Despite the fact that her father, Tad Cummins, 50, ran off with 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas – spending a month on the run with the kidnapped teen – his daughters still support him. Ashley Cummins, 26, spoke to AOL Inside Edition about her father, saying she fully supports her mother, Jill Cummins, but also supports her father. According to Ashley, Cummins was the “definition of what a good father should be,” adding that he still is. She says she believes that and that Cummins needs to know that not everybody is against him.

Daughter will still have a relationship with Tad Cummins

Ashley’s mother Jill says she will have to let her daughter have a relationship with Cummins and even visit him in jail, but she is reportedly not happy about it. She added that her daughters know he did wrong and that they are standing by her. Jill added that Ashley and her sister, Erica, are wonderful girls and that their father would be proud of the way they stepped up, being there for her when he wasn’t.

Jill and Tad Cummins were married on her 18th birthday, but after he ran off after kidnapping Elizabeth Thomas in March, she has filed for divorce.

She said she may never speak to Cummins again, but did admit she still loves him, saying you can’t just switch that off. However, she said she cannot trust him anymore and they could never have what they had before. She said she doesn’t hate Cummins, she hates what he did.

Jill went on to say that most women don’t have the support of the nation like she does, when their husbands are having affairs.

She says that support is a blessing.

After being kidnapped by Cummins on March 13, the pair were discovered in a remote cabin in Cecilville, Calif. Cummins was arrested and is facing a minimum 10 year sentence or up to life, while Elizabeth was reunited with her family.

Elizabeth Thomas and Tad Cummins survived on wildflowers

Meanwhile it sounds like Elizabeth went through a lot during her time on the run with Cummins. Friday marked one week since Thomas finally arrived home and the teen is receiving counseling after her experience. According to Jason Whatley, the family’s attorney, the cabin where the couple was found had no electricity or running water and there was little food available. People reports that at times Cummins and Elizabeth ate wildflowers in order to survive while in the cabin, leading to Elizabeth losing a lot of weight.

Whatley said he was shocked when he saw Elizabeth because she had lost so much weight. He said the teen is both physically and emotionally fragile. He added that it appears Elizabeth also didn’t have the chance to bath or shower during the time she was gone, as the first thing she wanted on getting rescued was to have a shower.
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