Summer Wells family: ‘We were stripped from all our kids’

Go behind the headlines as NewsNation’s “Missing” investigates missing person cases from across the country, from cold cases to the latest developing stories. Tune into our latest case’s digital show each Friday where we speak to loved ones and examine the case. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

(NewsNation) — Three years after Summer Wells disappeared from her home in rural Tennessee, her parents are speaking out about a case that had drawn national attention, expressing frustration over the way they have been treated.

Still, they hold on to hope that some information will lead to answers on what happened to their daughter.

Summer Wells’ family faced harassment

After the then-five-year-old disappeared, Don Wells and Candus Bly Wells became the center of the police investigation. They told NewsNation affiliate WJHL they’ve been frustrated at the investigation and reaction from authorities. Summer’s parents believe their daughter was abducted and did not simply wander away.

“We know that she was taken off our property. We know that she was taken away in a vehicle or they would’ve found her in the area if she was somewhere in the area,” Wells said. “But who’s responsible for her? We don’t know.”

He also lashed out at the Department of Children’s Services for removing Summer’s siblings from the home after she disappeared.

“We were stripped away from all our kids,” he said. “All our kids have been kidnapped from us by DCS and we’re not sure about Summer, but we know about where our boys are at.”

Wells served several months in jail over a DUI in 2021, but to date, nobody has been arrested or even named as a person of interest in Summer’s disappearance.

Since she disappeared, Wells said the family’s life has been consumed by harassment from people online who believe they are responsible for whatever happened to Summer.

“Before you know it, you’re getting a mob going. My wife could go to the store and somebody would scream at her, baby killer,” he said.

Wells shared videos from one of his job sites where people were demanding to speak to him about Summer.

He said it got so bad he had to leave the state to find work. But he returns for events like a butterfly release that marked another year of Summer being gone.

Where is Summer Wells?

Summer lived with her parents in Rogersville, Tennessee, a tight-knit community with fewer than 5,000 people.

On June 15, 2021, her parents said she was helping her mother and grandmother plant flowers outside. Her father said she went into the house, his wife watching as she went inside. With her brothers using the internet, Summer went downstairs to play with her toys.

Then, she disappeared.

“I yelled downstairs for her a couple times and I didn’t get no answer,” Bly Wells said. “Which was unusual because usually she always answers me, so I went down there to check and she was nowhere in sight.”

Her family believes she may have been taken down a steep hill behind the home, possibly to a waiting car. But they don’t know if she wandered back outside or if someone could have entered the basement and taken her.

Authorities issued an endangered child alert and launched large-scale ground searches in the woods and other areas around the family home. They have also received thousands of tips but none have lead to answers.

Searching for Summer Wells

Investigators say the case is active and ongoing, but despite numerous searches and age-progression photos, Summer’s disappearance remains a mystery.

“The case is one that we’ve just not been able to overcome,” said Tennesee Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director Josh Melton. “And it’s troubling.”

Authorities previously said they had not ruled Summer’s parents out as being involved in her disappearance. Melton confirmed all possibilities are still on the table.

“We don’t have the evidence in this case to know for sure whether or not Summer was abducted or whether or not she walked away from her home and became lost,” he said.

Wells said the family has private investigators working with police and the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office is also working alongside the TBI.

“We continue to focus on ground search efforts. We continue to focus on interviews of those who may have information about vehicles that traveled to the rea or technology that could have been used that may give us an investigative lead,” Melton said.

Police continue to look for leads in Summer Wells case

One clue they’re still looking for is about a pickup truck seen in the area around the time Summer vanished. It’s been described as a red or maroon Toyota truck with ladders on the back.

Even if the truck is located, police don’t know if it is connected to the case.

Still, Wells said he never stops praying their daughter will be found.

“We have hope, always. But there’s not much hope in this world,” Wells said. “We have to trust God that there’s hope in eternal life in heaven.”

At the time she disappeared, Summer was described as being three feet tall and weighing about 40 pounds. She has blond hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing gray pants and a pink shirt. Anyone with information on her disappearance is urged to contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.