Sunday marks 10 years since a little girl vanished from Putnam County and was never found. The case of Haleigh Cummings captured the attention of the First Coast and made national news as well.
"She'd always tell you that, she was Granny's Love," Annette Sykes smiled, thinking about her great-granddaughter, Haleigh Cummings. Sykes still has a room full of toys and Christmas gifts she was never able to give her.
Haleigh was 5 years old when she disappeared from her home in Satsuma on the night of Feb 10, 2009.
Her father was at work. Haleigh was at home with her little brother and her father's girlfriend, Misty Croslin. Croslin said she woke up and Haleigh was gone.
"I thought we'd find her that night," Sykes said. "I didn't really think she was gone."
Searches for Haleigh lasted months. Investigators and volunteers scoured the woods, a pond and rivers. Haleigh was never found.
When asked what she thinks happened, Sykes said, "Honestly, I don't know. I really don't."
But Sykes does believe that Misty Croslin, the father's girlfriend, knows what happened to Haleigh. But if Croslin knows, she hasn't told police or family.
First Coast News asked Sykes, "If you think Misty knows, do you want to just shake her and say 'tell me something?'"
Sykes said, "Oh yes! I would like to rip her head off. I talked to her and asked her, 'Just tell me.' She said, 'I don't know anything.'
Misty Croslin is now in prison, serving time for drugs.
Another family now lives in that mobile home where Haleigh disappeared.
In 2009, the neighborhood from which Haleigh disappeared was bustling.
There was law enforcement, local media and national media. People from around the county and around the country were there. Some were just curious. Others were there to support the family. Now, Sykes says few people even ask her about the case.
"Occasionally, I'll run into someone in the grocery store or Walmart or something," she said. "They'll say 'You're that little girl's grandmother. Have they found her?'"
Sykes took a breath and started crying, "It's great that they remember, but it hurts so bad to have to tell them, 'No,' that you don't know anything."
Investigators believe that Haleigh is dead, but Sykes believes she is alive.
"I have to believe that," she said. "There's no evidence to tell me she's not alive."