breaking news tonight. a 5-year-old little girl tucked into bed. five hours later, she's gone. vanished. into thin air. the back door propped wide open. daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little haleigh. bombshell tonight. in the last hour, investigators announced little haleigh was not kidnapped by a stranger. repeat, it was no stranger that snuck into the home that night and snatched the little girl. police say the last person to

see haleigh alive is the key to the case. cops closing in on the girlfriend/baby-sitter, claiming she refuses to give straight answers about the night little haleigh vanishes. croslin unable to account for crucial hours surrounding the kidnap. in another stunning twist, cops reveal physical evidence at the crime scene. contradict croslin's story. tonight where is 5-year-old florida girl haleigh? >> i just woke up and our back door was open and we can't find our daughter. >> can't find what? >> our daughter. i walked in the kitchen and the back door is wide open. >> investigating the disappearance of 6-year-old haleigh cummings. it's likely the toddler was not abducted by a stranger. haleigh's birthday came and went with no sign of the child. authorities declare baby-sitter misty croslin is the key to the case, and she is not giving them

the whole story. >> and she's gone. and that's all i know. is when i woke up -- when i went to sleep, she was there. when i woke up, she was gone. >> cops says physical evidence found contradicts croslin's sketchy account of what she did the night haleigh went missing. croslin is not considered a suspect at this time. >> all i want is my daughter. it doesn't matter. it doesn't matter. >> do you think she did anything? >> i don't have any suspicions of anybody. anybody could have done anything. i don't know what's what. obviously, if i knew what was going on, i would have my daughter. >> her story's changed several times. i just hope she would not have nothing to do with this. >> so here's the back door and here's the lock. it sticks. so there you go. now we open the back door. here's the back screen door. the one that was propped open with the cinder block, okay? now, if you see, when it closes, it slams.

it makes a loud noise. but if you leave this door, this slowly closes as well. >> i just want everybody to know that i didn't do anything with that little girl. i loved her like she's my own. and i'll do anything to get her back. >> and tonight, a young mom just like millions of moms across america, goes out for an evening walk on a country roadway not far from her own home. talking away on her cell phone. the boyfriend on the other end hears screaming, please, don't take me. her voice has never been heard again. she has vanished without a trace. that cell phone later found discarded, thrown on to someone's lawn, just two miles away. as we go to air tonight, the search expanding across state borders, targeting hundreds of sex offenders across three states. tonight, where is kristi cornwell?

>> three states on alert in the hunt for a kidnapper and a missing mom. kristi cornwell, swept up, abducted while walking along on a country road. police now scouring neighborhoods, even questioning hundreds of sex offenders in the area. >> the fbi joined in the case because it appears kristi's abductor was headed towards north carolina or tennessee. officers up there are also searching and questioning sex offenders. >> in most cases when there's an actual abduction by a stranger, the victim has been sexually molested, assaulted and then killed. >> everybody in her inner circle, family, friends, people she worked with, and so far we have not developed a suspect in that regard. and so it appears that it's likely that somebody that's familiar with the area that

might not have known her. >> i plead to the public. anyone out there who's heard anything or heard anything or even think they've seen anything, now is the time to call. >> good evening. i'm nancy grace. i want to thank you for being with us. in the last hour, investigators announce little haleigh cummings was not kidnapped by a stranger. that's right. it was no stranger that snuck into the home that night and snatched the little girl. >> i just got home from work. my 5-year-old daughter is gone. i need somebody to be here now. >> putnam county authorities investigating haleigh cummings disappearance announce baby-sitter misty croslin is not giving them the whole story. after determining haleigh was likely not abducted by a stranger, investigators focused their attention on croslin and her whereabouts that night. >> i got up because i had to use the bathroom. didn't make it to the bathroom. i seen the kitchen light on. i walked in the kitchen and the back door's wide open. >> right beside me on my left is the bed where misty was sleeping. and here on the right we had the

bed where little haleigh was sleeping. and you can see it is all but about 3 1/2 feet from each other. and this is right where misty said she got up and she had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. now, where i'm facing right now, nancy, is a bathroom, it's the master bathroom. through the living room behind me is the other bathroom in the house. you have to remember, she said that when she got up to go to the bathroom, she saw the kitchen light was on. the kitchen is over this way. so that means she would have had to have gotten up and gone out this door and then have noticed. >> law enforcement officials say evidence collected does not jive with croslin's sketchy account. cops believe croslin who is not a suspect has still not provided them a detailed account of her actions that night. >> do you believe that misty was indeed home and she's been tell telling the truth?

>> yeah, i believe she's telling the truth. >> hello. >> sir, let me talk to your wife. let me get some information from her. >> man. >> can i talk to her? okay. >> how the[ muted ] >> straight out to t.j. hart, >> straight out to t.j. hart, program and news director wsky 97.3 fm. t.j., very stunning development. the police have announced just hours ago it was no stranger that snuck into that home and took this little girl. everybody, we have been getting all of your e-mails, all of your phone calls, your letters, about where is haleigh cummings. simple answer, we didn't know. nothing had developed into the case. the case had just got degenerated into the mother and

the father, all pointing the finger at each other and arguing about domestic squabbles. we were getting nowhere. but now this is a major development, t.j. >> it certainly is. this certainly narrows down the field of suspects from everyone to someone, and as you remember, everyone was a suspect when this began, and all the way up until the last couple of hours, too. still, the one thing you've got, ronald and crystal, no longer suspects, but misty's story, still inconsistent as it was from day one. i can tell you some of that physical evidence that's not jiving up with the story is the fact that on that back door there's no sign of forced entrance whatsoever. >> wait a minute, t.j., we knew that from the get-go. that there wasn't a sign of forced entry. nobody had taken a device and forced the lock open on that back door. we knew that at the beginning.

>> that's true. it was taken in for further investigation, and it has gone through still some more forensics and definitively -- yes, we did know that from the beginning. but definitively, no forced entry. that, of course, does lead officials to believe that once again right where they stated this is not a stranger. >> straight out to special guest joining us. we're taking your calls live, out to annette sykes joining us from florida. she's the great grandmother of little haleigh. thank you for being with us. >> you're welcome. >> what does this mean to you, the announcement made by police that it was no stranger that took little haleigh? what does that mean to you? >> well, we never did think it was a stranger, really. >> well, what did you think? >> we always thought it was somebody that had either followed haleigh, if it was somebody who had seen her and followed her home, because of where they lived. >> well -- >> they had to have known where she lived in order to find her.

>> to ellie jostad, our chief editorial producer on the story. ellie, i'm not getting the sense that cops are saying someone could have followed them. that this weren't a stranger in that sense. my interpretation is, and i'm on the outside looking in, is that it's someone within the family or close friends surrounding the family. >> right, nancy. well, what i think is very significant about this announcement from the sheriff's office is they're saying that misty croslin still holds answers in this case. they say she's failed to provide a detailed account of what she was doing in those hours late that evening and early that morning. >> unleash the lawyers. we're taking your calls. to you, ray giudice. defense attorney in atlanta. and former prosecutor out of miami. to you, ray giudice, months later, months have passed. wouldn't it be about time for her to cough up the details of what happened that night if she

had nothing to hide? >> law enforcement is sending her as clear a message as possible, go get a lawyer. if you have nothing to child, let that lawyer help her create the time line and answer these questions. if that lawyer feels she's got criminal culpability -- >> put giudice up. you just said create a time line. >> accurately -- and honestly. >> did you intentionally say create a time line? is that how you do it, ray giudice, you huddle with your defendant and you create some evidence? >> yeah, we write it down on a piece of paper. we create it. then we give it to the prosecutor and law enforcement. guess what? in six months, they can't get to the bottom of it. she needs a lawyer. >> rodriguez? >> i agree. obviously, she's focused. she has more information. she doesn't have to talk to them. if they want to talk to her, there is means to do it, but she needs to lawyer up. >> the two defense attorneys are

doing a dance around the pole right now. let's get down to it. why hasn't she told the police all the details they need about that night? >> the only reason she hasn't told them is either she's protecting herself or someone very close to her. go get a lawyer? no, if she's innocent if she's not holding back, she doesn't need a lawyer. she needs to open up, tell the truth and help the police go and find haleigh. >> tell him they are coming, and to calm down a little bit. when the officers get, there they can't have him screaming and yelling at the officers.

i'm just trying to do everything to find her, you know? answer any questions i have to. because i know i didn't do anything to that little girl. i would never hurt her. i mean, they love me. they look at me like their mom, you know? you ask little junior. he'll tell you.

they talk lovely about me and i'm so good to them kids. >> i pulled into the yard. front door was wide open. she was standing in it. i asked her what she was doing up. she told me the back door was wide open and haleigh was gone. i turned the house upside down and told her to call 911. >> misty croslin said she realized haleigh was missing in the middle of the night when she woke up to use the bathroom. there's two bathrooms in the mobile home. one directly in the master bedroom. another one that is all the way across the living room. >> i did take a polygraph. >> and you passed it? >> i mean, my understanding is that i passed it. >> from the back door area, you can see that you have to walk up a ramp in order to get into the house. now what we do know is haleigh was afraid of the dark. on both sides of the house, there is a densely wooded area. >> have you and your girlfriend both taken a polygraph, right? >> yes, i have. passed it with flying colors. yes, she has. passed hers. >> and you volunteered to do that, and you've been

cooperating with police, right? >> yeah, why not? why -- i don't have anything to hide. i just want my daughter back. anything that's going to help them eliminate more people is the best thing. >> help me out, misty. why were there inconsistencies? why did you say one thing one time and one time the other? one thing the other? >> i don't know. >> but you know you did do that? >> yeah. >> and you're not sure why? >> no. >> that was croslin on the "today" show back in march giving extremely ambiguous answers. answers that don't make any sense. i'm just going to put it to you right now. i've cross-examined more people than i can even count. i've interviewed more witnesses in felony cases than i can even remember.

and when you ask somebody why they said something and they say "i don't know," you got a problem. we're taking your calls tonight. in a major development in the eyes of the legal community, police reveal that it was no stranger that snuck into the home of this little girl, 5-year-old -- then 5-year-old haleigh cummings and made off with her in the middle of the night. now, the father, ronald cummings, apparently has been cleared. he was working the night shift, the evening the little girl went missing. you heard his voice on the 911 call we just played for you. we've been getting your calls, your e-mails, your letters, where is haleigh cummings? what's happening to the story? what did happen to the story, marc klaas, president, founder of klaas kids foundation? it went away amidst all the arguing and bickering and name-calling between the mom and the -- the bio mom and the bio dad. >> that's absolutely correct.

it became a hatfield versus mccoy kind of a situation. but i think what is central to this story is the same thing that's always been central, is the fact that haleigh is still missing. and i think that everybody -- nobody has ever really expected that ron did it or that crystal did it for a variety of reasons. but misty, who was the last person to see the little girl, whose story continually shifts. and who statistics point right to, has not been able to clear herself. i think what she needs to do is to tell the truth. the way to do is not to bring a lawyer and put her between the truth and finding that little girl. >> you know what's interesting to you, dr. lillian glass, psychologist, body language expert, author of "i know what you're thinking," lillian, do you notice that she repeatedly refers to that little girl. now -- >> exactly. >> i don't think in the nearly two years i've had the twins i've ever referred to them in that manner. i don't know what that means. i'm just a lawyer. what does it mean?

>> she's detaching. when you look at her body language, she says it all. she's crying these crocodile or alligator tears. you're seeing her with a very flat affect. you're seeing her shoulders shrugging, looking away. she has a lot of tales that show -- >> whoa, hey, don't these people know about secondhand smoke? look at that picture. they're both puffing all over that toddler right beside them. okay, that's a whole other line of questioning. o i

don't know -- you know, i don't know.

what did misty tell you that night, not later, but that night, about where haleigh was sleeping? >> she told me that she was sleeping in -- her and junior were sleeping in my queen-sized bed and that she was sleeping in the tot bed beside her. three or four feet from her, whatever. >> ronald, how did it get so bass-ackwards that people construed it as them sleeping

together in the same bed -- misty, junior, your son, and haleigh? how did that happen? how was that miscommunicated? >> miss nancy, i have no -- no answer for you. i don't know how it was miscommunicated. >> is that what she told police, ronald? did she tell police at any time that she was in the bed with little haleigh? >> i wasn't there when she was questioned by police, miss nancy. >> november 6th, the school nurse says that she fell down on the school playground and had a scratch to the nose. six days later, the child is in the emergency room, now with black eyes, a laceration to the nose, and a scrape on the cheek. the medical report we just obtained from the hospital also say whoever took her to the hospital on the 12th, six days later from the small scratch on the nose incident, stated that the injury occurred while she

was playing on the playground three days ago. so, there are inconsistent versions of the events. >> and, misty, as you sit here, do you believe in your heart that they see you as a suspect? >> no, i don't. >> i don't either. i talked to the lead detective. his name's john merchant. >> and he said? >> told me he doesn't think she's a suspect. >> that was misty croslin and ronald cummings on the "today" show. we are taking your calls live out to brenda in georgia. hi, brenda. >> caller: hi, nancy. >> hi, what's your question? >> caller: i watch you every night, dear. >> thank you. >> caller: my question is, what is the father doing now to help find his daughter? does he suspect maybe one of his friends or her friends might have done this? >> good question. t.j. hart there in gainesville, florida. first of all, are ronald cummings and misty croslin still together?

i know they married. >> yes, in fact, they're living with miss sykes. to answer the other question about searches, there's a search going to take place in about six weeks. tim miller with equasearch has been invited to come in. they're going to wait until some of the summer vegetation is down and out before they start trying to tackle that mess. one of the things that is going on right now is that the police aren't told that misty was even home at the time of the abduction. in fact, in their press release, they mentioned that any citizen with any direct knowledge of misty's activities during that evening or into the early morning is encouraged to report that information to the putnam county sheriff's office. >> t.j., they might as well take out an ad on third avenue that says misty croslin was not at home at the time of the kidnapping. because if they, the police are asking the public -- >> that's right. >> -- hey, did any of you see

the stepmother the night she went missing, the night she says she's at home washing the blankets and putting them to bed at 8:00? i mean -- >> that would explain making up some of these stories on the fly, allegedly, in the way of putting together a time line. >> let's go back to the lawyers. anna in new york. raymond giudice, atlanta. hugo rodriguez, miami. raymond, this means that if we're interpreting what the police are saying correctly, this just puts it out there. here's a theory. again, misty croslin is not a suspect. that if they are asking "where is she" that night, that suggests that everything she said was false. she was not at home. she did not put them to bed at 8:00. she did not put a blanket on them. she didn't wake up to go to the bathroom and notice the child was missing. and if you believe that somebody else took the child, you would have to believe in the window, the hours that she's gone,

somebody detected she was gone and knew how to get into the back door and not make a mark on the door and take the child. now, how likely is it, raymond giudice, that all those factors fit together? >> right. i really believe law enforcement is trying to smoke her out. there's been no action on this case in six months. and they're trying to get a reaction from her one way or another. either a defensive statement or does she go hire counsel and clam up and they interpret that as an indication that as law enforcement would believe she has something to hide? >> rodriguez? >> hey, every cop that's ever got a problem, they come to me when they want a lawyer. she needs a lawyer. we don't give away -- >> you said that last time. second verse same as the first on that broken record. >> we don't give away the fifth amendment just because we're on television and you want answers. >> ouch. i'm wearing an earpiece and when you scream it hurts. >> i apologize. >> look, i didn't ask you anything about the fifth amendment. but thank you -- >> i'm telling you --

>> -- professor rodriguez. >> you're welcome. >> let's try to get a straight answer. what about it anna? do you believe -- does it make sense in your practice of law that all of these factors would fall together and the stars would align, that she happens to be gone and during those hours that she's gone, this unknown phantom person was watching the home and sneaks in with no forcible entry and takes a child? >> nancy, your incredulous way you went through that is my answer. this would be a miraculous coincidence. this makes no sense. the same woman who is telling different stories, who is evasive, who is not answering the police questions about the time line. at the same time a stranger comes in and abducted not both children but one with no trace. and a door that we saw she said was open but we know shuts. there's just too many coincidences that point to her lying. i think the police are now

trying a different tactic to get to the bottom to get some real answers from her. >> to dr. marty makary. physician of public health at john hopkins, and you cannot get any better than that. dr. makary, she has turner syndrome, as i recall. that was the name of the syndrome. i know a little bit about it. she's been gone now for many months. would she have required some type of medication to survive? >> well, what we know about turner syndrome is that they frequently get infections. like a cold or upper respiratory infection. so they may frequently need antibiotics. they also have a lot of special needs. we know that these people are generally short-statured. they have a webbed neck. they can have high blood pressure and kidney problems. they're already going to be at risk of asthma from secondhand smoke at the home. so there are definitely special needs involved. >> to melody in ohio. hi, melody. >> caller: yes, nancy, i'm like you. let's quit dancing around the pole with this. let the authorities get on this, take care of that, and get that

girl in question arrested. thank you. >> melody in ohio, how i wish -- how i have wished it was that easy. let me go back to detective lieutenant steven rogers. nutland, new jersey, police department. former fed with the fbi. detective, what can they do? >> nancy, you hit the nail on the head. it's not that easy. i got to tell you, i believe -- and i'm sure, on your show in the past, from day one, the police had some indication, some belief, that she had something to do with this. that's ground zero. it started there. it's going to end there. >> out to the lines. crusenda in georgia. >> caller: hi. you know, i just don't get the same feeling when i see her and listen to her as i do -- like looking at someone like casey anthony. there are definitely inconsistencies. i think we're dealing with someone with low intelligence. definitely not the same parenting skills as you or i have.

maybe even possibly engages in marijuana. but i just think that more needs to be looked into as far as a possibility of a pedophile, you know, having something to do with this. i mean, i think possibly a child molester got away with this. and that's why -- >> crusenda. >> caller: yes. >> the police have made a stunning announcement that it is no stranger that took the child. it is not a stranger. it's someone that knows the child. it's someone in that circle. that's what that means. you start with the family. then you move out to the neighbors. then you move out to who do you go to church or synagogue with. to the delivery boy. then you move out and out and out. they've made a statement tonight loud and clear. that no stranger snuck in and took little haleigh. no stranger. and repeat, misty croslin is not a suspect in this case. everyone, we're taking your

calls live. tonight, the verdict is in. tonight's winner of the show's number one fan contest is york, pennsylvania, friend jerri zimmerman. jerri's run a youth program for innercity program for children at risk for 19 years, all of out of her own pocket. a crime victim, herself, she now fights drug dealers and gangs. never misses a show. even watches at 3:00 a.m. do you ever get to sleep, jerri? congratulations. you get that signed copy of the new thriller in bookstores now, "eleventh victim." i personally want to thank you, friend.

nearly 100 people from more than a dozen different law enforcement agencies combed through every inch of hillside in the area where cornwell's cell phone was found. >> they're continuing their -- continuing to throw all their assets that they can at the search. i know they have used k-9 units in the vicinity of the abduction site. they've used k-9 units close to the cell phone location. they're using k-9 units throughout the search. >> investigators are now turning to neighbors, looking for any information. >> whether you saw anything or not, if you're on the road in these two areas, between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. in the jones creek road area, or 9:00 to 12:00 a.m. in the nottely dam area, we'd ask you to give us a call. >> authorities are now stopping

all cars on or around jones creek road, asking drivers if they saw anything tuesday night. detectives are tracking down and interviewing registered sex offenders across county. as they wait for that one tip that turns into a viable lead. >> straight out to eric philips with wsb-tv joining us outside the command center there in blairsville, georgia. eric, what's latest? why has the search expanded into three states? >> well, nancy, the fbi has gotten involved because of the fact they believe whoever abducted kristi cornwell possibly took her from that location on jones creek road here in blairsville. possibly, possibly, across state lines, maybe into tennessee, perhaps into north carolina. because the road that's right behind me, actually if you continue on it leads into tennessee. that's why the fbi's gotten involved. what they've done is sent a couple of agents, probably three to five agents, down here to join the army of those who have been out looking for kristi cornwell for last several days.

in fact, tonight, starting at 8:00 eastern, there's more roadblock situations that are forming all around this area. really crossing a three-mile radius. what they're doing is stopping and asking people, have you seen anything? i know you probably heard about the situation. did you see anything on tuesday night between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m.? just trying to jog people's memories and get something on this case they've not gotten before. so far, they really don't have a a lot of leads, nancy. >> joining me there at the command center, blairsville, georgia, eric philips with wsb-tv. everybody, especially you, ladies, how many millions of us across the country go for a run or a jog, talking away on our cell phones? that's the last time her voice was heard. according to her boyfriend, he was on the phone with her, and suddenly hears screaming, saying, don't take me, don't take me. she is never heard from again.

this young mom needs our help. the tip line, everyone, 800-597-8477. a lot of you are calling in about the boyfriend. the boyfriend that says he was on the phone with her at the time she goes missing. out to natisha lance, our producer there at the command center. also, haven't police confirmed that they -- their two lines were in fact engaged at the time she allegedly goes missing? >> they have been able to confirm that, nancy. they've also been able to confirm the boyfriend was in the atlanta area, which is about two hours' drive away from the blairsville area here. they have been able to confirm he was in that area. they have not been able to tell us who initiated that phone call. if it was kristi who called him -- >> hold on. put natisha lance back up. isn't it true that earlier law enforcement made the statement that they knew who called who? then, they went back and carefully retracted, said no, we don't know, we can't confirm if boyfriend called her or she called boyfriend. isn't that true, natisha lance? >> yes, there was an interview

earlier where law enforcement did say that the boyfriend initiated that phone call. then i spoke to law enforcement directly, and they said they don't know who initiated that phone call, but the boyfriend did initiate the phone call to the mother of kristi cornwell to let her know what he heard on the phone. >> okay, got. to ben leviten, telecommunications expert joining us out of raleigh, north carolina. ben, as always, it's wonderful to speak to you. if they can confirm who called who to the mother, from the boyfriend to the mother, why can't they tell us who called who in that crucial phone call when she goes missing? she's abducted right there on the cell phone. >> well, that's a very routine matter to tell you which way -- we call that direction, who called who.

that's a no-brainer. and if anyone's ever in a situation like this, what you do is a three-party call and dial 911. that way you automatically get the victim's location. that's exactly what he should have done. >> what i'm saying -- what's the holdup? what's the problem? why can't cops identify whether boyfriend called her or she called boyfriend? why can't they tell us that? >> it's absolutely no technical reason for that. now, we don't -- you know, i wonder, was it him? was he there? he may have had an atlanta cell phone number, and he could have been in the truck behind her. have they confirmed that? >> they are saying they can confirm at the time of that phone call he was in atlanta. but here's my next question. let me go to eric jenn, wrga news radio. repeat, the boyfriend is not a suspect. we are merely answering your e-mails and phone questions. eric jenn. the boyfriend's in atlanta when that call take place to her cell phone.

number one, do we know that her cell phone was, in fact, in blairsville at the time of the phone call? and, two, who saw her last? who can tell me that they saw her go out for a walk? how do i know she wasn't dead already at the time that phone call was made to that cell phone? who can tell me where she was just before that phone call? visually. >> your first part of the question first, we do know that from cell towers i believe, we've been able to locate. this is what authorities have told us. the boyfriend was in the atlanta area -- >> got it. not my question. >> okay. >> my question is who saw her last? >> it probably would have been perhaps her mother. but she was staying with her mother at the time. we don't know that she was actually at home and saw her --

>> wait. put him back up. eric, you're telling me, we don't know who saw her last? we don't have a visual i.d. of her being on that rural route -- >> they didn't know she was going to be missing in the next few minutes. how many times have you perhaps been at home and said, hey, i'm going out for an exercise walk or run? there were people in the house. who actually was the last person to see her before she left? )d)dd