Timeline shows troubling events before Elizabeth Thomas' disappearance

Update: Tad Cummins arrested, Elizabeth Thomas found safe in northern California​

Over a month before Maury County teen Elizabeth Thomas is believed to have been abducted by Culleoka Unit School teacher Tad Cummins, another student witnessed what appeared to be a kiss between Cummins and Thomas and reported the incident to school administration, according to a timeline released by Maury County Public Schools on Tuesday.

The report also shows that Cummins remained employed at the school for two weeks as school officials worked to verify the incident.

The release of the timeline and a report on the school’s investigation into the incident follow the actions that led to Cummins’ suspension and eventual termination on March 13, when Thomas, 15, and Cummins, 50, were reported missing.

The report comes as law enforcement officials are involved in a multistate search to find Thomas, who Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesman Josh DeVine said may be in grave danger. Cummins is believed to be carrying two handguns and hiding with Thomas out of sight of surveillance cameras.

According to the report, a female student was walking back into Cummins' classroom on Jan. 23 to retrieve a bag she left there when the student says she witnessed Cummins kissing Thomas.

“In her written statement, Student 1 states ‘It wasn’t like a make out kiss, just a peck on the lips,' ” the report says.

After witnessing the incident, the student told administrators she felt uncomfortable and left the classroom and then told another student what happened. The other student later told administrators that the first student, who witnessed the incident, was “freaked out” by it.

The next day, the report says, both students confronted Cummins about his relationship with Thomas.

Cummins said that he was a father figure to Thomas and that he saw her as a close and best friend, the report states.

Read more about the Amber Alert case:

• Tad Cummins arrested, Elizabeth Thomas found safe in northern California
• 5 things we know about Tad Cummins
• Timeline shows troubling events before Elizabeth Thomas' disappearance
• Tad Cummins threatened teen with 'repercussions' before kidnapping, court papers say
• Elizabeth Thomas' dad pleads for her return at Columbia tree planting
• TBI: Tad Cummins searched 'teen marriage' on internet before kidnapping

On Jan. 24, the student who witnessed the incident approached a Culleoka Unit School administrator to report what she saw between Cummins and Thomas.

School officials interviewed the student that day on the alleged inappropriate conduct, according to the report. The next day, Jan. 25, Culleoka Unit School administrators contacted Maury County Public Schools Chief of Staff Amanda Hargrove, who started an investigation that lasted until Jan. 30.

The investigation report states that Thomas was a ninth-grader in Cummins' forensics class. He’d been a teacher at the school since 2011.

The investigation

As the investigation began, the report says, Thomas was questioned about her relationship with Cummins. Thomas admitted that she went to Cummins' room often when she became anxious or upset during the day, saying that Cummins was a friend and counselor who knew how to calm her down when she was anxious.

Thomas denied that Cummins ever kissed her or acted inappropriately. She said she had gone to church with him a few times, but mainly hung around his wife and that the only contact they’d ever had was a fist bump and that he’d grabbed her hands once to calm her down, according to the report.

In the course of the investigation, Cummins also denied the kissing incident ever took place, the report states.

He told administrators that he was just a friend to Thomas, that he had no idea why another student would make the allegation and that he loves his wife and would never do anything to jeopardize his marriage, the report states.

Another teacher interviewed for the report said she saw Thomas in Cummins' classroom a lot and noticed that Thomas’ desk had been moved closer to Cummins' desk, but she said she never saw any inappropriate contact between the two.

After conducting the initial interviews, Hargrove's recommendations were that Thomas be removed from Cummins' classroom, that administration separate Cummins and Thomas and that Thomas be instructed to go to school administration and guidance counselors with issues, according to the report.

Administrators were advised to monitor Cummins' classroom to ensure students were not there when they were not supposed to be and that Cummins be reprimanded.

On Jan. 27, Thomas was removed from Cummins' class and on Jan. 31, Maury County Public Schools was notified by law enforcement that Cummins was the subject of a criminal investigation and was told to turn over all information about recent allegations against Cummins to law enforcement.

Cummins' employment at the school continued, but late on the afternoon of Feb. 3, Maury County Public Schools received another report that Cummins had been in contact with Thomas from 12:11 p.m. to 12:44 p.m. against his supervisor’s directives not to interact with Thomas, the report says.

Hargrove met with Cummins on the following Monday and suspended him from his duties at the school, and Cummins was officially terminated March 14, after law enforcement said he fled the area March 13.

Left in the dark

Jason Whatley, an attorney for Thomas' father, Anthony Thomas, told the Associated Press that in addition to Anthony Thomas being horrified over his daughter's abduction, the father is confused and outraged that school officials waited a week to tell him of the kiss that was reported by another student and that Cummins was allowed to continue working at the school.

"This is my client's daughter, and she's been taken. She's been abducted, and I can't figure out for the life of me why no one believed this middle school student," Whatley told the AP.

The father, Whatley said, only learned of the kissing allegation a week later after a detective with the Maury County Sheriff's Department went to the home to investigate.

Read more:

• Tad Cummins' wife files for divorce amidst Elizabeth Thomas Amber Alert
• Teaching was dream job for kidnapping suspect Tad Cummins
• TBI: Elizabeth Thomas, Tad Cummins were spotted in Oklahoma
• TBI: Tad Cummins added to 10 most wanted list as search for Columbia teen continues
• Videos: The search for Elizabeth Thomas and Tad Cummins
• Photos: Amber Alert issued for Elizabeth Thomas
• Vanished: Learn more about Tennessee's missing children

The school suspended Cummins one day after a handwritten letter was delivered to the school from Whatley, demanding Anthony Thomas be updated on what school officials had learned about his daughter's contact with Cummins, the AP report said.

"My client's position, respectfully, is that Mr. Cummins should have been out the door until the police investigation was completed," Whatley said.

Alarming signs for law enforcement

The TBI's investigation thus far has suggested Cummins "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," a statewide Amber Alert update from the TBI said.

District Attorney General Brent Cooper said Cummins will now be charged with the aggravated kidnapping of Thomas, in addition to charges he faces for an interaction that took place with Thomas at the school.

When the charges were announced Cooper was joined at the sheriff's department by Cummins' wife, Jill Cummins, who pleaded with her husband to turn himself in.

"Tad, this is not you. This is not who you are. We can help you get through this," she said. "I had no idea my husband was involved in any of this."

If Cummins is convicted of aggravated kidnapping, a charge added nearly five days after he and Thomas disappeared, he could face anywhere from eight to 21 years in prison. But the district attorney emphasized that if Cummins releases Thomas or gives officers information leading to the teen's safe return, the punishment could be less severe.

"I urge Mr. Cummins to pick up the phone," Cooper said.

Maury County Public Schools also issued a statement Tuesday with the release of the timeline.

“On behalf of the Maury County Public School system, we hope and pray for the safe return of Elizabeth Thomas,” Superintendent Dr. Christopher J. Marczak said in the release. “We continue to cooperate with law enforcement in the sharing of all pertinent information while the search continues."

Those who have information on the whereabouts of Elizabeth Thomas are urged to call the TBI immediately at 1-800-824-3463.

Anyone who provides information leading to Cummins' arrest will be eligible for a $1,000 reward.

Reporter Ariana Sawyer and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jordan Buie can be reached at 615-726-5970 or jbuie@tennessean.com.

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