Elizabeth Thomas' Teacher Researched 'Teen Marriage' Before Disappearance
March 22 2017, Published 2:41 p.m. ET
Nine days into Elizabeth Thomas' disappearance, new details have emerged about ex-teacher Tad Cummins' grooming process before the kidnapping.
As reported, Thomas, 15, went missingwith her armed former teacher, 50, last Monday, with police expressing deep concern over "his intentions for her." It remains unclear whether she was taken against her will when she disappeared.
Now, authorities have revealed Cummings searched "teen marriage" online days before the abduction, CBS News reported.
Cummins also reportedly searched whether police could track his car, a silver Nissan Rogue.
"He built up a system where she was dependent on him," Thomas' dad, Anthony Thomas, later said of Cummings' sick kidnapping plan, adding that the teacher "gave her money, bought a microwave so she would heat food up in his room and tried to get her out of trouble."
During a candlelit vigil Saturday night in Columbia, Tenn., Anthony told the crowd: "What Tad did, he stole my daughter from me, but Maury County is a big community. He didn't just steal from me, he stole from the Maury County community. We are going to get her back. We are going to get her back. Please help us bring her home."
Last Friday, Cummins' wife Jill spoke to her husband directly in an emotional statement at the Maury Country Sheriff's Office in Tennessee: "Tad, this is not you. This is not who you are. We can help you get through this. No matter how far you've gone or what's happening right now, God's grace is sufficient for you and He wants you to come home. Your family wants their Papi back. Please do the right thing, and turn yourself into the police and bring Elizabeth home."
Thomas was last seen wearing a flannel shirt and black leggings.
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