Found Safe TN - Mary Catherine Elizabeth Thomas, 15, Maury County, 13 March 2017 #8

[Mom24]

So the school contacted LE but didn't think to contact her father?

That makes no sense.

In reading through, it looks as though the school, as required by law, notified LE. However, the school is also mandated, by law, to notify her parents and they failed to do so. When the school is notified, the school notifies LE and there are two investigations, one by the school and one by LE. Two investigations because there are two set of rules, school rules and state rules. Now the school was supposed to notify, by law, the parents of ET. They did not. ET's father found out because as the investigation by LE proceeded, they came to the house to ask questions a week after the kiss. This is why her father is upset, and rightly so, with the school. Had LE not come to his home to further investigate, he'd never have known anything was going on.

 

[Gaius]

His last name is Cummins*****
You should mention that Eric is his middle name so people know where you got the name from. Also, he would go by Mr. not Ms. and if she were acting married she would go by Mrs.

Typos, poor writing and involuntary omissions are the results of my lack of skills. Thank you for correcting and filling in the blanks.

 

[AC's Grandma]

I know someone posted pictures here a couple of days ago that look like ET and TC that were taken inside a store in Indiana and the post was pulled, I have screen shots. What happened to that information and why have we not brought it into the thread and discussed it?

 

[Irishboy]

Cummins is 50 years old
Cummins married his wife in 1985
Cummins told students he was a millionaire and a CIA operative that traveled on secret missions
On January 23 a female schoolmate saw TC kiss ET on the lips in the classroom with TC's grandchild in the room
January 24th the female student confronted TC about the kiss. TC told the student he was a father figure to ET and she was a "close and best friend".
January 30th school concluded investigation, found no evidence since both ET and TC denied the kiss but ET was removed from class.
January 31 ET's father found out about kiss from Sheriff who was investigating the issue.
February 3 TC is reprimanded for having ET in his room. Another teacher said she was in the classroom for over 30mins.
"The teacher would later be reprimanded on Feb. 3 by school principal Penny Love after the girl was seen in Cummins classroom for a little more than half an hour that day. In her letter, Love said the girl being in his classroom was a violation of the principal’s order to him."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tad-cum...ported-kissing-missing-girl-elizabeth-thomas/

February 6 TC is suspended for insubordination
March 13 ET tells her sister to call 911 if she isn't home by 6pm
http://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-al...ry?id=46273578
Other details:
School never informed ET's father of inappropriate contact or of any investigation
http://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-al...ry?id=46273578
ET was dropped off by friend at Shoney's on March 13th, ET asked friend to instead take her back home, friend refused.
Friend who dropped ET off is not cooperating with LE

"Employees at the Shoney's in Columbia said Thomas was waiting with her bags inside the restaurant on March 13. They said when Tad Cummins pulled up, the teen ran outside leaving her back pack behind."
http://whnt.com/2017/03/24/da-elizab...dissapearance/

School and students refuse to wear green ribbons in support of ET and ET has been called a harlot (per Sister)

TC has two guns (unknown what type) "Authorities say he is armed with two handguns"
http://www.9news.com/news/crime/statewide-endangered-child-alert-issued-for-missing-teen/423257704

ET's phone pinged in Decatur AL March 13 at 3:06pm "A spokesperson for the Decatur, Alabama, police told ABC News by phone that Elizabeth had not been physically seen in or around Decatur and that reports of their whereabouts may have been attributed to a ping from the girl’s cell phone."
http://krvn.com/abc_national/timeli...essee-student-elizabeth-thomas-abcid35882433/

ET was originally reported as a runaway, although her father early on maintained she had been abducted by TC
TC's wife reported him missing.

LE concluded 24 hours after both reported missing that TC and ET were together, so they had a 24 headstart before the Amber Alert was issued. "Thomas, a 15-year-old from Middle Tennessee, disappeared with her ex-teacher, 50-year-old Tad Cummins, on March 13. There have been no confirmed sightings since that day and an Amber Alert was issued the next day"
http://www.9news.com/news/crime/statewide-endangered-child-alert-issued-for-missing-teen/423257704

Amber Alert has not been issued nationwide.

LE believe they may be in Mexico or Central America posing as missionaries

TC took a loan for 4,500. "TBI said Cummins secured a title loan for a personal vehicle and other personal effects several days before his disappearance, netting $4,500 in cash."
http://fox17.com/news/local/tbi-rele...izabeth-thomas

TC searched teen marriages " Cummins researched 'teen marriage' just a few days before he and Elizabeth disappeared. "
http://www.9news.com/news/crime/statewide-endangered-child-alert-issued-for-missing-teen/423257704

TC searched disabling GPS on automobile "Cummins also searched whether police could track his car, a Nissan Rogue, according to TBI."
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2017/03/amber_alert_elizabeth_thomas_a.html

TC took Nissan Rogue, leaving wife with his Jeep which she is unable to drive

TC told his wife on the morning he disappeared he was going out for a job interview.

TC has an associates degree, was a respiratory therapist, taught forensics, had an alternative certification to teach

TC's former colleague states TC was a bully and narcissist

TC's former colleague is offering a 5,000 reward

LE is offering a 1,000 reward

There have been no credible sightings of TC or ET since March 13

ET left a bag behind at Shoney's, but it was later gone. The story goes that it was left outside and picked up by someone.
Shoney's had no working surveillance camera (per Sister) and ""We believe for one reason or another she left one of these bags behind and it disappeared later that day," said DA Brent Cooper.Cooper said someone either took the bag or Elizabeth may have come back for it" http://whnt.com/2017/03/24/da-elizab...dissapearance/

ET has wheat and tomato allergies and needs an epi pen.(per Sister)

ET took her sister's bathing suit with her (per Sister)

ET hid from TC when he tried to see her at work. "One of Thomas family lawyers told WKRN that, at some point before the March 13 disappearance, Cummins came into Elizabeth's work place. The teen hid in a bathroom and urged a co-worker to tell the teacher that she wasn't there." http://patch.com/tennessee/nashville...ns-family-says (this was also confirmed by Sister)

ET had been taken from her mother's custody and her father has custody of her. ET had formerly been homeschooled, was a freshman in high school and had just started public school. TC was her teacher. ET's mother was charged with abuse and lost custody.
ET's mother gave an interview.

TC was looking for work in Decatur

TC and ET may have stayed in a motel in Decatur the first night

TC watched shows about living off the grid "Investigators also tell CBS News that Cummins appears to have been planning this for some time by watching survivalist shows."
http://www.ktvq.com/story/34952463/manhunt-intensifies-for-missing-teacher-student

TC has no criminal record in the state of TN. "Cummins has no criminal record in the state of Tennessee."
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/34935506/teacher-student-posted-on-social-media-on-day-they-went-missing

I'll be editing this post with sources and such, but is there anything I missed?

Destany Parrish is a former student who TC may have groomed prior to ET, made alone time for the two of them and sang her a love song he'd written. He told us all one day that the office had gotten on to him and that we all had to go back to the lunch room because that's where we're supposed to be anyway," Parrish recalled. "Everybody left and I got my bag and got ready to leave, and he said the office hadn't said anything to him, he just didn't want that many kids in his room. It just ended up being he and I chilling in there. I would go there after school.”
Parrish said she would go to Cummins’ room after school and he would often take her to services at the Destiny Church in Columbia Parrish was 15 at the time, in 2011 she was his student.
http://www.wsmv.com/story/34977042/t...p-with-teacher

"One day, Parrish said Cummins arranged for them to be alone and he sang the lyrics he had written.
One of the lyrics read, "I could swim for a thousand miles in the oceans inside your eyes and never reach the side."
"It was just me and tad. We were in the music room. It was right next to his classroom, and I had learned a new song on the piano," said Parrish. "I was gonna go show him, but he sat down first and played that song, and I started recording a little bit in.
When asked if she felt the song was for her, Parrish said she didn't assume, but looking back, things seem different."
http://www.newschannel5.com/news/for...er-a-love-song

Interview with Thomas family attorneys by Nancy Grace: https://www.podcastchart.com/podcast...-at-school/pop

Could you cite the source of "LE believe they may be in Mexico or Central America posing as missionaries"
I thought in PC they stated that there is no evidence that they did cross the border, only possible with the amount of lead time.
I've only seen posing as missionaries suggested by some posters.

 

[white rabbit]

folks, she was a new student with a very sad background. for all the school and LE knew, there were other abuser(s) in the home. they had to tread very softly in order to protect her from what could've been potential backlash (further abuse). not that any of this was the case, but they didn't know that at the time. would easily explain why they didn't rush to tell her parent(s) when they were still investigating how or what exactly happened on school grounds.

 

[Mom24]

Thank you for this [emoji4]

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Thanks, taking a break, but I'll continue to work on it. Me old eyes get a bit wonky after a bit. There's so much information that I had missed before in reading and looking at those sources. If I miss anything, let me know.

 

[KKearns]

It's not uncommon. The NYT said ET's parents dropped ET off at Shoney's that morning, and mistook it for her place of employment. That's why it's great to have her sister here to confirm things as well that are in the press. They don't fact check like they used to.

Well yes they should have been involved, the problem I was addressing is we have seen reports that the school didn't involve LE and LE informed them they were investigating. There also aren't any references to LE in the school report.

We don't know who contacted LE and when they did, because of conflicting reports.

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[Kapua]

Can't believe we are at thread #8 & still no solid leads or confirmed sightings [emoji31]


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I think there are reasons that there are no confirmed sightings. IMHO, one of the reasons is because they are long gone before LE can confirm a spotting. Also, IMHO, this doesn't conclusively mean that nobody has seen them.

:cow:

 

[Mountain_Kat]

So the school contacted LE but didn't think to contact her father?

That makes no sense.

I think part of the answer might lie in the fact that, according to the father and his attorney, the sheriff's department showed up to question the father. That seems very different, to me anyway, from simply informing the father of the kissing incident. What they would have "questioned" the father about is a complete mystery, though. Perhaps they were asking if the father knew of any contact between the two outside of school, or if the sisters might know anything, etc. etc. I would guess it was along these lines, but that's simply speculation on my part. My gut feeling from everything I've been able to piece together so far is that, in the course of the school investigation into the kissing incident, someone must have said something that triggered red flags...either to the school or LE. Clearly, the investigation did NOT stop with the school report, that much at least seems obvious.

 

[DerrenAnker]

folks, she was a new student with a very sad background. for all the school and LE knew, there were other abuser(s) in the home. they had to tread very softly in order to protect her from what could've been potential backlash (further abuse). not that any of this was the case, but they didn't know that at the time. would easily explain why they didn't rush to tell her parent(s) when they were still investigating how or what exactly happened on school grounds.

School officials can't just assume that for any student there could be other abusers in the home, and therefore withold info from the family. What's the idea--that because a teacher was taking advantage of her at school, somehow that would aggravate abuse at home? While there may be a little logic to that, I don't know of any legal guidelines that mean schools should withhold info from parents regarding potential sexual contact from a school employee with a student.

 

[JerseyGirl]

folks, she was a new student with a very sad background. for all the school and LE knew, there were other abuser(s) in the home. they had to tread very softly in order to protect her from what could've been potential backlash (further abuse). not that any of this was the case, but they didn't know that at the time. would easily explain why they didn't rush to tell her parent(s) when they were still investigating how or what exactly happened on school grounds.

I disagree. Any time there is an incident involving a minor child at school, the parents should be notified immediately by either a teacher, principal or superintendent.

 

[Deleted member 155000]

Could you cite the source of "LE believe they may be in Mexico or Central America posing as missionaries"
I thought in PC they stated that there is no evidence that they did cross the border, only possible with the amount of lead time.
I've only seen posing as missionaries suggested by some posters.

During yesterday morning's press conference LE did say they believe it is a possibility they went to Mexico and may be posing as missionaries, but he stressed this as a possibility. They also said they had notified law enforcement there and hoped U.S. Citizens would spread the word to BOLO to anyone they knew in Mexico.

That link was posted many times yesterday morning if you want to go back and look at it.


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[KKearns]

So the school contacted LE but didn't think to contact her father?

That makes no sense.

Maybe the school contacted LE, we don't know who did. What the the family lawyer did say was a week later that LE informed ET's dad of what happened and an investigation.

For me that just isn't ok.

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[KKearns]

Just my own thoughts, I know there has been some focus on the fact that she had a bathing suit with her so maybe they were at the beach or somewhere warm.

My own two cents, he told her whatever she wanted to hear. He might have told her to being a bathing suit to make her think they were going to a beach. There is no proof that they are anywhere near a beach.

It is so scary to me that she could be anywhere and there are just 0 credible leads that we know of.

MOO

Yeah we talked about that, maybe thinking he told her he was taking her in a day trip. I also mentioned that in Decatur, where the phone pinged, there is a water park that was likely open with Spring Break.

Now they might not have gone there, maybe he told her that was where he was taking her and she told someone or he told someone he was taking her there. Maybe they did drive through there and he had the phone ping there to make people think "well she told this kid he was taking her to Point Mallard and the phone is in Decatur so let's not get worried yet" to buy some time.

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[Mountain_Kat]

folks, she was a new student with a very sad background. for all the school and LE knew, there were other abuser(s) in the home. they had to tread very softly in order to protect her from what could've been potential backlash (further abuse). not that any of this was the case, but they didn't know that at the time. would easily explain why they didn't rush to tell her parent(s) when they were still investigating how or what exactly happened on school grounds.

BINGO!

And let's remember, we have no idea what TC or ET (or anyone else for that matter) told the school during the initial investigation of the kissing incident. It is entirely possible that the school felt they WERE putting this child first by involving LE and having them visit the child's home to talk to the father. People keep saying the father wasn't informed until a week later, which is technically true, but again, 2 of those days were on the weekend when school officials wouldn't have been working.

 

[Deleted member 172065]

VERY SAD! The following was posted above by Mom24:
"ET was dropped off by friend at Shoney's on March 13th, ET asked friend to instead take her back home, friend refused.
Friend who dropped ET off is not cooperating with LE"

 

[white rabbit]

agree to disagree, derren and jersey girl. also referencing mountain's post...

 

[KKearns]

folks, she was a new student with a very sad background. for all the school and LE knew, there were other abuser(s) in the home. they had to tread very softly in order to protect her from what could've been potential backlash (further abuse). not that any of this was the case, but they didn't know that at the time. would easily explain why they didn't rush to tell her parent(s) when they were still investigating how or what exactly happened on school grounds.

They would have to contact child protective services if there were allegations of abuse. Child protective services and the police should be very familiar with her situation because of the charges from the mom and the kids being given to the father.

There would have been numerous investigations into the father from child services because of this.

I'm not buying this.

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[KKearns]

Could you cite the source of "LE believe they may be in Mexico or Central America posing as missionaries"
I thought in PC they stated that there is no evidence that they did cross the border, only possible with the amount of lead time.
I've only seen posing as missionaries suggested by some posters.

They mentioned it in the presser.

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[Mountain_Kat]

agree to disagree, derren and jersey girl. also referencing mountain's post...

FWIW, I also agree to disagree. I can certainly understand why any parent would be upset at not being notified immediately. But I can also understand why the school wanted to get all the facts before deciding the best course of action.