AMBER ALERT TN - Summer Moon-Utah Wells, 5, Rogersville, 15 Jun 2021 #30

[2.curious]

Are the parents still together?

We haven't heard from either in a couple of weeks now so I'm not sure.
No new information from anyone.

 

[Trackergd]

It makes no sense to me these dogs weren't alerting left and right near her home. One of them was a bloodhound. Isn't that the best dog?

Respectfully snipped

@December Makes no sense to me either. If SW was running around that property on a daily bases, there should have been detectable scent trails all over the place. What makes the single scent trail from the parking area to the road more notable than any other SW scent trail? SW could have walked down to the road and right back up again. The dog could only tell that there was a scent trail, not which direction (or both) that the SW was traveling.

As ground scent dogs go, I like Bloodhounds the best.

• To what level were the initial search dogs trained? Were they highly trained SAR dogs or run of the mill police bite and hold dogs or drug/explosive sniffers?
• How much time had passed before highly trained Ground Scent SAR dogs were on scene and put to work? The longer the time, the more the scent trail degrades and gets contaminated by other people and animals wandering about. This is why we always teamed Ground Scent dogs and Trackers together. When the dog lost the scent, the Tracker would locate the prints and the handler would get the dog back on scent. If the Tracker was hot on a foot print trail and lost the prints in scree and other difficult conditions, the Ground Scent dog would pick up the trail.
• How many Ground Scent dogs were used as opposed to Air Scent dogs?
• To what degree were the SAR dogs affected by the scent of other dogs all over the property. What a complex mix of human, dog and wild animal scents for the SAR dogs to deal with.

I cannot tell you over the last 50 years how many PLS/LKP's were messed up beyond use by the time I got on scene by well meaning but completely print evidence clueless LE and Fire Departments.

But back to your initial point, that entire property should have been rife with SW scents. Always keep in mind, The lack of print and scent evidence at an alleged PLS/LKP is evidence in itself.

 

[December]

@justaparent , Sonic always gives straws. CB's cup with straw can be seen in the last video (SW with milk jugs).

@Trackergd , thank you for your informative post. Later today i am going to do some research and see if i can figure out at least when the bloodhound was there.

CB complained about LE showing up with dogs and then being surprised at her having dogs. She thought they were trying to be "tricky", i remember that word and thought it was weird.

It seemed more to me they wanted the dogs out there quickly to find SW. I think these were real search dogs. Or at least some of them. But i am going to research this.

There was talk of having trouble finding a good scent item because "so much was shared". But, SW had her own clothes and toys and sat on a pillow all day...

 

[December]

Searching for Summer Wells: Law enforcement gives update on search

This article breaks down the search going from most recent update from TBI all the way back to 6/15. It talks about all the different agencies and all the types of ways the search was being conducted.

However, a lot of videos or images that were embedded are broken links. But, there is still text to give an idea.

 

[tlcya]

HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. (WZTV) — "In Pursuit with John Walsh" plans to cover the Summer Wells case on Investigation Discovery Wednesday night.

"Every single week we profile missing children across the country in our program. Tomorrow night we are hoping for answers in the mysterious case surrounding missing 5-year-old Summer Wells who vanished earlier this summer from Tennessee. It's really time for answers and we hope someone is brave enough to finally come forward," the show posted to Facebook on Tuesday.

'Time for answers': John Walsh to cover Summer Wells case

John Walsh is described by Investigation Discovery as a ‘crime fighter, victims’ advocate and host of “America’s Most Wanted.” According to his online biography, Walsh lost a child in 1981 which inspired him to begin working on other missing persons cases.

The episode of In Pursuit on Summer Wells will air Wednesday night at 10 p.m.

Investigation Discovery show to cover Summer Wells case, calls for tips

 

[December]

Watch now: 'I'll see her in the resurrection': A month later Summer Wells' dad has little hope for her recovery

This article shows one of the dogs with a handler. The article is from July 13 and the caption for the photo says it was given by the TBI on Friday (the 9th), but it is not clear when the photo was taken.

There are photos of SW and the Wells family. Mostly the article is an interview with DW, but there is some information about the search and what LE is doing around the dog picture.

 

[December]

Tennessee Amber Alert

A June 17th article about the search for Summer. Includes several TBI photos. At bottom, a female handler can be seen with her dog walking down a road. I wonder if this is the dog and handler that tracked Summer to the end of the driveway?

 

[lonetraveler]

LE has been pretty thorough with this case. It's hard to believe they didn't do at least a basic check of every vehicle on the property.

I really, really wanted to see a flatbed truck come up and take Candus' Subaru, Grandma's truck and yes, Don Well's truck.

 

[lonetraveler]

@justaparent , Sonic always gives straws. CB's cup with straw can be seen in the last video (SW with milk jugs).

@Trackergd , thank you for your informative post. Later today i am going to do some research and see if i can figure out at least when the bloodhound was there.

CB complained about LE showing up with dogs and then being surprised at her having dogs. She thought they were trying to be "tricky", i remember that word and thought it was weird.

It seemed more to me they wanted the dogs out there quickly to find SW. I think these were real search dogs. Or at least some of them. But i am going to research this.

There was talk of having trouble finding a good scent item because "so much was shared". But, SW had her own clothes and toys and sat on a pillow all day...

I'm really curious if investigators ever found the pillow that she sat on and received it as evidence.

 

[Alethea]

I really, really wanted to see a flatbed truck come up and take Candus' Subaru, Grandma's truck and yes, Don Well's truck.

I wonder why they wouldn't have done that knowing it was one of the last places Summer was allegedly seen (Grandma's truck).

 

[dacjess]

I wonder why they wouldn't have done that knowing it was one of the last places Summer was allegedly seen (Grandma's truck).

I’ve wondered this for a long time. I understand not being able to keep CH from going home but I’m surprised they wouldn’t keep the vehicle.

 

[2.curious]

‘In Pursuit with John Walsh’ to cover search for Summer Wells
on NOW!

ID channel

 

[2.curious]

I hope John Walsh brings some attention to this case.

He did mention the red truck.

 

[Trackergd]

Watch now: 'I'll see her in the resurrection': A month later Summer Wells' dad has little hope for her recovery

This article shows one of the dogs with a handler. The article is from July 13 and the caption for the photo says it was given by the TBI on Friday (the 9th), but it is not clear when the photo was taken.

There are photos of SW and the Wells family. Mostly the article is an interview with DW, but there is some information about the search and what LE is doing around the dog picture.

Tennessee Amber Alert

A June 17th article about the search for Summer. Includes several TBI photos. At bottom, a female handler can be seen with her dog walking down a road. I wonder if this is the dog and handler that tracked Summer to the end of the driveway?

@December Neither of the SAR Dogs pictured in your links appear to be Bloodhounds. While all breeds used in SAR can ground scent (including in one case, a Giant Schnauzer who was pretty darn good), having worked with SAR Dogs for many years, my personal experience is that Bloodhounds tend to be much better at it. Keep in mind that this is my personal opinion from working side side with many breeds and may not reflect the opinion of the SAR Dog community at large.

From what pictures you have referenced and what I have seen, it appears that the scent trail attributed to SW was detected by a Golden Retriever which is a common and very well suited breed for SAR and generally very reliable.

I would have given a lot more weight to the scent trail if it had been independently verified by a second SAR Dog.

Again, in an alleged PLS that should have been covered with SW scent trails, why was this the only one we hear about? My guess is that it was the only one that presented a plausible (convenient?) scenario for stranger abduction or wandering off.

My current problem with wandering off is that SW did not habitually do that (that we know of) and given her size and age, anything but a clear game trail would have presented various "hazards to navigation". So to make any significant distance would have required her to be either walking down a road or a clear and unobstructed pathway. This is why my personal feeling is that she would have been within a mile to a mile and a half from the house. To put a circle on the map, I might have put a three mile circle to err on the safe side.

My firm belief is that there is much more to this story (and back story) than we currently know.

 

[December]

@Trackergd , i haven't found the bloodhound again. I am still looking for it.

 

[December]

This wasn't the one i saw, but is this a bloodhound at 2:27?

This video contains an interview with one of the search leaders from SMNP.

 

[Trackergd]

This wasn't the one i saw, but is this a bloodhound at 2:27?

This video contains an interview with one of the search leaders from SMNP.

That does look like a bloodhound. However it does not appear (from the available pictures and video) to be the dog that detected SW's scent trail on the property.

 

[Oriah]

With all due respect, there is really no way for us to know which specific K9(s) (if any) allegedly detected Summer's scent trail 'down the driveway'. If I recall correctly, that description came from DW alone. DW was allegedly told that by LE. However, neither LE nor any SAR K9 teams utilized in any of the searches for Summer have publicly commented on their discoveries or lack thereof, including scent trail discoveries. Please correct if I am wrong....which I would LOVE to be about this!
TIA.

 

[December]

i was trying to find out exactly what type of dogs were there. I can't find all the photos I saw before (which was were at the Wells place).

But, i think i have found enough dog pictures to perhaps say these are search dogs of some sort. They are not just dogs the police might use for various tasks.

This is really all i was trying to figure out.

There are media accounts of "bloodhounds" and "search dogs" without pictures and, really, without details.

@Oriah , you're right. We really only have DW's account.

Since LE hasn't said anything, the dogs might have picked up more than he thinks (SW scent trails). All we know for sure is the dogs were unable to lead searchers to Summer.

ETA: well.. i also did want to try to determine when the dogs were there. It sounds as if they were there as soon as they could be...

 

[Chelly]

I wonder why they wouldn't have done that knowing it was one of the last places Summer was allegedly seen (Grandma's truck).

I recall during early days of the investigation, being frustrated that LE wasn't closely investigating The W's home and vehicles. Why wasn't LE constantly at the home, questioning and re-questioning? It seemed to me during those first weeks, LE appeared to be exclusively focused on the abduction/wandered-off theory. Because LE is releasing zero details about the investigation, we'll probably never know if they missed valuable opportunities for collecting information and evidence. I am not optimistic.