Mother of Allegedly Abducted 9-Year-Old Carlie Trent 'Always Had a Bad Feeling' About Suspect 
 
 Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 
 
 Courtesy Shannon Trent 
 
 Courtesy Shannon Trent 
 
 Mother: 'We Will Find Her' 
 
 The mother of missing Tennessee 9-year old Carlie Trent says she "always had a bad feeling" about Gary Simpson, the 57-year-old man who allegedly kidnapped her daughter last week On May 4, Simpson, Carlie's uncle by marriage who, along with his wife, had once had custody of Carlie, picked her up from her Rogersville elementary school. Simpson and Carlie did not return home later that afternoon and the following day an Amber Alert was issued in Tennessee.Shannon Trent tells PEOPLE she has not had custody of Carlie or her 7-year-old sister for about two years, saying, "I just recently got my life straight and I just wish I could at least see my girls again."When she heard that her daughter had been allegedly kidnapped by Simpson, she was shocked by the news – but not as much by the suspect."I've always had a gut feeling," Trent tells PEOPLE. "I've always had a bad feeling about Gary [and] I should have stuck with my gut."Trent tells PEOPLE that Simpson has been part of the family for 34 years and was given custody of his nieces when Carlie's father, James, was having what she describes as "problems." At the time of Carlie's disappearance, James had custody of her."He was a very trusted family member. If we had known anything like this, we would have never let our kids around him," Trent says.Josh DeVine of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation tells PEOPLE that in order to pick up Carlie, Simpson allegedly told teachers that James had been in a car accident and he was sent to get her. But Devine says this was a lie and that Simpson had no authority to pick Carlie up.On Tuesday, authorities said that before Simpson allegedly kidnapped his niece, he bought girls underwear, a bikini, clothing, lipstick, nail polish, blankets and a child's camping chair at a local WalMart "It made me sick to my stomach. I mean, I almost got sick," Trent says of the items Simpson allegedly purchased. "I don't know what he's done to her. I don't think he would hurt her, but if he's capable of kidnapping a child he's capable of anything."Authorities say the items purchased by Simpson confirm their suspicion that he allegedly brought Carlie to a remote area or campground. Trent says she believes the alleged kidnapping was premeditated."And just to think he's had this planned for a long time," Trent says. "I think he's got a lair or something or some sort of shelter."After the alleged kidnapping, Simpson brought Carlie to a local grocery store and bought non-perishable food items and toiletries, officials said. In a surveillance video from a Save-A-Lot, Carlie doesn't appear to be distressed, officials said. However there is still concern for her safety."We believe this girl to be in imminent danger. As the days go, our concern for [Carlie's] well-being only grows," DeVine said at a press conference on Tuesday.Trent says she and her family will not stop looking for their daughter. She urges Simpson to come forward, telling PEOPLE, "Gary, think about what you are doing right now – it's just crazy, it's just insane. You're not going to away with this. We will find her – we have to find her."She adds, "And Carlie, Mommy and Daddy are searching high and low and doing everything we can do to save you."James Trent told Inside Edition he believes Simpson has an obsession with his daughter."I personally think that for some reason, he's developed this obsession with Carlie," he said. "I wonder what he's trying to put in her head, what kind of story he's told her [about] why he's doing what he's doing."Simpson was last seen driving a white 2002 Dodge Conversion Van with Tennessee registration number 173GPS.On Tuesday, Missouri authorities issued an Amber Alert after it was believed Simpson was spotted near Otterville. However, hours later, authorities announced the alert was a false alarm.Carlie is described as 4'8" tall, weighing about 75 lbs., with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black and gray tank top with blue jeans. Simpson was last seen wearing a brown cap with a dark colored shirt and blue jeans.Anyone with information regarding Carlie's or Simpson's whereabouts is urged to contact the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND or the Rogersville Police Department at (423) 272-7555. ||||| ROGERSVILLE (WATE) – Carlie Trent returned home from the hospital Friday. She was found safe Thursday afternoon after an eight-day Amber Alert and her uncle by marriage Gary Simpson has been taken into custody. 
 
 District Attorney Dan Armstrong said Carlie Trent is still at the hospital. Her uncle, Gary Simpson, is on suicide watch and in solitary confinement at Hawkins County Jail. 
 
 The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says citizens were checking property in the Clinch Valley area, as the TBI had asked people to do, when they found Carlie and her uncle on a trail off Gravely Valley Road only accessible by a four-wheeler. 
 
 Roger Carpenter told WATE 6 On Your Side he, Stuart Franklin, Larry “Hambone” Hamblen and Donnie Lawson had been searching for Carlie for the past three days. 
 
 Franklin, while riding an ATV, found Carlie carrying a teddy bear. Carpenter said the property belongs to Lawson’s brother. TBI said one of them held Simpson at gunpoint while the other rescued Carlie and called 911. Carpenter said none of the men involved were ministers, despite what TBI said during their media conference. 
 
 “My dad called me and said someone shouted, ‘We got the girl’ and the good Lord above me told me it was my two buddies,” Carpenter said. 
 
 Those buddies had been out since daylight, hunting for Gary Simpson. 
 
 “A lot of hitting the bushes, digging, praying, a lot of heartache, a lot of disappointment in this but thank God it turned out good,” said Carpenter. 
 
 They had checked the area before, but didn’t find any tracks. 
 
 “I have two daughters and when I’ve seen in the past, in the past I’ve seen children abducted and I’ve wanted to help and I felt like I wanted to try and help this time,” said Franklin. 
 
 “This is a case of two heroes who went on their property to see if, by chance, if they were there, and they were. I think this is a clear message to the public that we need your help on these kind of cases,” said TBI director Mark Gwyn at a news conference Thursday evening. 
 
 Related story: Hawkins County couple watches over Carlie Trent while rescuer calls 911 
 
 Simpson has been arrested and charged with especially aggravated kidnapping. He had been placed on the TBI’s most wanted list earlier on Thursday. Gwyn said more charges could be filed if warranted. The Hawkins County sheriff says his first court appearance will be Monday. 
 
 Carlie was sent to a hospital in Johnson City to be checked out as a precaution. She returned home Friday and was seen outside her father’s home playing with her sister and cousins. 
 
 Gwyn said she seemed to be okay and in good spirits. Gwyn said he can’t put a price on Carlie’s life, but the men who found her deserve the $41,000 reward that has been offered. 
 
 Carlie’s family searching for answers 
 
 Carlie’s aunt, Gary Simpson’s wife, Linda Simpson told WATE 6 On Your Side she wasn’t surprised they were found so close to home. Simpson said she has not had contact with her husband and she is angry with him, but her main thought is happiness that Carlie was found. 
 
 The girl’s father James Trent is looking for answers about why his brother-in-law would kidnap his 9-year-old daughter. 
 
 “I trusted him with the kids and looking back, there was no way to see something like this coming,” he said. 
 
 All he knows now is Carlie is home safe after more than a week missing. 
 
 “She’s really happy to be back home. It took her a minute to get wound up, but she’s like always now.” 
 
 He says Carlie is the same girl she’s always been, playing tag with her little sister and cousins, but he can’t help but wonder what happened in the eight days she was gone. 
 
 “I haven’t asked her about anything about it, so I don’t know what she was told or anything else,” he said. 
 
 Trent calls the experience a nightmare, but he couldn’t be more thankful for the outpouring of love and support from the community. 
 
 “It’s been terrible. It lasted a whole lot longer than I thought it would, but thanks to everyone for getting out there and searching. I’ll never have the chance to thank everyone, but I’ll try to get my thanks out to everybody, especially those men who saved her. My goodness, I’ll be paying a personal visit to them,” Trent said. 
 
 Carlie Trent’s kidnapping led to massive search effort 
 
 The 9-year-old was removed from school Wednesday by her uncle by marriage, Gary Simpson, 57, under false pretenses, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). Police say Gary Simpson told school officials Trent’s father was in a car accident. They said Gary Simpson has no custodial rights to Carlie Trent. They had last been seen in a white 2002 Dodge Conversion van with license plate 173-GPS. 
 
 A reward of at least $41,000 was offered by several organizations and individuals for information leading to Carlie’s safe return. More than 1,700 tips were called in from 19 states. An Amber Alert was even briefly issued in Missouri after possible sightings there, but the Trent and Simpson were found only about 20 miles away from where they were last seen. 
 
 DeVine said Wednesday morning he has heard some disturbing rumors on social media that if Simpson was trying to protect Carlie Trent. He said he has seen tweets that asked “If Simpson didn’t harm Carlie when he had custody, why would he do it now,” or that he was trying to “protect her” from something. 
 
 “If we have not been abundantly clear about this since the get-go, let me take the opportunity to say this as clearly as I possibly can. This was not an innocent camping trip, this was a crime,” said DeVine. “We realize Gary Simpson is Carlie Trent’s uncle by marriage, but we have specific, we have credible information that Carlie Trent is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death. That is why we issued an Amber Alert.” 
 
 Related stories: 
 
 DeVine said that is the reason Amber Alerts are issued very judiciously. He said they are reserved for the most serious of cases and this was one of them. 
 
 TBI released photos Tuesday of items purchased by Gary Simpson at a Walmart in Rogersville before picking-up Carlie Trent from school. They included a pink and purple zebra print blanket, a green shirt and black pants Gary Simpson purchased for himself, khaki pants and girl’s underwear purchase for Carlie Tent, pink and green nail polish, pink and purple lipstick, a pink child’s camp chair, a child’s night gown with purple stars and a black and pink bikini. 
 
 TBI also released higher quality video of Carlie Trent and Gary Simspon in the Save-A-Lot in Rogersville, their last known sighting. 
 
 “The reason we released that video from the Save-A-Lot is you can tell a lot by the way someone walks, so maybe they’re not in their vehicle anymore, maybe they are walking down the side of the road,” said DeVine. “We’re hoping that someone recognizes their gait and say I’ve seen someone walk that way. You can tell a lot by the way someone moves and by the way someone walks and we’re hoping that will be an additional piece of information that will help the public recognize them.” 
 
 U.S. Marshals and TBI set up command posts in Rogersville. Tennessee Highway Patrol also did air searches on an as needed basis, but DeVine described using air searches as looking for “a needle in a haystack.” ||||| By Hayes Hickman of the Knoxville News Sentinel 
 
 Two Knoxville banking executives are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the return of missing 9-year-old Carlie Marie Trent, who was abducted a week ago by her uncle in Hawkins County. 
 
 Matt Daniels, president and chief executive officer of Apex Bank, said he and his business partner, 21st Mortgage President Tim Williams, felt compelled to get involved as the search continues without any confirmed sighting of the girl or her non-custodial uncle, 57-year-old Gary Simpson. 
 
 “This is agonizing,” Daniels said Wednesday. “It’s not a 24-hour Amber Alert.” 
 
 Daniels said Carlie reminds him of his two daughters, ages 10 and 6, and reminds Williams of his grandchildren. 
 
 “We can’t imagine if it was one of ours , especially after a week,” Daniels said. “I’m sure the authorities are doing everything they can, but maybe there’s some way we can help. … All we want is her return.” 
 
 Daniels added that he and Williams were inspired to put up the reward by Carlie’s pediatrician, Dr. Chris Calendine, who also is offering a $10,000 reward in the case. 
 
 Similarly, the U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the girl’s recovery and Simpson’s capture. 
 
 An East and Middle Tennessee Amber Alert remains in effect since the Rogersville, Tenn., girl was signed out of her elementary school under false pretenses Wednesday, May 4 by Simpson, her uncle by marriage. 
 
 NEW PICTURES: He often wears a hat, so we want you to see these new images of Gary Simpson. #BringCarlieHome pic.twitter.com/pJVt7gExAy — TBI (@TBInvestigation) May 10, 2016 
 
 The Cooper County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri issued an Amber Alert on Tuesday afternoon after information was obtained that the pair “were possibly sighted” in the Otterville area of central Missouri on Monday, according to the alert. 
 
 The Missouri alert has since been canceled, officials said Wednesday. 
 
 Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesman Josh DeVine said authorities are pursuing tips on possible sightings of Carlie and Simpson in 11 states, including many in the Southeast. The TBI has yet to receive a credible sighting, he said. 
 
 “It is absolutely paramount that we do everything in our capability to bring this girl home as soon as possible,” DeVine said a news briefing Wednesday. “I am not in a position, however, to really speak to some of the specifics that we’ve been able to gather during the course of our investigation. 
 
 “But suffice it to say, we believe this girl to be in imminent danger.” 
 
 Authorities previously shared security video of Simpson taken at a Rogersville-area Walmart shortly before he picked up Carlie from her school, claiming her father had been in an accident. 
 
 TBI officials initially described Simpson’s purchases as “camping supplies.” 
 
 On Tuesday, DeVine said those items included a pink and purple “plush throw” blanket, a green men’s short-sleeve shirt, men’s black pants, girls’ khaki pants, two shades of lipstick, two shades of nail polish, a pink folding camp chair, a purple child-sized nightgown, a bikini and a Fruit of the Loom brand girls’ multipack of underwear. 
 
 Simpson also bought several “nonperishable items” at a Save-A-Lot grocery store Wednesday afternoon, shortly after picking up the girl. 
 
 “There’s every indication that he intended to go out of sight,” DeVine said during a Tuesday news conference in Rogersville, where the TBI has established a mobile command post. “We believe this girl is in imminent danger.” 
 
 Asked to elaborate, he said he could not share other specifics gathered by investigators. 
 
 “Gary, if you’re out there, we would encourage you to do the right thing … we would encourage you to bring Carlie home,” DeVine said Monday night, making a direct plea to Simpson. “There is nothing that has happened in the past few days that cannot be discussed and can’t be worked out.” 
 
 The two were last seen traveling in a white 2002 Dodge conversion van, with Tennessee tag 173GPS. 
 
 “Just keep remembering that the license plate features ‘GPS,’ ” DeVine said. “Should be pretty easy to remember.” 
 
 NEW PICTURES: Here's the suspect vehicle in our #AmberAlert. TN TAG 173-GPS. See it in front of you? Call 911! pic.twitter.com/9eXtRVibkQ — TBI (@TBInvestigation) May 10, 2016 
 
 Authorities suspect the two might be in an isolated area, DeVine said. The TBI has reached out to state park officials, as well as private campgrounds in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. 
 
 DeVine suggested property owners in rural areas take a look around their land for anything suspicious. 
 
 Carlie is 4 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 75 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. Simpson is balding, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 157 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Both are white. 
 
 Anyone with information on Carlie or Simpson is asked to call the TBI at 1-800-824-3463. 
 
 Anyone with immediate information on the pair’s location is asked to call E-911. ||||| It's been a week since Carlie Trent was in school. On Wednesday, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation asked the public to trust them that Carlie Trent really is in danger. 
 
 Josh DeVine, a spokesperson for TBI, said he has heard some disturbing rumors on social media that if Simpson was trying to protect Carlie Trent. 
 
 He told WATE he has seen tweets that asked "If Simpson didn't harm Carlie when he had custody, why would he do it now." 
 
 "I don't think he's trying to protect her. If we have not been abundantly clear about this since the get-go, let me take the opportunity to say this as clearly as I possibly can. This was not an innocent camping trip, this was a crime," said Devine. "We realize Gary Simpson is Carlie Trent's uncle by marriage, but we have specific, we have credible information that Carlie Trent is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death. That is why we issued an Amber Alert." 
 
 DeVine said that is the reason Amber Alerts are issued very judiciously. He said they are reserved for the most serious of cases, and that this is one of them. 
 
 "We need the public to be on the lookout, we need the public to trust us. When we say this child is in danger, we're not joking around. It is too serious. This is a 9-year-old girl on the line and you had better believe we're doing anything and everything to bring this girl home." 
 
 TBI said agents are sifting through over 1,200 leads. Law enforcement in 19 states are also working on possible sightings, but DeVine says so far they have had nothing credible. 
 
 A Missouri Amber Alert has been cancelled, but Amber Alert says Carlie Trent is still missing and the alert is still active in Tennessee. 
 
 Anyone with information is asked to call the Rogersville Police Department at (423) 272-7555 or 1-800-TBI-FIND. TBI said if anyone spots the van should call 911 directly. 
 
 Related stories:
– Authorities are combing through more than 1,200 leads in a desperate search for a 9-year-old girl they say was abducted by her uncle May 4, WATE reports. According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, 57-year-old Gary Simpson picked Carlie Trent up from her Tennessee school, telling staff her father had been in an accident. Shortly before, he purchased a child's nightgown, bikini, girls' underwear, lipstick, and nail polish at an area Walmart. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has pictures of those items. Carlie's mother Shannon Trent tells People she felt "sick to my stomach" when she heard about those purchases. "I don't know what he's done to her," she says. "I don't think he would hurt her, but if he's capable of kidnapping a child he's capable of anything." Authorities believe Carlie is in "imminent danger." Simpson also purchased camping supplies and nonperishable groceries, and authorities think he may be hiding with Carlie in an isolated area. The TBI says there have been rumors online that Simpson is trying to protect Carlie, but it says that couldn't be further from the truth. "This was not an innocent camping trip, this was a crime," a spokesperson tells WATE. Simpson, Carlie's uncle by marriage, and his wife once had custody of Carlie, but her father James Trent had custody at the time of her abduction. Shannon Trent, who hasn't had custody of Carlie in two years, says she "always had a bad feeling" about Simpson. "I should have stuck with my gut," she tells People. (This boy's summer with his dad turned into his kidnapping.)