Former co-worker of Tenn. kidnapping suspect: ‘He absolutely was a bully’
COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WKRN) – A former co-worker of Tad Cummins is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest in an ongoing Amber Alert involving a 15-year-old girl.
Prior to being a teacher, Cummins worked as a respiratory therapist.
Chandler Anderson, who is offering the reward, is a nurse practitioner in Columbia and the owner of Right Care Clinics.
He says he first met Cummins in 1998. At the time, Cummins was as a respiratory therapist supervisor at a hospital.
Anderson said the two had a rough relationship.
“He absolutely was a bully. He would demean the nursing staff. He would say to me, ‘Oh, you are a nurse? You should know this. You should be able to read this. How did you get out of nursing school and not know this?’” said Anderson.
Cummins received excellent evaluations and had good recommendations while working at the hospital, but Anderson said that was not his experience with him.
“Here he is, someone that I am supposed to be able to lean on, and learn from, and he was running us all down,” said Anderson.
Anderson said he found it odd that Cummins left his job in respiratory therapy to become a teacher, and he is very worried for Thomas’ safety.
“He is with a man who is getting very desperate. As the days go by, the danger for her increases exponentially. He is going to do something desperate, I am afraid,” said Anderson.
In addition to the $5,000 reward being offered by Anderson, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is offering a $1,000 reward.
Thomas and Cummins have been missing for nearly two weeks. On Friday afternoon, the TBI said it had received more than 900 tips in 49 states. None of those tips have led to any credible sightings.
Thomas is a 15-year-old white female, with hazel eyes, stands 5 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds. She was last seen wearing a flannel shirt and black leggings.
Cummins is a white male, who stands 6 feet tall, weighs approximately 200 pounds and has brown hair and eyes. He’s believed to be armed with two handguns.
He faces kidnapping in the Amber Alert case and is also charged with sexual contact with a minor after he allegedly kissed Thomas at school earlier this year.