One year later, searcher reflects on Summer Wells case

ROGERSVILLE — On June 15, 2021, around 6:30 p.m., 5-year-old Summer Wells was reported missing.More than 120 teams, including members of the Hawkins County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Church Hill Rescue Squad, searched a wide area surrounding her family's Beech Creek home for 13 days.The entrance to the residence's long driveway was blocked with crime scene tape, and emergency personnel roamed the woods.Now one year later, the residence that used to be the home of a family of six looks like a shell of its former self.The driveway leading to the house has almost eroded away. As you trek up the hill toward the home, forgotten toys covered in grass and vines line the dirt road.Near the top of the hill, you step on the carcass of a partially buried doll. Then you see the house; part of it is covered in yellow siding while the rest is exposed plywood. The yard is full of old vehicles and miscellaneous items.When you leave the house and approach the entrance to Ben Hill Road, you see missing child signs with Summer's photo.Tim Coup, captain of the CHRS, acted as the incident commander of search operations for 10 of the 13 days that emergency personnel combed the area.Coup said Summer's disappearance impacted him on an emotional level, which encouraged him to put his very best efforts into searching for her."I joined the rescue squad to assist and give back to my community," Coup said. "I also have a small child of my own, and the way this call was, it laid heavy on my heart that I had to be there and do everything that I could do to try and locate Summer Wells."Coup said the search efforts were "very time-consuming and difficult for the searchers due to the extremely dense canopy, along with the excessively steep terrain."Authorities utilized several specialized teams, including K-9, helicopters, fixed-wing drones, and even divers."There was a large amount of different levels of resources used, which each one had different key things that ultimately would lead to finding Summer Wells," Coup said.Coup said searchers received an outpouring of support in regard to the child's disappearance."From the response that we received by donations from the community, it heavily impacted our community," Coup said. "It heavily impacted the responding agencies also from all over the nation and world. We have received thank you messages from people all over the world. For our agency, this call was just as important as the rest of the calls that we receive, but with the age of Summer, that does add another element to the call."Coup said the CHRS continues working with different agencies to find Summer.The CHRS is also the agency in charge of the Summer Wells Reward Fund. The last total reported by the Times News was $40,423.81. The squad plans to release an update about the reward in a few days.Leslie Earhart, public information officer for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said the agency hasn't given up on Summer's case."The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Hawkins County Sheriff's Office continue to work alongside the FBI to determine what happened to Summer Wells," Earhart said. "Agents and detectives will continue to pursue all potential leads. We ask anyone with credible, first-hand information about Summer's disappearance to call 1-800-TBI-FIND."The Hawkins County Humane Society said that Candus Wells, Summer's mother, surrendered seven dogs to the shelter and one cat. The first set of animals was surrendered in December, while the rest came in May.Six of the animals have been adopted. The remaining two will be neutered later this month, and shelter employees also expect them to be adopted.The Times News reached out to the HCSO about Summer's case, but received no comment. The Times News also contacted the Knoxville division of the FBI, which also had no comment.In addition, the Times News mailed a letter to Don Wells, Summer's father, who is serving time in the Hawkins County Jail for DUI, but received no response. Staff made an official request with officials from the HCSO for an interview with Wells. It was was denied.The Times News also attempted to contact Candus Wells by phone and email and visited her residence twice but received no response. Staff also attempted to contact Summer's grandmother, Candus Harer, by social media and visiting her residence.