SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Tad Cummins, the former Tennessee teacher who allegedly abducted 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas, planned to flee to Mexico with the teen, according to court documents.
In a criminal affidavit, investigators said Cummins stole his wife’s car on March 13, telling her he was going to Virginia to “clear his head,” according to an NBC News report.
Instead of going to Virginia, Cummins allegedly picked up Elizabeth and headed across the country with $4,500 from a loan he had just taken out, two handguns and seven erectile dysfunction pills.
The pair drove across the country staying at motels where–investigators made a point in saying–they rented a room with only one bed.
Cummins and Elizabeth were finally found at a small cabin in a remote area of northern California.
The affidavit alleges Cummins and Elizabeth were “involved in sexual relationship and traveled in interstate commerce to continue their relationship and to engage in unlawful sexual activity.”
Cummins reportedly told investigators he planned to escape to Mexico, where he would then travel to Central or South America.
Prosecutors said Cummins went so far as to buy a small watercraft and take it on at test run from San Diego into Mexican waters.
Cummins’ sister, Daphne Quinn, told NBC News she asked him why he would do something like this. “And the answer he gave me was that [Elizabeth] wanted to run away and she wanted to leave, and he didn’t want her to go alone, so he went with her so that he could know that she was safe,” Quinn said.
During a court appearance Monday, Cummins was ordered to be held without bail prior to being extradited to Tennessee to face charges of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Elizabeth has reportedly been reunited with her family and is being evaluated for emotional trauma.
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