The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation(KEARNEY, Neb.) — Tennessee authorities said Monday morning that photos released by Nebraska police are not the missing Tennessee teenager and the former teacher who allegedly kidnapped her.
Police in Kearney, Nebraska, had said in a Facebook post late Sunday night that they had a “possible” sighting of 50-year-old Tad Cummins and 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas at a McDonald’s in Kearney Sunday evening.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation then said Monday that the photos were not of Cummins and Elizabeth.
UPDATE: Images shared by a police agency in Nebraska have been determined to not be Tad Cummins & Elizabeth Thomas. Our search continues. pic.twitter.com/BJJrFD7YA4
— TBI (@TBInvestigation) April 3, 2017
The false sighting comes days after the TBI confirmed a prior sighting of the two in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The footage, released on Friday, was taken at a Walmart in Oklahoma City on March 15, two days after the teen was allegedly abducted.
The Walmart sighting has been the only confirmed sighting of the two since the pair disappeared on March 13.
Cummins, who was fired one day after the alleged kidnapping, is wanted on allegations of aggravated kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor. An Amber Alert has been issued for Elizabeth.
On Sunday night, more than 100 people gathered in the teen’s hometown of Columbia, Tennessee, for a candlelight vigil.
The event’s organizers said it wasn’t about mourning, but about praying and pleading for Elizabeth’s safe return, according to ABC affiliate WKRN.
“We need you home because we love you and the house is empty and quiet without you. You were the one that made everybody happy and loved. You made the house really loved,” Elizabeth’s sister Ninita Thomas said to the crowd.
Elizabeth’s father said at the event, “Without her, the house is just too quiet. Please understand that she is not better off out there, she is better off here this community of people who care about her all of us. … This community that knows and love her.”
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