HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – February 4 marks 234 days since Hawkins County child Summer Moon-Utah Wells was reported missing. It is also Summer’s sixth birthday.
| Find the latest coverage on Summer Wells as the search for the missing Rogersville girl continues →
Community members met Tuesday at Borden Park in Kingsport to hold a prayer vigil for Summer and hope for her safe return home.
In a tweet from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, authorities noted that Feb. 15 will mark eight months since Summer was first reported missing from her home in the Beech Creek community.
“Summer Wells is on our minds today, just as she’s been every day since June 15, 2021,” the TBI wrote. “Her case weighs heavily on all involved.”
The TBI states they continue to work with the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Knoxville as the search for Summer continues.
In December, the TBI posted an update on their search efforts, saying that extensive search efforts and manpower have not resulted in any new findings. The TBI said at the time that no evidence suggested Summer had been abducted. Investigators said they were also exploring the “very real possibility that she wandered off and became lost in the mountainous and rough terrain surrounding her home.”
Summer Wells has gained national attention in the months since she disappeared. Her parents, Don Wells and Candus Bly, appeared on the Dr. Phil show in November 2021. Her disappearance has also sparked interest on YouTube among content creators and has prompted protesters to arrive in the region on some occasions.
The young Rogersville girl was reported missing the evening of Tuesday, June 15, 2021 when she disappeared from her home on Ben Hill Road in the Beech Creek community. Summer was reported to be barefoot and wearing a pink shirt and gray shorts before she went missing.
Emergency scanner audio from June 15, 2021, obtained through Broadcastify, captured the moment when authorities were called to the home.
“The parents have called in advised that the mother had went for a walk, came home and now they can’t find her, they have been yelling for her, she has been gone for about ten minutes now.”
An Endangered Child Alert was issued for her later than night. On Wednesday, June 16, 2021, TBI chose to upgrade to a statewide AMBER Alert for Summer at 11:08 a.m. EST because of “new information and growing concern.”
The TBI AMBER Alert reports Summer’s appearance as follows:
- Age: 5 years old (at the time the alert was issued)
- Sex: Female
- Race: White
- Hair: Blond
- Eyes: Blue
- Height: 3 feet
- Weight: 40 pounds
- NCIC: M476287498
- Missing From: Rogersville, Tennessee
- Missing Since: June 15, 2021
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office at 423-272-7121 or the TBI at 800-TBI-FIND.
