Updated May 14, 2019

The former Maury County teacher who ran away with his student has decided to drop an appeal on the length of his prison sentence.

Tad Cummins appealed to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals after he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

When Cummins was a teacher at Culleoka Unit School he ran away with his student, Elizabeth Thomas. They were the subject of a nationwide Amber Alert in 2017. After 38 days on the run, authorities found them hiding in a rustic cabin in Northern California.