he told you, you had to go? >> if he couldn't have me, he would kill himself. >> were you afraid he would you? >> yes. >> you knew then -- >> i wasn't getting out of this. >> he was a teacher at the school. >> a 15-year-old girl. >> tonight, on "20/20," the nationwide manhunt and girlhunt, the 15-year-old student on the run with her 50-year-old teacher. did you know that everyone, all of america, was looking for you? >> she's like, if i'm not back by 6:00 p.m., call the cops. >> tonight, what you've never heard before.

her story. >> he can say all along, the devil made him do it. but he himself made him do it. >> the interview the school may not want you to hear. >> they knew. and they didn't stop it. >> now, she's revealing all-new details from the 38 days on the road. >> he told me i was going to live with him until i died. >> creating new identities, hiding in a commune. >> it was a unanimous decision, we didn't want him here. >> then the end of the road, in a desseerted cabin. now, she's still fighting the town that doubts her. >> some people questioned whether or not you went willingly. >> good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm david muir. >> and i'm amy robach.

this is "20/20." it was one of the biggest stories of the year, the captive girl. >> and we haven't heard from the young woman who went missing. but that all changes here tonight. here's eva pilgrim, on the story from the start. >> reporter: tonight, we are heading to rural culleoka, tennessee, where this strange and heartwrenching story begins. >> most people know everyone else who lives there. if there are six degrees of separation in the world, there's only about one degree of separation here. >> reporter: in this farming community of about 5,000, you'll find a post office, gas station, and not much else. >> it's very small. very small there. nothing around in. >> reporter: until, of course it does. it's been a year and a half now since 50-year-old high school teacher tad cummins ran off with his 15-year-old student. today, some squarely blame him.

>> the guy's a pervert. should be drug out in the streets and beat. >> reporter: others aren't so sure. >> i think they took advantage of each other in a way, a weird way. >> reporter: we've heard a lot of people say, "well, she went willingly." >> she probably did. >> he got pulled in just as well as she got pulled in. >> reporter: many have made up their minds, both in this small town and across the country. and it's to them that elizabeth thomas, now 17, wants to speak to directly tonight. why talk now about what happened? >> because i think it's time to. it's a year later. >> reporter: people saw the story play out. >> they think they know what happened. and they think that i'm a whore. they think that i like old men, and that's not the case. >> reporter: before fate brought elizabeth into tad cummins' class, she had been homeschooled her whole life. >> she was somewhat of a tomboy. played really rough. she could switch to being really nice and sweet. >> reporter: paige griffith told us at the time of elizabeth's disappearance that she had been

a kind of a surrogate mom. and her daughter erin was elizabeth's close friend. >> she'd come over to my house and we would talk and watch tv and eat junk food, and we just hung out together. >> reporter: that's elizabeth on the left, play fighting with erin in the back of a car. >> no, i wasn't! >> yeah, you were. >> reporter: her sister sarah gave me a tour of elizabeth's bedroom during the days she went missing. it told its own story of an adolescent caught between two ages. that's her xbox? on the one hand, the teen who bought herself an xbox with money from her afterschool job. >> she just stayed up playing games. >> reporter: on the other, a child. >> she made this. >> reporter: still enchanted by princesses and ponies. yet the home movie smiles mask what elizabeth says is a dark reality. >> we had a lot of stuff going behind closed doors that shouldn't have. >> reporter: abusive? >> very.

>> reporter: violent? >> very. >> reporter: physically violent? and no escape, because you were homeschooled. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: the abuse so severe, she says, the kids finally report their own mother to child protective services. kimberly thomas is removed from the home and is facing multiple counts of child abuse and neglect. she denies the charges, telling a local tv station -- >> i'm not guilty of this. >> reporter: how did you find out what was going on at home? >> there's two sheriff's deputies in my yard. >> reporter: their father anthony thomas, often working around the clock as an exterminator to support his fiv didn't know how bad things had gotten at home. it's hard for you to talk about, isn't it? >> yeah. >> reporter: you don't like to think about what was happening. >> i got to take a break.

>> reporter: their mother's removal is a welcome relief. but soon, elizabeth is pushed into the teenage shark tank known as high school. >> first thing they did was call me ugly once i came to school and, i mean, it's just boys being stupid. but i just stayed to myself. >> reporter: was it easy making friends? >> i mean, they all had their little cliques. you can't really disrupt that. >> reporter: elizabeth eventually finds one person she thinks she can trust. a popular and friendly health teacher, tad cummins. >> and that is how hot dogs are made. >> she was in his class, health. and he began to help her make this transition from homeschool to public school. >> reporter: 50-year-old tad cummins is quite the charmer. maury county district attorney brent cooper went to high school with him. >> kind of funny, kind of a cutup, pretty outgoing guy. >> reporter: so you knew him.

you saw him around. >> he and jill, his wife, they were high school sweethearts and married the year they graduated high school. >> reporter: and they've been together the 31 years since. his wife jill spoke to us when this first happened. >> god is the center of our marriage and our life, and our faith is the most important thing to us, and i think it was to him, too, and it still is. >> reporter: cummins had even done mission work in the rainforests of panama. he teaches sunday school and sings in the church choir. what was it like growing up with him? >> he was your all-american dad. no matter what we were going through, he was the one you could call and he would fix it. >> reporter: tad cummins flourishes in the classroom. watch this youtube video of him teaching how to perform cpr. >> see the difference, i'm actually making my weight off of it. >> he was the cool teacher. like, everybody loved him. he was everyone's friend,

everyone's mentor, helped so many people through so many things. >> reporter: and for elizabeth, he's an encouraging adult role model, showering her with attention, even gifts. >> he gave me a bible. and it was just something from him. >> reporter: that kindness even extending outside the classroom. taking elizabeth to church on sundays with his wife. why did he decide to take her to church? >> our preacher's wife was going to be talking about abuse and how to get past it, get over it. we decided to invite beth. we were helping her, i thought. >> reporter: did you ever think anything of their interactions together? >> it was like a father/daughter relationship. it's the way i saw it, too. it's the way he would explain it. in fact, i called her our third daughter sometimes. >> reporter: it all seems benign, until that one day in the school cafeteria. >> i was standing there with a few friends, and then they said, "are you hungry?" and i went, "i don't have a

soul, or if i did, like, i'd be hungry," or something like that. and then he came to me and he pointed at me and said, "my soul sees your soul." >> reporter: was he trying to scare her, or seduce her? coming up, a health teacher grooming a young student. what would be his next move? did you tell somebody? >> no. >> reporter: why? >> i don't want to tell my parent that a grown man kissed me and i don't want to tell friends that a grown man kissed me. >> reporter: stay with us. stay with us. or atopic dermatitis, you never know how your skin will look. and it can feel like no matter what you do, you're itching all the time. but even though you see and feel your eczema on the surface of your skin, an overly sensitive immune system n your s might actually be causing your heal y skinrom within. an overly sensitive immune system with dupixent. dupixent is not a steroid, and it continuously treats your eczema even when you can't see it. at 16 weeks,

more than 1 in 3 patients saw clear or almost clear skin, and patients saw a significant reduction in itch. do not use if you are allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision. if you have asthma, and are taking asthma medicines do not change or stop your asthma medicine without talking to your doctor. help heal your skin from within. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. it'll be a hell of a ride. moon. it's a job so difficult, we're gonna have to start from scratch. we need to fail down here so we don't fail up there. this isn't just another trip, neil. we have serious problems. do you think you're coming back? five... four... three... two... first man. rated pg-13. look around.

with artificial intelligence, we are not crawling or walking. we are flying. microsoft ai helps an architect bring history back to life. this is now. ai helps farmers grow more food with less resources. an engineer explores how ai can help the deaf see sound. innovation creates tomorrow, and tomorrow is here today. discover.o. i like your card, but i'm absolutely not paying an annual fee. discover has no annual fees. really? yeah. we just don't believe in them. oh nice. you would not believe how long i've been rehearsing that. no annual fee on any card. only from discover. advil liqui-gels minis. breakthrough in pain relief. a mighty small pill with concentrated power that works at liquid speed. you'll ask... what pain? advil liqui-gels minis.

[music begins to play: "like ♪sugait's like sh♪-an] it's like sugar ♪ so sweet ♪ ♪ good enough ♪ ♪ to e♪t ♪ yeah! ♪ ♪ like sugar, like sugar ♪ it's like sugar ♪ suga♪, so sweet ♪ ♪ good enough ♪ to e♪t ♪ yeah! ♪ >> reporter: churchgoing family man tad cummins seemed like a model citizen. but look closer and you'll find some cracks in that wholesome

and happy facade. >> tad was kind of a bully about things. >> reporter: chandler anderson worked with cummins back when cummins worked as a respiratory therapist at a local hospital. >> he would say things like, "you're stupid. you shouldn't be in the e.r." >> reporter: in front of other people? >> oh, yeah, in front of other people. i have seen tad be told "no" previously. i've see the rage and anger he gets. >> reporter: anderson says cummins had a problem with authority. he didn't have enough of it. he says that's why cummins switched careers and took a big pay cut. >> if money's not the central issue and feeding your ego is, that's what he chose. that's why he became a teacher. who tells a teacher "no"? certainly not students. >> reporter: and certainly not . and who believes she's finally found an adult she can trust. >> he made me feel like i didn't have anyone else and no one

really cared about me like he did. >> reporter: jason whatley, the thomas family attorney, spoke to us after elizabeth went missing. >> he was specifically grooming this child for a very specific purpose, and that was a relationship. he chose a girl that was clearly having issues, because she went to him for, quote, unquote, counseling. she was the perfect victim. >> i was feeling real low and i was wanting to get on anti-depressants and try to go to a therapist. and he told me no and not do it 'cause it'd change who i was. >> reporter: so he convinced you not to get help? >> yes. >> reporter: what did he suggest you do instead? >> come to him. >> i think it's another example of showing, sort, of to the community, to his wife to everyone else. "i'm trying to help this child. she comes to me at school. i counsel her, i'm going to make her a better person." we know that's all phony. >> reporter: as part of the seduction cummins portrayed himself an international man of mystery. >> apparently he told a lot of tales about his fictional

background. he's a cia operative. he's an fbi agent. he's a millionaire. >> he would describe it as he went in and he killed people and he saved people and he killed bin laden and -- >> reporter: he was telling you he did all of these crazy things? >> yes. and i knew that it wasn't real. >> reporter: how did you view him at that point? >> kind of like a guardian or a mentor. >> reporter: but tad cummins seems bent on bulldozing the boundaries of appropriate behavior. how were you guys communicating? >> we did via instagram. >> reporter: cummins posts, "you're all my heart ever talks about. it was love at first sst sight." then there's elizabeth's response, "i look forward to going to school just to see you. i love you." >> most of them from him would be sexual text. >> reporter: he would sexually text you? >> yes.

like sexting. >> reporter: but their verbal communication is just as cringeworthy. especially when they're alone in his classroom, which is becoming an alarmingly regular occurrence. >> i can't remember the conversation. and then, next thing i know, he said, "you'd look pretty nice naked." >> reporter: when did he take it from saying things like that to you to something more? >> whenever he first kissed me. that was whenever i realized, this is getting too far. >> reporter: in his classroom? >> yes. >> reporter: did you tell somebody? >> no. like, i didn't want anyone to really know. i was scared of what would happen if anyone did know. >> reporter: from there, she says, it would escalate to unspeakable things that would take place in his classroom closet. >> he'd open up the closet door and he'd look at me a certain way and i knew if i didn't go that he'd be upset. and i was afraid to see him angry and i've seen him angry since then. but he doesn't take no well. >> reporter: at least one other

student is afraid, too. >> a student reported seeing elizabeth thomas kissing ted cummins inside of his classroom. this student was very disturbed by what she saw. and she immediately went to report it to school officials. >> reporter: the school investigates, but elizabeth denies everything. >> the reason that children that are being abused by teachers will not admit that something happened is fear. he's guilt tripping her, your reputation will be ruined. i'll be fired. >> reporter: curiously, the school takes an entire week to alert police. and during that investigation, for some reason, elizabeth says the school allowed her to go on a class field trip unprotected. >> he was the only chaperone there. >> reporter: he was the only chaperone? >> the only chaperone. >> reporter: there were no other adults there? >> no other adult other than the bus driver. but he was on the bus at all

times. >> reporter: elizabeth says he took the opportunity to proposition her for sex, but she refused. the school finally tells cummins and elizabeth not to contact each other. cummins then tells detectives their relationship is "that of a father figure at school" and denies "ever kissing" her. five days later, after the school reprimands him for allowing elizabeth to come back to his classroom, cummins is suspended. how did he explain it to you? >> that he was, it was either a -- someone telling a lie, or thought they saw something that they didn't, and that it absolutely did not happen. i had no reason not to believe him. 31 years of marriage, you know, with no problems, why would you not believe him? >> reporter: and when all the students found out this was happening -- >> there was a lot of names and teasing that came around and a lot of bullying outside and inside of school. >> reporter: how did they feel towards tad as all this was happening? >> they felt like i ruined his life. >> reporter: did the teachers know about what was going on? >> a lot of them were made aware

and they also did a lot of the teasing and a lot of the name-calling. >> reporter: the teachers were doing the teasing? >> yes. a lot of them were. >> reporter: meanwhile, cummins, now in exile from the school, begins acting strangely at home. >> he always made the coffee the night before we would go to bed. he started telling me how to make the coffee. i was thinking, "why are you telling me this?" i was in tears, because i thought he was afraid he was going to go to jail. >> reporter: he was planning to go somewhere. apparently the teacher had convinced himself, and his favorite student, that there was only one way out. with each other. on the open road. he told you, you had to go? >> he said if he couldn't have me, he'd kill himself. anytime he threatened himself, he'd threaten my family. >> reporter: when "20/20" continues. continues. ♪ this is the angel oak.

some say the oldest living thing east of the mississippi. it's weathered countless storms. battered, but never broken, it stands for the resilience within us all. ♪ when you're not strong ♪ ♪ and i'll be your friend. ♪ i'll help you carry on. ♪ lean on me.

...most people. but on the inside, i feel chronic, widespread pain. fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i'm glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. for some, lyrica delivers effective relief from moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain, and improves function. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you.

those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain i can do more with my family. talk to your doctor today. see if lyrica can help. at olive garden. trade in endless lines for endless breadsticks. and the usual, for your newest obsession. lunch duos, starting at $6.99. a better lunch awaits, only at olive garden.

>> reporter: it is a quiet monday morning near columbia, tennessee. and jill cummins says she and her husband tad spent an otherwise uneventful weekend. out to eat, a trip to the movies, church on sunday. >> we were together all the time. we spent lots of together. everything was normal with us. >> reporter: but of course, everything is not normal. cummins has been suspended from the culleoka unit school for inappropriate conduct with

15-year-old elizabeth thomas. you could cut the tension in their home with a tennessee steak knife. >> we were both so stressed during those five weeks. we'd cry about it. pray about it. >> reporter: but as hard as he prays, cummins still can't shake the obsession with his young student. even forcing her to send him secret messages through social media. >> anytime that i wouldn't post for a few hours, he would go crazy and say that i was cheating on him. and saying if he found out that i was with another boy, he'd kill them. >> and so he cobbles together this plan to run off. >> reporter: he borrows jill's car, a silver nissan rogue, saying he needs it to attend an out-of-town job interview. he took your car? >> he did. because he was going out of town, not far, but far enough that where he didn't want to drive the jeep, and he took the rogue. >> reporter: back at the culleoka unit school, elizabeth says she is under siege. her fellow students are blaming her for cummins' suspension.

turns out cummins is blaming her, too. no longer mr. nice guy, the teacher issues a deadly ultimatum. go on the run with me, or else. >> so he started calling my phone. sometimes he'd be threatening to kill himself or ending someone else's life if i didn't go. >> reporter: did you feel trapped? >> i did. he threatened to shoot himself, or use the guns. >> reporter: elizabeth says she reluctantly agrees to leave with cummins on a ride to nowhere. in this surveillance video obtained by "20/20," elizabeth can be seen leaving her home. you meet him at the shoney's? >> yes. i felt really bad about leaving and i didn't want to leave. but i knew if i didn't, something would happen. so i went to shoney's at 8:00. he was supposed to be there and he was late. i left a bag on the ground. >> reporter: the student is smarter than the teacher thinks she is, because in the bag is a small clue. elizabeth says cummins tells her to write a note. a note she writes in a way she

hopes will tip off authorities. >> he told me to write that i was going to new york. that way it'd seem like the police would go up there. he thought they were dumb, but they weren't. >> reporter: and that was his plan? >> that was his plan. but i wrote that i was going to new york city and i made it sound unbelievable. so they knew i was going the opposite way. >> reporter: and she's got another shrewd move up her sleeve, signposting her precarious predicament for her sister sarah. >> i just told sarah that, call the police if i'm not home by 6:00 p.m. >> reporter: that was another clue. >> i just wanted the police to be called because i knew once i got in that car, i wasn't getting out. >> reporter: at 8:32 a.m., cummins stops at a local gas station and fills up his tank, and then picks elizabeth up at shoney's restaurant. >> but as soon as we went to go. >> reporter: he immediately pulled the gun out? >> the gun sat in the middle console. >> reporter: and you knew then. >> i wasn't getting out of this.

>> reporter: it's around 10:00 p.m. that night. elizabeth's frantic father has spent hours searching for his missing daughter. and he calls the local sheriff as thoughts of the kissing incident race through his head. >> i said, "you guys need to hunt down tad cummins and see if he's in town. see where he is." >> reporter: cummin's wife jill has also called the sheriff. an arrest warrant is issued. and cummins officially becomes a wanted man. >> the tbi issued an amber alert for mary elizabeth thomas. >> reporter: their disappearance and ensuing cross-country trek would flummox authorities for well over a month. the details and the direction their journey took being told by elizabeth for the first time here tonight. so there's nashville. >> i think we took 65 down. >> reporter: okay. >> columbia's right here, i think. he made me throw my phone off a bridge and his phone as well. that way the police couldn't track us.

and then he disconnected the gps by a screwdriver in the glove compartment and he broke off the front. and then he unhooked the radio. it was like a kidnapping. i had to stay in the car with him at all times. in decatur i'm pretty sure is where we stopped by this big hotel and there was an abandoned van and he took their license plate. and then we began driving to mississippi. >> reporter: did you stay in mississippi? >> yes. one night. >> reporter: one night. just a hotel? two beds? one bed? >> one bed. >> reporter: and did you have to sleep next to him? >> yes. at the hotels, i would shower every morning because i felt dirty and disgusting every morning. and he didn't help that at all. >> when you say, "he didn't help that," what do you mean? >> the things he would make you do and it wouldn't help the way that i was feeling. and i'd just try to shower to get away from him, but sometimes he wouldn't let me shower alone 'cause i had to be in the same space with him at the exact same time.

>> reporter: was there any moment that you thought, "maybe i can run out of this room while he's sleeping." >> he made me sleep naked and my clothes would be put somewhere else. and he was a light sleeper. so if i moved, he'd be awake and i couldn't even use the bathroom at night without him having to stand right there. >> reporter: and this whole time as this is all happening, how is he treating you? >> he was really mean and said hurtful things a lot of the time. he called me his wife sometimes and said that we were gonna get married and i was gonna live with him until i died. >> reporter: day after day, night after helpless night, elizabeth says cummins is in complete control. the threat of his firearms everpresent. he's even controlling what elizabeth can eat. >> i wasn't allowed to eat hamburger buns or things that had high calories or something that was too much. i mostly was allowed to eat salads. >> so why was he making you eat this way? >> so i'd stay small. he told me he likes skinny

girls. and i ate what he told me to 'cause if i didn't, i wouldn't get it at all. >> reporter: did you ever stay more than one night anywhere? >> so i'm just gonna dot each place that we stayed the night. i think we stayed three nights in colorado. so i'm gonna say right here. right here. i know we went to aspen. utah. that's where he started buying alcohol. >> reporter: he started buying alcohol? >> yeah. 'cause i was having problems and he was done dealing with them. like, i don't wanna do stuff with him anymore. i just didn't -- i was just done and he didn't want that. >> reporter: their journey takes them across nine states, all the way to california. >> from each state that i took, i had rocks and i'd write what county or wherever we were and then what state. that way if i got rescued he could be charged for each one that he was in. >> reporter: when we come back, authorities are closing in. and cummins hatches yet another

insane plan. a plan to paddle south of the border. >> the waves were getting really bad, the boat would nearly go under. >> reporter: were you scared on the water? >> i was terrified. >> reporter: stay with us. >> reporter: stay with us. feeling good about that? let's see- most of you say lower a1c. but only a few of you are thinking about your heart. fact is, even though it helps to manage a1c, type 2 diabetes still increases your risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke. jardiance is the only type 2 diabetes pill with a lifesaving cardiovascular benefit for adults who have type 2 diabetes and heart disease. jardiance significantly reduces the risk of dying from a cardiovascular event... ...and lowers a1c, with diet and exercise. let's give it another try. jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration. this may cause you to feel dizzy, faint,

or lightheaded, or weak upon standing. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, and trouble breathing. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of ketoacidosis or an allergic reaction. symptoms of an allergic reaction include rash, swelling, and difficulty breathing or swallowing. do not take jardiance if you are on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. other side effects are sudden kidney problems, genital yeast infections, increased bad cholesterol, and urinary tract infections, which may be serious. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. so-what do you think? well i'm definitely thinking differently than i was yesterday. ask your doctor about jardiance- and get to the heart of what matters.

before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, lucy could only imagine enjoying a slice of pizza. now it's as easy as pie. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? for all-day, all-night protection. fast, reliable internet is crucial. does it every go down? yes. can't do my job. business grinds to a halt. our gig-speed network not only downloads files up to 20 times faster,

we go beyond fast with 4g backup for complete reliability. so if the unexpected happens... (snaps fingers) you stay up and running. we lost power... but not to that. i want that. (laughing) for a limited time get fast, reliable internet for a low price. call now. comcast business. beyond fast.

he gave me a calendar and i used it to mark down where we are and where we were at and i used it every day. and then i just stopped marking 'cause i didn't think we were ever gonna leave. >> reporter: no longer counting

the days until she is found, elizabeth thomas is losing hope of ever seeing her family again. did you know this whole time all this is going on, that everyone -- i mean, like, all of america was looking for you? >> i saw it on fox news one time in the hotel. >> a manhunt is under way. >> and i remember it was a girl announcing it, a nationwide amber alert and i knew it was for me. >> reporter: meanwhile, back in tennessee, tad's abandoned wife, jill, is quickly coming undone. >> please do the right thing and turn yourself in to the police and bring beth home. >> reporter: with the entire country on high alert, tad cummins, now perhaps the most wanted man in america, panics and decides to go to a place many a fugitive have gone before -- mexico. whas bore istrips.e comi

out here, these are good waves. this is easy a 4-to-8-foot swell, real close together. >> reporter: bryan zulka is the owner and captain of el gato sportsfishing. a charter boat company located about 20 miles from the mexican border. is it easy to take a boat from here into mexico? >> no, it's not. you have to have the right boat, you have to have the right weather, you have to have the right skills and navigation, otherwise you're not going to make it. >> reporter: turns out, tad cummins would have none of those things. >> so he got a kayak and he wanted to kayak all the way to panama. >> reporter: yup, you heard correctly. he takes a humble man-powered kayak. clearly not a geography teacher. elizabeth says cummins devises a plot to paddle some 3,000 nautical miles to panama. you were in the kayak with him? >> yes, the waves were getting really bad to where, like, once they'd hit the bottom of the boat, the boat would nearly go under. whichever way you tried to go, it'd pull you the other direction.

>> reporter: were you scared? >> i was. >> reporter: when did he decide it was time to turn around? >> whenever one wave nearly killed us. like, took us over. once we got out of it, i was so happy. >> reporter: what did he do then? >> he decided we were gonna go to a commune. >> reporter: which commune did you go to then? >> black bear, because nobody would recognize us, and it was the last, like, free place on earth that where people come to be free or something like that. >> reporter: how did he know about that? >> he looked it up. and it said black bear ranch was the closest one in california. >> reporter: black bear ranch. a remote commune deep in the woods of northern california, is located so far off the grid, it feels like another world. >> we're an off-the-grid homesteading community. we don't have any television, radio, cell phone, internet.

there's no newspaper delivery or other contact with the outside world besides what comes in and out of the driveway. >> reporter: the reclusive residents are reluctant to let us use our cameras, only allowing us to shoot this video on their older model iphone. so those are chickens up there? >> yeah, chickens and ducks. >> reporter: our guide, who goes by the name april showers, gives us a tour and talks all about the peculiar couple who introduced themselves as john and joana. they tell everyone they are 44 and 24 years old. >> several weeks ago this couple arrived and they failed to identify their true selves and identities. >> i knew that once i was at black bear ranch, i couldn't go anywhere. there was literally nobody out there. >> reporter: they take the pair in, giving them a bed here in the main house and sharing their food. >> they liked me a lot. a lot of them did. it was, kind of, 'cause i didn't argue. i'd clean up after myself. i didn't make too much noise.

i was quiet. >> reporter: and while tad cummins has left so much behind him, one thing he hasn't shed is his hot temper. >> he brought that into our sacred space. this terrible behavior and acting on wrong impulse and a perverted instinct, i would say. >> reporter: so they didn't fit in here very well? >> no, they didn't fit in here very well. >> reporter: very quickly, things go south at black bear. elizabeth and cummins are kicked out. turns out cummins didn't have a communal spirit. >> he got very angry and almost blew a gasket. >> reporter: that's pretty scary. >> yeah, he blew a fuse right there, and he got mad and took out his knife and then dropped it on the ground and started screaming at april. i thought this was gonna be the end. he's gonna shoot somebody. >> reporter: it's a risky proposition. alienating the peaceful residents of this commune with so little to their name, and so much at stake.

do you have food? >> eggs and two oranges, actually. >> reporter: you had eggs and two oranges? >> yeah. >> reporter: and $10. >> yeah. nothing in sight. >> reporter: out of hope and full of desperation. >> who's gonna find me? >> reporter: elizabeth heads back down that hellish hill. never in a million years expecting to meet her unlikely hero. >> i saw a photo of the guy and i was like, "that's definitely him." >> reporter: when "20/20" continues.

why lenscrafters? personalized service is why. clarifye, no other eye exam is more precise is why. and because style? your style is why. lenscrafters is why. book an eye exam today.

with bold sauces,urger fresh ingredients... and starting at 6.99. you can only think one thing... how fast can i get to denny's? get a burger and fries from denny's starting at $6.99.

he told me to stay in the car and put sunglasses on and keep my head down. >> reporter: it's now 36 days since tad cummins and elizabeth thomas disappeared from tennessee.

>> he didn't want people to be able to recognize me. and he would wear sunglasses, try to do the same. >> reporter: cast out of paradise, aka the black bear commune in northern california, running out of options. a desperate cummins sets off for the nearby village of cecilville. >> they said they were from colorado. >> reporter: cummins sees a familiar face, griffin barry. it turns out griffin had given cummins gas and directions to the black bear commune a week earlier. did you remember them? >> no, i couldn't remember his name. i was like, "what's your name again?" you know what i'm saying? he was, like, "yeah, we had a house fire." and he said he lost his job. they were just trying to start a new life. i was like, "i'll help you out." i put him in the cabin. > reporter: griffin, ironically a native of nashville,

tennessee, is the caretaker of this forested california property. and gives the couple he thinks is just down on their luck a place to stay. can you show us the cabin that you put him in? >> yeah, for sure. it's at the end. >> reporter: so this is where they stayed. >> yeah. >> reporter: and those bottles? >> those they had, they were straw bottles. >> reporter: so that's what they were using to have clean water. >> we had a little foam kind of mattress thing that he laid on. and then we had this thing we grabbed from black bear ranch, which was kind of like a seat padding that i laid on. and he pushed them together and we had a little comforter. >> reporter: the wood cabin is unfinished and has no heat or insulation. it does little to keep out the cold. >> it was really cold in california. it got real cold at night especially. >> reporter: to make some extra money, griffin barry put them to work collecting river rocks for a masonry project. >> when i was trying to strike

up a conversation, i picked them up in the morning. i was like, "what's your name?" and she was like "joana," it was almost with, like, an accent. >> reporter: the quiet girl and weird accent seem odd. so strange that griffin tells a neighbor nearby, something seems off. >> i was like, "that girl won't talk, you know, to me really or anything." >> reporter: that night, the same neighbor makes a startling discovery, finding this amber alert. >> i saw a photo of the guy and i was like, "that's definitely him." >> reporter: then what did you guys decide to do? >> we went and called the police. >> reporter: finally, police have the tip they've been hoping for. authorities race to that small town in northern california. and a s.w.a.t. team surrounds the cabin. >> i came out of the cabin and it was early morning. i think he went to go wash out our dishes from the night before. but then i saw someone up on the

hill. >> reporter: as the sun is rising, elizabeth spots a camouflage hat. >> i knew it was the police. and as soon as he walked around the bush, all you hear is, "hands up. it's over." >> reporter: that's what they said to you? >> they said, "put your hands up. get on the ground." >> reporter: 38 days after elizabeth left her home in tennessee, she is finally rescued. the day that the police show up -- >> that was the best day of my life. >> reporter: the police pounce on cummins, but before he's led away, he whispers to elizabeth, still trying to exert control over his would-be teenage bride. >> he said not to tell them that we have done anything, that he forced me to go. say that i went willingly. say that he was trying to protect me.

>> reporter: that was his story. he was trying to protect you. >> and he told me to go along with it. >> i could tell you that her mood kind of was escalated. it was a very traumatic experience for her. it was kind of a roller coaster of emotions for her. >> reporter: elizabeth says it's important for her to now reveal what she endured, no longer afraid of what her teacher can do to her. >> i know he's a bad man. and i've blamed myself a lot. but now i know that he's at fault. he himself made him do it. other people don't choose your actions. you do. >> reporter: less than 24 hours after being found, the already well-traveled elizabeth is on a plane for the very first time, heading home to tennessee. what was that like? >> overwhelming. a lot to take in. and so many people bombarding

you with so many questions. >> reporter: they have perceptions of what they think you're like and what you've done. >> yeah. >> reporter: elizabeth enters inpatient counseling, and for her family, relief is replaced with anger at the adults who they say let her down. still to come, the tables have turned. silenced no more, elizabeth takes aim at her school. >> why didn't they notice? they knew. and they know that they knew. >> reporter: can you just tell us why you didn't call authorities right away? do you have any comment? what that school is telling "20/20" tonigh

♪ ok here we go guys, you ready? hi! cinturones por favor. gracias. opportunity is everywhere. ♪ it's gonna be fine. it's a door... ♪ it's doing a lot of kicking down there. waiting to be opened. ♪ whatever your ambition... ♪ whatever your drive... ♪ whatever you're chasing... driver, are we almost there? we're gonna have a baby! ♪ daddy! daddy! opportunity is everywhere. ♪

all you have to do to find it is get out... here. ♪ than rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate.

xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests, and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. don't let another morning go by without talking to your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr. i came back to tennessee and the fbi and the tbi were there and they were trying to joke around with me and making things a lot easier for the transition home. >> reporter: april 21, 2017. after 38 days on the run, elizabeth thomas, safely back in

tennessee. her family begins to demand answers. how could this have happened at their daughter's own school? >> did the school drop the ball? that's an understatement, in my opinion. >> reporter: and they're now suing the school board for failing to protect her from tad cummins. >> to this day, the school board nor the school has not even apologized for not letting me know. >> reporter: last year, we tried to get some answers of our own from school principal penny love. here she is on her twitter page, that big smile front and center. but we find someone not so willing to smile for the camera. or even get out of her car. can you just tell us why you didn't call authorities right away when you found out about the tad cummins incident? do you have any comment? and even though her school took a full week to call police after tad cummings was seen kissing his 15-year-old student in his classroom, principal love spared no time calling the cops on us.

>> off the property. >> reporter: all right, we're going. as for that lawsuit, the school board referred us to the response it filed in court that it "denies it failed any of its obligations," or "permitted conditions to empower a predator," and blamed what happened to elizabeth solely on tad cummins. >> why didn't they notice? >> reporter: elizabeth insists adults around her could have saved her from those 38 days of horror. >> they knew, and they know that they knew. and i really hope they feel guilty about it. and i pray that one day they might say something and speak up that they knew. and if they don't, that's great shame on them. >> reporter: as for cummins wife, jill, some question whether she could have done more. they see that you know her, that you interacted with them, and they say, how did she not know something was up? >> no one knew.

>> reporter: so you never suspected anything? >> no. >> reporter: not once? >> no. >> reporter: tad cummins pleaded guilty earlier this year to transporting a minor across state lines for sex and faces at least ten years in prison. >> he can say all day long that the devil made him do it, but he is the devil. >> reporter: you had to see him in court. >> i did. and i made that choice. and i wanted him to know that i'm stronger than what he thinks i am, that i'm not his puppet anymore. >> reporter: today, elizabeth is 17, back in her hometown in tennessee, and still living under that small town microscope. do you feel like people judge you? >> they do. a lot of them do. >> we tend to sometimes blame victims. when something as horrible as this happens, the person that it happens to is not the shameful one. >> reporter: elizabeth is focusing on what she can. moving on. which, for her, means being like any other teenager. she works at a coffee shop, has a boyfriend and a new puppy, and

spends her free time at the local sonic. and is working towards her g.e.d. what are your dreams for your life? >> to have a family and protect them. and make them have a better life. i am a stronger person than i was and i'm not afraid. >> strong, and not afraid. "20/20" reached out to cummins' attorney for comment, but they declined. cummins and his wife are now divorced. >> sentencing is later this fall. that is "20/20" for tonight. thanks for watching. i'm david muir. >> and i'm amy robach. from all of us at "20/20" and abc news, have a great night.