Found Safe TN - MCET, 15, Abducted by Teacher, in Maury County, 13 March 2017 #17 *ARREST*

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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

ARREST AFFIDAVIT
Motion in Support of Detention - Filed 4/24/17

Father of Abducted Teen Speaks Out for First Time Since Reunion


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MCElizabethsSISTER

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Amber Alert: Elizabeth Thomas found safe in Northern California; Former teacher arrested
Apr 20, 2017

The TBI says they have found missing 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas safe in Northern California.

Her former teacher, Tad Cummins, has been arrested in connection to her kidnapping.

A spokesperson for the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department said Cummins' Nissan Rogue was found late Wednesday night. The vehicle's original license plate had been removed, but officials were able to confirm the vehicle through its VIN.
 
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Read the People article and at first I thought it was terrible of LE to allow them to keep interacting once they were found. But after thinking about it I think they did that for her sake. Maybe it was some type of closure for her, she probably wanted to be close to him and she left first instead of seeing him hauled away. I wondered how all of that went down.

You make a very important point here, Bestill. I think that , as adults who see this whole thing for exactly what it is, it may be difficult for some of us to wrap our heads around the fact that ET may have a very different perspective right now. She may not see Cummins the same way that an adult with a wealth of life experience to draw on sees him. And it may take her awhile to come to that point in her journey. But in that space of LE descending on them, it may actually have been better for ET emotionally to have calm and comfort in going their separate ways. (Hope my meaning isn't misconstrued here...I'm trying to tread carefully.)

I pray that her family continues to find the strength and patience they will need to help her become happy and whole again.
 
BBM

I've thought about this comment I'm about to make for days. I'm reluctant because I believe I will get flamed BUT I am wondering if anyone else has had questions about this.

On several news stories about ET's mother abusing the children, it says that the abuse started in November 2014 and the father took the children and left on November 2015. So is everyone else understanding this like I am? That the abuse went on for a year, with the father in the house and he didn't notice?
I'm having a real problem with this and am wondering if maybe this "neglect" contributed to ET's situation as the abuse from the mother did?

Flame away......

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2017/04/26/missing-student-tennessee/100921288/

Not flaming, I thought this would come up at some point & I just want to give you all the perspective of a kid who grew up in similar dynamics.


My dad worked long hours & had no clue what was going on in our house. Since we were toddlers (at least) we were manipulated into believing that he was "worse" than she was, that we should be thankful it was only her meting out the violent punishments & that we should also be grateful that she was "kind" enough to keep our "misbehaviour" secret from him so that he didn't get angry & punish us far worse.

We actively worked to hide the abuse from him because she had us convinced that he condoned it. He didn't.

I was an older teen before it began to dawn on me that my supposedly threatening & violent father had NEVER so much as raised a hand to me in anger much less whipped me with the leather belts he had hanging in his cupboard (I only knew about the belts because my mother would drag me into their room by the hair to threaten me & show me what I was in for if I didn't pull myself together & stop crying before he got home). The belief that he was "the bad one" had been so ingrained that realising it was all lies felt like the earth had just tipped off it's axis.

Despite that huge realisation though, the years of conditioning to keep secrets were impossible to overcome.

Sometimes she even claimed he had instructed her to punish us in particular ways if we did xy or z, so there was no point going crying to him - he'd told her to do it anyway. She had him playing a game of good cop/bad cop with us, but he alone had no idea the game existed. In doing so she placed herself in the position of the "nicer" parent while she simultaneously handed out all the violent punishments & daily psychological abuse.

He only found out what was going on when she completely lost it in front of him one day. I was 18 by then, but even decades after that I was never able to tell him the full extent of what would happen when he was at work, because that rule of silence was just so ingrained - it stopped me telling the school counsellors the truth too. Back then it was like I'd been rendered mute, but at the same time it felt like everyone should be able to tell just by looking at me - like every assault & insult was scrawled across my skin for all to read. & after so many years, the incidents all flowed into each other so I could barely formulate it all into recognisable thoughts for myself, much less express it verbally to others. On top of all that there's also the implanted belief that you're just a bad child who forces people to treat you harshly - so throw some guilt & shame into that mix for good measure. Shame is a great silencer.


Short version : My dad never had a clue because our abuser manipulated us so successfully that we actively & voluntarily worked to hide the truth from him & anyone else who might've helped us. By the time I was 7 or 8 we were so conditioned that we didn't even have to be told to lie & hide the truth, it was just an automatic reaction.

So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't assume that this dad knew but sat by & did nothing. It absolutely IS possible for one parent to be completely unaware the other is abusing their kids. As someone who's been through similar (albeit far milder) circumstances re abuse from a female parent & the inappropriate attentions of a teacher, I have nothing but respect & admiration for this dad & the way he's trying to help his daughter & her siblings through all of this. It sure as hell can't be easy :(
 
Not flaming, I thought this would come up at some point & I just want to give you all the perspective of a kid who grew up in similar dynamics.


My dad worked long hours & had no clue what was going on in our house. Since we were toddlers (at least) we were manipulated into believing that he was "worse" than she was, that we should be thankful it was only her meting out the violent punishments & that we should also be grateful that she was "kind" enough to keep our "misbehaviour" secret from him so that he didn't get angry & punish us far worse.

We actively worked to hide the abuse from him because she had us convinced that he condoned it. He didn't.

I was an older teen before it began to dawn on me that my supposedly threatening & violent father had NEVER so much as raised a hand to me in anger much less whipped me with the leather belts he had hanging in his cupboard (I only knew about the belts because my mother would drag me into their room by the hair to threaten me & show me what I was in for if I didn't pull myself together & stop crying before he got home). The belief that he was "the bad one" had been so ingrained that realising it was all lies felt like the earth had just tipped off it's axis.

Despite that huge realisation though, the years of conditioning to keep secrets were impossible to overcome.

Sometimes she even claimed he had instructed her to punish us in particular ways if we did xy or z, so there was no point going crying to him - he'd told her to do it anyway. She had him playing a game of good cop/bad cop with us, but he alone had no idea the game existed. In doing so she placed herself in the position of the "nicer" parent while she simultaneously handed out all the violent punishments & daily psychological abuse.

He only found out what was going on when she completely lost it in front of him one day. I was 18 by then, but even decades after that I was never able to tell him the full extent of what would happen when he was at work, because that rule of silence was just so ingrained - it stopped me telling the school counsellors the truth too. Back then it was like I'd been rendered mute, but at the same time it felt like everyone should be able to tell just by looking at me - like every assault & insult was scrawled across my skin for all to read. & after so many years, the incidents all flowed into each other so I could barely formulate it all into recognisable thoughts for myself, much less express it verbally to others. On top of all that there's also the implanted belief that you're just a bad child who forces people to treat you harshly - so throw some guilt & shame into that mix for good measure. Shame is a great silencer.


Short version : My dad never had a clue because our abuser manipulated us so successfully that we actively & voluntarily worked to hide the truth from him & anyone else who might've helped us. By the time I was 7 or 8 we were so conditioned that we didn't even have to be told to lie & hide the truth, it was just an automatic reaction.

So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't assume that this dad knew but sat by & did nothing. It absolutely IS possible for one parent to be completely unaware the other is abusing their kids. As someone who's been through similar (albeit far milder) circumstances re abuse from a female parent & the inappropriate attentions of a teacher, I have nothing but respect & admiration for this dad & the way he's trying to help his daughter & her siblings through all of this. It sure as hell can't be easy :(

Thanks just wasn't enough! Being able to share your story now speaks to the strength you now have! When Kat was posting here this was the impression I got. Dad didn't know what was going on and perhaps the kids did help to hide the fact they were being abused. JMO
 
Not flaming, I thought this would come up at some point & I just want to give you all the perspective of a kid who grew up in similar dynamics.


My dad worked long hours & had no clue what was going on in our house. Since we were toddlers (at least) we were manipulated into believing that he was "worse" than she was, that we should be thankful it was only her meting out the violent punishments & that we should also be grateful that she was "kind" enough to keep our "misbehaviour" secret from him so that he didn't get angry & punish us far worse.

We actively worked to hide the abuse from him because she had us convinced that he condoned it. He didn't.

I was an older teen before it began to dawn on me that my supposedly threatening & violent father had NEVER so much as raised a hand to me in anger much less whipped me with the leather belts he had hanging in his cupboard (I only knew about the belts because my mother would drag me into their room by the hair to threaten me & show me what I was in for if I didn't pull myself together & stop crying before he got home). The belief that he was "the bad one" had been so ingrained that realising it was all lies felt like the earth had just tipped off it's axis.

Despite that huge realisation though, the years of conditioning to keep secrets were impossible to overcome.

Sometimes she even claimed he had instructed her to punish us in particular ways if we did xy or z, so there was no point going crying to him - he'd told her to do it anyway. She had him playing a game of good cop/bad cop with us, but he alone had no idea the game existed. In doing so she placed herself in the position of the "nicer" parent while she simultaneously handed out all the violent punishments & daily psychological abuse.

He only found out what was going on when she completely lost it in front of him one day. I was 18 by then, but even decades after that I was never able to tell him the full extent of what would happen when he was at work, because that rule of silence was just so ingrained - it stopped me telling the school counsellors the truth too. Back then it was like I'd been rendered mute, but at the same time it felt like everyone should be able to tell just by looking at me - like every assault & insult was scrawled across my skin for all to read. & after so many years, the incidents all flowed into each other so I could barely formulate it all into recognisable thoughts for myself, much less express it verbally to others. On top of all that there's also the implanted belief that you're just a bad child who forces people to treat you harshly - so throw some guilt & shame into that mix for good measure. Shame is a great silencer.


Short version : My dad never had a clue because our abuser manipulated us so successfully that we actively & voluntarily worked to hide the truth from him & anyone else who might've helped us. By the time I was 7 or 8 we were so conditioned that we didn't even have to be told to lie & hide the truth, it was just an automatic reaction.

So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't assume that this dad knew but sat by & did nothing. It absolutely IS possible for one parent to be completely unaware the other is abusing their kids. As someone who's been through similar (albeit far milder) circumstances re abuse from a female parent & the inappropriate attentions of a teacher, I have nothing but respect & admiration for this dad & the way he's trying to help his daughter & her siblings through all of this. It sure as hell can't be easy :(

Thank you for sharing that. Many familiar parallels with my own childhood. Really makes you wonder how many kids grow up in similar circumstances.
 
Not flaming, I thought this would come up at some point & I just want to give you all the perspective of a kid who grew up in similar dynamics.


My dad worked long hours & had no clue what was going on in our house. Since we were toddlers (at least) we were manipulated into believing that he was "worse" than she was, that we should be thankful it was only her meting out the violent punishments & that we should also be grateful that she was "kind" enough to keep our "misbehaviour" secret from him so that he didn't get angry & punish us far worse.

We actively worked to hide the abuse from him because she had us convinced that he condoned it. He didn't.

I was an older teen before it began to dawn on me that my supposedly threatening & violent father had NEVER so much as raised a hand to me in anger much less whipped me with the leather belts he had hanging in his cupboard (I only knew about the belts because my mother would drag me into their room by the hair to threaten me & show me what I was in for if I didn't pull myself together & stop crying before he got home). The belief that he was "the bad one" had been so ingrained that realising it was all lies felt like the earth had just tipped off it's axis.

Despite that huge realisation though, the years of conditioning to keep secrets were impossible to overcome.

Sometimes she even claimed he had instructed her to punish us in particular ways if we did xy or z, so there was no point going crying to him - he'd told her to do it anyway. She had him playing a game of good cop/bad cop with us, but he alone had no idea the game existed. In doing so she placed herself in the position of the "nicer" parent while she simultaneously handed out all the violent punishments & daily psychological abuse.

He only found out what was going on when she completely lost it in front of him one day. I was 18 by then, but even decades after that I was never able to tell him the full extent of what would happen when he was at work, because that rule of silence was just so ingrained - it stopped me telling the school counsellors the truth too. Back then it was like I'd been rendered mute, but at the same time it felt like everyone should be able to tell just by looking at me - like every assault & insult was scrawled across my skin for all to read. & after so many years, the incidents all flowed into each other so I could barely formulate it all into recognisable thoughts for myself, much less express it verbally to others. On top of all that there's also the implanted belief that you're just a bad child who forces people to treat you harshly - so throw some guilt & shame into that mix for good measure. Shame is a great silencer.


Short version : My dad never had a clue because our abuser manipulated us so successfully that we actively & voluntarily worked to hide the truth from him & anyone else who might've helped us. By the time I was 7 or 8 we were so conditioned that we didn't even have to be told to lie & hide the truth, it was just an automatic reaction.

So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't assume that this dad knew but sat by & did nothing. It absolutely IS possible for one parent to be completely unaware the other is abusing their kids. As someone who's been through similar (albeit far milder) circumstances re abuse from a female parent & the inappropriate attentions of a teacher, I have nothing but respect & admiration for this dad & the way he's trying to help his daughter & her siblings through all of this. It sure as hell can't be easy :(

Thank you for sharing this. I think it is really important for people to see how it is possible that the father did not have all the information sooner. Very good insights here.
 
You make a very important point here, Bestill. I think that , as adults who see this whole thing for exactly what it is, it may be difficult for some of us to wrap our heads around the fact that ET may have a very different perspective right now. She may not see Cummins the same way that an adult with a wealth of life experience to draw on sees him. And it may take her awhile to come to that point in her journey. But in that space of LE descending on them, it may actually have been better for ET emotionally to have calm and comfort in going their separate ways. (Hope my meaning isn't misconstrued here...I'm trying to tread carefully.)

I pray that her family continues to find the strength and patience they will need to help her become happy and whole again.

I remember several years when Oprah announced that she was a victim of sex abuse from an uncle when she was a young teen. She explained that she felt guilty because at times she liked it but still knew it was wrong. I can't help but believe that ET is tossed about how she feels and felt. TC was all she had while they were on the run and she was a hostage but I don't think she realized that. I am glad that TC seemed to be calm when he was arrested (according to what we know) and I am imagining that ET wasn't scared of him. Had she been I'm sure that LE would have separated her! As far as we know local LE may have been taking direction from TBI on how to handle it.
 
I still believe in the father and he is best for her.
 
I see this WS group as a small community of a much larger group nationwide who are so glad this young girl got back alive. Not every story ends this way. There's so much hope for her future now.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
From what I understand, the school notified officials. They said no contact to TC. The very next day, he went on a field trip with ET. The father was never notified by the school. Two weeks after the incident, LE contacted the father about the kiss. The father then found out he was still employed at the school and still had consistent contact with ET. His lawyer wrote a letter two weeks later and that very same day, TC was suspended. (so a month after the incident). TC was not fired until the day after the abduction.
 
I see this WS group as a small community of a much larger group nationwide who are so glad this young girl got back alive. Not every story ends this way. There's so much hope for her future now.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thats such a lovely post. And you are right. She's alive. And receiving treatment. She has a chance!
 
Thank you for sharing this. I think it is really important for people to see how it is possible that the father did not have all the information sooner. Very good insights here.

I Just don't think this is a "Devil vs Angel situation.
http://www.crimeonline.com/2017/04/...rrified-of-her-mother-shes-a-horrible-person/

"The attorney for Elizabeth’s father Anthony Thomas appeared on “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,” and reiterated that Kimberly Thomas is a negative presence in Elizabeth’s life."

“She’s a horrible person,” Whatley said. “We can’t stand her.”

"Corey Ricci, the lawyer who filed the divorce complaint and the restraining order request for Anthony Thomas, also discussed the case on “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.”

"Thomas “made up his mind about filing for divorce a long time ago” but didn’t have the money necessary for the fight. But with Tad Cummins’ kidnapping of his daughter, he decided he could not delay the divorce any longer."

“It became all the more urgent to do it when Elizabeth returned,” the attorney said."

“One of the biggest concerns he had when Elizabeth returned was that the mother, Ms. Thomas, would take to the media again and start talking,” Ricci continued. “If [Elizabeth] has any exposure to her mother, it’s going to cause serious problems.”

I find it interesting to say the least, that dad didn't get the RO before ET's kidnapping. If someone was "stalking" my child, I would have immediately obtained an order of protection. Ditto for the divorce. ( How did he "decide" to be able to afford it now, when he states he couldn't before?).

Color me skeptical for suspecting some of this was designed to prevent an attempt by mom to claim any share in financial matters that might result from lawsuits.

Did ET and her siblings receive any type of counselling prior to the abduction? We know the "stalking" went unaddressed, the divorce was "un-affordable" (until now), and problems persisted for ET, both at home, and at school. I have to ask myself how come these matters became imperative only now?


<modsnip> but we really don't know what went down, for all those many years they co-parented these children. I am finding some of these interviews Dad gave somewhat exploitive. It never seems to end, for this kid. :(
 
(quote)
Jason Whatley, an attorney for the girl's father, Anthony Thomas, said the teen's abduction came after a chain of events that began January 23, when a Culleoka high school student allegedly saw Elizabeth and Cummins kissing in a classroom. The incident was reported to the school the next day, he said.
It was another week, Whatley said, before a detective with the Maury County Sheriff's Department notified Elizabeth's father, Anthony Thomas, of the allegations.
According to a letter Whatley sent to Superintendent Chris Marczak on February 6, Anthony Thomas called the school the next day, Feburary 1, and spoke to a woman who expressed regret that he had been "left in the dark," promised to keep him informed of further findings and assured him there would be no more contact between his daughter and Cummins.
Whatley wrote in his February 6 letter that since that February 1 call, Elizabeth had told her father she still had a class with Cummins, and her phone history indicated the two were still in contact.
"If it is true that contact between this student and Mr. Cummins has continued in light of these allegations, I can tell you that my client will use whatever legal means are at his disposal, including filing suit, to assist Maury County Schools in protecting (Elizabeth) from Mr. Cummins," the attorney wrote.
The school district said in a February 8 internal memo, provided to CNN by Whatley, that Elizabeth had been removed from Cummins' forensics class, and assertions she was still in his class were false.
 
completely agree with you safeguard...

perhaps he still can't afford it but it's become even more imperative AFTER the abduction & rescue to keep KT out of her life for recovery purposes? or perhaps, from a legal standpoint, the criminal suit (abuse), the civil suit (divorce), and the impending trial (abduction) should all be concurrent? I have no idea, just putting it out there. legal beagles could weigh in on this.
 
Any word when he will transfer back to TN? Thanks
 
completely agree with you safeguard...

perhaps he still can't afford it but it's become even more imperative AFTER the abduction & rescue to keep KT out of her life for recovery purposes? or perhaps, from a legal standpoint, the criminal suit (abuse), the civil suit (divorce), and the impending trial (abduction) should all be concurrent? I have no idea, just putting it out there. legal beagles could weigh in on this.

Yeah. In a perfect world...I suspect there were a lot of things that should have been done, that were imperative to her recovery, before this latest trauma ever occurred. jmo.
 
From what I understand, the school notified officials. They said no contact to TC. The very next day, he went on a field trip with ET. The father was never notified by the school. Two weeks after the incident, LE contacted the father about the kiss. The father then found out he was still employed at the school and still had consistent contact with ET. His lawyer wrote a letter two weeks later and that very same day, TC was suspended. (so a month after the incident). TC was not fired until the day after the abduction.

BBM

This kiss allegation was reported to the school on Jan. 24th. The school conducted it's investigation on Jan. 25th and 26th. On Jan. 27th, ET was removed from TC's class. Jan. 31st the school was contacted by LE and informed that Cummins was now the subject of a criminal investigation. January 31st is when deputies showed up at the house to question Mr. Thomas. That is 1 week (which included a Sat. and Sun.) not 2 weeks, so I don't know where this 2 weeks info is coming from. But anyway, my guess is that the school stepped back on the 31st because LE was involved.

http://wkrn.com/2017/03/21/maury-county-public-schools-release-tad-cummins-incident-timeline/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-a...ee-student-elizabeth-thomas/story?id=46273578
 
BBM

This kiss allegation was reported to the school on Jan. 24th. The school conducted it's investigation on Jan. 25th and 26th. On Jan. 27th, ET was removed from TC's class. Jan. 31st the school was contacted by LE and informed that Cummins was now the subject of a criminal investigation. January 31st is when deputies showed up at the house to question Mr. Thomas. That is 1 week (which included a Sat. and Sun.) not 2 weeks, so I don't know where this 2 weeks info is coming from. But anyway, my guess is that the school stepped back on the 31st because LE was involved.

http://wkrn.com/2017/03/21/maury-county-public-schools-release-tad-cummins-incident-timeline/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-a...ee-student-elizabeth-thomas/story?id=46273578

A few things. To begin with, the school didn't step back because they hadn't fully stepped in. They were bound by law to notify her father as soon as they were notified. Not the next day, or the week after, or two weeks after, but that day. That's educational law in every state, bound by law to report incidences to the parents. No ifs, ands or buts.
Now it appears that LE went to the home of ET for the purpose of a criminal complaint. Something about how that went down is making it sound like someone went to LE to report something much bigger than a kiss. Something big happened, TC knew this wasn't something he could explain away and that's what really drove him to grab ET ( a potential witness) and run. I've danced around this in a few posts, but I'm going to be real blunt here. I think he abducted ET because she could testify against him, I think he planned on going to Mexico and I think he planned on going alone. I have every confidence that had they not been found, ET wouldn't have been alive much longer. You don't bring a gun unless you plan to use it, on someone. I'm fully convinced TC doesn't have the capacity to love anyone, look at what he did to a woman who devoted 31 years of her life to him, look what he did to his children and his grandchildren. Look and listen to the pain in his sister's voice as she's trying to make rational sense out of all of this. He didn't love ET, he needed her to disappear with him and he needed it to look like this was two star crossed lovers and if he got his jollies along the way, so much the better. I really mean it when I say what is going to come out at his trial is going to make our jaws hit the floor. If he was going to Mexico, why head north to an isolated area? Because like all criminals he was taking her to a secondary location. I can't being to express how relieved I am she was found.
 
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