HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. — Summer Moon-Utah Wells turned 6 years old Friday. The Hawkins County girl has been missing since June 15th, 2021.
Wells was reported missing by her family at her home in the Beech Creek Community of Hawkins County.
Since her disappearance, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Hawkins County Sheriff's Office have followed up on hundreds of tips but there is still no sign of Summer.
Sheriff Ronnie Lawson said they have not given up, and his department still receives calls every single day about the case.
"We're hearing something from somebody everyday whether it's from email, phone calls or in the mail," he said.
The Sheriff's department and TBI have led massive search efforts to find Summer, but there is still no sign of her.
"It's not only affecting me, it's affecting my whole department," said Sheriff Lawson. "We all have children and it's sad when any child is not home for their birthday or they can't celebrate their birthday with their loved ones."
In the meantime, a group of community members in Kingsport and Hawkins County continue to hold prayer meetings every week in honor of Summer.
"We're still missing Summer but we want to keep her name in the light and keep her case information out there," said Hayley Justine Thompson. "It's very important. There's still people in this community that don't know she's missing."
The group usually live streams the prayer meetings, and Thompson said they have had people from 22 countries watch and pray for Summer.
"We asked people to have 6 minutes of silence in honor of Summers 6th birthday," said Thompson. "During those 6 minutes we'd love people to pray for Summer we know that's very important to keep the hope and keep the light around this little girl in finding her."
A spokesperson for the Wells family released a statement from Don and Candus Wells, Summer's parents that says: “This is a tender day to us. We miss our Summer with all our hearts. Thank You, Everyone, for helping us restore our Family and find our Daughter, Summer Moon-Utah Wells.”
The Wells family also released a video on their YouTube channel, honoring Summer.