The Disappearance of Summer Wells
5 year-old Summer was last seen around 6:30 p.m. on June 15, 2021, at her family home located along Ben Hill Road in the Beech Creek community of Hawkins County, Tennessee. Summer had been in the front yard planting flowers with her mother and grandmother at the time.
At some point around 6.30pm, Summer ventured back inside the home on her own because she "wanted to go downstairs and play with her toys", Donald Wells, her father, said. "I went down in the basement, and she was gone, so she went out the basement door, which was unlocked, and we haven't seen her since,". Donald added that the family's basement door was typically left open or unlocked.
At the time of her disappearance, Donald said he was at work, his sons were inside the home, and his wife and mother-in-law were outside facing away from the basement door.
“Well I think whoever grabbed her probably had her mouth covered, and I think she was gasping for air by the time she got somewhere down here because our neighbor heard a scream. A really funny scream and she’s been telling us that all along,” he said.
An AMBER Alert was issued for Summer the following day, after being upgraded from an Endangered Child Alert. Very few updates on the case have been shared by police since and investigators have not shared any concrete theories about what may have happened to the young girl.
Donald has previously said that the family believes she was abducted, despite officials saying there is no evidence to support his claims.
Shortly before Summer's disappearance, her previously chin-length blonde hair was buzzed down to a close crop. In the hours after she vanished, police shared pictured of her with her long hair, describing her as three feet tall, weighing 40 pounds, and with blue eyes. Summer's parents have never said how soon before her disappearance was her hair cut off.
Summer's three young brothers were removed from the Wells family home six weeks after her disappearance. It came after Donald claimed that his house was a "dangerous" place to be amid a slew of threats being made against him and Candus, which turned reportedly drove him to start drinking heavily. Donald also reportedly said that a lot of people were coming to him and accusing him of various things regarding the disappearance of his daughter.
Around three weeks later, in July, Donald offered the grim prediction that Summer is probably no longer alive.
Officials asked people who have credible first-hand information regarding the girl’s disappearance to call 1-800-TBI-FIND. The family is also asking for direct tips via their website findsummerwells.com
