Elizabeth Thomas-Tad Cummins Facts As Tennessee Student's Family Prepares For Kidnapping Trial

As Tad Cummins’ trial on July 25 nears, the family of kidnapped Tennessee teen Elizabeth Thomas is hoping that the former schoolteacher is found guilty.

Elizabeth's kidnapping case elicited nation-wide attention after it was reported that she might have had a romantic relationship with Cummins.

Elizabeth went missing on March 13 following which Tennessee law enforcement authorities issued an Amber Alert for the teen. The case took a different turn after an unidentified student reported seeing Elizabeth and Cummins kissing in his classroom. A massive manhunt was launched for the 51-year-old, who is charged with transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual conduct and obstruction of justice.

Read: What's Next In Tad Cummins, Elizabeth Thomas Case?

After weeks of search, and several occasions when the two were spotted together, Elizabeth and Cummins were found. Following a tip, Cummins and Elizabeth were located in a remote part of Northern California. Further investigation revealed that Cummins took Elizabeth to Alabama, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and eventually California.

FBI agent Utley Noble testified that Cummins admitted he had sex with Elizabeth “most nights” while he was on the run, and that their sexual relationship began the day they went missing. His estranged wife, Jill Cummins, also confirmed tat her husband told her he had sex with Elizabeth.

“I said, ‘Well, did you sleep with her?’” she said in an interview with Inside Edition in April. “And he said, ‘Yes, I did.’ And I didn’t want any details.”

Cummins’ lawyers contended Elizabeth was not held against her will and that she fled her home willingly with her former teacher. An attorney for the Thomas family, however, called the idea “amazingly absurd.”

"She is 15, a child. He is 50, a grown man. She's a high school freshman. He's a former teacher. This is, and was, not a romance," Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director Mark Gwynn told reporters in April. "This was manipulation solely to benefit Tad Cummins. This is not a fairy tale. This is a case of kidnapping."

After Cummins arrest, Elizabeth returned home to her family. Her father told People magazine last week that she was making progress thanks to the help of the family and counselors.

“We are doing fine,” he said. “It’s just a process you have to go through. [We’re] being very supportive.”

Cummins' wife filed for divorce soon after it was revealed that her husband may be involved in the kidnapping of Elizabeth.

“He was getting really close to her,” Cummins’ wife said during her appearance on Inside Edition. “A father-daughter close, a friendship close, and I knew that. I discussed that with him. And explained to him, ‘She’s your student, you can’t be so close to her. Never did I think there was a romantic thing between the two of them. There were no signs of that.”

Read: Elizabeth Thomas’ Family Prepares For ‘Highly Emotional’ Tad Cummins Kidnapping Trial

Jill also admitted in April that her husband exploited and brainwashed the 15-year-old Tennessee student. She said in another interview that Cummins asked her for forgiveness and said he loved her.

"It was very hard to hear his voice after all this time not knowing if I was going to hear it again," she said. "But he told me he was sorry. He told me he loved me and to please forgive him.”

If convicted, Cummins could face life in prison.