Summer Wells turns 10, still missing after five years

HAWKINS COUNTY — Wednesday was Summer Wells' 10th birthday. She is still missing after nearly five years. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, alongside the Hawkins County Sheriff's Office and FBI, continues to investigate the circumstances of Wells' disappearance. Background Wells disappeared from her Beech Creek home, 11 miles south of Church Hill, on June 15, 2021 around 6:30 p.m. Searchers from 120 public safety agencies combed 3,000 acres of rugged terrain for Wells, according to previous reporting from the Times News. They logged 13,800 hours in nearly two weeks. Church Hill Rescue Squad Capt. Tim Coup was the ground search's incident commander. He told the Times News, four days after the disappearance, that the search was aided by helicopter and fixed wing aircraft, multiple K-9s, a specialized mapping system, dive teams and more. A week after Wells' disappearance, Kingsport resident David P. Garrahan offered a $25,000 reward for anyone who provided a productive tip. By then, the TBI had received over 300 tips that did not yield results. They would receive hundreds more. The Church Hill Rescue Squad agreed to manage Garrahan's $25,000 and other rewards. After a year without success in the search for Wells, the money was donated to the Child Advocacy Center in Mosheim. The fund had grown to over $40,000. After 13 days, search operations were scaled back. Coup said, then, efforts would become more specialized and on a as-needed basis. The latest developments In August 2025, TBI released an age-progressed photo of Wells showing what she may look like today. It was created by a forensic artist with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Previously, the most recent age-progressed photo was from June 2023. The most recent public development in the case came on Nov. 13; agents and detectives followed a lead in the 3500 block of Van Hill Road in Greeneville, 9.5 miles southwest of the Wells' home. TBI Public Affairs Officer Leslie Earhart said there is no more information to give about that lead. Anyone with information can call 1-800-TBI-FIND. For more information about the ongoing case, visit the agency's AMBER Alert site. The Hawkins County Sheriff's Office could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.