Search turns desparate for student kidnapped by Tennessee teacher
Police in Tennessee have turned to the rest of the country for help searching for a high school student who they say was abducted by a former teacher.
The Amber Alert for Elizabeth Thomas, 15, remains in effect after more than a week. According to police in Tennessee, she was allegedly kidnapped by her former teacher, Tad Cummins, in Columbia, Tennessee.
Investigators said Cummins used his role as a teacher to groom the teen in efforts to lure and possibly sexually exploit her.
There have been hundreds of tips but no results yet. There have also not been any credible sightings of either the suspect or the victim. Investigators said they could last place them in Decatur, Alabama, which is an hour south of Columbia.
Cummins taught at the Culleoka Unit school and was fired after the alert was issued. He's now on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's ten most wanted list and has been charged with aggravated kidnapping.
Last week, his wife made a desparate plea for him to turn himself in.
"My heart breaks for the family of Beth Thomas. I want her home just as much as the rest of you but I'm also very worried about Tad. Tto that end, let me speak directly to my husband. 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 now, God's grace is sufficient for you and he wants you to come home. Your family wants their poppy back. Please do the right thing and turn yourself into the police and bring Beth home," Jill Cummins said.
Cummins is believed to be carrying two handguns and driving a silver Nissan Rogue with Tennessee plates reading 976-ZPT.
The FBI is assisting in the investigation and have turned to the entire nation for help finding Cummins and Thomas.