[Magdalen] Tennessee teen & teacher found in CA. (Hey, Jay!)

[Jay Weigel]

If you read back in the archives just a bit, you will find that I posted
this situation as a prayer request, updated it as new information came out,
and then further updated it the day they were found. This is not to
admonish anyone, but to speak to the fact that I am *very* aware of the
situation and because I stay in contact with Tennessee news sources, may be
in possession of a few facts that others aren't.

Elizabeth Thomas is one of 10 children, I think either #5 or 6, and was
homeschooled until last year when her mother was charged with abusing her
and the 5(?) younger ones. She testified that her mother had hit her and
her siblings with a broom handle, pushed her down the basement stairs, and
locked her in the basement at different times. Her mother is no longer with
the family. One older sister seems to have got out of the house as soon as
possible and gotten married. (Family situation appears to be complicated in
that some siblings may be "steps", not sure about that.) Elizabeth is said
to be shy and possibly prone to anxiety. All this made her a sitting duck
for a guy who had a history of being a bully on at least one previous job
and may have had a predatory streak. (In his application letter to the
school system he spoke of his experience as a volunteer youth pastor, which
may in hindsight be significant.) Elizabeth had spoken to her sister of
being afraid of him and on at least one occasion had hidden from him at the
place where she worked. Family and friends say she is "young for her age",
possibly due to her previous family situation. Doesn't seem to me like she
was exactly "willing" to go along with it. Initially stories made it sound
like she met him at the restaurant and ran off with him; actually she was
at work and he apparently took her from there. She had told her sister that
if she was not home by 6 pm to call the police, so he must have grabbed her
as she was leaving work. If she knew he had the guns, or if he threatened
to kill her, what could she do?

What would you do if you were 2000 miles from home in the middle of nowhere
with a man who had threatened to kill you, and you were a very scared,
unsophisticated 15 year old girl?

On Sat, Apr 22, 2017 at 3:03 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:

>
>
> In a message dated 4/22/2017 2:27:03 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> houstonklr at gmail.com writes:
>
> but the  pairing of a teenager with an older adult man,  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
>
>
>
> The age contrast card can even be a shocker, even in the
> GLBT world.  You may remember the "Queer as Folk"
> episode in which an older boyfriend of one of the
> chief characters crashes the senior prom dance,
> sweeping the younger man off his feet.
>
>
> _http://search.aol.com/aol/video?q=queer+as+folk+dance+
> is+crashed&s_it=video
> -_
> (http://search.aol.com/aol/video?q=queer+as+folk+dance+
> is+crashed&s_it=video)
> ans&sfVid=true&videoId=0E2F9010F997FE2CA1840E2F9010F9
> 97FE2CA184&v_t=keyword_
> rollover
>
>
>
>
>
>
> David S.
>