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Inside the cabin where 'Jesus freak' teacher took 'kidnapped and brainwashed' student

The cabin where a US teacher allegedly took a "brainwashed" teenage student was a stark and tragic hideaway fit for no child.

More than a month after she disappeared from her Tennessee home, 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas was found on the other side of the country with her teacher.

That man was 50-year-old Tad Cummins, a former teacher who describes himself as a "Jesus freak" on his Twitter profile.

Cummins is now facing multiple state and federal charges, with the offence of taking a child across state lines alone carrying a 10-year sentence.

The FBI surrounded the cabin in northern California where Tad Cummins allegedly held his teen student. ABC News
The FBI surrounded the cabin in northern California where Tad Cummins allegedly held his teen student. ABC News

When Cummins and his teen victim arrived in California they tried to gain access to a commune, but the residents looked on them with immediate suspicion.

"There were all kinds of indications there was something a little strange going on," Peter Laughingwolf, a resident of the commune, told ABC News.

The teacher then took the girl to a small, secluded cabin that was little more than a shack with bare, plywood walls.

Cummins surrendered immediately. Source: ABC News
Cummins surrendered immediately. Source: ABC News
Cummins was arrested after he allegedly kidnapped the teen. Photo: Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office.
Cummins was arrested after he allegedly kidnapped the teen. Photo: Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office.

Its wooden floors were left littered with tinned food and survival gear and there was no electricity or running water.

After the teacher and his student checked in, the cabin's caretaker recognised Elizabeth from an Amber Alert poster and called the authorities.

When the FBI showed up they surrounded the cabin and Cummins surrendered immediately.

The floor was littered with canned goods and survival gear. Source: ABC News
The floor was littered with canned goods and survival gear. Source: ABC News

Elizabeth was taken for psychological assessment, her family believing she was brainwashed during the month-long ordeal.

She has since returned to Tennessee and the care of her family.


"We're all excited it's like just pure joy," said Elizabeth Thomas' brother James Thomas told ABC News.

"Right now, in ways she's like herself but in ways she's not, and it's kind of distressing to see her like that. It's troubling."

Elizabeth Thomas. Source: CNN
Elizabeth Thomas. Source: CNN

The nationwide manhunt started on March 13 when Cummins and his student absconded before they were spotted at a service station in Columbia, Tennessee.

They were spotted later at another service station in Oklahoma City in the centre of the country as they were making their way west to California.

The man and the child were eventually found in the cabin in the woods near the California-Oregon border.

Cummins' Twitter profile (left) and his mugshot (right). Source: Twitter/Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department
Cummins' Twitter profile (left) and his mugshot (right). Source: Twitter/Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department

The family's lawyer Jason Whatley said the ordeal left the teen with severe emotional scarring and trauma.

"There is no doubt that she has suffered severe emotional trauma and that her process of recovery is only just beginning," Whatley told Inside Edition.

"The family is extremely grateful for the thoughts and prayers of the nation and asks sincerely for those continued prayers as Elizabeth becomes able to process the last 39 days."

FBI agents took Cummins to to Sacramento, California, where he faces federal charges of crossing state lines with intent to have sexual relations with a minor.

He also faces charges in Siskiyou County for kidnapping and possession of stolen property, according to the sheriff's department.