Tad Cummins

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Teacher Who Abducted Student Learns His Fate

Tad Cummins held girl, 15, for more than a month

(Newser) - Tad Cummins, the former Tennessee teacher who fled with a 15-year-old student in 2017 and held her for more than a month, was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in federal prison, NBC News reports. Cummins, 52, pleaded guilty last year to federal crimes of crossing state lines to have sex...

Missing Teen Resorted to Eating Flowers, Says Lawyer

Elizabeth Thomas lost a lot of weight while with Tad Cummins

(Newser) - One thing seems to have overshadowed Elizabeth Thomas' 38 days spent with her former teacher: hunger. The 15-year-old had resorted to eating wildflowers at times and had lost a significant amount of weight, the family lawyer tells People . "I was so shocked when I saw her," says Jason...

Court Filing: Teen Was Abused by Mom Before Kidnapping

This would have made it easier for Tad Cummins to prey on her, experts say

(Newser) - Tennessee teacher Tad Cummins' alleged crimes look even more repugnant in the light of newly surfaced court documents. According to divorce papers filed Monday by the father of kidnapped 15-year-old student Elizabeth Thomas, the girl was physically abused by her mother for months before her parents separated in November 2015....

Documents: Tad Cummins Had a Destination in Mind

Documents outline an 'audacious scheme'

(Newser) - Tad Cummins, the Tennessee teacher charged with kidnapping a 15-year-old student and driving her to California, had planned to take the girl to Mexico, according to federal court documents filed Monday. WATE reports his alleged intention was either to cross the border via land or to do a test-run in...

Sister Says Tad Cummins Explained His Reasoning to Her

He allegedly pinned it all on Elizabeth Thomas

(Newser) - Tad Cummins has yet to tell the world why he allegedly spent 39 days on the run with 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas, but Cummins' sister says he has told her. In a Today Show interview, Daphne Quinn says she has spoken to her brother three times since the two were found...

Fugitive Teacher Claimed Teen Was 22-Year-Old Wife

Tipster says Tad Cummins had elaborate story

(Newser) - Tad Cummins turned up in a remote northern California community with a tale of misfortune to tell, according to Griffin Barry, the man whose tip led police to the fugitive Tennessee teacher. Barry tells CNN that when Cummins, 50, and 15-year-old student Elizabeth Thomas arrived in Cecilville last week, he...

Complaint Lays Out Planning of Alleged Kidnapping

And Elizabeth Thomas' father says she was brainwashed by Ted Cummins

(Newser) - Elizabeth Thomas' father says he believes his 15-year-old daughter was brainwashed by Tad Cummins, the former teacher accused of kidnapping her, the Tennessean reports. Cummins and Elizabeth were found this week at a cabin in northern California, weeks after they disappeared from Tennessee. While Anthony Thomas says he hasn't...

How Authorities Found Fugitive Teacher, Missing Student

Caller told cops about vehicle at remote cabin

(Newser) - The manhunt for fugitive Tennessee teacher Tad Cummins is over thanks to somebody who spotted his vehicle in a remote area on the other side of the country, authorities say. The 50-year-old was captured and 15-year-old student Elizabeth Thomas was taken into custody unharmed after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation...

Teen Believed Abducted by Teacher Found Safe

Teacher Tad Cummins arrested in Northern California: Tenn. Bureau of Investigation

(Newser) - First they found the car—then they found the fugitive teacher and his student. A spokeswoman for the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office tells the Tennessean that the Nissan Rogue being driven by Tad Cummins , the ex-high school teacher from Tennessee who's been on the lam for more than...

Family of Alleged Kidnapper Tad Cummins Speaks Out

'Daddy ... come home'

(Newser) - The daughters of Tad Cummins—the former Tennessee teacher suspected of kidnapping a 15-year-old student last month—say they've forgiven their father "no matter what he did." "Daddy, no matter what you've done we just want you to come home," Erica Osborne, 29, says...

DA: Teacher Who Kidnapped Student Is Low on Medication

Pharmacies asked to watch for Tad Cummins

(Newser) - It has been a month since Tennessee teacher Tad Cummins disappeared with 15-year-old student Elizabeth Thomas—long enough for the 50-year-old to need a refill of the medication he takes to control his blood pressure. Maury County District Attorney Brent Cooper has asked pharmacists to watch out for customers who...

Missing Teacher's Wife of 31 Years Is Divorcing Him

Jill Cummins publicly pleaded that Tad return Elizabeth Thomas safely

(Newser) - The wife of Tad Cummins, the Tennessee teacher suspected of kidnapping his freshman student, has filed for divorce. WHNT reports marital misconduct and irreconcilable differences were listed on the complaint filed Friday by Jill Cummins, who was married to Tad for 31 years. Cummins, 50, and his student Elizabeth Thomas,...

Teacher Suspected in Teen's Kidnapping Spotted at Walmart

Tad Cummins and Elizabeth Thomas were caught on surveillance video

(Newser) - A 50-year-old teacher was caught on security cameras at a Walmart in Oklahoma two days after he allegedly kidnapped a 15-year-old girl in Tennessee, the Oklahoman reports. Tad Cummins and Elizabeth Thomas are seen in the video—taken March 15 but not confirmed or released until Friday—using cash to...

DA: Teacher With Missing Teen May Be Posing as Missionary

Tad Cummins may have fled to Mexico with girl, district attorney says

(Newser) - Tad Cummins, the Tennessee teacher believed to be on the run with 15-year-old student Elizabeth Thomas, may have fled to Mexico with the girl, investigators say. Maury County District Attorney Brent Cooper tells ABC News that the 50-year-old Cummins, who allegedly kidnapped Elizabeth more than two weeks ago, is a...

'Romantic' Emails Between Missing Teacher, Girl Found

Family says teen once hid from teacher Tad Cummins

(Newser) - Elizabeth Thomas, the 15-year-old girl believed to have been abducted by teacher Tad Cummins two weeks ago, once hid from Cummins when he turned up at her workplace, her family says. One of the Thomas family's lawyers tells News 2 that, according to Elizabeth's father, she hid in...

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