True Crime Vault: From Classroom to Captive

Summary

Podcast Summary: 20/20 - True Crime Vault: From Classroom to Captive

Episode Information:

• Title: True Crime Vault: From Classroom to Captive
• Host/Author: ABC News
• Release Date: February 5, 2025

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1. Introduction to the Case

The episode delves into one of the most harrowing true crime stories of recent years—the kidnapping of 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas by her high school teacher, Tad Cummins. This case garnered nationwide attention, leading to a massive manhunt and a subsequent legal battle highlighting significant institutional failures.

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2. Elizabeth Thomas: A Brief Background

Before her disappearance, Elizabeth Thomas had been homeschooled and was characterized as a tomboy who could effortlessly switch between rough play and being sweet. Her close friendship with Paige Griffith was a cornerstone of her pre-high school life.

Elizabeth Thomas [01:22]: "She'd come to my house and we would talk and watch TV and eat junk food and we just hung out together."

Elizabeth's transition to public high school was challenging. She faced bullying and struggled to fit into the established cliques, leading her to feel isolated.

Elizabeth Thomas [06:38]: "First thing they did was call me ugly once I came to school. I mean, it's just boys being stupid, but I just dated myself."

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3. Encounter with Tad Cummins: Building Trust

Elizabeth found solace in Tad Cummins, a 50-year-old health teacher who portrayed himself as an outgoing and supportive mentor. Cummins was well-regarded in the community, involved in church activities, and had a spotless personal life with his wife, Jill.

Elizabeth Thomas [07:04]: "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I felt. She was in his class in health and he began to help her make this transition from home school to Public School."

Cummins provided Elizabeth with attention, gifts, and even took her to church, further cementing a perceived father-daughter relationship.

Elizabeth Thomas [08:38]: "He gave me a Bible and it was just something from him, that kindness."

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4. Grooming and Escalation of Abuse

Over time, Cummins began crossing professional boundaries. Subtle manipulations escalated into overt abuse, with Cummins using psychological tactics to control Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Thomas [09:21]: "I was standing there with a few friends and then they said, are you hungry? And I went, I don't have a soul. Or if I did, like I'd be hungry or something like that. And then he came to me and he pointed at me and said, my soul sees your soul."

Elizabeth initially dismissed these interactions, viewing Cummins as a guardian figure. However, the abuse intensified with sexual propositions and emotional manipulations.

Elizabeth Thomas [14:32]: "Most of them from him would be sexual text."

When a fellow student reported seeing Elizabeth kissing Cummins, the school launched an investigation. Despite Elizabeth's denial under pressure, Cummins was suspended after five days.

Elizabeth Thomas [17:08]: "It was either someone telling a lie or thought they saw something that they didn't, and then it happens. Did not happen."

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5. The Disappearance: A Desperate Escape

Following his suspension, Cummins issued an ultimatum to Elizabeth: flee with him or face dire consequences. Feeling trapped and fearing for her safety, Elizabeth reluctantly agreed to accompany him on the run.

Elizabeth Thomas [20:02]: "He said if he couldn't have me, he'd kill himself anytime. You threatened himself. He threatened my family."

Elizabeth devised a plan to signal for help by writing misleading information and instructing her sister Sarah to call authorities if she didn't return home.

Elizabeth Thomas [21:35]: "He told me to write that I was going to New York City and I made it sound unbelievable. So they knew I was going the opposite way."

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6. The Manhunt: A Nationwide Effort

Elizabeth and Cummins traveled across nine states, often under the radar. Elizabeth meticulously documented their journey, hoping to leave clues for potential rescue efforts.

Elizabeth Thomas [25:27]: "So I'm just gonna dot each place that we stayed the night. I know. I think we stayed three nights in Colorado. So I'm gonna say right here. Right here. I know we went to Aspen and then Utah."

Their travel was fraught with danger, including a near-fatal kayaking attempt to reach Panama, highlighting Cummins' desperation and instability.

Elizabeth Thomas [26:15]: "The waves were getting really bad to where, like once they'd hit the bottom of the boat, the boat would nearly go under."

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7. The Rescue: Breaking Free

After enduring 38 days of captivity, Cummins attempted to flee to Mexico via a kayak, a plan thwarted by Elizabeth's strategic thinking. Her knowledge of locations and subtle hints led to their discovery by locals, culminating in a police intervention.

Elizabeth Thomas [37:12]: "They said, put your hands up. Get on the ground."

The rescue marked the end of a traumatic period for Elizabeth, though the psychological scars remained significant.

Elizabeth Thomas [37:23]: "That was the best day of my life."

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8. Legal Proceedings and Aftermath

Cummins pleaded guilty to transporting a minor across state lines for sex and faces a minimum of 10 years in prison. Elizabeth's family filed a lawsuit against the school board, citing negligence and failure to protect her.

Elizabeth Thomas [40:15]: "To this day, the school board nor."

The school board denied all allegations, blaming the incident solely on Cummins without acknowledging systemic failings.

Elizabeth Thomas [41:29]: "They knew. And they know that they knew. And I really hope they feel guilty about it."

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9. Elizabeth’s Path to Healing

Post-rescue, Elizabeth has been undergoing inpatient counseling to address the trauma endured. Despite societal judgments and victim-blaming, she focuses on rebuilding her life, pursuing education, and nurturing personal relationships.

Elizabeth Thomas [43:09]: "To have a family and protect them. Make them have a better life. I'm a stronger person than I was. And I'm not afraid."

She actively speaks out against the injustices faced, demanding accountability from the institutions that failed her.

Elizabeth Thomas [39:23]: "Why didn't they notice? They knew and they know that they knew."

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10. Institutional Failures and Community Impact

The case underscores significant lapses within the educational system and community oversight. The delayed response by the school authorities and the lack of protective measures facilitated Cummins' ability to exploit and control Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Thomas [39:46]: "Came back to Tennessee and the FBI and the TPI were there and they were trying to joke around with me, making things a lot easier for the transition home."

The episode highlights the dire need for robust safeguarding protocols in schools to prevent such tragedies.

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11. Conclusion: Lessons and Reflections

"True Crime Vault: From Classroom to Captive" serves as a poignant reminder of the vulnerabilities within educational institutions and the profound impact of trust-based abuse. Elizabeth Thomas's story not only sheds light on personal resilience but also calls for systemic reforms to protect future generations from similar fates.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Elizabeth Thomas [01:22]: "She'd come to my house and we would talk and watch TV and eat junk food and we just hung out together."
• Elizabeth Thomas [06:38]: "First thing they did was call me ugly once I came to school. I mean, it's just boys being stupid, but I just dated myself."
• Elizabeth Thomas [14:32]: "Most of them from him would be sexual text."
• Elizabeth Thomas [17:08]: "It was either someone telling a lie or thought they saw something that they didn't, and then it happens. Did not happen."
• Elizabeth Thomas [20:02]: "He said if he couldn't have me, he'd kill himself anytime. You threatened himself. He threatened my family."
• Elizabeth Thomas [21:35]: "He told me to write that I was going to New York City and I made it sound unbelievable. So they knew I was going the opposite way."
• Elizabeth Thomas [25:27]: "So I'm just gonna dot each place that we stayed the night. I know. I think we stayed three nights in Colorado. So I'm gonna say right here. Right here. I know we went to Aspen and then Utah."
• Elizabeth Thomas [37:12]: "They said, put your hands up. Get on the ground."
• Elizabeth Thomas [40:15]: "To this day, the school board nor."
• Elizabeth Thomas [43:09]: "To have a family and protect them. Make them have a better life. I'm a stronger person than I was. And I'm not afraid."

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the critical elements of the "True Crime Vault: From Classroom to Captive" episode, providing insights into the disturbing dynamics between Elizabeth Thomas and Tad Cummins, the systemic failures that allowed the abuse to occur, and Elizabeth's journey toward healing and justice.

Transcript

[David Muir]

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[Elizabeth Thomas]

He said if he couldn't have me, he'd kill himself.

[David Muir]

Were you afraid he would kill you?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yeah. They talked about hiding bodies and killing other people.

[David Muir]

And you knew then I wasn't getting out of this. There are new clues tonight about that Tennessee. He was a teacher kidnapping a 15 year old girl. Tonight on 20 20, the nationwide Manh Hunt and girl hunt that transfixed the country. That 15 year old Tennessee student on the run with her 50 year old teacher. A married father with children. Did you know this whole time all this is going on that everyone, I mean like all of America was looking for you?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

She's like, if I'm not back by 6, call the cops.

[David Muir]

But tonight, what you've never heard before.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Her story you can say all day long, the devil made him do it. But he is the devil. He himself made him do it.

[David Muir]

The interview her school may not want you to hear.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

They knew and they know that they knew. And I really hope they feel guilty about it. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to go, there's trouble brewing in Ted Cummins classroom.

[David Muir]

Now she's revealing all new details from those 38 days on the road.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He called me his wife sometimes that was gonna live with him until I died.

[David Muir]

Creating new identities as John and Joanna living hiding in a commune. He got very angry. It was a unanimous decision. We didn't want them here. And then the end of the road in a deserted cabin.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I thought this was gonna be the end. He's gonna shoot somebody now.

[David Muir]

Fighting him is over. She's still fighting the town that doubts her. Some people question whether or not you went willingly. Good evening and thanks for joining us. I'm David Muir. And I'm Amy Robach. And this is 2020. It was one of the biggest stories of the year. The girl who went from classroom to captive. And until now we have not heard from the young woman who went missing. But that all changes right here tonight. Here's ABC's Eva Pilgrim on this story from the start. Tonight we are heading to rural Culioca, Tennessee where this strange and heart wrenching story begins. Most people know everyone else who lives there. If there are six degrees of separation.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

In the world, there's only about one degree of separation.

[David Muir]

Here in this farming community of about 4,5000, you'll find a post office, gas station and not much else. It's very small, very small there.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Nothing ever happens there. I don't know.

[David Muir]

New tonight until of course it does. 15 year old girl and 50 year old man at the center of a nationwide Amber alert. It's been a year and a half now since 50 year old high school teacher Tad Cummins ran off with his 15 year old student. Today some squarely blame him.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

The guy's Burberry, should be drugged out in the streets and beat.

[David Muir]

Others aren't so sure.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I think they took advantage of each other in a way, a weird way.

[David Muir]

We've heard a lot of people say, well she went willingly.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

She probably did. She got pulled in just as well as she got pulled in.

[David Muir]

Many have made up their minds both in this small town and across the country. And it's to them that Elizabeth Thomas, now 17, wants to speak to directly tonight. Why talk now about what happened?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Because I think it's time to. It's a year later.

[David Muir]

People saw this story play out.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

They think they know what happened and they think that I'm a whore. They think that I like old men. And that's not the case.

[David Muir]

Before fate brought Elizabeth into Tad Cummins class, she had been homeschooled her whole life.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

She was somewhat of a tomboy, played really rough. She could switch to being really nice and sweet.

[David Muir]

Paige Griffith told us at the time of Elizabeth's disappearance that she had been a kind of surrogate mom and her her daughter Erin was Elizabeth's close friend.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

She'd come to my house and we would talk and watch TV and eat junk food and we just hung out together.

[David Muir]

That's Elizabeth on the left. Play fighting with Aaron in the back of a car.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yeah, you were. No, I was. Yeah, you weren't. Wasn't his name just. No.

[David Muir]

Her sister Sarah gave me a tour of Elizabeth's bedroom during the day she went missing. It told its own story of an adolescent caught between two ages. Oh, that's her Xbox.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yes.

[David Muir]

On the one hand the teen who bought herself an Xbox with money from her after school job, she just stayed up playing games. On the other, a child.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

She made this band.

[David Muir]

Still enchanted by princesses and ponies yet the home movie Smiles mask what Elizabeth says is a dark reality.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

We had a lot of stuff going behind closed doors that shouldn't have.

[David Muir]

Abusive, very violent, very physically violent and no escape because you were homeschooled. The abuse so severe, she says. The kids finally report their own mother to Child Protective Services. Kimberly Thomas is removed from the home and is facing multiple counts of child abuse and neglect. She denies the charges, telling a local TV station, I am not guilty of those. How did you find out what was going on at home?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

There's two sheriff's deputies in my yard.

[David Muir]

Their father, Anthony Thomas, often working around the clock as an exterminator to support his five children, insisting when we spoke to him last year that he didn't know how bad things had gotten at home. It's hard for you to talk about, isn't it?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yeah.

[David Muir]

You don't like to think about what was happening.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

So I'm going to take a break.

[David Muir]

Yeah. Their mother's removal is a welcome relief. But soon Elizabeth is pushed into the teenage shark tank known as high school.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

First thing they did was call me ugly once I came to school. I mean, it's just boys being stupid, but I just dated myself.

[David Muir]

Was it easy making friends?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I mean, they all had their little cliques. Can't really disrupt that.

[David Muir]

Elizabeth eventually finds one person she thinks she can trust, a popular and friendly health teacher, Tad Cummins.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I felt. She was in his class in health and he began to help her make this transition from home school to Public School.

[David Muir]

50 year old Tad Cummins is quite the charmer. Mora County District Attorney Brett Cooper went to high school with him. It's kind of funny, kind of a.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Cut up, pretty outgoing guy.

[David Muir]

So you knew him, you saw him around.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He and Jill, his wife, they were high school sweethearts and married the year they graduated high school.

[David Muir]

And they've been together the 31 years since his wife Jill spoke to us when this first happened.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

God is the center of our marriage and our life and our faith is the most important thing to us. And I think it was to him too, and still is.

[David Muir]

Cummins had even done mission work in the rainforest of Panama. He teaches Sunday school and sings in the church choir. What was it like growing up with him?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He was your all American dad. No matter what we were going through, he was the one you could call and would fix it.

[David Muir]

Tad Cummins flourishes in the classroom. Watch this YouTube video of him teaching how to perform CPR.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

See the difference? So that I'm actually taking my weight off of him. He was the cool teacher, like everybody loved him. He was everyone's friend, everyone's mentor, helped so many people through so many things.

[David Muir]

And for Elizabeth, he's an encouraging adult role model, showering her with attention, even gifts.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He gave me a Bible and it was just something from him, that kindness.

[David Muir]

Even extending outside the classroom. Taking Elizabeth to church on Sundays with his wife. Why did he decide to take her to church?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Our preacher's wife was going to be talking about abuse and how to get past it, get over it, and decided to invite Beth. We were helping her. I thought.

[David Muir]

Did you ever think anything of their interactions together?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

It was like a father daughter relationship is the way I saw it too, is the way he would explain it. In fact, I called her our third daughter.

[David Muir]

Sometime it all seems benign until that one day in the school cafeteria.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I was standing there with a few friends and then they said, are you hungry? And I went, I don't have a soul. Or if I did, like I'd be hungry or something like that. And then he came to me and he pointed at me and said, my soul sees your soul.

[David Muir]

Was he trying to scare her or seduce her? Coming up, a health teacher grooming a young student. What would be his next move? Did you tell somebody?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

No.

[David Muir]

Why?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I don't want to tell my parent that a grown man kissed me and I don't want to tell friends that a grown man kissed me.

[David Muir]

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[Elizabeth Thomas]

I don't know if you knew this.

[David Muir]

But anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do. @mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month Required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees, extra fee, full [e-mail] Churchgoing family man Tad Cummins seemed like a model citizen. But look closer and you'll find some cracks in that wholesome and happy facade.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Tad was kind of a bully about things.

[David Muir]

Chandler Anderson worked with Cummins back when Cummins worked as a respiratory therapist at a local hospital.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He would say things like, you're stupid. You know, you shouldn't be in the.

[David Muir]

Error in front of other people.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Oh, yeah, in front of other people. I have seen Tad be told no previously and I've seen the rage and anger he gets.

[David Muir]

Anderson says Cummins had a problem with authority. He didn't have enough of it. He says that's why Cummins switched careers and took a big pay cut.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

If money's not the central issue and feeding your ego is, that's what he chose. That's when I became a teacher. Who tells a teacher no?

[David Muir]

Certainly not students and certainly not a student like Elizabeth Thomas, still reeling from the abuse she says she suffered at home and who believes she's finally found an adult she can trust.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He made me feel like I didn't have anyone else and no one really cared about me like he did.

[David Muir]

Jason Whatley, the Thomas family attorney, spoke to us after Elizabeth went missing.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He was specifically grooming this child for a very specific purpose, and that was a relationship. He chose a girl that was clearly having issues because she went to him for, quote, unquote, counseling. She was the perfect victim. I was feeling real low and I was wanting to get on antidepressants and try to go to a therapist. And he told me no and not to do it because it changed who I was.

[David Muir]

So he convinced you not to get help?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yes.

[David Muir]

What did he suggest you do instead?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Come to him. I think it's another example of showing sort of to the community, to his wife, to everyone else.

[David Muir]

I'm trying to help this child.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

She comes to me at school, I counsel Her. I'm going to make her a better person. We know that's all phony.

[David Muir]

As part of the seduction, Cummins portrayed himself as an international man of mystery.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Apparently, he told a lot of tales about his fictitious background. He's a CIA operative, he's an FBI agent, he's a millionaire. He would describe it as he went in and he killed people and he saved people and he killed bin Laden.

[David Muir]

He was telling you he did all of these crazy things.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yes, and I knew that it wasn't real.

[David Muir]

How did you view him at that point?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Kind of like a guardian or a mentor.

[David Muir]

But Tad Cummins seems bent on bulldozing the boundaries of appropriate behavior. How are you guys communicating?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

We did.

[David Muir]

Via Instagram, Cummins posts you all my heart ever talks about it was love at first sight, at last sight. Then there's Elizabeth's response. I look forward to going to school just to see you. I love you.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Most of them from him would be sexual text.

[David Muir]

He would sexually text you?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yes, like sexting.

[David Muir]

But their verbal communication is just as cringeworthy, especially when they're alone in his classroom, which is becoming an alarmingly regular occurrence.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I can't remember the conversation, and then next thing I know, he said, you look pretty nice naked.

[David Muir]

When did he take it from saying things like that to you to something more?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Whenever he first kissed me. That was whenever I realized this is getting too far.

[David Muir]

In his classroom?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yes.

[David Muir]

Did you tell somebody?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

No. Like, I didn't want anyone to really know. I was scared of what would happen if anyone did know.

[David Muir]

From there, she says, it would escalate to unspeakable things that would take place in his classroom closet.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He'd open up the closet door and he'd look at me a certain way. And I knew if I didn't go that he'd be upset. And I was afraid to see him angry. And I've seen him angry since then. But he doesn't take. No.

[David Muir]

Well, at least one other student is afraid, too. A student reported seeing Elizabeth Thomas kissing.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Tad Cummins inside of his classroom. This student was very disturbed by what she saw, and she immediately went to report school officials.

[David Muir]

The school investigates, but Elizabeth denies everything. The reason that children that are being.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Abused by teachers will not admit that.

[David Muir]

Something happened is fear, because he's now.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Guilt tripping her regularly. You can't tell anybody, you know, you'll be ruined. Your reputation in school will be ruined.

[David Muir]

I'll be fired. Curiously, the school takes an entire week to alert police. And during that investigation, for some reason, Elizabeth says The school alerted allowed her to go on a class field trip unprotected.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He was the only chaperone there.

[David Muir]

He was the only chaperone. There were no other adults there?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

No other adult other than the bus driver, but he was on the bus at all times.

[David Muir]

Elizabeth says he took the opportunity to proposition her for sex, but she refused. The school finally tells Cummins and Elizabeth not to contact each other. Cummins then tells detectives their relationship is that of a father figure at school and denies ever kissing her. Five days later, after the school reprimands him for allowing Elizabeth to come back to his classroom, Cummins is suspended. How did he explain it to you that he was.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

It was either someone telling a lie or thought they saw something that they didn't, and then it happens. Did not happen. I had no reason not to believe him. 31 years of marriage, you know, with no problems. Why would you not believe him?

[David Muir]

And when all the students found out this was happening, there was a lot.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Of names and teasing that came around and a lot of bullying outside and inside of school.

[David Muir]

How did they feel towards Tad as all this was happening?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

They felt like I ruined his life.

[David Muir]

Did the teachers know about what was going on?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

A lot of them were made aware. And they also did a lot of the teachers teasing and a lot of the name calling.

[David Muir]

The teachers were doing the teasing.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

A lot of them were.

[David Muir]

Meanwhile, Cummins, now in exile from the school, begins acting strangely at home.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He always made the coffee the night before we would go to bed and he started telling me how to make the coffee. And I was like, why are you telling me this? And I was in tears because I thought that he was afraid he was going to go.

[David Muir]

He was planning to go somewhere. Apparently, the teacher had convinced himself and his favorite student that there was only one way out. With each other on the open road. He told you you had to go.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He said if he couldn't have me, he'd kill himself anytime. You threatened himself. He threatened my family.

[David Muir]

When 2020 continues.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Coming to ABC and Hulu, Amanda Riley was a mother, wife, speaker at her church and then diagnosed with cancer. A beloved young Christian woman fighting a battle undeserved.

[David Muir]

We thought she was God's gift, but she was a liar.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Why would somebody fake cancer?

[David Muir]

From the number one smash hit podcast, it was only a matter of time until Amanda's whole world came tumbling down. You're not gonna believe this. Scamanda. New episodes Thursday nights on ABC and stream on Hulu. It is a quiet Monday morning near Columbia, Tennessee, and Jill Cummins says she and her husband Tad spent an otherwise uneventful weekend out to eat, a trip to the movies, church on Sunday.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

We were together all the time. We spent lots and lots of time together, but everything was normal between us.

[David Muir]

But of course everything is not normal. Cummins has been suspended from the Coleoca Unit school for inappropriate conduct with 15 year old Elizabeth Thomas. You could cut the tension in their home with a Tennessee steak knife.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

We were both so stressed during those five weeks. We would cry about it, pray about it.

[David Muir]

But as hard as he prays, Cummins still can't shake the obsession with his young student, even forcing her to send him secret messages through social media.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Anytime that I wouldn't post for a few hours, he would go crazy and say that I was cheating on him. Saying if he found out that I was with another boy, he'd kill them.

[David Muir]

And so he cobbles together this plan to run off. He borrows Jill's car, a silver Nissan Rogue, saying he needs it to go to an out of town job interview. He took your car?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He did. Because he was going out of town. Not far, but far enough that he didn't want to drive the Jeep and he took the road.

[David Muir]

Back at the Coleoka Unit school, Elizabeth says she is under siege. Her fellow students are blaming her her for Cummins suspension. Turns out Cummins is blaming her too. No longer Mr. Nice Guy, the teacher issues a deadly ultimatum. Go on the run with me or else.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

So he started calling my phone. Sometimes I'd be threatening to kill himself or ending someone else's life if I didn't go.

[David Muir]

Did you feel trapped?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I did. He threatened to shoot himself or use the guns.

[David Muir]

Elizabeth says she reluctantly agrees to leave with Cummins on a ride to nowhere. In this surveillance video obtained by 2020, Elizabeth can be seen leaving her home. You meet him at the Shoney's?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yes. I felt really bad about leaving and I didn't want to leave, but I knew if I didn't something would happen. So I went to Shoney's at 8 o'clock. He was supposed to be there and he was late. I left a bag on the ground.

[David Muir]

The student is smarter than the teacher thinks she is because in the bag is a small clue. Elizabeth says Cummins tells her to write a note. A note she writes in a way she hopes will tip off authorities.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He told me to write that I was going to New York. That way it seemed like the police would go up there. He thought they were dumb, but they weren't.

[David Muir]

And that was his plan.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

That was his plan. But I wrote that I was going to New York City and I made it sound unbelievable. So they knew I was going the opposite way.

[David Muir]

And she's got another shrewd move up her sleeve, signposting her precarious predicament for her sister Sarah.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I just told Sarah that call the police if I'm not home by six.

[David Muir]

That was another clue.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I just wanted the police to be called because I knew once I got in that car I wasn't getting out.

[David Muir]

At 8:32, Cummins stops at a local gas station and fills up his tank. He then picks up Elizabeth at the Shoney's restaurant.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

But as soon as we went to go leave, he set a gun in the middle console and I knew that I wasn't getting out of the car.

[David Muir]

He immediately pulled the gun out, the.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Gun set in the middle console.

[David Muir]

And you knew then I wasn't getting out of this. It's around 10pm that night. Elizabeth's frantic father has spent hours searching for his missing daughter. And he calls the local sheriff as thoughts of the kissing incident raced through his head.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I said, you guys need to hunt down Ted Cummins and see if he's in town, see where he is.

[David Muir]

Cummins wife Jill has also called the sheriff. An arrest warrant is issued and Cummins officially becomes a wanted man. The TBI issued an Amber Alert for Mary Katherine Elizabeth Thomas. Their disappearance and ensuing cross country trek would flummox authorities for well over a month. The details and the direction their journey took being told by Elizabeth for the first time here tonight. So there's Nashville.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I think we took 65 down. Okay, Columbia's right here. I think he made me throw my phone off a bridge and his phone as well. That way the police couldn't track us. And then he disconnected the GPS by a screwdriver and the glove compartment and he broke off the front. And then he unhooked the radio. It was like a kidnapping. I had to stay in the car with him at all times. Indicator, I'm pretty sure is where we stopped by this big hotel and there was an abandoned van and he took their license plate. And then we began driving to Mississippi.

[David Muir]

Do you stay in Mississippi?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yes. One night.

[David Muir]

One night. Just a hotel. Two beds? One bed.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

One bed.

[David Muir]

And did you have to sleep next to him?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yes. At the hotels I would shower every morning because I felt dirty and disgusting every morning. And he didn't help that at all.

[David Muir]

When you say he didn't help that, what do you mean?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

The things he would make you do, it wouldn't Help the way that I was feeling. And I just try to shower to get away from him, but sometimes he wouldn't let you shower alone. It's had to be in the same space with him at the exact same time.

[David Muir]

Was there any moment that you thought, maybe I can run out of this room while he's sleeping?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He made me sleep naked, and my clothes would be put somewhere else. And he was a light sleeper, so if I moved, he'd be awake. And I couldn't even use the bathroom at night without him having to stand right there.

[David Muir]

And this whole time, as this is all happening, how was he treating you?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He was really mean and said hurtful things a lot of the time. He called me his wife sometimes, and he said that we were going to get married and that was going to live with him until I died.

[David Muir]

Day after day, night after helpless night. Elizabeth says Cummins is in complete control, the threat of his firearms ever present. He's even controlling what Elizabeth can eat.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I wasn't allowed to eat hamburger buns or things that had, like, high calories or something that was too much. Mostly was allowed to eat salad.

[David Muir]

So why was he making you eat this way?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

So I stay small. He told me that he likes skinny girls, and I ate what he told me to because if I didn't, I wouldn't get it at all.

[David Muir]

Did you ever stay more than one night anywhere?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

So I'm just gonna dot each place that we stayed the night. I know. I think we stayed three nights in Colorado. So I'm gonna say right here. Right here. I know we went to Aspen and then Utah. That's where he started buying alcohol.

[David Muir]

He started buying alcohol?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yeah, for me, because I was having problems, and he was done dealing with them. Like, I don't want to do stuff with them anymore. I just didn't. I was just done, and he didn't want that.

[David Muir]

Their journey takes them across nine states, all the way to California.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

From each state that I took, I had rocks and I'd write what county or wherever we were and then what state. That way, if Nye got rescued, he could be charged for each one that he was in.

[David Muir]

When we come back, authorities are closing in, and Cummins hatches yet another insane plan. A plan to paddle south of the border.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

The waves were getting really bad. The boat would nearly go under.

[David Muir]

Were you scared?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I was terrified because the boat kept going down.

[David Muir]

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[Elizabeth Thomas]

He gave me a calendar and I used it to mark down where we were and where we were at. And I used it every day. Then I just stopped marking because I didn't think we were ever going to leave.

[David Muir]

No longer counting the days until she is found, Elizabeth Thomas is losing hope of ever seeing her family again. Did you know this whole time all this is going on that everyone, I mean, like all of America, was looking for you?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I saw it on Fox News one time in the hotel. A manhunt is underway and I remember it was a girl announcing it, a nationwide ambler alert. I knew it was for me.

[David Muir]

Meanwhile, back in Tennessee, Tad's abandoned wife Jill, is quickly coming undone.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Please do the right thing and turn yourself into the police and bring Beth home.

[David Muir]

With the entire country on high alert, Tad Cummins, now perhaps the most wanted man in America, panics and decides to go to a place many a fugitive have gone before. Mexico.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He wanted to go to Mexico because apparently that's free land. And he wanted to go to try to go to Panama because that's where he was before on mission trips.

[David Muir]

Yeah, this is, as you can see, we're coming out here. There's good waves.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

This is an easy four to eight foot swell, real close together.

[David Muir]

Brian Zulka is the owner and captain of Elgato Sports Fishing, a charter boat company located about 20 miles from the Mexican border. Is it easy to take a boat from here into Mexico? No, it's not. You have to have the right boat, you have to have the right weather, you have to have the right skills in navigation, otherwise you're not going to make it. Turns out Tad Cummins would have none of those things.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

So he got a kayak and he wanted to kayak all the way to Panama.

[David Muir]

Yep, you heard correctly. He takes a humble man, powered kayak. Clearly not a geography teacher. Elizabeth says Cummins devises a plot to paddle some 3,000 nautical miles to Panama. You were in the kayak with him.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

The waves were getting really bad to where, like once they'd hit the bottom of the boat, the boat would nearly go under. Whichever way you tried to go, it would pull you the other direction.

[David Muir]

Were you scared? I was terrified.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

The boat kept going down.

[David Muir]

At what point did you decide, okay, this is a bad idea, I'm turning around.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Whenever one wave nearly killed us, like took us over. Once we finally got out of it, I was so happy.

[David Muir]

What did he do then?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He decided we were going to go to a commune.

[David Muir]

So which commune did you go to then?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Black Bear. Because nobody would recognize us. It was the last free place on earth or where people come to be free or something like that.

[David Muir]

How did he know about that?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He looked it up and it said Black Bear Ranch was the closest one in California.

[David Muir]

Black Bear Ranch, a remote commune deep in the woods of Northern California, is located so far off the grid, it feels like another world. We're an off the grid homesteading community. We don't have any television, radio, cell phone, Internet. There's no newspaper delivery or other contact with the outside world besides what comes in and out of the driveway. The reclusive residents are reluctant to let us use our cameras, only allowing us to shoot this video on their older model iPhone. Are those are chickens up there? Yeah, chickens and ducks. Our guide, who goes by the name April Showers, gives us a tour and talks all about the peculiar couple who introduced themselves as John and Joanna. They tell everyone they are 44 and 24 years old. Several weeks ago, this couple arrived and they failed to identify their true selves and identities.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I knew that once I was at Black Bear Ranch, I couldn't go anywhere. There is literally nobody out there.

[David Muir]

They take the pair in, giving them a bed here in the main house and sharing their food.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

They liked me a lot. A lot of them did. It was kind of because I didn't argue. I cleaned up after myself. I didn't make too much noise. I was quiet.

[David Muir]

And while Tad Cummins has left so much behind him, one thing he hasn't shed is his hot temper. He brought that into our sacred space. This terrible behavior and acting on the wrong impulse and a perverted instinct. I would say so they didn't fit in here very well. No, they didn't fit in here very well. Very quickly, things go south at Black Bear. Elizabeth and Cummins are kicked out. Turns out Cummins didn't have much of a communal spirit. He got very angry and almost blew a gasket. That's pretty scary.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yeah, he blew a fuse right there. He got mad and took out his knife and then dropped it on the ground. Started screaming at April. I thought this was gonna be the end. This is where he's gonna shoot somebody.

[David Muir]

It's a risky proposition, alienating the peaceful residents of this commune, with so little to their name and so much at stake. Do you have food?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Eggs and two oranges, actually.

[David Muir]

You had eggs and two oranges? Yeah. And $10.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yeah. Nothing in sight.

[David Muir]

Out of hope and full of desperation.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Who'S gonna find me?

[David Muir]

Elizabeth heads back down that hellish hill, never in a million years expecting to meet her unlikely hero. I saw a photo of the guy and I was like, that's definitely him. When 2020 continues.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He told me to stay in the car and put sunglasses on and keep my head down.

[David Muir]

It's now 36 days since Tad Cummins and Elizabeth Thomas disappeared from Tennessee.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He didn't want people to be able to recognize me, and he would wear sunglasses, try to do the same.

[David Muir]

Cast out of Paradise, AKA the Black Bear commune in Northern California. Running out of options, a desperate Cummins sets off for the nearby village of Cecilville. Said they were from Colorado. Cummins sees a familiar face, Griffin Berry. It turns out Griffin had given Cummins gas and directions to the Black Bear commune a week earlier. Did you remember them? No, I couldn't remember his name.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I was like, what's your name again?

[David Muir]

You know what I'm saying? He's like, yeah, we had a house fire, I think. So he lost his job. They're just trying to start a new life. But I was like, I'll help you out. I put him in the cabin. Griffin, ironically a native of Nashville, Tennessee, is the caretaker of this forested California property and gives the couple he thinks is just down on their luck a place to stay. Can you show us the cabin that you put in? For sure. It's at the end. So this is where they stayed? Yeah. And those bottles? Those are the black straw bottles? Yeah. So that's what they were using to have clean water.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

We had a little foam kind of mattress thing that he laid on. And then we had this thing we grabbed from BlackBerry Ranch, which is kind of like a seat padding that I laid on and he pushed them together and we had a little comforter.

[David Muir]

The wood cabin is unfinished and has no heat or insulation. It does little to keep out the cold.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

It was really cold in California. It got real cold at night, especially.

[David Muir]

To make some extra money, Griffin Berry puts them to work collecting river rocks for a masonry project. When I was trying to strike up a conversation, I picked him up in the morning. I was like, what's your name? And she was like, joanna. It was almost with like an accent. The quiet girl and weird accent seem odd. So strange that Griffin tells a neighbor nearby. Something seems off. I was like, that girl won't talk, you know, to me, really, or anything. That night, the same neighbor makes a startling discovery. Finding this amber alert. I saw a photo of the guy and I was like, that's definitely him. Then what did you guys decide to do? We went and called the police. Finally, police have the tip they've been hoping for. Authorities race to that small town in Northern California, and a SWAT team surrounds the cabin.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I came out of the cabin and it was early morning. I think he went to go wash out our dishes from the night before. But then I saw someone up on the hill.

[David Muir]

As the sun is rising, Elizabeth spots a camouflage hat.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I knew it was the police. And as soon as he walked over there, he walked around that bush. And then all you hear is, hands up. It's over.

[David Muir]

That's what they said to you.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

They said, put your hands up. Get on the ground.

[David Muir]

38 days after Elizabeth left her home in Tennessee, she is finally rescued. The day that the police show up.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

That was the best day of my life.

[David Muir]

The police pounce on Cummins. But before he's led away, he whispers to Elizabeth, still trying to exert control over his would be teenage bride.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He said not to tell them that we have done anything, that he forced me to go, say that I went willingly, said that he was trying to protect me.

[David Muir]

That was his story. He was trying to protect you?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He was, and he told me to go along with it.

[David Muir]

I could tell you that her mood kind of was escalated. You know, it was a very traumatic experience for her. It was kind of a roller coaster of emotions for her. Is she relieved at all? You know, I really don't know. Elizabeth says it's important for her to now reveal what she endured. No longer afraid of what her teacher can do to her.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I know he's a bad man and I blame myself a lot. But now I know that he's at fault. He himself made him do it. Other people don't choose your actions. You do.

[David Muir]

Less than 24 hours after being found, the already well traveled Elizabeth is on a plane for the very first time, heading home to Tennessee. What was that like?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Overwhelming. Lots to take in and so many people bombarding you with so many questions.

[David Muir]

They have perceptions of what they think you're like and what you've done.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Yeah.

[David Muir]

Elizabeth enters inpatient counseling. And for her family, relief is replaced with anger at the adults who they say let her down. Still to come, the tables have turned. Silenced no more, Elizabeth takes aim at her school.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Why didn't they notice? They knew and they know that they knew.

[David Muir]

Can you just tell us why you didn't call authorities right away when you found out about the Tad Cubbings incident? Do you have any comment what that school is telling 2020 tonight? Next.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Came back to Tennessee and the FBI and the TPI were there and they were trying to joke around with me, making things a lot easier for the transition home.

[David Muir]

April 21, 2017. After 38 days on the run, Elizabeth Thomas, safely back in Tennessee, her family begins to demand answers. How could this have happened at their daughter's own school?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Did the school drop the ball? That's an understatement, in my opinion.

[David Muir]

And they're now suing the school board for failing to protect her from Tad Cummins.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

To this day, the school board nor.

[David Muir]

The school has not even apologized for.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Not even letting me know.

[David Muir]

Last year, we tried to get some answers of our own from school principal Penny Love. Here she is on her Twitter page, that big smile front and center. But we find someone not so willing to smile for the camera or even get out of her car. Can you just tell us why you didn't call authorities right away when you found out about the Tad Cubbings incident? Do you have any comment? And even though her school took a full week to call police after Tad Cummins was seen kissing his 15 year old student in his classroom, Principal Love spared no time calling the cops on us off the property. All right, we're going. As for that lawsuit the school board referred us to. The response it filed in court that it denies it failed any of its obligations or permitted conditions to empower a predator and blamed what happened to Elizabeth solely on Tad Cummins.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

Why didn't they notice?

[David Muir]

Elizabeth insists adults around her could have saved her from those 38 days of horror.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

They knew. And they know that they knew. And I really hope they feel guilty about it. And I pray that one day they might say something and speak up. They knew. And if they Don't. That's great. Shame on them.

[David Muir]

As for Cummins wife Jill, some question whether she could have done more. They see that you knew her, that you interacted with them and they say, how did she not know something was up?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

No one knew.

[David Muir]

So you never suspected anything?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

No.

[David Muir]

Not once?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

No.

[David Muir]

Tad Cummins pleaded guilty earlier this year to transporting a minor across state lines for sex and faces at least 10 years in prison.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

He can say all day long the devil made him do it, but he is the devil.

[David Muir]

You had to see him in court.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

I did. And I made that choice. And I wanted him to know that I'm stronger than what he thinks I am. That I'm not his puppet anymore.

[David Muir]

Today, Elizabeth is 17, back in her hometown in Tennessee and still living under that small town microscope. Do you feel like people judge you?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

They do. A lot of them do.

[David Muir]

We tend to sometimes blame victims.

[Elizabeth Thomas]

When something as horrible as this happens, the person that it happens to is.

[David Muir]

Not the shameful one. Elizabeth is focusing on what she can, moving on, which for her means being like any other teenager. She works at a coffee shop, has a boyfriend and a new puppy, spends her free time at the local Sonic and is working towards her ged. What are your dreams for your life?

[Elizabeth Thomas]

To have a family and and protect them. Make them have a better life. I'm a stronger person than I was. And I'm not afraid.

[David Muir]

Strong and not afraid. 2020 reached out to Tad Cummins, attorney to comment about tonight's interview. They declined to comment. Tad Cummings and his wife are now divorced and we do know that his sentencing is later this fall. In the meantime, that is 2020 for tonight. Thanks for watching. I'm David Neal. And I'm Amy Roebuck. For all all of us here at 2020 and ABC News, have a great night. You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault. You can find all new broadcast episodes of 2020 Friday nights at 9 on ABC. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. It's Brad Milkey, host of ABC's Daily News podcast. Start here. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses. Monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.