Tennessee teacher accused of kidnapping girl arrested in California
Story highlights
- Cabin caretakers alerted police, property owner says
- New charge is filed against teacher
- Tad Cummins and his student Elizabeth Thomas disappeared March 13
(CNN)After
five weeks on the run, a Tennessee teacher who kidnapped and fled with
his 15-year-old student has been arrested in northern California,
authorities said.
The student, Elizabeth Thomas, was found safe in Cecilville, northwest of Redding, her sister Kat Thomas said Thursday.
"There
aren't words in the English language to describe the level of relief
and elation experienced by the Thomas family," said Jason Whatley, the
family's attorney. "Now begins another hard chapter, but for now, we
celebrate."
Tad Cummins, 50, fled with
Elizabeth from their small town of Culleoka, Tennessee, on March 13.
They disappeared a few weeks after a student reported seeing Cummins and
Elizabeth kissing in a classroom.
A
tip led law enforcement to a remote cabin at Cecilville, about two
hours from the nearest police station. The Nissan Rogue at the center of
the search was parked outside, TBI spokesman Josh DeVine said.
After
the capture, one federal charge of transportation of a minor across
state lines for the purpose of having criminal sexual intercourse was
filed against Cummins, said Jack Smith, acting US attorney for the
Middle District of Tennessee. The charge carries a minimum of 10 years.
A 2,000-mile escape
Surveillance video showed the pair at a Walmart in Oklahoma City on March 15. But after that, the trail went cold.
The
break came when someone spotted Cummins in a remote part of Siskiyou
County, California, more than 2,000 miles from Culleoka, and called the
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation tip line.
The caller said he had taken up residence in a remote cabin in Cecilville, DeVine said.
Siskiyou
County deputies searched the area and found the vehicle. They confirmed
through the VIN number that it belonged to Cummins, Devine said.
Deputies monitored the car and took Cummins into custody as daylight broke, said DeVine.
Thomas
was found "healthy and unharmed," TBI Director Mark Gwyn said. She is
federal custody and arrangements are being made for her return home as
soon as Friday. The main concern is for her emotional well-being, Gwyn
said.
"As we have said from the
start, it only takes one tip," Gwyn said. "This is yet another example
of the value of the public helping us to rescue a kidnapping victim."
Couple spotted by property caretaker
The TBI earlier had said the two were found in a commune, but later backed off that description.
The cabin's owner, Monk O'Hare, told CNN it is not located on Black Bear Ranch, a nearby commune.
O'Hare
was not on the property but the cabin's caretaker spoke to the couple,
he said. Cummins told the caretaker that he was 44 years old and that
the young woman with him was 22.
O'Hare
said a friend of his also was at the property and saw the couple. The
friend told him something didn't seem right, he said.
Their
vehicle did not have license plates and he noticed that the young woman
would not get out of the car when the man got out. O'Hare's friend
asked the property caretaker to call the sheriff's department, he said.
The night before the arrest, "a plan was hatched" to capture Cummins, O'Hare told CNN.
That
next morning, the caretaker asked Cummins to come outside and help him
build a rock wall on the property. When Cummins went outside,
investigators were there to arrest him, O'Hare said.
A quirk in the law
Cummins faces charges of sexual contact with a minor and aggravated kidnapping, the TBI said last month.
But
state law allows children older than 12 to decide whether to leave
their families, unless their removal or confinement "is accomplished by
force, threat or fraud."
That means to prove a kidnapping took place, prosecutors will have to show Elizabeth was unlawfully removed or had her freedom restricted.
Estranged wife speaks out
Cummins'
estranged wife, Jill Cummins, was "very emotional" when she learned
both were found safe, her attorney Michael Cox said.
"She is excited that they were found and nobody was hurt," Cox said. "She has not spoken to Tad."
Jill Cummins had filed for divorce, saying she felt betrayed by her husband. She had no idea why her husband went to Northern California.
"This is not somewhere they had frequently visited," her attorney said. "I'm not aware that they had ever been there."
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