It was the AMBER alert case the spanned thousands of miles, and had hundreds across the country on the lookout for a Maury County school teacher and his 15-year-old former student he ran off with - a chase that spanned thousands of miles from Tennessee to a rural California town.
It started in mid-March, when investigators said Tad Cummins, a teacher at the Culleoka Unit School in Maury County, took one of his former students -- a 15 year old -- with the intent of having sex with her.
After filling up Cummins silver Nissan rogue at a Shell gas station next to the Shoney's in Columbia, they drove off together.
District Attorney Brent Cooper quickly realized Cummins had groomed the teen, convincing her that the two were in love, even using posts on Instagram to communicate to her.
Cooper said he was taking advantage of the teen.
"She's not your normal 15 year old," Cooper said. "She's had incidents in her life that made her situation much more difficult."
Jill Cummins -- Tad's wife -- gave a tearful plea days after he took her across the country.
"Tad, this is not you." Jill said. "This is not who you are. We can help you get through this."
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation continued their search, releasing more images of Cummins shopping at a Walmart in the days before they left.
Then, more than two weeks after Tad Cummins' disappearance, the case broke wide open: the duo was confirmed to be seen at a Walmart in Oklahoma City.
However, the visit took place only two days after their disappearance, meaning they could have been anywhere in the country by the time the discovery was made.
For days, there was no word on where the two could be, until April 20th -- 38 days after they left.
The teacher and his former student were found together in the remote California town of Cecilville using false names that they gave to the cabin caretaker, Griffin Barry.
"He said, we're John and Jo," Barry said.
NewsChannel 5 went to California to talk to Barry ourselves, where he showed us where the two were staying -- in a cabin outfitted with a camp stove with some leftover food and a toolbox.
A friend had tipped off Barry that Cummins was wanted, and he called police.
The discovery brought to an end the intense search for Tennessee's most wanted man, and the student he ran off with.
Cummins' federal trial is set to begin in mid-April, when he will face charges of transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual conduct and obstruction of justice.
He also faces charges of kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor in Tennessee.
