Found Safe TN - Mary Catherine Elizabeth Thomas, 15, Maury County, 13 March 2017 #5

[pegs]

The TN kidnapping statute says in essence through it's silence on that issue. It's saying that you can be between 13 and 18 and you can legally make the mature decision to leave your family and run off with a person never to be seen again

I'm hoping there is good reason to think the courts could get around this because TC systematically groomed ET and intimidated her. I would hope that kind of brainwashing would be a huge mitigating factor in determining the definition of 'willing'. There is a lot of reason to believe she did not go truly willingly.

 

[KKearns]

I lived on Redstone 2014-15. It isn't easy to get on the bases anymore, all Air Force bases now require a passport and someone to vouch you on- if you do not have military ID. I believe that may also be true for the arsenals.

The rocket center is outside the base.

The Rocket Center is part of Redstone, that is the part I'm saying you can get on. Not the actual base.

 

[Deleted member 278]

I agree he may not be leaving her alone now, but sometimes women in captivity gain the trust of the perp and are eventually given a bit more freedom. We've seen this in many cases, including some where the women heroically took their chance to escape.

Let's hope she has become suspicious of him and finds a way.


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Yes, I agree with you about women gaining the trust of their captor but I think that usually takes a while to develop. But, then again, he might trust her already since he thinks he knows her well and hopefully she can soon make a break for it.

 

[Richie]

Sad thing is that I'm starting to think that she does NOT want to be found. Her life at home was pretty problematic and she has been brainwashed to think that she is in 'love' and 'independent,' therefore, feeling some type of self-worth. The predator that took her will pay for his actions in life or beyond.. He put stuff in her head knowing that she was vulnerable and naive. I've been on the lookout here in NC- I doubt they have left the country. There would be records of them leaving, getting fake IDs and passports isn't that easy. Passports get scanned and have ultraviolet stamps that will never be able to be duplicated. Maybe in other countries you could fool the system but not in the US! Especially with all the immigration stuff going on and anti-terrorism tactics, it's almost impossible.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Totally agree. I don't think my Facebook friends were aware of this case until I posted about it.

I haven't seen this Amber Alert or any references to this crime in any of the more popular MSM outlets in New Jersey.

 

[123coldren]

I DO think that it makes sense that she thought this was a daytime tryst/adventure. She left no clues that she would be running away and what she did take, was stuff for a day. She must have thought that he may have other plans, so, she told her sis to look for her if not back by 6. If she had planned for a permanent disappearance, she would have been better prepared. She has been kidnapped. He will not let her contact anyone. She loves her siblings and would not deliberately hurt them like this. JMO

I don't think that is correct jmo I decided to try something I went through her ig and his ig and compared them side by side i even wrote out all there hash tags and the corisponding picture answers I have only gotten to march 5 but from the sequence I have found they were planning this for a while jmo

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[Deleted member 172065]

She did bring a bathing suit.
Maybe she thought it was a day trip?
Jacuzzi? Heated pool? Indoor water park maybe?
MOO

Her expecting a day trip (only) makes sense to me since she said to call the police if she wasn't back by 6.

 

[Mom2catieandtwins]

I haven't seen much about this case in NC. No Amber Alert or local news coverage in my area. Like many, my friends found out because of my posting. I am taking flyers to the two area Truck Stops. There is a rest stop close. I will hang flyers there too.

 

[Nehemiah]

Absolutely right.
As I mentioned before, I was in a similar situation to ET when I was 15. When my mom found out, she wanted to press charges and I begged her not to, and she didn't (and the detective asked her not to as well) :banghead:. If he had gone to jail when I was 15, I would have been furious at my mom. It wasn't until I was 20/21 when I realized that he was a monster and he had done something very wrong. All I knew was that I felt love from this guy that I wasn't getting at home.
I wouldn't expect her to go away from him willingly for a very long time. I only think they will be caught by someone being alert and seeing them or her sneaking off to make contact with her siblings somehow. She may also log in to social media at some point since most teens seem to be absolutely addicted to it these days.

Thank you for your perspective. I agree.

 

[dally_doodle]

I wonder if JC was able to provide LE with the VIN number of the Rogue. That number never changes right, and has to follow the vehicle? My thought was maybe he and ET drove to Decatur, AL to meet a buyer from craiglist. If that's the case, then they should be able to track the new owner, right?

There is a Greyhound bus station in Athens and Huntsville.

They could have left Shoneys at 8:30am, got to Decatur, AL in a little over an hour, sold the vehicle, and made it to either Athens, AL (25 minutes from Decatur) or Huntsville, AL (29 minutes away from Decatur).

So, say that takes max, 4 hours. That gives them 7 hours to travel on a bus BEFORE ET is even reported missing. The AA doesn't go out until the next day. At that point they could be well out of the AA zone and the story didn't even start making national news until just a couple days ago.



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[Mountain_Kat]

I haven't seen much about this case in NC. No Amber Alert or local news coverage in my area. Like many, my friends found out because of my posting. I am taking flyers to the two area Truck Stops. There is a rest stop close. I will hang flyers there too.

Not sure where you are in NC, but if you are close to a National Park, perhaps you could ask if you could post flyers there as well? Also, many businesses around National Parks might be willing to give you window space.

 

[KKearns]

The TN kidnapping statute says in essence through it's silence on that issue. It's saying that you can be between 13 and 18 and you can legally make the mature decision to leave your family and run off with a person never to be seen again

But I would think when there becomes proof that even if she left voluntarily, if she couldn't go back voluntarily, the fact he went to Alabama will be a big issue. Crossing state lines with kidnapping triggers the FBI getting involved and can trigger federal charges.

 

[mrskeev]

I haven't seen much about this case in NC. No Amber Alert or local news coverage in my area. Like many, my friends found out because of my posting. I am taking flyers to the two area Truck Stops. There is a rest stop close. I will hang flyers there too.

Exactly! I haven't heard much of anything about this on local media and no AA. I'm not sure how many people in my area even know about this case. That was the point I was trying to make earlier. In areas like mine it may be pretty easy for them to hide in plain sight.

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[Deleted member 278]

I don't think that is correct jmo I decided to try something I went through her ig and his ig and compared them side by side i even wrote out all there hash tags and the corisponding picture answers I have only gotten to march 5 but from the sequence I have found they were planning this for a while jmo

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How do you get to their IG accounts?

 

[Deleted member 155000]

I know in Michigan teachers (or adults) can be specifically charged for using a computer to communicate inappropriately. For example, if he said anything sexual/sensual or if he exchanged any suggestive pics or asked for any from her. Does anyone know if TN has an equivalent charge?


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[bestill]

I keep going back to the friend that dropped her off and isn't cooperating with the search to find her. That tells me that ET probably wanted to go with him and this friend helped her do that. That's the only reason I can think of for NOT cooperating with a missing person.

 

[Kapua]

I live on the coast of NC. It was a beautiful day here yesterday so I took my daughter to the beach. As I sat watching the waves and the scattered tourists I realized that TC an ET could easily be out on our beaches and never be noticed. I, of couse, was searching every face but, from what I could see, the people on that beach were really just focused on their own family. As I scanned the beach I saw mothers with sons, fathers with daughters, husbands and young wives and I see now how easy it would be for them to hide in plain sight. We are directly between two marine bases so it's normal to see many different state's plates. A plate from TN just wouldn't stand out here. We have camping sites within 5 miles of our beaches. The beach is not too crowded this time of year but weather is mild so we do get tourists.
I sometimes find that I work on the assumption that people are more observant than they really are. It would be easy for TC and ET to alter their appearance enough to make it difficult to pick them out of any crowd.
I wish this morning would have brought news of them being found, it didn't so I'll continue to keep my eyes peeled, keep making trips to the beach and campgrounds to look and keep praying she's found safe and sound.

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I totally agree. People are generally not very observant and we are looking for an average-looking middle aged man and a modestly dressed teen who could easily pass for father-daughter and walk down Main Street, Anywhere, USA and not be noticed. To top it off, they are in a very typical vehicle. When I was out running errands yesterday, I looked at every vehicle that drove by. I didn't see any Nissan Rogues, but I don't know if I'd recognize one if I saw it. A lot of people drive SUVs. TC was clever to take it instead of the Jeep.

 

[Deleted member 278]

Her expecting a day trip (only) makes sense to me since she said to call the police if she wasn't back by 6.

I agree. What I want to know is if her sister asked her why she made the statement to call the cops if she wasn't back by 6:00.

 

[4SAM]

So many different locations/routes that they could have taken...ugh

 

[Deleted member 172065]

But not so scared that she wouldn't meet him at Shoney's and get into his vehicle with him? That just doesn't add up to me. Is it possible that she was embarrassed about getting him in trouble at the school, or worried that he might be pissed at her for that? Or maybe she was just freaked out about them being spotted together at her job?

I'm just confused because the Instagram messaging between them continued, she continued to go to his classroom even when ordered not to, she met him and got into a vehicle alone with him...that just doesn't scream "fear" to me.

JMO

Sounds crazy but most definitely women will get in a car with guys they are scared of (or somewhat scared of) especially in a dating scenario.