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

[essjay]

Each passing day I get more and more uneasy about where they are at. It's been almost a month since either of them have been seen. You would think that they would have popped up at other super centers, grocery stores, or gas stations -- especially with cops being aware of the car he was driving when kidnapping her. So many gas stations now have cameras. It's just so puzzling to me. I'm sure LE is trying their hardest, I'm just so worried about her.

The picture at walmart... I hate speculating, but her arm is swinging and you can't get a good look, but the shirt is hanging oddly from her stomach. I'm not sure how she's built, or what her body type is, but when I saw how the shirt was hanging I was worried that maybe this relationship has gone on for a while and my mind thought the worst. What if she was expecting, and he wanted to run away with her to either silence her OR to "start a new family?" ALLL my worries, not rooted anywhere in any evidence presented thus far.

I don't know, Tad is disgusting and creeps me out. It is clear he preyed on her. Each day points towards something more ominous. I have hope, but I'm just getting into that gloomy mind state now.

 

[bernie78]

MOO,IMO, JMO

Just a reminder that I have worked as a mentor and educator to teens. I haven't commented on this thread in some time. I see that the two have still been missing. To her loved ones, I am truly sorry for what you are going through.

Just a little insight to a situation I was witness to years ago. A student of mine, who was 16 at the time, began a relationship with a 40 year old man she knew. It was exactly like this situation. He had taught her how to use the internet on a private system, texted her constantly, and found ways to meet up with her sometimes right near school property. How they met is irrelevant. But I knew first hand about the situation and when I found out I reported it and fortunately for her (even though she was very angry with me for a long time) the relationship ended.

What I know about him was that he saw no wrong about the relationship and truly believed that societal rules should be abolished. He often carried a weapon and seemed to vocalize often that he carried it with him. People were a little on edge around him. He protested the court system, had several run ins with local officials, and ran several strange social media accounts about how screwed up government is. She however found him to be wise and eccentric. He knew her hobbies and talked to her for hours about things she liked so they could bond. She did not in any way feel that any physical contact was her being taken advantage of. She felt that she was not coerced. And ultimately felt very badly for him and wished no harm come to him.

I say all this to just give an example of something similar to what might be at play in this situation. I am sure every situation is different. One thing that seemed important to the girl I worked with was that she was still respected and that no shaming would come to her. The delicate emotions at play are understandable and I do hope she knows that we are all on her side. There is a bright future for her ahead and she does not have to feel sorry for anyone or keep any promises.

 

[Elle*Bee]

MOO,IMO, JMO

Just a reminder that I have worked as a mentor and educator to teens. I haven't commented on this thread in some time. I see that the two have still been missing. To her loved ones, I am truly sorry for what you are going through.

Just a little insight to a situation I was witness to years ago. A student of mine, who was 16 at the time, began a relationship with a 40 year old man she knew. It was exactly like this situation. He had taught her how to use the internet on a private system, texted her constantly, and found ways to meet up with her sometimes right near school property. How they met is irrelevant. But I knew first hand about the situation and when I found out I reported it and fortunately for her (even though she was very angry with me for a long time) the relationship ended.

What I know about him was that he saw no wrong about the relationship and truly believed that societal rules should be abolished. He often carried a weapon and seemed to vocalize often that he carried it with him. People were a little on edge around him. He protested the court system, had several run ins with local officials, and ran several strange social media accounts about how screwed up government is. She however found him to be wise and eccentric. He knew her hobbies and talked to her for hours about things she liked so they could bond. She did not in any way feel that any physical contact was her being taken advantage of. She felt that she was not coerced. And ultimately felt very badly for him and wished no harm come to him.

I say all this to just give an example of something similar to what might be at play in this situation. I am sure every situation is different. One thing that seemed important to the girl I worked with was that she was still respected and that no shaming would come to her. The delicate emotions at play are understandable and I do hope she knows that we are all on her side. There is a bright future for her ahead and she does not have to feel sorry for anyone or keep any promises.

I had a friend (15 at the time) who became involved with a married teacher (he was 37). At the time she didn't understand the dynamic. For years she didn't. She was about 35 before she recognized how inappropriate it was. When one is manipulated it can take years of psychological healing to recognize what was.

And how to heal....

 

[Pamela_Brewer]

From what I'm reading in the timeline...

Kiss happened on 1/23
Kiss reported on 1/24
ET moved from TC class 1/24
On or around 1/27 TC was a chaperone to a field trip w/ET
Father not informed until 2/1 of the kiss and by LE
Father called school for info as TC still had contact with ET on 2/3
2/3 TC written reprimand and Father hires attorney
2/6 attorney writes letter to school saying hey why does TC still have contact with ET?
2/6 TC suspended


So it appears that the dad wasn't notified of the kiss until a week later. He was concerned that TC was still at the school while a LE investigation was going on and he wasn't getting the answers he wanted so he hired a lawyer. Sounds like a concerned father to me. idk

ETA - seems like some of the people involved mainly her friends aren't forthcoming with LE about what they knew, thus attorney trying to compel the truth under oath.

Do we know when the "field trip " happened?
I thought it was this year.
MOO
ETA: The field trip was January 27th 2017.
http://www.wsmv.com/story/34993623/missing-teen-went-on-field-trip-with-her-alleged-kidnapper

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[KaaBoom]

An interesting read. Gives some ideas of where TC may be headed.
http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/vanish.htm

I'm sorry but that article is just weird. Cut up your clothes and flush them down the toilet? :facepalm: They only thing that would do is clog up the toilet. And satellites bouncing lasers off your windows? :what: That's just science fiction. About the only thing in that article that comes close to being true is that if you are thinking about committing a crime and getting away with it you will get caught. But even that is not entirely correct. Because it is possible to get away with it. Just not very likely.

I think this article is probably a better indication of what TC might have read.

How To Disappear Completely – The Great Vanishing Act

 

[Pamela_Brewer]

I am exhausted just reading that article!
No way could I remember all of that while trying to avoid being detected.
MOO

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[Kapua]

Assuming that they are camping at least part of the time, and also assuming that they do not always have a heat source, where would the most comfortable camping spots be? Here's a US weather map of current conditions.

Texas is the winner, IMHO.

Southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, and Louisiana are the runners up, assuming they did not backtrack from Oklahoma and are not still in Oklahoma.

 

[gitana1]

Ok I knew I had read three separate trips ..and I just think had to be more stuff my daughter would break her arms with a ton of bags before making three trips! Three trips for a purse and a grocery bag? Again probably doesn't matter but I think it was a lot more to warrant three trips to the car. I think she knew they were leaving for a while just probably figured they would be caught pretty quickly. I am not excusing any of his disgusting behavior just for her mindset.

O/T slightly we had a local case here where a 45 year old woman slept with a 16 year old boy she was not a teacher the boy was a friend of her sons. She was convicted of 5 counts of unlawful sexual contact with a minor and was sentenced to 30 years. She had 30 days to turn herself in and ran to Canada. Her bail bondsman tracked her to Canada and she applied for refugee status and it was granted. There laws read that her punishment was cruel and unusual and not against their laws (age of consent there is 16)
Does not apply here but interesting how things can turn out.

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The age of consent is raised to 18 when the older party is in a position of trust or authority over the other, the younger party is in a relationship of dependency with the owner, or if the relationship is exploitative.

https://www.ageofconsent.net/world/canada

OT.

So many female teachers getting pregnant by 14 year old students or having sex with 13year old student boys.

But the system rarely cause it rape or kidnapping.

Jmo. Plus they get like 2 years in jail for the most part.

But when its a guy teacher. Its a mandatory 20 years.

There is a definite double standard. The women do get charged with statutory rape. Like the men. But the sentences are pretty much always vastly lower forthw same crime.

They dont get charged with sexual assault or outright rape as much however. That may be because it is still rare for a female to become violent or threatening with the kid she is molesting.

But I think the double standard is disgusting and I know first hand that boys who are groomed and molested as teens by women experience the same type of trauma as girls.

Exactly. Its odd that she made three trips. There has to be more to it.

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Yeah like conflicted? Didn't really want to go?

 

[gitana1]

MOO,IMO, JMO

Just a reminder that I have worked as a mentor and educator to teens. I haven't commented on this thread in some time. I see that the two have still been missing. To her loved ones, I am truly sorry for what you are going through.

Just a little insight to a situation I was witness to years ago. A student of mine, who was 16 at the time, began a relationship with a 40 year old man she knew. It was exactly like this situation. He had taught her how to use the internet on a private system, texted her constantly, and found ways to meet up with her sometimes right near school property. How they met is irrelevant. But I knew first hand about the situation and when I found out I reported it and fortunately for her (even though she was very angry with me for a long time) the relationship ended.

What I know about him was that he saw no wrong about the relationship and truly believed that societal rules should be abolished. He often carried a weapon and seemed to vocalize often that he carried it with him. People were a little on edge around him. He protested the court system, had several run ins with local officials, and ran several strange social media accounts about how screwed up government is. She however found him to be wise and eccentric. He knew her hobbies and talked to her for hours about things she liked so they could bond. She did not in any way feel that any physical contact was her being taken advantage of. She felt that she was not coerced. And ultimately felt very badly for him and wished no harm come to him.

I say all this to just give an example of something similar to what might be at play in this situation. I am sure every situation is different. One thing that seemed important to the girl I worked with was that she was still respected and that no shaming would come to her. The delicate emotions at play are understandable and I do hope she knows that we are all on her side. There is a bright future for her ahead and she does not have to feel sorry for anyone or keep any promises.

I don't think it was exactly like this situation. The girl you worked with is not comparable in large part. First, how they met is very relevant. In this case, Elizabeth's predator was her teacher, in a position of authority over her. That's how they met and that is significant. Second, ET was previously abused which the predator knew about. So she was vulnerable, as children of abuse are uniquely suspectible to further victimization and he exploited that.

Third, it is clear in this case that ET, based on multiple reports, was
scared of the guy, hid from him, was threatened by him and forced to go out to eat with him in the past, was conflicted about going with him the day he took her, saying to her friend that she didn't want to go, expected or wanted to be home that evening and even told a sibling to get help if she didn't return by a certain time.

ET was not some headstrong, incorrigible teen acting out and being taken advantage of by a creep. She was scared. And threatened. Yeah, she may have also been flattered by the attention and had fantasies about that but she wasn't a teen stubbornly fighting to be with some older man. She was scared.

In both cases the predator is exploiting the teen and grooming them. In both cases the minor is being abused and victimized whether they understand that or not. But in the latter the teen is more vulnerable, more damaged by the abuse and more in danger. IMO.

TC is armed and has nothing to lose and is with a kid who doesn't really want to be there.

 

[Deleted member 172065]

I don't think it was exactly like this situation. The girl you worked with is not comparable in large part. First, how they met is very relevant. In this case, Elizabeth's predator was her teacher, in a position of authority over her. That's how they met and that is significant. Second, ET was previously abused which the predator knew about. So she was vulnerable, as children of abuse are uniquely suspectible to further victimization and he exploited that.

Third, it is clear in this case that ET, based on multiple reports, was
scared of the guy, hid from him, was threatened by him and forced to go out to eat with him in the past, was conflicted about going with him the day he took her, saying to her friend that she didn't want to go, expected or wanted to be home that evening and even told a sibling to get help if she didn't return by a certain time.

ET was not some headstrong, incorrigible teen acting out and being taken advantage of by a creep. She was scared. And threatened. Yeah, she may have also been flattered by the attention and had fantasies about that but she wasn't a teen stubbornly fighting to be with some older man. She was scared.

In both cases the predator is exploiting the teen and grooming them. In both cases the minor is being abused and victimized whether they understand that or not. But in the latter the teen is more vulnerable, more damaged by the abuse and more in danger. IMO.

TC is armed and has nothing to lose and is with a kid who doesn't really want to be there.

The word CONFLICTED has stood out for me. I went on a few dates in my life where I didn't really know the guy well enough.
Wanted to just get home more than once.

 

[Deleted member 172065]

Exactly. Its odd that she made three trips. There has to be more to it.

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i don't know. I've made a few trips back in the house and wasn't even going on a trip. Soda, medication, phone...

 

[Deleted member 172065]

I'm sure they have more video from Walmart, otherwise how would they know that TC bought some food items?

registers always have cameras. For customer ID as well as 'monitoring' employees.

 

[Deleted member 172065]

THE SPIDER AND THE FLY
TC IMO used his 'caring' persona to capture a young girl's heart. He used subtleties instead of blatant statements/actions for cover, and just waited til someone developed feelings for him. Then pounced.

 

[laurherm]

Assuming that they are camping at least part of the time, and also assuming that they do not always have a heat source, where would the most comfortable camping spots be? Here's a US weather map of current conditions.

Texas is the winner, IMHO.

Southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, and Louisiana are the runners up, assuming they did not backtrack from Oklahoma and are not still in Oklahoma.

View attachment 114639

IA with texas being most likely location. there are several places where you can camp along the beach too.


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[Deleted member 172065]

HOW TO GO OFF THE GRID (not about kidnapping, however), but some ideas on living on the lam.
https://besurvival.com/tips-and-tricks/how-to-disappear-and-live-under-the-radar

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

i don't know. I've made a few trips back in the house and wasn't even going on a trip. Soda, medication, phone...

I wonder if one of those trips was not to get anything but to wake her sister and tell her to get help if she didn't get home.

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[btfly547]

I had a friend (15 at the time) who became involved with a married teacher (he was 37). At the time she didn't understand the dynamic. For years she didn't. She was about 35 before she recognized how inappropriate it was. When one is manipulated it can take years of psychological healing to recognize what was.

And how to heal....

I'm glad I'm not the only one that took a while to figure it out. I was 15 when the relationship started with a much older guy and around 20 when it finally ended. My family was never really outraged over it. I was around 21/22 when I realized that what had happened was very inappropriate.
Being a parent now of teens, there is no way I would have allowed any of that to happen without someone going to jail. There's age of consent laws for a reason.

 

[Kimpossible31]

THE SPIDER AND THE FLY
TC IMO used his 'caring' persona to capture a young girl's heart. He used subtleties instead of blatant statements/actions for cover, and just waited til someone developed feelings for him. Then pounced.

This is a perfect analogy! And speaks as to why he had "tried" before..my opinion!

 

[Mom24]

I am exhausted just reading that article!
No way could I remember all of that while trying to avoid being detected.
MOO

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Just a bit over the top? I read a few things that stood out for me. The small changes to avoid detection while in plain sight like dying your hair, cutting it, growing a beard or cutting one off, changing small habitual things like what type of places you frequent. Then there was getting rid of your vehicle, how and where. Buying a new vehicle for a small amount of money. What places you could hide out. I had been leaning toward national parks, but the article states that's risky since they routinely go through and chase squatters off. Wouldn't want LE to find you in a tent. Getting a job. etc. If they're still alive, and not being helped, the money is going to run out and that's going to be a driving factor. So they need to go somewhere where they can get work without ID or SS#. It does seem that heading west into large cities is the best option for all that. Esp. in CA where there are sanctuary cities so obviously areas where people can work without proper ID. They may be staying in shelters for cheap and moving around. I don't think they still have the rogue, and I'm not committed to "out west" but it makes sense. However, in that 48 hours of time he didn't travel very far. Maybe he's not that far away. West doesn't have to mean CA.

 

[Deleted member 172065]

So now that they have reached their destination, how is it? I assume he has expressed his passions for her. Is there anger mixed in, as well, at losing his career and reputation? Is she safe? She liked fixing herself up (hair and makeup). Is she happy? Free to leave?