Capt. Dick Schauland of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office told reporters during an afternoon briefing that the man, a cousin of Haleigh's father's girlfriend, was interviewed after detectives learned of him early in the investigation and was subsequently ruled out.
The man left Florida after trying to steal a gun from the Cummings' home, according to Haleigh's grandmother. Schauland wouldn't identify him.
"He is family, and we don't want to embarrass family members in any way," Schauland said.
Following all leads
With no sign of Haleigh for 12 days, Schauland said investigators from several agencies are sorting through more than 1,600 leads and have logged more than 4,700 hours on the search. Nearly a third of the department's 17 detectives are working full time on the case, Schauland said.
Volunteer searchers have contributed an additional 4,000 hours combing wooded areas around Haleigh's home, he said.
Haleigh vanished Feb. 10 from the home of her father, Ronald Cummings, and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Misty Croslin, who has been questioned several times by detectives as the last person to see her. Croslin said she put Haleigh and her then-3-year-old brother to bed, and when she awoke about 3 a.m., the little girl was gone.
Schauland said there were no official ground searches for Haleigh on Saturday and none planned for today but volunteers were back out Saturday morning.
Trouble with media
Later Saturday, Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera got into a confrontation with Cummings and was essentially run off the property.
Cummings got upset when Rivera said he'd been told by members of Haleigh's mother's family that Cummings hit the child and has said he is 75 percent sure he knows who has her.
Cummings vehemently denied the allegations and making any such statements and told Rivera he was calling police before pleading again for whoever has his daughter to return her.
Police previously declined to say whether Croslin's cousin was a suspect. Haleigh's grandmother said she told investigators about him.
The cousin left the same morning Haleigh disappeared.
Croslin said Friday the man "messed with her" as a child but she didn't think he was listed as a sex offender.
Police also have been looking into a tip received Thursday night that Haleigh was spotted at a Carrabba's restaurant in Knoxville, Tenn., with a man who drove a red pickup truck.
Schauland didn't discuss that tip; police have previously said they don't know if it has any connection to Haleigh.
Schauland said detectives are considering every tip.
"Some of them end up nowhere, but they have to be run down nonetheless because you never know when the one that's going to solve the case will come up," he said.
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