Police suspect Fla. girl, 5, was abducted

PALATKA, Fla., Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Police in Putnam County, Fla., say 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings was likely abducted from her bedroom in an area home.

Maj. Gary Bowling of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said investigators now suspect the child likely was abducted rather than simply having wandered away from home this week, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel said Thursday.

"There is no longer any reason to believe that the child simply wandered off outside," Bowling said Wednesday.

Cummings, who lives with her father and his girlfriend in the rural community, was last seen Monday night in her bedroom.

Up to 130 law enforcement officers searched Tuesday for the missing child as part of a statewide alert, the Sentinel said.

While police search for clues to the girl's whereabouts, her maternal grandmother, Marie Griffis, offered a plea for her safe return.

"Just bring her back," Griffis said. "There are plenty of places you can drop off a kid, no questions asked."