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Post by Admin on Mar 20, 2017 20:06:07 GMT
Investigators put out an urgent call Sunday for help finding Tennessee high school freshman Elizabeth Thomas, who disappeared along with an armed former teacher a week ago, according to authorities who said they were deeply concerned "about his intentions for her." The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Tad Cummins, 50, had possibly planned the kidnapping on March 13 of Elizabeth, 15, who attends Culleoka Unit School in Maury County, near the Alabama border. The TBI has added Cummins, who has been charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor, to its list of most wanted fugitives. It warned Sunday that he is believed to be armed with two handguns and should be considered dangerous. Authorities said there had been no credible sightings of Elizabeth or of Cummins since Monday, when she was seen in Decatur, Alabama — the same day that grim posts appeared on her and Cummins' social media accounts, NBC affiliate WSMV of Nashville, Tennessee, reported.
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Post by Admin on Mar 23, 2017 20:15:30 GMT
- It has been nine days since 15-year-old Mary Catherine Elizabeth Thomas disappeared. For her family, her absence is excruciating. The last time anyone in her family saw Thomas, it was early March 13. She left with a somber warning. "She woke up her older sister and said 'Hey I'm leaving, but if I'm not back by 6 o'clock, come looking for me,'" Thomas's sister-in-law Danielle Thomas told WHNT News 19. She said they didn't even know anything was wrong until they saw the Amber Alert. "We were shocked and dumbfounded. We just couldn't believe it. You think that's going to happen to your neighbor, you don't think that's going to happen to you," she said.
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Post by Admin on Mar 31, 2017 20:16:52 GMT
Updated at 4:44 p.m. to show TBI determined Tad Cummins and Elizabeth Thomas were not sighted in Collierville, Tennessee today. Tennessee authorities investigated but couldn't substantiate a possible sighting this afternoon of Tad Cummins, the ex-teacher accused of abducting Elizabeth Thomas. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it has confirmed Cummins was not the person spotted at a gas station in Collierville, Tennessee. A former student of Cummins told Inside Edition in an interview that aired this week that the ex-teacher wrote a love song for her years ago. Although Destany Parrish says nothing inappropriate ever happened, the two were close when she was his student. Parrish shared audio footage with Inside Edition that she claims is Cummins singing the song to her at the school. Authorities are encouraging the public to share information about the Amber Alert with anyone they know south of the U.S. border. While investigators don't have any information placing Thomas and Cummins in Mexico, they say it's possible the two have made it that far. Mexican police have been notified about the case.
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Post by Admin on Apr 1, 2017 19:54:48 GMT
The Tennessee teacher and 15-year-old girl who are the subject of a manhunt were spotted at a Walmart in Oklahoma City earlier this month, the first confirmed sighting of the two since officials say the teacher kidnapped the girl. Surveillance images released Friday show Cummins and Thomas at a Walmart on East I-240 Service Road in Oklahoma City on the afternoon of March 15. There, Cummins used cash to purchase various food items, according to the TBI. The images show that Cummins has darkened his hair and that Thomas may have red hair now, the TBI said in a statement. Investigators are working to determine what vehicle they were using. Law enforcement officials believe Cummins is armed with two handguns and driving a silver Nissan Rogue with Tennessee plates.
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Post by Admin on Apr 5, 2017 20:15:31 GMT
Under a sun-splashed sky Wednesday morning, Elizabeth Thomas' father stood quietly staring at a sapling placed before him, its new green leaves blowing in the wind. Shortly after, the tree was planted in honor of his missing 15-year-old daughter, who disappeared from her Columbia, Tenn. home last month. The girl, along with her former teacher Tad Cummins — a 50-year-old man wanted on an aggravating kidnapping charge in the case — remained at the center of a statewide Tennessee Amber Alert out of Maury County on Wednesday. "We all want you home. We all need you home, " Anthony Thomas said in hopes his daughter would somehow hear his plea for a safe return. In a move initiated by the Tennessee Board of Parole, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, the Department of Correction and the Tennessee Rehabilitative Initiative in Correction, 10 trees including the one for Elizabeth Thomas, are being planted across the state this week to observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, established by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to promote awareness for victims’ rights and services.
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