"I believe the FBI are going to make sure she's healthy before she comes home," she said. "We're so happy that California police worked quickly and were able to find them and get her safe," one of the girl's sisters told The Tennessean. Culleoka is a community about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Nashville near the Alabama state line. The pair's disappearance March 13 came after Cummins was investigated by the school system when another student reported seeing the then-married teacher kiss the girl at the Culleoka Unit School. Authorities had earlier said the arrest happened at a commune but later clarified that it occurred in a very remote area, where the terrain was difficult to traverse and snow was still on the ground in some places. "We couldn't be happier to tell you she will soon be on her way back home to Tennessee," Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn said.Ĭummins faces a federal charge of taking a minor across state lines to have sex, as well as state charges of aggravated kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor.Īuthorities received a tip late Wednesday night that the pair may have taken up residence, perhaps for more than a week, in the woods in Cecilville, where cellphone coverage is limited, bureau spokesman Josh Devine said. The girl was apparently healthy and unharmed, and authorities said their main concern was her emotional and mental state. Health sciences teacher Tad Cummins surrendered to sheriff's deputies without incident in Cecilville, California, hours after they had found his vehicle in the area, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said. A 15-year-old Tennessee girl was rescued near a cabin in a remote part of northern California on Thursday, more than a month after her 50-year-old teacher kidnapped her and set off a nationwide manhunt, authorities said. "She would come to him about her problems with her past," Jill Cummins said.Īuthorities said Thomas would be flown back to Tennessee to be reunited with her family while Cummins would be extradited.NASHVILLE, Tenn. She said the couple, who have two grown daughters, had even taken Thomas to church. She said in an interview on ABC television that she knew Thomas and thought her husband was mentoring the teen. His wife of more than 30 years, Jill Cummins, reported him missing to authorities after finding a note at their home. Gwyn's office said in a statement last month that a probe had revealed "a troubling pattern of behaviour by Tad Cummins, suggesting the 50-year-old may have been abusing his role as a teacher to groom this vulnerable young girl for some time in an effort to lure and potentially sexually exploit her".Īuthorities said prior to the pair's disappearance, Cummins had researched online the topic of teen marriage and had also tried to determine if features on his vehicle could be tracked. Ĭummins was a teacher at Thomas's high school in Tennessee and was fired for inappropriate behavior with the freshman student after another pupil claimed to have seen the pair kissing. "What happened in California this morning, however, proves it only takes one person to lead to a successful end.". "Our intelligence analysts and agents have worked tirelessly since issuing this AMBER Alert to process more than 1,500 leads from all 50 states," TBI director Mark Gwyn said in a statement. The AMBER Alert Program broadcasts urgent bulletins on child-abduction cases.
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