation or prompts a new ground search.
The sheriff's office has suspended daily news briefings because there's basically nothing they can report.
"The thrust of the investigation is the return of Haleigh, so we have to be very careful about the information we release," Schauland said Tuesday. "If there is any new information, we will get it out."
While law enforcement has no ongoing search, family members and volunteers continue to comb the wooded area surrounding the mobile home park where the Haleigh lived with her younger brother, her father and his girlfriend.
Complete strangers that heard Haleigh's story continue to arrive and offer to help in any way they can.
"We heard about it over the news ? as just about everybody else did. God just laid it on our hearts to come out here and do something," said Bill Kyne, who drove up Wednesday morning and offered to help search. "I have six kids of my own and eight grandkids, and I couldn't imagine if one of them went missing."
The family said they have also suspended daily searches, but they are organizing a search on Saturday and asking for volunteers to help.
The Cummings family continues to hold nightly vigils for Haleigh outside the separate makeshift camp sites in the Satsuma neighborhood where her mother and father have stayed since Feb. 10 when the girl disappeared from her bed.
Almost from the beginning, investigators said they believed she was abducted.
Anyone with information about Haleigh's disappearance should call 888-277-TIPS or the FDLE's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse at 888-FL-MISSING.
Previous Stories:
- February 24, 2009: Tip Leads Detectives To St. Johns Co. In Search For Haleigh
- February 24, 2009: Investigator: We Are No Closer To Finding Haleigh
- February 23, 2009: 2 Weeks Into Hunt For Haleigh, Police Have Nothing To Report
- February 22, 2009: 1,600 Leads, Family Distractions In Haleigh Case
- February 20, 2009: Family Holds Vigil, Prays For Haleigh For 11th Night
- February 20, 2009: New Searches, Larger Reward In Hunt For Haleigh
- February 19, 2009: Haleigh's Mother Pleads For 5-Year-Old's Return
- February 19, 2009: Dad To Haleigh: 'We Will Find You'
- February 18, 2009: Reward Increased $16,000 In Haleigh Case
- February 17, 2009: Tip: Dad's Girlfriend Wasn't Home When Haleigh Disappeared
- February 17, 2009: Investigators In 2nd Week Of Hunt For Haleigh
- February 16, 2009: Week After Haleigh Goes Missing, Police Keep Working
- February 15, 2009: Authorities Scale Back Search For Haleigh, Not Investigation
- February 15, 2009: Putnam Chief: 'We're As Optimistic Now As We Were On Day 1'
- February 14, 2009: Search For Missing 5-Year-Old To Continue Into Weekend
- February 14, 2009: Ramped-Up Search For Haleigh Turns Up 'Items Of Interest'
- February 13, 2009: Several Groups Offer Help In Search For Haleigh
- February 12, 2009: Girlfriend Describes Waking Up, Finding Haleigh Gone
- February 12, 2009: Search For Haleigh 'Will Expand As Far As It Needs To Go'
- February 12, 2009: 48 Hours Pass With No Sign Of Missing Girl
- February 11, 2009: School Prays For Haleigh's Safe Return
- February 11, 2009: Detective: Haleigh's Disappearance Considered Abduction
- February 10, 2009: Family, Friends Pray As Search For Missing 5-Year-Old Continues
- February 10, 2009: 5-Year-Old Vanishes From Bedroom; Father Says She Was 'Stolen'