C’ville sighting of supposed kidnapper dismissed by TBI.
An update from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation late Thursday afternoon revealed that a man spotted on surveillance video in Collierville today was not Tad Cummins, a suspect on Tennessee’s Most Wanted List.
The 50-year-old is suspected of kidnapping his former student, 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas. Mid-day reports of the supposed sighting raised hopes of finding Thomas soon.
Thomas has been missing since March 13, when a friend dropped her off at a restaurant in Columbia, Tenn. In her last sighting, she wore black leggings and a flannel shirt. Cummins made it to the TBI’s Most Wanted list on March 17.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reports getting about 1,100 tips since launch of the nationale Amber Alert for Thomas. The Collierville Police Department initially identified Cummins as the man in the security video from Shell gas station, 398 New Byhalia Road, Collierville. The TBI’s review, however, ruled out the sighting as genuine.
Thomas, a blonde, has hazel eyes, stands 5 feet tall and weighs about 120 lbs. (This is an update; her height was originally reported as 5 inches taller.) Cummins has brunette hair and brown eyes, stands 6 feet tall and weighs about 200 pounds. The two were originally believed to be traveling in a silver Nissan Rogue (Tennessee tag 976ZPT). Now they are believed to be in a white van with a ladder, reportedly spotted in Midtown Memphis.
Follow the latest TBI updates in this case on Twitter.com at @TBInvestigation.
IMPORTANT: If you spot either of them, call 911 or 1-800-TBI-FIND (1-800-823-3463).
