He was supported by several Frankish knights, who helped to hide the hostages, e.g. members of the houses of Sparneck or the Guttenberg.
An advantage for Thomas von Absberg were the nearby borders of several principalities and sometimes he escaped to Bohemia.
He was known for the cruelty of cutting off the right hand with a dussack and sending it to the family of his victims to underline his demands for ransom.
[1] Eventually prisoners held at the Waldsteinburg were able to escape and reveal who the supporters of Thomas von Absberg were and where their castles were.
But Thomas von Absberg was not caught and continued his robbery, until he was murdered in Alten-Sedlitz in 1531 by one of his accomplices.