Photo Credit: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation provided an update on the case of missing 5-year-old Summer Wells.
The little girl was last seen around 6:30 pm EST on June 15 near her family’s home in Rogersville, a town about an hour northeast of Knoxville. Her mother says she was last seen going back inside the house after gardening with her grandmother.
While the search has continued for five months with very few solid leads, the TBI says they have seen an “uptick in misinformation being spread online about the search.”
In a tweet on Wednesday, TBI said, “We want to be clear that we’re doing everything within our power to find her. We continue to work daily with the @HawkinsCountySO and the @FBIKnoxville to determine what happened to Summer. No one is more frustrated than us by the lack of answers at this stage. However, we haven’t given up, and we won’t.”
The bureau also stated that they have used “exhaustive ground searches, dozens of aerial searches” and dive teams have been “brought in to explore waterways in the area.” Additionally, teams of K9s have been used in the search.
“The area where Summer went missing is extremely rural, with few businesses,” the TBI continued. “All available surveillance photos and videos have been collected and reviewed. Additionally, neighborhood canvasses were conducted in an effort to make sure we didn’t miss any residential cameras.”
While the department has utilized “numerous” search warrants and gathered all “potential digital evidence,” there is no evidence at this point in the investigation that Wells was actually abducted.
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The girl’s parents, Donald Wells and Candus Bly, have stated that they believe she was kidnapped. All searches of the area around the home have turned up no evidence.
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services removed the couple’s three sons from the home and placed them in protective custody.
The TBI continues to look for a maroon Toyota pickup truck with a full bed ladder rack and white buckets. A tip received in June stated that the vehicle was seen in the Beech Creek area near Ben Hill Road and the Wells’ home on the afternoon of June 14 or 15.
Anyone with any information regarding Wells is asked to contact the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office or the TBI.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
