Tad Cummins, 50, who had been sought for more than a month after he went missing with the teen, Elizabeth Thomas, was nabbed in a remote region on the border with Oregon thanks to a tip called in to a hotline late Wednesday.
"The caller indicated they had taken up residence in a cabin in a remote area of Cecilville, California, within the last week and a half," Josh DeVine, spokesman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), told a news conference.
He said although deputies faced challenges in reaching the isolated region, they managed to locate Cummins's vehicle and as daylight broke on Thursday they took him into custody and recovered Thomas without incident.
Several US media outlets said the pair were staying at a commune called Black Bear Ranch, which was featured in a 2005 documentary titled "Commune."
According to its website, the commune was founded in 1968 "by a group of people who wanted to go back to the land, get out of the city and start a new life together in the mountains."
Cummins, who faces charges of aggravated kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor, went missing with Thomas on March 13, prompting authorities to issue AMBER alerts for the girl in Tennessee and Alabama.
The AMBER Alert Program broadcasts urgent bulletins on child-abduction cases.
"Our intelligence analysts and agents have worked tirelessly since issuing this AMBER Alert to process more than 1,500 leads from all 50 states," TBI director Mark Gwyn said in a statement.
"What happened in California this morning, however, proves it only takes one person to lead to a successful end."
