Handcuffed To The Ocean

I’ve reproduced below some more of the recorded statement I took from “Jane.” Some of what she says has “the ring of truth” to it. I’ll leave it up to you readers to decide what is true. I am hoping that the PCSO will followup on these statements. If true, then that would put Joe Overstreet at the mobile home on the night of Haleigh’s disappearance and the observation is not coming from a family member, but from a disinterested third party who barely even knows any of the family. There is one more part to Jane’s statement which I will post in a week or so.

Steve:            Gregory said he would come back?  Gregory Page?

Jane:            He said he would.  He said I’ll hit you up, I’ll come back, I’ll come back I promise.  And then like I said, they I was just went over there another time and served them again.

Steve:            OK now what time was this second time?

Jane:            Well, OK the first time was about two or three, the second time was about five, five-ish by the third time is was about like eight.

Steve:            8:00 PM and the same people were there all three times?

Jane:            Yeah, there was another girl also that was a young little girl, the second time, there was a young little girl that was with Haleigh, um, not Haleigh with Misty.

Steve:            Haleigh was the young little girl.  But you say but this young girl, how young are you talking about?

Jane:            About the same age as Misty.

Steve:            So she’s seventeen or sixteen.

Jane:            Yes.  She was also on the drugs also but then…

Steve:            And you don’t know her name.

Jane:            I didn’t know her name.  She was there also.

Steve:            You don’t know it now, though?

Jane:            Um

Steve:            White girl?

Jane:            Yeah, she was a white girl.  She was a young girl.  But I didn’t know, I don’t know who she is.  But I do know that I did see them their that night.  They were all on cocaine and ecstasy pills.

Steve:            Um huh

Jane:            That was the main thing that they were all on every single one of them.

Steve:            OK.  Let’s talk about vehicles.  Do you remember what vehicles were out there that night?

Jane:            Um, not really, no.  I didn’t see no vehicles.

Steve:            OK

Jane:            I didn’t see none of them.

Steve:            Well they must have gotten there some how.

Jane:            Yeah, yeah, I didn’t see no vehicles.

Steve:            OK

Jane:            At all

Steve:            Alright.  When you went in that trailer.  Did you go in?

Jane:            I didn’t never go inside.

Steve:            OK

Jane:            We sat in the car in the driveway.

Steve:            While they came out?

Jane:            Yeah, all of them came out.

Steve:            And did they come out through the…

Jane:            Side door.

Steve:            The side door?

Jane:            Yeah

Steve:            Not the front door with the screened in porch and stuff?

Jane:            Unh-unh

Steve:            They came out the side door?

Jane:            They kept coming out the side door.

The Mobile Home On Green Lane

Steve:            Hum.  OK.

Jane:            Misty, no Misty came out on the front screened in porch one time.  She did do that.  But then she screened, she shut the screen door because she was mad at I think it was her brother that made her mad or something.

MISTY CROSLIN

Steve:            Tommy?

Jane:            Yeah because he said something about Ronald.  But it was them three, they were all messed up, they kept calling us back and forth over there, over there, over there for more drugs.

Steve:            Alright.  How much…

Steve:            OK.  Alright.  Did you know Misty before that night when you and Greg were over there selling them drugs?

Jane:            No.

Steve:            You didn’t used to run with her or anything?

Jane:            No.  Well her and Nay Nay did.

Steve:            Yeah

Jane:            I met her a couple of times through that.

Steve:            Her and Nay Nay ran with Greg, you mean?

Jane:            Yeah.  Well I never met her through that but I know her through Nay Nay.  Like I’ll see her and say, “Hey, what’s up?” and then leave.

Steve:            And how did you happen, how did it happen that you were with Greg?

Jane:            Because me and Greg are like best friends.

Steve:            So you knew he and Misty had hooked up that weekend.

Jane:            Yes.

Steve:            Alright.

Jane:            Gregory Page and Misty had hooked up that weekend.  Yes, that did happen.

Steve:            OK.  And who was making the calls to Greg to bring the drugs over.

Jane:            Misty

Steve:            Misty was making them?

Jane:            Yes.

Steve:            Cocaine and ecstasy.

Jane:            She kept saying, “Baby when are you coming in?  Are you coming?  Hurry up.”  That’s exactly what she kept saying.

Steve:            OK.  Do you know how much they spent?  How much they paid Greg altogether that night?

Jane:            I just know quite a few.  A little bit.  She would have spent, um, at least that night, she would spend at least six or seven hundred.

Steve:            Six or seven hundred?

Jane:            Yes, that night.

Steve:            Oh really?  Where did she get the money from, do you know?

Jane:            I have no idea.  She used to trick.

Steve:            She used to trick?

Jane:            Yes.

Steve:            Yeah.

Kimberly:            She used to trick.

Steve:            How much did she make doing that do you know?

Jane:            I have no idea about that.  But I know she used to trick.  I know a lot of people she associates with.  Her and Nay Nay both.

Jane:            Yeah, I know a lot of people that they mess with.

Steve:            Hum.  OK.  So the last time you were there that night, this was the night that Haleigh disappeared, Ronald was at work and this was like 8:00 PM, 8 or 9 PM something like that, right?

Jane:            Yes

Steve:            And, um, Joe Overstreet was there, Tommy was there and Misty was there.

Jane:            Yeah, Tommy was there.  Yeah.  I didn’t see the girl that time.  This was the third time.  I didn’t see her there.  Maybe she was inside…

Steve:            The fifteen or sixteen year old or whoever?

Jane:            Yeah, maybe she was inside or something.  Them three were the main ones outside again.  But, um, I remember one of these was rolling off the ecstasy because he was like,

Steve:            Who was?

Jane:            Tommy, he was like whoooo like this and kept going like this to his face.  And Misty was like (sniff) that’s some good powder man, that’s some good powder.  That’s why I never knew how she fell asleep and did not know that the baby was missing because we was giving her powder and she saying how good the powder was but then she said she was sleeping when the baby when missing.  That never made sense.

Steve:            Well, we know that’s not true.

Jane:            Yeah.  So I don’t see how she could have went to sleep and been fucked up on them drugs and ecstasy pills, you can’t sleep on them.  Them things keep you awake too just like cocaine.  So we were serving her both of them.  I was a witness that seen it, I heard it.  I seen the money get transferred.  I seen her go like this (wipe her nose) about how good it was.

Steve:            Now, the tape recorder can’t see what you are saying, but you are brushing your nose, right?

Jane:            Yeah, she keeps wiping her nose like, she would wipe her nose constantly talking about it’s good powder, wiping her nose, it’s good powder, it’s good powder.  So there is no way she could have fell asleep.  But then again she said she knows her cousin did it because he would rape her.  He raped her before.

Steve:            Misty?

Jane:            Yeah.

Steve:            But not Haleigh, Misty you mean?

Jane:            Yeah, he raped Misty before, duh, duh, duh so she knows he did it.  So I’m like, OK and that’s when I, that’s when I rung the bell so to speak.

Steve:            Did she ever say she saw him do it?

Jane:            No she never said she saw him do it.  She said she knows he did it though.

Jane:            Yeah.  I pretty much, now I’ve seen everything.

Steve:            Yeah, well except you weren’t there…

Jane:            Yeah, when Haleigh went missing.  Oh yeah, no, or that would have done been found a long time ago.  But I know the three that were there and I know all three of them were messed up on ecstasy and cocaine so there ain’t no way Haleigh could have been sleeping.  There ain’t no way.

Steve:            Misty you mean?

Jane:            Yeah, Misty I mean.  There ain’t no way Misty could have been sleeping messed up on drugs like that.

I know that many of you have been waiting patiently for this blog. Well, some not so patiently. Health issues have seemed to interfere with my life lately. Because of these health issues I went to the PCSO two weeks ago and gave them some lead material that I won’t have a chance to follow-up on myself. What did I give them and who did I see?

I met with Captain Dominick Piscitello, who I’ve met with on a number of occasions in the past. I also was introduced to Lieutenant Ricky Lyle, Major Crimes Supervisor. I am convinced that the PCSO has done what they could to bring Haleigh home. She has not been forgotten by them. When you walk into the front office her photo is on the table in the corner. Her poster is the first thing you see if you walk into the Investigative Divsion.

PCSO Front Office

Remember, when I meet with the PCSO it’s like walking down a one way street. I give them information, but receive nothing in return. And that’s okay. This time when I met with Captain Piscitello and Lieutenant Lyle I suggested an area that I thought should be searched with cadaver dogs. Did Haleigh go into the river? I’m not as firmly convinced now of that as I was before. There is a small localized specific area that should be searched. I’ve come to that conclusion after my many visits with Tommy Croslin and specifically after my last visit with him in prison last month. I don’t know if the PCSO has followed up on that suggestion or not. If they have, then I guess it was not productive but I’m surprised that news of the search itself was not reported. If it hasn’t been done, it should be as that is a pretty inexpensive “wild goose chase.” A lot less expensive than searching Shell Harbor or draining the Mondex.

I also gave Captain Piscitello some additional information which will not “solve the case” but might help in better establishing who visited the mobile home on Green lane that night. Below is some of what I provided to them. As far as I could tell, this was new information to them.

Some months ago I was telephonically  called by a then female inmate at the PCSO jail. She had seen me talking to Kristina Prevatte, aka Nay Nay and asked Nay Nay what we were discussing. She then began to tell Nay Nay about her experience the night that Haleigh disappeared and Nay Nay told her to call me. I will not name this female, as she is not a public figure. I did, of course, give all of her identifying information to Captain Piscitello. For purposes of this blog, let’s call her Jane. I could not interview her over the phone as she would not talk. She insisted on a face to face. I tried several times to track her down in Putnam County but could not locate her. Finally I started checking the jail logs every day and sure enough, in a while she was back in jail. So I interviewed her there. Recorded our interview and also took a signed statement from her.

Among other things, Jane told me that in the early evening hours of February 9, 2009 she was riding in a car with Greg Page. Greg received several phone calls from Misty Croslin asking Greg to come over to the mobile home on Green Lane bring her some drugs. Here is a partial transcript of my interview with her which will raise more questions than answers.

Greg Page, aka White Boy Greg

There are several things to remember here. 1st, You have to ask if she is sure this occurred on February 9, 2009 and not some other night? 2nd. Did she see Timmy Croslin and not Tommy Croslin. Timmy and Joe were together at that time. She did not know the Croslins prior to this encounter and only identified them later because Tommy’s photo was in the news. I talked to Tommy about this last month when I visited him in prison and he did not recognize the photo of Jane that I showed to him. He denied that this happened and in this case I believe him. Which makes me wonder if it was Timmy and not Tommy. Several months after Misty was arrested  Jane had occasion to spend some time with Misty in the St. Johns County jail and we will get to that in the next blog post.

Steve:            So we will start from the beginning.  I don’t need to know about the weekend before OK, um, but that, that night that she disappeared.

Jane:            That specific night.  OK

Steve:            So as I understand it, you were over at the trailer on Green Lane, what, three times that night?

Jane:            Yeah, like about two or three times with Gregory Page serving her.

Steve:            By serving her you mean?

Jane:            He was selling her like, um, pills and cocaine.

Steve:            Do you know specifically what he was selling to Misty.

Jane:            Cocaine and ecstasy pills.

Steve:            Cocaine and ecstasy?  OK

Jane:            Yes.  So I was riding with him over there…

Steve:            Uh hum, what was he driving, do you remember?

Jane:            We was in a little green car.

Steve:            Little green car?

Jane:            A Ford Taurus, I think it was.

Steve:            OK

Jane:            OK, so we went over there.  We served them about two or three times.

Steve:            Wait, wait, slow down you did what now?

Jane:            We served her the ecstasy and the cocaine.

Steve:            But, three times?  Why three times?

Jane:            Because she kept calling back and I guess every time they ran out of cocaine they were jonesings for more.

Steve:            OK and you say, “they were jonesing”, who are we talking about, they?

Jane:            Um, Misty, her cousin, and her brother.

Steve:            Her cousin, Joe Overstreet?

Jane:            Yeah, he was outside on the cell phone also when I pulled up.

Steve:            OK.  And which brother are we talking about?

Jane:            This is the one that was in the news.

Steve:            Tommy, then.

Jane:            Yes.

Steve:            OK, the other brother wasn’t there, Timmy?

Jane:            No, I just know it was the cousin, um, what’s his name?

Steve:            Joe Overstreet

Jane:            Joe, it’s just Joe.  Yeah, Joe.  OK

Steve:            And Tommy Croslin and Misty were there.

Jane:            Tommy was the one that was outside on the phone saying man this needs to come on quicker and then Misty said what are you talking about the drugs are here and then…

Steve:            Misty said that?

Jane:            Yeah, Misty said that.  So they are all there.  They are all getting messed up on cocaine, ecstasy pills.  She kept asking the guy that was with me, which was Gregory Page, if he wanted to come stay with her for a little while, while Ronald was at work or whatever.

Steve:            Wait, wait, slow down.  Who asked Greg?

Jane:            Misty.

Steve:            Misty asked Gregory if he wanted to stay with her for awhile while Ronald was at work?

Jane:            Yes and he told her he’ll come back, he’d come back and I don’t know if he ever came back that night.

Steve:            Gregory said he would come back?  Gregory Page?

Jane:            He said he would.  He said I’ll hit you up, I’ll come back, I’ll come back I promise.  And then like I said, they I was just went over there another time and served them again. 

PInow.com, a nationally recognized organization, chose Handcuffed to The Ocean as one of the top twenty PI blogs in the world.

Click on the graphic below to read the article:  

Hi everyone,

-

We are now in Hampton, Va, having arrived in a gale about seven yesterday evening.  On the way we got smacked around by some muscular waves in the five to six foot range, and got hit with lots of hail and rain so being in the cockpit was not pleasant.  Since a rigger inspected our rigging in Pasadena, Maryland and said some of it was coming apart, we didn’t put up any sail.  Without sail up to stabilize the boat things were a little rocky.  Well, maybe more than just a little.  The Chesapeake is shallow so there’s lots of wave action in a gale.  I think the rigger was not quite honest, he seemed a little shady, but I didn’t want to take the chance.  Anyway, most everything in the boat got rearranged during the voyage.  And we found a few leaks.

-

Defiant at the dock

We left Yorktown where we’d spent two night on a mooring ball because the guy who rented us the mooring ball for $25 a night was not quite sure if we’d be safe there in the gale that was coming, so we left.  Hubris, right?  Thinking we can take it, the boat can take it, and heck it was only about 50 miles.  It was not an easy time.  We had a little trouble finding the narrow channels, and sometimes we found less than 9 feet under the keel, but we never touched mud.  Liza, it turns out, is a born navigator.  It was only as we got toward Norfolk and Hampton that she seemed to get a little frustrated, there are so many channels and markers and so many big ships, it’s like you’re caught in a video game.  We found this great little marina here in Hampton on the internet that charges a $62 a night but if you stay for two nights you get another night free, which makes it a bargain.  And the folks here are really kind and helpful, they even offered to loan us a car to go to the store.  But we took a bus.  

-When we got in we discovered that we had no 12 volt.  Gads, I couldn’t figure out why.  So I called an electrician and for only $65 he looked over our system and pointed out that the four new deep cycle batteries the previous owner had installed were not hooked up to the $650 West Marine battery charger he had installed, nor was it hooked up to the alternator on the engine, so for a month we’ve been using up the charge that must have come from the store.  It did seem odd that putting on the charger didn’t seem to do much.

Jim Frey and Liza Frey

Yorktown was a great place, being the site of the last Revolutionary War Battle  The Brits took a beating at sea from the French, and that’s what won it.  One problem with Yorktown as a cruising destination.  No groceries for sale anywhere.  Liza has to have fresh fruit every day or she gets grumpy.  But in Yorktown, if you want to eat something, you have to bring it with you or go to a restaurant.  The Seven-Eleven is seven miles away.  We went to town in our inflatable dingy and got plenty wet in the chop on the way back.  Two things we’ve found out so far, we need a bigger dinghy and Liza needs foul weather gear.

-

More to follow.  Next, we head south through the Dismal Swamp with canals and locks and lots of snakes.

-

All the best,

jim

New Year’s day and the temperature still felt like late summer, everyone wearing shorts and T shirts. The air just cool enough so that sweat would not roll off our bodies on a hike. So Kitty and I headed to Wakodahatchee to stroll around the wetlands on the raised wooden boardwalk.

I expected to see only a few people observing the wildlife. Surprise, surprise. The crowds had discovered this area of beauty. Everyone had cameras, a few with honkin’ long lenses. I had thought about taking my 800mm lens, but decided against it to photograph animals close to the walkway. A long lens is nice for the shy birds out in the distance, but so many egrets, herons, and ducks like to stay close to the viewing area that a 200mm lens will usually suffice.

Heron on the hunt

Even though many people chose to visit this site today, the noise level was almost on mute. No running, shouting, or tossing items at the creatures occurred. Different photographers compared notes with one another, describing where to set-up for an excellent photo op. And from time to time, the out-of-towner wanting to know “are there any alligators around?” So, yes, I would lead them to a place for them to see their first gator.

Gator for the tourist

Wakodahatchee is a Seminole Indian word roughly meaning “created waters”. And that is what this place is all about. This is a working example of waste water being cleaned by natural vegetation. Fifty acres of wetlands are home to 140 species of turtles, frogs, alligators, and birds. Truly a birder’s paradise.

Posing for pictures

Heron grooming itself

The boardwalk is less than a mile in length, but can easily take an hour or two to complete the loop. Just so much to see. At times, Kitty and I like to stop and listen to the sounds of the moor hens, mottled ducks, limpkins, and the sounds coming from the rookeries.

Turtle hotel

Nesting

 

 

Wakodahatchee is the place to see a wide variety of birds, turtles, and a few gators. What a great way to start the new year.

A question has arisen as to when was the last verified sighting of Haleigh. In the interview I did with Chelsea in August 2010 she talked briefly about Grandma Sykes bringing laundry over to the trailer on Green Lane. She also touches on the sleeping arrangements in the trailer on Green Lane.

Steven Kerry Brown

The following is a transcription of an interview I conducted with Chelsea Croslin. As you may remember, Chelsea is married to Timmy Croslin, Misty’s brother. These are her words and I assume no liability for what she says or for her opinions.

Steve:           So Monday, Ronald picks up Haleigh with Misty and they go back to the trailer and then the AC guy comes over and  Tommy comes over late in the afternoon.

Chelsea:        Yeah, Tommy came over.

Steve:            Smoked a joint out front.

Chelsea:       Yep, they were watching the kids do wheelies on their bikes.

Steve:            Right, right, right.

202 Green Lane

Chelsea:         And then supposedly Granny came over.  A few hours after Tommy did.

Steve:            Did Misty tell you that?

Chelsea:      Um, well, not at first she didn’t but then it all started coming out with the media and with Granny saying that she had  come over with clean folded laundry.

Steve:            Uh huh.

Chelsea:      Um, which that’s the thing, I think that Granny and Teresa probably know what happened to Haleigh that night  too because why would they come over with folded clean laundry when Ronald had a washer and dryer at his own house.  I mean yes, Teresa, or not Teresa but um, Granny would always match Haleigh’s outfits when laundry was done and they were in baskets.  Granny would come over usually on the weekends, Saturday or Sunday and hang everything according to outfit.  From shirt to belt to pants.  Haleigh matched from top to bottom at all times.  And it would be all on a hanger in the closet.  In the closet would be outfits.  Perfect matched outfits all the way across the closet.  That way it would be easy for Misty to just grab an outfit, get her dressed in the mornings you know and take her to school.  Well to the bus stop or wherever we took her that day.  So, um, so yeah, Granny did do that part, but I don’t, Granny didn’t even have, as far as I know, I don’t even know if Granny has a washer and dryer in her house and if she does why would, why were they doing, that doesn’t make sense to me.  Why would she be doing their laundry? And bring it home folded at that because there were no drawers in the house.  And she just said on Nancy Grace like a month ago she brought home the folded laundry and put it away.  Well why would you fold Haleigh’s laundry when Haleigh didn’t have a drawer in her house and no one had no drawers, everything was hung in closets?

Steve:            So you had been in their trailer there…

Chelsea:            Oh, yeah, many times.

Click on the link below to see the floor plan of the mobil home at 202 Green Lane.

FloorPlan.tiff

Steve:            Let’s talk about the beds for a minute, ok?  What were the sleeping arrangements?

Chelsea:            Oh well, technically Haleigh you know had her own room and Junior had his.  They had toddler size beds.  Um.

Steve:            They weren’t on the floor?

Chelsea:            It is like crib mattresses up on the little plastic beds.  Like Haleigh had like a I don’t know, I don’t remember if hers was princess or one of those little characters and Junior had the little boy one and they were inside of like tents.  They had tents in their bedroom.  Like a Dora tent was in her room and the Spiderman one was in his room and that was where their beds were.  But they would just pull their mattresses off and usually throw them on the floor in the living room.  And they would sleep side by side in the living room in front of the TV and that’ is where they would sleep pretty much every night.  That is where I always saw them asleep.  Um, you know or they would get in bed with Misty sometimes, but.

Steve:            Misty and Ron had separate bedrooms?

Chelsea:            They had their own bedroom.  It was a three-bedroom house, yes.  Everybody had their own room, but the kids usually ended up pulling their mattress into the living room because they didn’t have TV’s in their rooms.  Um, and they, Ronald’s family was a lot more strict on them then obviously Misty was.  Eight o’clock lights, no TV, no nothing.  Everybody has to be asleep.  And no kid in the world follows that.  I mean no kid that I know follows that rule.  I’m sure as heck none of our kids did.  So, Misty would put the TV on because that’s the best way to make the kids fall asleep is to a movie you know.  So, if somebody would come over or something like me and Misty would be like on the porch or something like that and if we seen like Granny or something like that pull up I would run inside like I was going to the bathroom and like shut off the TV and be like Granny is here and the kids would like throw the blankets over their heads and pretend like they were sleeping.  Because you know, they knew that they would be in big trouble by Ronald if they got caught being awake after 8:00 pm.  Ronald was always very strict on everything.  And the kids were always very on edge with him they were always scared of getting in trouble.  A yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes sir, no sir to everybody.  That is how Haleigh and Junior spoke.  I mean very, very well respected children.  I couldn’t believe that a man raised them two kids the way that they were you know.  They were very respectful.  They were just, they are awesome kids they are, but they were always on edge of Ronald and they would be scared of anything that they could get themselves in trouble.

Steve:            So it is very possible that, that night, I’m talking I guess that Monday night now right?

Chelsea:            Yeah. Monday night.

Steve:            Haleigh would have been in her bed and Ronald Junior in another bedroom in his bed?

Chelsea:            Well, no because they usually didn’t sleep in their bedrooms.  They like barely every, I mean like if they did sleep in their bedroom it was probably because one other them were in trouble and they got sent to their room and they fell asleep on their bed and they went to sleep in there.  But otherwise they didn’t go to sleep in their rooms, I mean they always slept usually the mattresses were on the floor in the living room or sometimes they would go on the floor in Misty’s room and Misty would just lay in her bed and watch a movie and the kids would be on you know their beds.  So that is why I’m like I can see Haleigh’s bed being where it was and.

Steve:            Where was it?

Chelsea:            On the side of Misty’s bed.  There was a little toddler mattress right there.  But I just don’t really get I mean see even that, I don’t know, because if Haleigh is gonna sleep on her bed then Junior’s mattress I would have think, I would have thought would have been in there too.  He would have been on his.  Why would he be in Misty’s bed but Haleigh not be in Misty’s bed like either they both would have been in the bed with her sleeping or they wouldn’t have, they both would have been on their own mattresses.  It was never one or the other.  Haleigh and Junior always needed to be near each other.

Steve:            So sometimes you said that they would drag the mattress out into the living room and watch TV, right?

Chelsea:            Yeah, well this night the mattress was drug into Misty’s bedroom but only one.

Steve:            Well, I don’t know what the police report says about where the mattresses were…

Chelsea:            Yeah, like the mattress was …

Steve:            I saw the Nancy Grace thing.

Chelsea:            Yeah, right against the wall right here.

Steve:            Obviously that was days later and you don’t really know.

Chelsea:            Yeah, you don’t really know where everything was that night. 

So it seems the deeper we look into what happened the night Haleigh disappeared the more confusing things appear. In any investigation, the truth comes out though interviews of witnesses, physical facts/evidence  and sometimes, if you’re lucky, confessions from subjects.