ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. — It has been almost 5 months since five-year-old Summer Wells went missing from her Hawkins County home.
Now, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said an uptick in misinformation spread online is not helping the investigation. TBI and the family said they are frustrated and said they have the same goal of finding Summer.
“She was awesome,” said Summer’s father, Don Wells. “She was a beautiful little girl. I should say, she is awesome.”
Wells said the past 5 months had been a rollercoaster.
“One minute, you might be down in the dumps thinking the worst,” Wells said. “Then your mind might get hope thinking in another direction.”
His daughter is still nowhere to be found. Summer was last seen on the afternoon of June 15 at their home in Rogersville. On Nov. 11, he appeared on Dr. Phil to speak about the disappearance. They sat down with "body language experts" to talk about the case.
The experts were meant to tell if Wells was lying about his daughter being kidnapped. He maintains his daughter was kidnapped by unknown abductors but said he has no evidence to prove that. TBI has previously said they don’t have any evidence that Summer was abducted.
“We have pleaded with the abductors many times,” Wells said.
Since Summer has gone missing, TBI said they had received at least 1,500 tips. The problem is, TBI said most of those tips have come from misinformation being spread online.
“We haven’t got a clue anything about that,” Wells said. “We wish something could lead to finding our daughter.”
TBI said online rumors and speculation just make law enforcement’s job harder. Wells said he himself had been a victim of the online speculation as he said some have claimed he is involved. Reporters with News4, a sister station in Nashville, asked Wells if he had anything to do with his daughter’s disappearance.
“I am at work all day every day,” Wells said. “I love my daughter with all my heart… Oh I mean, well, no.”
Wells said he is hopeful that Summer is alive and will make it back home. Don said he thinks TBI is doing everything they possibly can to find his daughter.
“She loved me,” Wells said. “She was a daddy’s girl.”
The family started a YouTube channel about the case, and also launched a website about Summer Wells.