AMBER ALERT TN - Summer Moon-Utah Wells, 5, Rogersville, 15 Jun 2021 Media Maps Timeline *NO DISCUSSION*

[rainynights]

Hawkins Co. schools taking steps to handle student or parent anxiety over Summer Wells’ disappearance | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather (video at link)
Posted: Jul 9, 2021 / 07:13 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 9, 2021 / 07:13 PM EDT

HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – 5-year-old Summer Wells has been missing for 25 days, but Hawkins County Schools will reopen in one month.

Officials said Summer was registered to begin kindergarten at Joseph Rogers Primary School on August 9.

News Channel 11 spoke with the school district’s psychologist about what they are doing to prepare not only the teachers but parents and students as well.

[…]

[Carole Fuller, Hawkins County Schools psychologist], also said that if Summer happens to be found or returned before the school year, there are plans in place to welcome her to kindergarten in the fall.

“Depending on what she would need we can always look at different things as far as the school goes and then counselors, outside resources, we can tap into whatever we needed to make her comfortable and it feels like school,” Fuller said.

 

[oviedo]

Sheriff Lawson: Summer Wells case 'nowhere even close to being cold'
Snipped and BB @GordianKnot
“We’re still following up leads and still looking for the Toyota truck to see if there’s a potential witness there,” Lawson said. “The truck was seen in the Beech Creek area around the time Summer disappeared, and we’re just wondering if they saw anything. Somebody actually saw the vehicle, and that’s how we got the description, but we don’t have a tag number.”

Police want to ask occupants of the Toyota pickup if they may have seen any vehicle besides the ones police have already checked or anything else that might help find Summer. Lawson said there is nothing suspicious about the pickup.

“We’ve looked up several vehicles recorded on people’s home surveillance cameras and trail cams and talked to all of them,” Lawson said. “This is just one we can’t find to see if they saw something. Something they saw that didn’t mean anything to them may mean everything to us.”

 

[rainynights]

#TNAMBERAlert: To date, authorities have received 935 tips in the search for Summer Wells.

In this clip, Hawkins County Sheriff Ronnie Lawson talks about the status of the investigation and what agents and detectives still need from residents.

Have info? Call 1-800-TBI-FIND.

https://twitter.com/tbinvestigation/status/1414677318505795588?s=21

As of Monday, authorities have received 935 tips. An Amber Alert was issued for Summer on June 16.

"Everybody's still a person of interest," Hawkins County Sheriff Ronnie Lawson said.

[...]

Search continues for Summer Wells; authorities have received 935 tips

“Go back and check cameras everyday, especially around the time she disappeared,” Lawson said.

The sheriff said authorities are still looking for a red Toyota truck that was spotted in the area around the time that Summer Wells disappeared. Lawson emphasized that tips could help in the case as well.

“It may not be something that means anything to the people that could mean everything to us,” he said.

[...]

Everybody is a person of interest in Summer Wells case says Hawkins County Sheriff (video at link)

 

[rainynights]

Pastor of Summer Wells speaks on girl’s disappearance
Published: Jul. 12, 2021 at 4:09 PM EDT | Updated: 47 minutes ago

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The pastor of Kingsport Seventh-Day Adventist Church where Summer Wells and her family attend, spoke to WVLT News about the girl’s disappearance.

[DR] told WVLT News Reporter Ashley Bohle that he is struggling because there has been no hope for the family. Despite hundreds of tips in the AMBER Alert case, none have led to 5-year-old Summer. [DR] said that has caused a sense of hopelessness for the family.

The Wells family attended the church for a year before the COVID-19 pandemic, [DR] said, though they have not officially joined. That has not stopped church-goers from keeping the missing child in their thoughts, he said.

[...]

[DR] described Summer Wells as a “free spirit” and said she and the women of the church have a strong relationship. “Our hearts have been broken by the disappearance of a precious young child, Summer Wells, and we pray for her safe return,” he said in a statement to WVLT News.

 

[rainynights]

‘It’s a financial burden for an agency’: Hawkins Co. Sheriff discusses toll of Summer Wells case on his office | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather

Rogersville, Tenn. (WJHL)- The almost month-long search for missing five-year-old Summer Wells involving hundreds of rescuers and agencies totaled up hours of work for those on the ground and of course financial implications.

In an interview with News Channel 11 on Friday- Hawkins County Sheriff Ronnie Lawson said that he hadn’t totaled out numbers yet but did expect this to take a financial toll.

“My patrol division – that’s the officers that go out and answer the calls and stuff – and my school resource officers just those two groups alone, they accumulated over 3200 hours. That’s not counting the rest of the division,” Lawson said. “It’s a financial burden for an agency.”

During the search- he says he had officers working the ground in Beech Creek but also working the regular caseload.

“We’re still answering all the same amount of calls, bringing people to jail, investigating other cases, and it just wears you out because it’s hard to give everything 100% when you’re brain-damaged, but we’ve continued on,” said Lawson. “A lot of [my officers] volunteer their time. They will get out and climb in the woods and follow up on leads and stuff and my detective division are still working all the time.”

Lawson said that he can’t allow officers to volunteer because “they’re doing a service.” He added that the search and investigation have also taken a mental, physical, and emotional toll on his department.

“A lot of my officers have small children, grandchildren. And we know what goes through our mind if that would’ve been our child or grandchild and plus us spending so much time on a Beech Creek for three weeks, but my office never stopped,” he said. “The time that they’re on duty- whether they’re in Beech Creek or they’re here, that’s time with their family too. I stress to all my employees: we have God first and family second, this job third, and sometimes it’s hard but then we got to stay focused, and it’s hard. I’m just proud of my employees. They’re all in everything. They’re here to serve.”

“Right now, everything is still on the table, still trying to find out what happened to Summer,” Lawson said. “Everybody’s still a person of interest. We’re still looking at help from landowners too, to go back and check their trail cameras, their security cameras.”

Lawson said authorities were still looking for the driver of a red Toyota Tacoma with a full bed ladder rack who may be a witness. Investigators have stressed that the driver is a potential witness, not a suspect.

[...]

Authorities have received more than 900 tips in the search for Summer Wells | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather

 

[rainynights]

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

[...]

[DW] spoke with the Times News on Monday about how his family has been coping with the loss of Summer over the past four weeks, outside influences such as social media and the need to continue living their lives.

[...]

[DW] has believed since day one that Summer was abducted from their home.

He said that belief was confirmed fairly quickly by search dogs that picked up her scent in the back yard and followed a “dog trail” through the woods that ended at Ben Hill Road.

“We’ve had several people sneaking around there, but we’ve had them sneaking around at night,” [DW] said. “We’ve never had somebody up there at 5:30 in the afternoon that we know of. They didn’t come up the driveway. They came up a dog trail from the woods. The (police K-9) dog that they used, that’s where the scent took them. Down through the woods, not the driveway. At Ben Hill Road is where the dog’s scent ended. I already knew all that, but that just confirmed it for me.”

[DW] added, “It’s real discouraging. Only God can turn this around at this point. … The police can’t come up with anything. All these people on Facebook all over the world can’t come up with anything. Nobody can. Only God can. Somebody was either hiding in the weeds there waiting for her to go in the basement. They (her mother and brothers) weren’t 30 feet away when she got gone.”

[...]

(Audio interview and more at link)

 

[MoeInVA]

Does anyone remember the WS member who created the maps with pins?

I've searched for a couple if days. Not on the map thread and searched under maps.

@skibaboo made that great map -- Summer Wells, Rogersville TN June 15th 2021 - Google My Maps

 

[rainynights]

‘There’s a good chance she’s already dead’: Hear new interview with missing Summer Wells father Don Wells

[...]

In a recent interview with the Kingsport Times-News [DW] indicated the he believes his daughter is no longer alive.

“Statistically speaking there’s a good chance she’s already dead,” [DW] said. “I hate to think that. I love her with all my heart. If nothing else, I’ll see her in the resurrection. As long as I keep the commandments and do what I’m supposed to do, I’ll see her.”

[...]

“She’s been abducted in my mind, 100%,” [DW] said when asked if he still believes his daughter was kidnapped.

[...]

[DW] also insisted that both he and his wife passed a lie detector test, appearing to reference speculation that they had not.

“At first I didn’t get no sleep for two days. I couldn’t sleep for two days. It was the worst misery and pain I’ve ever felt in my life. I wasn’t able to take a lie detector test. They made me wait a little bit, but when I did take it I passed,” Summer’s father said.

“They made [C] wait five days longer to take hers,” he continued. She just wasn’t able to. She tried and she wasn’t able to. People are saying we failed and we took another test. That’s not the case, so when we did take them we both passed.”

[...]

“They took [the brothers] into specialists because they couldn’t come out and question them,” [DW] said. “But yes, they have questioned them. They also gave my mother-in-law a lie-detector test, and she also passed.”

Listen to the full interview with Summer Wells’ father [DW] at the Kingston Times-News.

 

[rainynights]

Summer Wells has now been missing for a month. The circumstances leading to her disappearance remain under investigation.

We appreciate your continued interest in the case and assure you that the #TNAMBERAlert issued for Summer will remain active until she is located.

https://twitter.com/tbinvestigation/status/1415011744225939462?s=21

We know this is a unique #TNAMBERAlert for our agency to be handling.

Our approach won't be, however: We'll continue to use every resource we have to find Summer Wells.

https://twitter.com/TBIJoshDeVine/status/1415012500865753089
11:17 AM · Jul 13, 2021 · TweetDeck

We've said from the beginning that this #TNAMBERAlert is outside of the norm. Despite that, agents and detectives will continue to pursue answers. @HawkinsCountySO @FBIKnoxville

https://twitter.com/TBILeslie/status/1415012572353466373
11:17 AM · Jul 13, 2021 · Twitter Web App

 

[rainynights]

People are starting to set up at the Rotary Shelter at Borden Park in Kingsport. This will be a prayer circle for Summer Wells, the missing five year old out of Hawkins County. Summer was reported missing by her family 4 weeks ago tonight. @wvlt
https://twitter.com/AshleyWVLT/status/1415035440651018253

https://twitter.com/AshleyWVLT/status/1415068114371366916?s=20

Summers Mom has arrived at the prayer circle

HAPPENING NOW: About 25 people are gathered at Borden Park in Kingsport to pray for Summer Wells, including her mother, brother and grandmother, and several family friends. Today marks four weeks since she was last seen.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Anslee_WJHL/status/1415075926744907778

Summer’s older brother just lead the balloon release finishing off the event.
View attachment 304601
https://twitter.com/anslee_wjhl/status/1415085069744672775?s=21

A video from the balloon release at the prayer circle for Summer Wells. Today marks a month of her missing. Tonight’s been filled with emotions. @wvlt
https://mobile.twitter.com/AshleyWVLT/status/1415102764573728773 (video at link)

 

[rainynights]

WJHL News Channel 11 did an interview with local EMA officials.

Local emergency officials discuss mutual aid in wake of Summer Wells search | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather

 

[Linda7NJ]

local news….. the father clarified the SAR dogs lost her scent on a dog path that runs into the woods- NOT at the end of the driveway

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

 

[rainynights]

Second prayer vigil held for Summer in local park.

The news states that, "CW attended the circle with one of her sons. She declined an interview this evening, but she did say that no law enforcement has contacted her this week."

Community gathers in Kingsport to pray for safe return of Summer Wells | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather (video at link)
Posted: Jul 13, 2021 / 11:37 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 13, 2021 / 11:43 PM EDT

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – About 30 people gather in Borden Park Tuesday night to pray for the safe return of Summer Wells. The prayer circle, organized by two Kingsport-area Christians, was attended by [CW], the mother of Summer Wells, and one of her sons.

[...]

“Right now, I think we just all need to come together and pray over this situation,” said [JB], an organizer who led many of the prayers for the group.

[...]

[TB] led the group in worship music, hoping to lift the spirits of the family and all impacted by Summer’s disappearance.

[...]

The night ended with a group prayer circle, in which all that came to pray did so at the same time. The circle was followed by the release of several purple balloons.

[...]

Mother of Summer Wells, community hold prayer vigil for missing girl (video at link, Summer's Sabbath teacher RL speaks)
Published: Jul. 13, 2021 at 11:55 PM EDT | Updated: 19 minutes ago

[...]

The girl has been missing for four weeks now, and Pastor [DR] spoke on her lively personality.

“A wonderful little girl, five years old, full of life, a free spirit. In our church, she didn’t want to sit still, she was so curious. You know, running around, trying to figure things out. And just enjoy the worship service,” [DR] said.

[...]

Summer Well’s Sabbath teacher [RL] has had the girl in her class for several years, and spoke on Summer’s time in class.

“There were times where I found it hard to teach because she had her arms around me all the time and there were times I get frustrated with it because it’s like I need to have my hands I need to do my job you know as teaching,” she said. “And she just wanted love so much. And I treasured that. I absolutely treasured that. And I’d do anything to have her arms around my neck again. I really would. I just love her so much and she just had so much love to give.”

[...]

Summer Wells’ mother, [CB], attended the event as well. When asked how she was handling the situation, she told WVLT News that she was ‘hanging in there.”

[CB] said her three boys are keeping her busy.

 

[rainynights]

Incident Commander of Search for Summer Wells: ‘There’s been very limited ground searching since the scaling back’ | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather

<modsnip>
“There’s been very limited ground searching since the scaling back,” said the incident commander of search operations, Captain Tim Coup. “Right now, in essence, pretty much all we’re going off of is anything credible, credible leads, credible information.”

“In essence, in 48-72 hours we had a full-state notification and had people called in from multiple states away from here,” said Coup. “By the end of the 13-day search operations, we had 120 agencies and 1,194 people, searchers. That didn’t include the command staff, that didn’t include the logistics, that didn’t include TBI, FBI. That strict number was the ones that were out searching on the ground in Beech Creek.”

On June 27, the difficult decision to scale back the search was made.

“That was a decision I knew going in that there was a possibility I was going to have to make not knowing how many days, how many hours we were going to be up there searching for Summer,” said Coup. “Speaking with command staff, speaking to subject matter experts that were involved from other agencies out of state, getting together every day, putting all these things together to make the decision- I can say made the decision easier but it didn’t.”

“You may not see the big fancy command vehicles, you may not see the 1,194 people trudging around in Beech Creek but we are – the Sheriff’s department, law enforcement, the TBI – is still following up on leads,” Coup said. “Even if it is a ground that has already been searched one, two, multiple times. Being in contact with TBI, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department, something they feel as though needs to be a credible search, need to go back in and look over things again, we’re right there with them hand-in-hand doing those things.”

Jul 14, 2021

Incident Commander of Search for Summer Wells: ‘There’s been very limited ground searching since the scaling back’ | 8News

[...]

[Captain Tim Coup's] rescue squad is also in charge of the reward fund for Summer. As of Tuesday, the account has $2,470 in it, but it does not include a $10,000 check and $25,000 check that are to be deposited if a credible tip leading to Summer’s return or recovery comes in. This brings the total to $37, 470.

If no leads or tips come in by December 31, the money will be donated to the Children’s Advocacy Center in Mosheim.

“That center, in essence, serves most of the lower end of Hawkins County in our area, and actually that center was utilized during the search,” he said. “The law enforcement side of it, they utilized that center for part of their work so our board of directors felt led that that is where that money should go to benefit other children in our area.”

[...]

 

[rainynights]

WBIR CHANNEL 10 NEWS
: A TBI official calls the lack of leads "frustrating" and said, "when a child goes missing investigators typically have an idea of how it happened. This is not the case when it comes to Summer's disappearance."

[...]

Tennessee missing girl Summer Wells’ dad tells local newspaper he doesn’t expect to see her alive

Tennessee investigators have received roughly 1,000 tips in connection with the disappearance of 5-year-old Summer Wells from her Rogersville home last month.

But the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Tuesday that none of the leads has produced any results.

[...]

Lawmakers are also pushing back against reports that the massive but fruitless search and rescue placed a "burden" on the sheriff’s office or budget reserves. That’s a misconception, according to Hawkins County Commissioner Jason Roach.

"I wouldn't support ending a search with credible leads, if we had them, because of a financial shortfall," he told Fox News Tuesday night. "But that's not part of that conversation at all."

He said the county habitually overestimates its expenditures and underestimates tax revenue every year, giving it flexibility to shift funds in emergency situations, like the little girl’s disappearance.

[...]

Her parents, [DW] and [CB] told local media they believe that she was lured out of their rural home and taken.

[DW] and [CB] have not responded to Fox News’ attempts to reach them for comment.

Both have criminal records in other states, and they’ve reportedly taken and passed lie detector tests in connection with Summer’s disappearance.

[...]

TBI official calls lack of tips or leads in Summer Wells’ disappearance ‘frustrating’ | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather

[...]

In a video update posted by the agency on Tuesday, TBI Assistant Special Agent In Charge Shelly Smitherman said when a child goes missing, investigators typically have an idea as to how the child went missing. That is not the case with Wells’ disappearance.

“Typically on an AMBER Alert and the ones that I’ve been involved in since I have been over this program, within a couple of days we have a tip or lead or have an idea if they’ve been abducted, if they maybe left into the woods,” Smither said. “Somebody saw something that leads up hopefully to get an answer to where the child went or if they were taken. We’re going to have some tip or lead. And that is the frustrating part for law enforcement in this case and the public.”

[...]

 

[Tiff23fr]

 

[rainynights]

Missing 5-year-old Hawkins County girl, Summer Wells, disappeared a month ago today. Her father, Don Wells, shared the following statement with me this morning: @WJHL11 @ABCTriCities
View attachment 304781
https://twitter.com/biancawjhl/status/1415692980644687873?s=21

Father of Summer Wells releases statement regarding social media ‘negativity’ amid search | WREG.com
Posted: Jul 15, 2021 / 11:15 AM CDT / Updated: Jul 15, 2021 / 10:54 AM CDT

HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – To date, 5-year-old Summer Wells has been missing for a month. Her father, [DW], shared a statement with News Channel 11 highlighting what he calls “negativity” circulating on social media.

[…]

Read the full statement below:

“The negativity on social media, the attacks on my family and the misinformation being circulated is not helping to find summer. People on social media are only adding to the pain the family is going through, it’s affecting my other children who are already hurting.

Now it’s escalating to threats and potentially putting my other children in danger. All of it is adding to the workload for detectives and distracting from the real goal of finding summer.”

[…]

 

[rainynights]

BREAKING: Per @TBInvestigation, no more daily tip count updates will be provided in the case of missing 5-year-old Summer Wells, only weekly updates. This is due to “analysts stopping what they’re doing to rally an exact number every day” @WJHL11 @ABCTriCities
https://twitter.com/biancawjhl/status/1415701784790700037?s=21

Summer Wells missing 1 month today; father blasts 'negativity on social media' for hampering search
Published 41 mins ago

[...]

Investigators say they’ve received about 980 tips but made no progress in the search for the blonde, blue-eyed girl.

[...]

In a statement to local media, Summer’s father, [DW], addressed some of the rumors Thursday.

"The negativity on social media, the attacks on my family, and the misinformation being circulated is not helping to find Summer," he said in a statement to WJHL. "People on social media are only adding to the pain the family is going through. It’s affecting my other children, who are already hurting."

The parents have not responded to numerous Fox News requests for comment.

Despite an outpouring of support from the local community, investigators say they’ve received no credible tips. The case remains active and ongoing.

[...]

 

[rainynights]

https://twitter.com/BiancaWJHL/status/1415791455428358145?s=19

Summer Wells' Sabbath school teacher Robin Lane tells me she's faced a lot of social media backlash because of her closeness with the missing 5-year-old. She asks that people not lash out at her and her church members on social media @WJHL11 @ABCTriCities https://t.co/7F27QwnEJd

Video of Robin at the link

Summer Wells’ pastor: Social media backlash faced by congregants is ‘evil’ | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather


KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – Summer Wells has been missing for a month. Her pastor at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Kingsport told News Channel 11 his congregants have faced backlash on social media ever since.

Pastor David Ryder said that several members of his church have faced false accusations on social media for the last month, and he asked for it to stop.

“It’s just, they’re ludicrous, you know, and they’re awful. As a matter of fact, I’m gonna say they’re evil,” Ryder said.

<snip>

According to Summer’s Sabbath school teacher Robin Lane, she’s been at the center of social media accusations since her student’s disappearance.

“I’ve been getting the majority, me and, and several other members have been getting the majority of the attacks because we are going on camera and answering questions about it and people just say, they pick through everything you say and the way you say it and even if your voice sounds a little shaky if they’re just getting on camera, sometimes it’s normal for us to be a little nervous sometimes when we’re being asked questions,” she said.

Summer Wells' Sabbath school teacher Robin Lane tells me she's faced a lot of social media backlash because of her closeness with the missing 5-year-old. She asks that people not lash out at her and her church members on social media

Jul 15, 2021

 

[rainynights]

Summer Wells’ Sabbath School teacher describes night 5-year-old disappeared
Jul 16, 2021

Summer Wells' Sabbath school teacher describes her interactions with the 5-year-old before she disappeared @WJHL11 @ABCTriCities
https://twitter.com/biancawjhl/status/1416115587097501702?s=21

Summer Wells’ Sabbath School teacher describes night 5-year-old disappeared | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather

Tonight's 5pm EST WJHL News.
RL explains that she had been at her daughter's dance recital the night summer had gone missing, and left out towards Beech Creek after getting the call. She did not arrive at the home until 9pm.

Summer Wells’ Sabbath School teacher describes night 5-year-old disappeared | WATE 6 On Your Side

[...]

“Whenever I was helping teach Sabbath School, she was in my lap, and sometimes it was hard to teach because she wanted to be in my lap, holding me and hugging me,” said [RL]. “I just discovered that it was actually easier for me to hold her and let her love on me and hug me and teach with her on me than it was to make her sit in the chair.”

[...]

“She was a helper — she wants to help,” [RL] said. “She loves to love, and I just loved her little arms around my neck all the time.”

[RL] said she was at her own daughter’s dance recital when she received the news of Summer’s disappearance.

“I was taking my little girl’s pictures before her dance class,” [RL] said. “And I noticed I was missing calls from [Summer’s mom] [CB]. Before I even had a chance to call her, she messaged me again on Facebook Messenger, and she was just in panic mode. She said, ‘Summer’s gone. We can’t find her anywhere. The police are here searching,’ and I said, ‘I’ll be right there.'”

According to [RL], she arrived at the Beech Creek area around 9 p.m. on June 15 — the night Summer was reported missing.

[...]

With police blocking the entrance to Ben Hill Road, [RL] said she offered assistance the only way she could.

“We showed them some pictures of Summer,” she said. “The police didn’t have very good pictures of her, or some of them hadn’t event seen a picture of her yet.”

[...]

TBI breaks down tip reporting process
Jul 16, 2021

TBI Breaks Down Tip Reporting Process.

This is the latest news update I've seen in regards to Summer. 3 hours ago.

It is basically the same information and directions we have heard the past few days and upthread. HOWEVER, they did note that the reward fund is now approaching $40,000. At least, that is something positive!

A TBI spokesperson said each tip the agency received is followed up on. The TBI has received nearly 1,000 tips regarding the disappearance of 5-year-old Summer Wells.