Elizabeth Thomas Missing

Fifteen year old Elizabeth Thomas was last seen in Columbia, Tennessee, in the company of a teacher at her school, a fifty year old man by the name of Tad Cummins. Now there is an active Amber Alert. It seems that Mr. Cummins planned this disappearance. He researched possible methods the police could use to track him, and he also researched the possibility of marrying someone as young as Elizabeth. Something he forgot is that he is already married, and in America, one may marry as many times as one wishes, but one must get divorced between nuptials.

Below are pictures of Elizabeth, Cummins, and the vehicle Cummins used when he was last seen. There is also a number for anyone with information to call. Please, if you know anything or have seen either Cummins or Elizabeth Thomas, call law enforcement.

When An Amber Alert Is Issued

Lately, a few people from various parts of the country have expressed doubts in the sincerity of law enforcement in their communities because Amber Alerts are not always issued when children go missing. It's always comforting to know the police are actively seeking a missing child, but some people continue to question why Amber Alerts are not in place for each case. Two recent cases that stand out are the Sarah and Jacob Hoggle case, of Montgomery County, Maryland, and Samara Herrera who was missing for much of the day in Topeka, Kansas on Saturday, September 20, but who was successfully located without an Amber Alert.

The Amber Alert system is a great tool for public awareness when a child disappears. The criteria for an Amber Alert is very strong evidence that the child has actually been taken by an unauthorized adult, and a reasonably accurate description of the adult and the child. A description of a vehicle is also necessary; if possible, with the tag number. This helps give the general public an idea of what kind of transportation they should hope to see, and it gives law enforcement a reason to look harder at any vehicle that matches the description. Quite a few children have been found and brought home because of Amber Alerts.

An Amber Alert would not be helpful in the Hoggle case, because the car that was used to transport the children away from home was returned to its owner, the childrens' grandfather, and police have no further information concerning vehicles used by the childrens' mother. Likewise, in Samara Herrera's case in Topeka, no known vehicle could be reported to law enforcement, so that identifying information could not be used to compile an Amber Alert. At the same time, however; police bulletins have been broadcast extensively for both cases. The absence of an Amber Alert does not mean that there is any absence of search and rescue efforts, or an ongoing case, should the child remain missing.

Sharing photos of missing persons, along with the contact information of the police department handling their cases, is still the best way for communities to assist in missing persons cases, even in cases that do not fit the criteria for Amber Alerts.

Selective Application Of Laws In Marshall County, Kansas

"EQUAL PROSECUTION. CM spoke about an example of a juvenile crossing private property cutting donuts with a vehicle. She talked about prosecution and restitution and asked why some people are singled out for the exact crime and some are not. CA McNish said Municipal Court has no jurisdiction over juveniles. CM asked CA McNish to comment on fair and equal prosecution in town. CA McNish said he has been more than fair. No decisions were made."

Above is a quote from a recent city council meeting in Marysville, Kansas.  City Attorney (CA) McNish was asked a direct question about underage drivers, often unlicensed, driving through  fields, lawns, and gardens, and occasionally running over mailboxes. Marshall County Kansas will often throw the book at a teen for this, but then, sometimes not. City Attorney McNish spoke truthfully enough when he stated that the city of Marysville has no jurisdiction over juveniles, but what he did not discuss is the fact that his spouse, Laura McNish, is the county attorney, and it is the office of the county sheriff who would handle the arrest of a juvenile tearing up a lawn or field with a vehicle, or the arrest of a juvenile drinking alcohol. Often enough, children who do these things are duly prosecuted, but what happens if an underage witness, in a case against someone else being tried by the county attorney, is caught drinking beer? As it happened in May of 2013, the underage witness was not arrested, even though she was obviously drunk. Her changing testimony at the trial, which, by the way, the county attorney lost, was deemed too important to risk losing her cooperation by arresting her, as indicated by the law. What happens if the driver of a vehicle being driven over private property, and destroying the same, belongs to the son or daughter of someone in a position of authority in Marshall County or Marysville, Kansas? Do those young people live by the same rules? Apparently, a portion of the citizenry in Marysville think not; otherwise the question would not have been brought up at a city council meeting. County Attorney is an elected position, here in Kansas, and selective application of laws is not a way for elected officials to remain in office.

The Kansas Judicial Branch site has this to say about personal and public matters involving lawyers:

[5] A lawyer's conduct should conform to the requirements of the law, both in professional service to clients and in the lawyer's business and personal affairs. A lawyer should use the law's procedures only for legitimate purposes and not to harass or intimidate others. A lawyer should demonstrate respect for the legal system and for those who serve it, including judges, other lawyers and public officials. While it is a lawyer's duty, when necessary, to challenge the rectitude of official action, it is also a lawyer's duty to uphold legal process.

Anyone wishing to file a complaint with the Kansas Bar Association can print this complaint form and mail the hard copy to Disciplinary Administrator, 701 Jackson Street, First Floor, Topeka, Kansas, 66603-3729. All complaints must be written and snail mailed.

 

Man Tries To Kidnap Girl In Salina Kansas

Apparently, it bears repeating, although the child in this case was too smart for the creep: never get in a vehicle with strangers. In Salina, Kansas, a thirtyish man wearing a baseball cap attempted to coerce a nine year old girl into his white pick-up truck. She refused, and continued to her destination, where parents of friends reported the incident to law enforcement.

 

 

In Case You Skipped Church This Sunday

The first thing that a certain undersheriff here in Marshall County, Kansas, and I disagreed upon was actually a lot more universal than it was personal. It concerned the presence of weapons in Northeast Kansas schools, and the fact that rifles and shotguns occasionally tag along to school in vehicles driven by students who hunt on mornings before school starts. The cop thinks that because he goes to church and votes republican most of the time, a gun in the hands of a younger student (mind you, many of the schools in Northeast Kansas go from kindergarten to high school because the schools are not consolidated and there are not many students) would not create the mayhem here that the same weapon would create in the hands of a younger student opening an older student's vehicle and finding a loaded gun in a "blue" state. I reminded him that religion and politics would not affect the outcome of such an incident, and that if anything like that ever happened, I would be on the phone with all the major newspapers immediately, informing them of the conversation he and I had just had. This was before this happened, involving my effort to help a Marshall County mom get her mother to care for her children after she had been arrested, and also before this incident, when the county attorney wanted all of the witnesses for a case she wanted to try in court to testify her way, instead of telling the truth. Would you have heard a message from the pulpit, if you hadn't skipped church, about Jesus voting republican and telling concerned parents to relax about children taking guns to school?

 

 

Vehicle In Failed Lenexa Kidnapping Possibly Identified

This vehicle may be the vehicle that was involved an a failed kidnapping a few days ago, in Lenexa, Kansas. The intended victim, an eleven year old boy, got away, instead, and ran into a liquor store, where the police were called. After checking traffic surveillance, it was determined that the pictured white car was in the area at the time of the incident. If anyone knows who this is, the TIPS hotline is 816-444-TIPS. The police are looking for the owner of this vehicle.

 

Can Sex Offender Brandon Lavergne Get A Fair Trial?

Sex offender Brandon Scott Lavergne, who has been charged with the kidnap and murder of Mickey Shunick, and whose mother knows nothing about his past as a sex offender, thinks he may not be able to get a fair trial in his home town of Lafayette, La. He thinks that he is a very special man, and that after he attempted to hide his status as a sex offender and hid and destroyed the vehicle caught on surveillance in connection to Mickey Shunick's disappearance, the very same community "owes him" a different venue!

If this were not about a missing person and crime victim, the notion that Lafayette owes Brandon Lavergne anything besides swift justice and a swift kick in the ass would be amusing. This is a man who owed the community the act of carrying ID that designated him as a disgusting sex offender at all times. He did not like the "disgusting sex offender" label, so he decided not to fulfil his obligation, which he OWED Lafayette, and everyone else, as a requirement of his parole. This is also a man who, when the police wanted to know more about three vehicles caught on camara at a certain time, took one of those vehicles far away and destroyed it. The owners of the other two vehicles came forward, with their vehicles, and are none the worse for wear. What did Sex Offender Lavergne do? He knew the police were looking for a missing woman, and instead of helping, hid the vehicle in Texas and burned the inside of it. But Lafayette still "owes" him something, he thinks.

Here's an idea for a change of venue: Texas! After all, Brandon Lavergne drove the truck in question to Texas, and started a fire there without a burn permit. Had law enforement in Texas known Lavergne was destroying evidence that was wanted in connection to a missing persons case, Lavergne probably would have been charged with a crime for that, as well. Then, he filed a false report about a vehicle theft. Since Texas obviously has issues with this sex offender, too, should they choose to press them, why not move the trial of the disgusting sex offender to Texas?