PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla.,None — A Minnesota man has written a book that he said explains what really happened to missing Putnam County girl Haleigh Cummings.
It has been nearly two years since the 5-year-old disappeared, and investigators presume she is dead. However, the author of the book, Timothy Holmseth, said that might not be true.
In more than 200 pages, Holmseth details what he believes happened to Cummings.
"I probably conducted interviews with maybe 50 different people, and the FBI wanted those interviews," he said.
Holmseth said he's a freelance journalist who started investigating the case after being contacted by a bounty hunter. He said the book contains everything he told the FBI about his findings.
"I was told that Haleigh is alive and she was alive at least after February 10, and she was being passed around by her family. And that's still what I believe, because that's what I was told and that's what all the evidence tells me," he said.
Holmseth paints a bad picture of many people in the case, including family, attorneys and police. He wrote that investigators neglected leads, and wrote about evidence he said was planted to implicate Misty Croslin.
"Just here recently now, the FBI found some guns in a pond. I would say, watch that very closely. Watch that very closely about those guns that were found and what was done with those guns. You know, did Haleigh see something happen? And then she had to be moved so she couldn't, essentially, couldn't tell her kindergarten teacher what she saw somebody do," he explained.
Holmseth claims he didn't write the book just to make money.
"I've invested $5,000 just into the printing of the book. I want people to know what happened; I want people to know what I was told. And if I didn't print the book, nobody was going to find out," he said.
In response to the book, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said people need to read the book and make a judgment on the author and his claims for themselves.
One sheriff's investigator also said some people will do anything to make a buck.
Previous Stories: January 10, 2011: Misty Croslin Sentenced On Additional Charges September 24, 2010: Haleigh's Dad Gets 15 Yrs For Drug Trafficking August 20, 2010: Haleigh Reportedly Strangled, Dumped In Lake August 18, 2010: Haleigh's Grandma Says Misty Is Lying July 27, 2010: Misty Croslin's Parents Busted In Drug Sting
WFTV
