Tad Cummins And Elizabeth Thomas' Story: The Latest Since They Were Found

Since Tad Cummins and Elizabeth Thomas were located more than a month after they originally disappeared, shocking details have emerged regarding the alleged kidnapping. Cummins, 50, was formerly 15-year-old Elizabeth’s high school teacher before the pair disappeared from Maury County, Tennessee. The two were found 38 days later in a remote area of Northern California, where Cummins was immediately arrested.

Many of the jarring details regarding what took place during those 38 days came from the testimony of FBI agent Utley Noble and conversations with Cummins estranged ex-wife. Here’s a look at everything we’ve learned since Cummins and Elizabeth were finally located.

• Cummins traded in some of his personal items in exchange for $4,500 sometime in March before disappearing.
• Cummins disabled the GPS device on his car, put a mattress in the back and swapped out his Tennessee license plates for Alabama plates before leaving the state.

Read: Tad Cummins' Daughter Breaks Silence After Alleged Kidnapping Of Elizabeth Thomas

• Cummins left a note for his now-estranged wife before disappearing in which he asked her not to call the police and said he just needed to clear his head for a while. “Jill, I am so sorry! I am on my way to Virginia Beach or maybe D.C. just to think and clear my mind of all this crap,” he wrote. “I am not running away, I’ll be back. Don’t call the police, they’ll think I ran off cause I’m guilty and I’m not.”

• Cummins picked up Elizabeth at a local restaurant called Shoney’s in Culleoka, Tennessee.
• The pair first stopped in Alabama, where they threw their cell phones into the Tennessee River. They then spent two nights at Super 8 motels in Oklahoma before moving onto Colorado, where Cummins purchased a tablet to watch the coverage of their disappearance. They went on to Utah, where they spent four nights, then to Nevada, where they spent one night before moving to San Diego.
• At some point, Cummins obtained new identities for both him and Elizabeth. He chose “Spanish-sounding names” in order to better fit in once they got to Mexico, settling on a married couple: 40-year-old John Castro and 24-year-old Joanna Castro.
• Upon arrival in San Diego, Cummins purchased a $1,500 kayak in order to take Elizabeth to Mexico. He conducted test runs but decided it would be too dangerous to cross the open water and that crossing by land was out of the question. The two instead camped out in Northern California.
• Cummins admitted to having sex with the Elizabeth “most nights” while he was on the run, Noble testified. Cummins said the two began having a sexual relationship March 13, the day they disappeared.
• Cummins confirmed to his wife that he had sex with Elizabeth. “I asked, ‘Well, did you sleep with her?’” Jill Cummins told Inside Edition of a conversation they had after he was arrested. “And he said, ‘Yes, I did,’ and I didn’t want any details.”

Read: Tad Cummins Tried Using Kayaks, Fake Spanish Names To Take Elizabeth Thomas To Mexico

• Cummins was charged the day of his arrest with transporting a minor across state lines with intent to engage in sexual activity but could face additional charges of statutory rape. Prosecutors sought to obtain the recordings from Cummins and his wife in which he confirmed that he slept with Elizabeth.
• Cummins estranged wife Jill, who filed for divorce shortly after he disappeared, did not appear at his first court appearance. In an interview with "Good Morning America," she said she still loved him but no longer trusted him.
• A federal judge ruled Cummins would be held until his trial on grounds that he was a flight risk and a danger to the community.
• One of Cummins daughters, Ashley Cummins, 26, spoke out about the events and said she would stick by her father. “He was the definition of what a good father should be and still is,” she told Inside Edition in May. “I believe that. He needs to at least know that everybody’s not against him.”