Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Tennessee Amber Alert update: Teacher & 10th grader could be ‘far away’

Episode Date: March 21, 2017

The male teacher who is on the run with a 10th grade girl could be “far away” from their Tennessee town hometown, according to investigators. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is calling on people across the country to keep an eye out for Tad Cummins and Elizabeth Thomas, who they think may be camping in rural areas to avoid being found. Nancy Grace and Alan Duke update the search for Cummins, 50, who is wanted for the aggravated kidnapping of Thomas, 15. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. The case to find Elizabeth Thomas has gone cold and now law enforcement is hoping to widen the net to bring Elizabeth home. We really need the public to realize that this young girl is in danger. This is Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Elizabeth was last seen in Columbia. Investigators say that she is with Tad Cummins. TBI says that Cummins was a teacher. She's 15, he's 50. He's now facing a charge in which the district attorney has confirmed her to be the victim. Investigators are now going on the theory that Cummins has taken Elizabeth either to an area outside the public or outside the southeast. They're missing. They could be anywhere.

We want her home. We want him in custody. If you see them, don't approach them. Cummins may be armed. It has now been a week and still no sign of a schoolgirl from Tennessee. She is gone. Her high school teacher, Tad Cummins, now charged with kidnapping the little girl after another student reports seeing him kissing the little girl in class. Everything has gone sideways. The case is cold and somewhere out there is a 50-year-old high school teacher with a 15-year-old girl, a very vulnerable girl, and according to police, this guy is armed with at least two guns. He is currently charged with aggravated kidnapping,

as well as sex contact with a minor. In the last hours, the TBI gives a presser. Everyone, I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. Listen to what police have just said. One week ago today, Elizabeth Thomas vanished from Columbia, Tennessee. Our efforts to locate her and the man believed to have kidnapped her remain active and ongoing, but to this point have produced no credible sightings or actionable information about their whereabouts. The individuals could be anywhere, and the TBI continues to urge national vigilance in the ongoing effort to locate the missing girl and apprehend her alleged kidnapper. Thomas, 15 years old, disappeared on Monday, March

13th and is believed to have been kidnapped by 50 year old Tad Cummings, a former teacher at her school in Murray County, Tennessee. On Tuesday, the school district in Murray County terminated Cummins in the wake of an ongoing criminal investigation into alleged inappropriate contact he had with Thomas at the school earlier this year. As of earlier this afternoon, the TBI had received more than 450 leads. The lack of confirmed sightings, however, continues to lead TBI to believe Cummins could have Thomas hidden from view of the general public or far away from Tennessee. Thomas is again 15 years old, female with hazel eyes, standing five foot tall and weighing 120

pounds, last seen wearing a flannel shirt and black leggings. Cummins is a white male, six foot tall, weighing approximately 200 pounds and has brown hair and eyes. He is believed to be armed with two handguns, as you know, and believed to be driving a silver Nissan Rogue with Tennessee tag 976ZPT. Warrants have been issued for Cummins, charging him with sexual contact with a minor as well as aggravated kidnapping. On Friday, as you know, the TBI added Cummins to its top 10 most wanted list here in the state of Tennessee. There's currently a $1,000 reward for information leading to his capture. As you just hear, police are convinced that Tad Cummins has taken this little girl far away from Tennessee or is hiding in a

rural area. I have reason to believe this guy is, quote, off the grid. We have information that he took out a title loan on his silver Nissan Rogue the week before he makes off with this little girl. This was clearly planned, Alan. What do you think? Well, it was planned on his part, but I doubt that it was really planned on her part, because we now see this new photograph that they've just released of her leaving her friend's house, and she's hardly carrying anything. She doesn't have a suitcase pack. Well, you know, another thing along those lines, he may have said, hey, I'm going to take you away from all this. I mean, what hasn't been discussed a whole lot is the fact that this little girl had no mother.

The mother has been out of her life for years. The mother had 10 children. Five of them are minors. So this little girl has a single dad as a parent who's working, and she's getting, I don't know what kind of attention, if any, at home. I don't know how you can get any attention when you have five children with one parent who has to work to support you. So she's in a vulnerable position right now without a mother or a mother figure, and then this teacher enters. Hey, let's talk about, I mean, for all I know, he took her and says, I'm going to take you away from all this. And she probably had no idea she wouldn't be able to communicate with her

grandparents, with her father. You know, I was looking at her postings as well as his, Alan Duke, and one of her last social media postings was, every beauty needs her beast to protect her from everyone but him. That was what she posted just that morning that she disappeared. He's got this girl totally brainwashed. Tell me about the new pictures, Alan. The new picture shows her she's wearing this plaid shirt and just walking out. It appears that it was from a security camera at maybe the home at the home where she had spent the night keep in mind it was not a school day because it was a teacher work day so she wasn't dressed as if she were going to school okay uh alan just so you know you need to tune into disney because that's how all the girls dress now i mean you need to check out um i don't know

wizards of waverly place live and maddie i mean just just you need to check out, I don't know, Wizards of Waverly Place, Liv and Maddie. I mean, just go spend a couple hours there. I don't think I'll be doing that. This is how girls dress now to go to school, to go out. She's got on her black Converse tennis shoes, black leggings, and kind of a tannish brown plaid shirt. And she's got her hair back. She's wearing her glasses.

And you're right, Alan Duke. She looks like maybe she's carrying a backpack with she's wearing her glasses and you're right Alan Duke she looks like maybe she's carrying a backpack with her a school backpack or something. She doesn't have things like you would think she was going on a trip. Josh Devine the TBI spokesman told us more about what they're finding out about the way that Tad Cummings was grooming her and how he was possibly taking advantage of what he said, her home life, which, quote, may not be the best. Let's listen. You know, part of our investigation right now

is trying to determine how we got to this point. And we've previously disclosed that Cummings had a troubling pattern of behavior. And increasingly, everything that we're learning about him does nothing to calm our fears and our concerns for her. She is definitely a victim. She may not realize that she's a victim, but she is certainly a victim. She needs help. She needs our best efforts and she needs the attention of this country to be on the lookout for her. Her home situation, as you've heard from other folks, may not be the best,

but her family loves her. Her brothers and sisters love her. Her dad loves her. Her mom loves her, I'm sure. Her community loves her. They want her home, and we want her home as well. Alan, before we dip back into that press conference by the Tennessee law enforcement, I want to thank our sponsor today,

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you choose. CrimeCon.com. Now, let's get straight back to the presser with the Tennessee law enforcement. Please, let's go. In the name of due diligence, the TBI would like to encourage property owners, especially in rural areas, to search their grounds for these individuals, the vehicle, or any sign of suspicious activity and report that to 1-800-TBI-FIND. The TBI would also like to encourage campgrounds, parks, other isolated areas to remain vigilant and be on the lookout for these individuals. To that end, large parking lots, parking garages as well, should also be searched for the vehicle described in the Amber Alert. And if you happen to find that vehicle, do give us a call at 1-800-TBI-FIND. The TBI would also urge the public to remain vigilant and report any information that might prove beneficial in this ongoing search to 1-800-TBI-FIND.

And by all means, if you find yourself driving down the road behind that vehicle, that silver Nissan Rogue with Tennessee tag 976-ZPT, pick up your phone and dial 911 immediately. Don't call 1-800-TB. I find in those types of situations, time is of the essence and we need to get local law enforcement to your location as soon as possible. Alan, what do you think about the possibility that Tad Cummings is, as they say, off the grid, either sleeping in the car or camping out with this girl, this 15-year-old girl? What are the police thinking about that? They've not used their debit or credit cards. In college, I took a road trip once to Panama City, and I didn't have a credit card with me. I had to sleep on the beach, literally slept

in the sand. Where are they going to sleep if you're on the road and you don't have a credit card? They have to use cash. And that's unusual. And that, I think, would call attention to them. So the TBI believes that they may be camping. And so they're putting out the word, by the way, for all people in campgrounds anywhere in the country to look out for these people. You know, another thing is the fact that I believe that they have altered their appearance, Alan. I really do. From cutting their hair to dyeing their hair to him possibly cutting off his beard.

Everyone, the second Amber Alert for a Tennessee girl who disappears with her teacher. This is a blonde student. She's about 120 pounds, about 5'5". She appears to be thin. We are just finding out that new video has been released as well from a Walmart. What can you tell me about the new video, which you can find on crimeonline.com? What do we know about the Walmart video? This was taken several days before they disappeared,

before he fled with this child, and it is him shopping at a Walmart. The reason that they've released it now is because it is the most recent video to show what he looks like, although they do acknowledge that he may have changed his appearance. On those photos, you see Cummings wearing a green camouflage hat, a navy blue jacket, and walking around the store. I'd be very curious to find out what he was stocking up on because I really think that he planned this far in advance. I don't know if she knew about it, but I believe he knew about it.

This all started on January 23, when a student goes into a classroom to catch Cummings kissing the little girl, and goes and reports it. Then both Elizabeth Thomas, the little girl, and Tad Cummings deny that anything happened. So the school did nothing. He stayed in the classroom. She was supposed to go to a different class. But according to her father's lawyer, the dad checked the cell phone. Oh, he wasn't told. Several days went by before the father was even told about the incident.

And when he checked her phone, Alan, he found out the dirty old man is still communicating with his daughter. It was only on February the 6th when the father's lawyer wrote a scathing letter to the school board saying, what's this that's going on? What's this we hear? We've not been notified. It was only then that they finally suspended Tad Cummings from teaching. He was in the classroom until that day. Good gravy. I mean, I don't get it, but that is water under the bridge.

That's over with. What I'm thinking about now is where we can catch this, how we can catch this guy. How can we bring Elizabeth home? Now, what about his wife making we can catch this, how we can catch this guy. How can we bring Elizabeth home? Now, what about his wife making a public plea going, Tad, this isn't you. Please bring Elizabeth home. I'm sure that that was just like water off a duck's back. That meant nothing. Well, she knew this child. In fact, according to the personnel file and the other information that we've obtained concerning this incident, this child was going to church with Tad Cummins and his wife. They would pick her up and take her to church.

So Jill Cummins was very aware of this child, but I would assume not aware of the close relationship. You know, everyone, the Tennessee law enforcement has just had a major presser. Let's listen. For us, it's all about trying to manage the possibilities. You know, you think about anything that could happen over the course of a week. They could be anywhere. They could have additional resources. They could be in a different vehicle. You know, as you go longer with these types of things, the possibilities make these so much more complicated and make it so much more difficult for our folks to try to sort through and sift through? You know, I have studied the law carefully in Tennessee,

and when there is an aggravated kidnapping charge, Alan, if you bring the person back, if the person is returned safely, or you give information to get the victim returned safely. That is, under the law, mitigating evidence that reduces your sentence to a great extent. And that is just what Tennessee officials are urging. Listen to this powerful message law enforcement sends to not only Tad Cummings, but Elizabeth Thomas. Our message to Elizabeth is, we're still coming for you. We're going to do everything in our possibility,

everything in our capabilities to bring you home. Your family wants you here. Your friends want you here. To Tad, we would say the same thing his wife said on Friday. You have an opportunity here to do the right thing. This is not who you are. This is not who your church knows you to be. This is not who your family knows you to be. This is not who your grandkids know you to be. Do the right thing. Give her up. Turn yourself in. Bring her home. Tad Cummins has now been added to the TBI's top 10 most wanted. This high school teacher

accused of kidnapping his little girl student, Elizabeth Thomas. There is a reward for information leading to his arrest. So far, the TBI investigation suggests that this teacher may have been abusing his role as a teacher to groom this vulnerable little girl with no mom for a long time in his effort to lure and sexually exploit her. That is what we know now. There's a statewide and a nationwide Amber Alert by the TBI. Now, as the TBI Josh Devine spokesperson says, she may not even realize that she's a victim, but she is a victim. And he swears he is not giving up on her. She needs help. And she needs us to help her. Alan, what can we do? No matter where you are in the country, you can check around parking lots, any garages,

if you own rural property, is there anybody camping on your property that fit the description of these two people? Because they may be camping, may be hiding off the grid, as the law enforcement said. They could be anywhere in the country by now because it's been so many days that you could have traveled.

They could be in Washington State and thousands of miles away. Well, I believe that they've probably ditched the car, but if they ditch the car now, what will they have? Guys, please go to crimeonline.com. Look at the new photos that have just been released. Look at the surveillance video. This guy, according to police, is armed and dangerous.

He's got nothing to lose now, and I don't want this to turn into some Romeo-Juliet scenario where they both end up dead. One more time, I want to thank CrimeCon for sponsoring our podcast today to get the word out about a little girl in danger, Elizabeth Thomas. CrimeCon is going down June 9, Friday to June 11, Sunday in Indianapolis. All of you amateur sleuths, crime busters, even the pros, join us at CrimeCon. Alan and I will be podcasting live from CrimeCon, and I would love to meet you, along with major figures in the crime-fighting world. We'll have Cheryl McCollum from the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute,

a lot of your favorite podcasters like Payne Lindsey from Up and Vanished. You know everybody is converging to join together and find out the latest in crime-fighting. Let's put our heads together so we can continue the good fight. CrimeCon, Indianapolis, June 9. Be there. Nancy Grace, signing off. Crime Stories. Goodbye, friend.

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