Tennessee Teen Allegedly Kidnapped By Former Teacher Says She Doesn’t Regret It

Elizabeth Thomas, a teenager from Tennesse who was allegedly kidnapped by her former teacher, said she doesn’t regret leaving town with him in her first interview since being rescued. She told the Columbia Daily Herald“I don’t regret it, nor do I say it was the right thing to do. It was an experience I’ll have to live with the rest of my life. It’s good and bad. It’s there. No matter what we do, we’ll have to deal with it.” She was found over 5 months ago.

On March 13, Thomas went missing with Tad Cummins, a then 50, a married father and grandfather. An Amber Alert was issued and police across the country searched, it took over a month before finding the two thousands of miles away in California.

Cummins was fired from his teaching job one day after the alleged kidnapping, and is said to have researched teen marriage online, along with the age of consent, according to law enforcement officials. According to a school district investigative report, one of Elizabeth’s classmates reported seeing Cummins kiss Thomas in his classroom a few months prior, but both denied the claim. A school report from January said that neither one “admitted to behaving inappropriately towards the other.”

Elizabeth was found “healthy and unharmed” on April 20 in a cabin in Northern California.