Found Safe TN - Mary Catherine Elizabeth Thomas, 15, Maury County, 13 March 2017 #12

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JerseyGirl

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15-year-old Mary Catherine Elizabeth Thomas may be in the area of Decatur, Alabama.

She is white, blonde hair, hazel eyes, 5 feet 5 inches and 120 pounds. She was last seen wearing a flannel shirt and black leggings.

Thomas is believed to be in the company of 50-year-old Tad Cummins, a white male, 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, brown hair and brown eyes. He is believed to be armed with two handguns and driving a Silver Nissan Rogue with Tennessee tag number 976ZPT.

ElizabethThomasMissingChild16x9_1489527855127_8971019_ver1.0.JPG


http://wate.com/2017/03/14/statewide-endangered-child-alert-for-missing-middle-tennessee-teen/
http://www.waff.com/story/34847631/endangered-tn-runaway-may-be-in-decatur-area
http://www.wbir.com/news/crime/statewide-endangered-child-alert-issued-for-missing-teen/422561108

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Witness at school considered Tad Cummins a ‘mentor,’ but reported seeing him kiss Elizabeth Thomas
Posted Mar 20, 2017
Updated at 9:47 AM

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Elizabeth Thomas growled at the student who reported her for kissing former Culleoka teacher Tad Cummins inside his classroom, her family told The Daily Herald, but otherwise the two had no contact with the witness after she turned them in.

Cummins was inside his classroom after school Jan. 23 with his grandson and Thomas, the girl told family members, when she walked in and inexplicably saw them kissing. Cummins and Thomas were sitting side by side in chairs and kissed on the lips as the grandchild, who also attends Culleoka, was using one of the classroom's computers.

"She was shocked and walked out of the classroom," a family member said. "She didn't expect that. She didn't know why it was happening. She thought of Tad as someone who really cared about his students and had a hard time with what she saw. She went home, told her mother, and knew what she had to do — report him the next morning."
 
Amber Alert: Family doesn’t think Elizabeth Thomas left willingly
Published: March 29, 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – While more than 1,000 tips have poured in to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, an Amber Alert remains in effect for Elizabeth Thomas and her former teacher Tad Cummins.

Authorities held a joint press conference Tuesday where they stressed the relationship between Thomas and Cummins was not a romance.

“Grooming, because that is exactly what was going on. You had a 50-year-old educated man who was obviously trying to convince this venerable 15-year-old girl that being in a relationship with him was the right thing to do,” said Cooper.

<snip>

DA Cooper said Tuesday that Mexican law enforcement was notified of the Amber Alert for Thomas. And while investigators say they don&#8217;t have any substantial tips that lead them to believe the two have crossed the border, but they are not ruling anything out.
 
TBI: Elizabeth Thomas, Tad Cummins were spotted in Oklahoma

March 31, 2017

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has confirmed a sighting of 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas, along with Tad Cummins, the 50-year-old man suspected in her kidnapping earlier this month.

Based on a Thursday tip, investigators obtained surveillance images from a Walmart in Oklahoma City, Okla. on the afternoon of March 15th.

TBI officials say Cummins used cash to purchase various food items but did not purchase anything of significance.

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Back to the discussion of sentencing-
I think Elizabeth's testimony will certainly come into play during Any plea deal.
Example-if she says that she went willingly,was fed , clothed,not sexually assaulted, or abused in any way then I could totally see him getting a plea deal for a shortened sentence.

But if she says she was forced to go , abused in any way ( I don't even want to think about it but we all know what I mean ) then that may be used against any plea deals .

I think some of this will hinge on her testimony but not all of it. Here's why - obviously Tad knew it was wrong to groom, coerce and take a 15 yr old girl. There's no way around that. He has to know this is a kidnapping even if she went willingly because she's a child. She can't make those decisions yet.

So I do think Tad will definitely be in some big trouble,the extent is yet to be seen. The state will need Elizabeth Thomas to testify against Tad to an extent for maximum punishment but even if she doesn't , they still have enough right now to send Tad up the creek.
 
I was chatting with a friend last night and she brought up a good question-
Is it possible that Law enforcement knows what vehicle Tad was driving on 3-15 Walmart sighting and didn't release it to the public because they didn't want to tip Tad off ? Maybe it's tagged in all police computers so will register a hit if law enforcement happens to scan it ?
I just find it hard to believe that they have the Walmart video but wouldn't know what car was used that day ? Surely surrounding stores and homes also had security cameras so even if they parked elsewhere, I would assume that it may have been picked up on security footage somewhere in the surrounding area ?

I guess it's a possibility at this point?! Who knows? But I must say that I never thought this would go on this long. I really thought they'd have been found by now!! It's going on 4 weeks!
 
Her father's attorney said the family believes there are classmates, friends and teachers who may know more information that could help in the search for Elizabeth, but added that he feels some people may be intimidated or scared to talk to authorities.

"Perhaps the most concerning element has been the hesitancy of some persons to fully cooperate in sharing information that they know," Whatley said.

http://www.knssradio.com/articles/a...seeks-depose-witnesses-hopes-finding-daughter
 
I was chatting with a friend last night and she brought up a good question-
Is it possible that Law enforcement knows what vehicle Tad was driving on 3-15 Walmart sighting and didn't release it to the public because they didn't want to tip Tad off ? Maybe it's tagged in all police computers so will register a hit if law enforcement happens to scan it ?
I just find it hard to believe that they have the Walmart video but wouldn't know what car was used that day ? Surely surrounding stores and homes also had security cameras so even if they parked elsewhere, I would assume that it may have been picked up on security footage somewhere in the surrounding area ?

I guess it's a possibility at this point?! Who knows? But I must say that I never thought this would go on this long. I really thought they'd have been found by now!! It's going on 4 weeks!

I'm sure they have more video from Walmart, otherwise how would they know that TC bought some food items?
 
The witness list will be sealed:

Judge Stella Hargrove sealed the witness list at Whatley&#8217;s request.
&#8220;To avoid harm to these witnesses such as potential embarrassment and harassment, as well as public scrutiny, this document should be sealed,&#8221; Whatley argued. &#8220;Certain issues have arised that establish an immediate threat of irreparable harm to the witnesses that this court would be justified [in sealing the list].&#8221;

http://www.columbiadailyherald.com/...-witnesses-to-testify-in-case-against-cummins

Through witness depositions, the petition also sets the stage for a future lawsuit against Cummins, including an order of protection and possible civil lawsuits.

The family&#8217;s interview of witnesses would run parallel to law enforcement. The TBI, the lead agency in the case, said it has received and investigated more than 1,200 tips. A Maury County Sheriff said his deputies have been spending 12-14-hour shifts on investigations.
 
I'm sure they have more video from Walmart, otherwise how would they know that TC bought some food items?
Yes
They certainly have the entire Walmart video but what I'm wondering is what other videos do they potentially have?
Do they know he was driving the rogue? Do they know he was driving another car? I'm interested in what more they have. ( I know that it probably won't be released to the public though)
 
Yes
They certainly have the entire Walmart video but what I'm wondering is what other videos do they potentially have?
Do they know he was driving the rogue? Do they know he was driving another car? I'm interested in what more they have. ( I know that it probably won't be released to the public though)

IMO I'm thinking since it was only two days later, they were probably confirmed on camera as being in the same car (especially since TC was looking up different things about traveling in the Nissan) so LE haven't said anything about the car because there's no real update on it. They probably don't want to state what they know in the rare case they are still in that car so people will still be on the look out for it.
 

This was so helpful to me in terms of trying to catch up in here after a full day offline. Thanks, Jersey ! I hope you keep doing these "where we left off" updates at the start of each new thread.
 
IMO I'm thinking since it was only two days later, they were probably confirmed on camera as being in the same car (especially since TC was looking up different things about traveling in the Nissan) so LE haven't said anything about the car because there's no real update on it. They probably don't want to state what they know in the rare case they are still in that car so people will still be on the look out for it.
That's
A good&#8203; point
 
While I do believe that the state can absolutely prove their case beyond any reasonable doubt ( because they can prove she was coerced and groomed) I would imagine that Tad's defense will try to say she went willingly.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/03/28/us/tennessee-teacher-manhunt-state-kidnapping-law/index.html
I'm sure his defense is going to be that she told him she needed his help to get away from something bad.

The problem here are the emails. TC evidently didn't think the drafts were saved on the server. From what TBI said at that presser, they saw in the emails some very specific things. They had used the word "romantic" at first. I understood what he was saying but many took that as something consensual.

I took it as it was very clear he pursued her, likely knew it was illegal. He has also been charged with sexual contact with a minor. I would be surprised if that is from a kiss. My guess is either in those emails or something else they haven't talked about, they have found something that discusses sexual contact.

All we know about the emails is the one statement they made about one email, where he made the comment about one of her body parts. They said they wouldn't talk about the other emails.

There is information they haven't released to the public and there is likely info they haven't even released to the families. There almost always is info like that in any case.

I would also expect there to be more charges after this is over. During that last presser they were very clear to say that this was an abduction and wanted the public to know that. Since they were pretty forceful in these statements, my guess is they have some pretty solid, damning info in their possession that supports the charge of kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor.

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Yes
They certainly have the entire Walmart video but what I'm wondering is what other videos do they potentially have?
Do they know he was driving the rogue? Do they know he was driving another car? I'm interested in what more they have. ( I know that it probably won't be released to the public though)
If they knew for sure what car they were in, I would be surprised of they didn't release that. They are still needing sightings. I guess there could be a specific reason why they might not release this info, but they told us they were trying to find out what car they were in. Also they have just the one sighting and knowing the car is very important to get help from the public. I just can't imagine right now with nothing for 3 weeks they wouldn't release that info if they had that for sure.

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If they knew for sure what car they were in, I would be surprised of they didn't release that. They are still needing sightings. I guess there could be a specific reason why they might not release this info, but they told us they were trying to find out what car they were in. Also they have just the one sighting and knowing the car is very important to get help from the public. I just can't imagine right now with nothing for 3 weeks they wouldn't release that info if they had that for sure.

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I find it hard to believe that knowing exactly what time they walked in, they couldn't then look in the parking lot and see what kind of car they came from. Especially given the amount of time it has been since this was initially released and the fact that this is the only known confirmed sighting so you would think it would be getting a lot of work put into it.

edit: I think they know but aren't releasing it for whatever reason (i.e. not worth reporting or it is a lead they are following)
 
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