Tad Cummins Transferred From California, Booked Into Kentucky Jail For Allegedly Kidnapping Elizabeth Thomas

Tad Cummins, a former Tennessee teacher and accused kidnapper of his teen student Elizabeth Thomas, was booked into Kentucky’s Henderson County Detention Center Monday.

Cummins had been held in a Sacramento jail after being arrested in Northern California, where he and 15-year-old Elizabeth were discovered last month.

Despite earlier reports saying he would be transferred to Tennessee to face charges, U.S. Marshals told Tennessee news outlet WKRN’s News 2, he was booked into the Kentucky jail because it is the closest place to detain federal inmates.

Read: Who Is Tad Cummins? Facts About Ex-Teacher Who Allegedly Kidnapped His Student

The 50-year-old is being charged with kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines with intention to engage in sexual activity. This charge carries a minimum of 10 years of jail term.

Elizabeth and Cummins were on the run for over a month after disappearing March 13. He was a health science teacher at Maury County’ Culleoka Unit School, where the teen studied. He was fired from his job after reports of the alleged kidnapping.

On April 20, the pair was located in Northern California’s remote Siskiyou County after local law enforcement officials received a tip-off. After being taken into custody, Cummins said he was “glad this is over,” according to the County Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Gilley.

Subsequently, Elizabeth was taken back to her family in Tennessee, where she is undergoing counseling at an undisclosed location.

In an interview with Inside Edition last week, the former teacher’s wife Jill Cummins said her husband may have learned from television shows about people surviving in the wild, how to avoid capture by staying in remote locations.

“He would watch ‘Off the Grid’ and things like that and talk about living out in remote areas,” Jill said.

Last month, Jill said in a separate interview with Inside Edition her husband exploited and brainwashed Elizabeth. But she also maintained she felt betrayed by the teen for being romantically involved with Cummins. Jill said in the interview she warned her husband to stay away from the student.

"He was getting really close to her," Jill said. "A father-daughter close, a friendship close, and I knew that. I discussed that with him. And explained to him, 'She's your student, you can't be so close to her.'"

However, she said: "Never did I think there was a romantic thing between the two of them. There were no signs of that."

Cummins and Elizabeth’s case was featured on ABC News’ 20/20 show May 5 and showed how the pair were able to stay on the run.

Separately, local defense attorney Rob McGuire told News 2 last week Cummins’ case will be difficult to defend.

“We don’t know exactly what statements that he has made, we don’t know what statements the young lady has made to investigators. Those will both be very important. We know he has made statements to other people about things he has done he had been in communication with his estranged wife, all of those things will be major pieces of evidence against him,” McGuire said.

“I think it’s going to be a very difficult case to defend. I think it’s going to be the kind of case where you are going to be looking to secure a plea agreement to give him some daylight at the end of the tunnel.”