The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation looked into how 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas and her teacher Tad Cummins communicated before he kidnapped her, which includes emails left in draft form, social media and possibly encrypted apps.
Thomas' Instagram account is public, but her messages are password protected making obtaining them difficult for law enforcement.
WAAY 31 spoke with a mom Sunday who said she is using the Amber Alert as a teaching moment about internet and cellphone safety with her daughter.
"It's really unnerving, it makes me nervous for her," said Royale Barbee. She has a five year old daughter, and is concerned about what the future may hold for her child when it comes to cellphones and social media.
"What she puts out there is all going to be important and I'm hoping and praying that she understands that and understands the severity of that as she gets older," said Barbee.
While apps like Instagram and even encrypted apps like Telegram are easy to use, the messages are difficult to find.
"At the local level, impossible for anyone to be able to get into these encrypted apps, said Jamey Tucker, WAAY 31's tech expert, "even if you get that information by the time you get it, it's all jumbled up and you can't make any sense of it."
For Barbee, even though her daughter is young, she is focusing on educating her about online and phone safety.
"Just make sure that she uses smart decision making, and then when she's able to use a phone freely then she'll know not to do certain things," said Barbee.
Tucker told WAAY 31 open communication between parents and their children is vital.
"You're not going to be able to look at their phone, and look at their apps and be able to discern whether this app is doing something that you don't want them to do," said Tucker.
As for Cummins and Thomas it's unknown which encryption app if any they may have used, but the TBI said information on their contact before the Amber Alert is helpful.
