It is now almost three weeks since Tad Cummins, 50, disappeared with Elizabeth Thomas, 15, in what is considered to be an alleged kidnapping. While many tips have been received, officials say the first confirmed sighting of the pair has been made. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Cummins disappeared with his former student, Elizabeth Thomas, in Maury County, Tennessee on March 13. This happened soon after a student reported to the school that she had seen the teacher and student inappropriately kissing.
Photos of the pair have now emerged from surveillance footage taken on March 15, just two days after their disappearance, at a Walmart in Oklahoma City.
Reportedly Cummins paid for various grocery items with cash, so no credit card record is available. It was reported shortly after Cummins and Thomas disappeared that the former teacher had taken out a $4,500 loan before he disappeared, which gives him the cash to use on the road.
Tad Cummins and Elizabeth Thomas have changed their appearance
The photos show that Cummins has darkened his hair color and while he previously had a gray beard, it is now brown. Elizabeth may have died her hair red, as it was previously described as blond. However, according to a video released by CNN, Elizabeth is wearing the same flannel shirt and black pants in the surveillance images that she was wearing when she disappeared.
According to a report by People, this confirmed sighting came in a day after officials in Collierville, Tennessee said Cummins and Thomas had been seen in Collierville in a white van. However, officials later announced that the sighting had been false.
#TNAMBERAlert SIGHTING CONFIRMED: Tad Cummins and Elizabeth Thomas were in Oklahoma City on March 15th. DETAILS: https://t.co/PtEHq8npp2 pic.twitter.com/cLhDJRBCd3
— TBI (@TBInvestigation) March 31, 2017
Former teacher now on Top 10 Most Wanted list
According to the TBI, Cummins has now been added to the Top 10 Most Wanted list in the state and is facing charges of aggravated kidnapping along with sexual misconduct with a minor.
The TBI describes Cummins as being six feet in height, weighing around 200 pounds and with brown eyes. Thomas is reportedly 5-foot 5-inches, weighs around 120 pounds and has hazel eyes. According to officials Cummins has two handguns on his person and was, at the time of their disappearance, driving a silver Nissan Rogue bearing Tennessee license plates.
Should anyone have any information on Cummins or Thomas, they should call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
