New NewsNation article.
The then-5-year-old vanished from her Tennessee home after planting flowers with her mom and grandma.
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ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. (
NewsNation) — It’s been two years since
5-year-old Summer Wells vanished without a trace from a small town in Tennessee.
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He (Don Wells) sat down with NewsNation to discuss where Summer’s case stands today.
“We’re doing better,” he said. “It’s still very rough for my wife.”
Candus hasn’t sat down for an interview since an appearance on “Dr. Phil” in 2021 where she walked out of an interview in tears.
During the 2021 interview, she said she felt she was being interrogated again and didn’t want to do the interview further.
Since Summer’s disappearance, Don said their life has been consumed by harassment from people online who believe they are responsible for whatever happened to Summer.
“Before you know it, you’re getting a mob going,” Don said. “My wife could go to the store and somebody would scream at her. You know, like, ‘baby killer’ or whatever.”
He sent NewsNation videos from one of his job sites where some people were demanding to speak with him about his missing daughter. He said it got so bad that he had to leave the state.
Now, the two live in a motel in Arkansas where Don was able to find a new job.
As for Summer’s case, her father said they have a private investigator working with the police.
The Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office is still working alongside the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, but both agencies declined interviews with our team.
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Summer’s father told NewsNation that he still holds onto hope.
“I do have hope. You know, I have hope in God. He’s in control of all things. And so whatever the outcome is, I have hope in God and one day, either sooner or later, I will be with my daughter again,” Don said.
While the sheriff declined an interview, he emailed a response saying he expects to have an update on the case in the “near future.”
Brian Entin contributed to this report.
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