HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. — It's been more than two weeks since 5-year-old Summer Wells went missing, but a Texas-based criminologist says we should not give up hope.
Summer Wells went missing from her home on June 15th, and local, state, and federal agencies have worked around the clock in order to find her.
Police have now scaled back search operations, but are still looking into every lead.
Dr. Alex del Carmen, a criminologist and law enforcement expert says every case is different, and the public should not lose hope.
"We've seen a trend obviously in cases where we have better chances of recovering someone alive in hours, as opposed to days away from the time they were abducted, however having said that, there is no specific rule," he said. "Miracles do happen and we’ve seen those extraordinary circumstances where the person goes missing for years, and they are ultimately found."
More than 700 tips have come through the TBI hotline, but police say social media rumors are not helping the investigation.
"It just bogs law enforcement down because we have to go check that information and mark it off," said TBI Public Information Officer, Leslie Earhart.
Despite the hundreds of tips, and miles searched, Dr. Alex del Carmen said there is still a possibility that Summer wandered off.
"We've seen cases where the area has been reviewed and reviewed by many volunteers, and law enforcement and they end up finding a body or the person missing in the most obvious of places within a certain grid, so I would be the last person to dismiss a geographic area because of the fact its already been reviewed or seen by law enforcement."