Where Is Summer Wells?
Be sure to check out the disappearance of Rose Marie Bly!
On the morning of June 15, 2021, Candus R. Bly took her 5-year-old daughter, Summer Moon-Utah Wells, to visit her estranged friend Allyson. After a short visit, Candus received a call from her mother, Candus “Candy” Harer, asking to be picked up from her doctor’s appointment. Candus left Allyson’s home with her 15-year-old son Hunter, who asked to tag along. While they waited for Candy’s prescription to be filled at a nearby Walgreens, they went to Warriors Path State Park to let Summer swim.
Once there, Candy stayed in the car, putting minutes on her phone. Meanwhile, Candus and Hunter were drinking and vaping as they watched Summer splashing around. According to Hunter, Candus’ husband, Donald Wells, called stating that there was a man on their property that was stalking and trying to touch the children. Hunter thought this was odd, as Donald was supposed to be at work. Twenty minutes later, they dropped Hunter off and returned home.
Shortly after returning home, Candus, along with Candy and Summer, were planting flowers near Candy’s camper while the Wells’ three boys were inside watching YouTube. When they were finished with the yard work they stepped inside the camper to wash up. At which time, Summer asked to go back to the house. Candus walked Summer halfway and watched her go into the house. Candus proceeded to shout to the boys who were sitting in the kitch, “watch Summer, I’ll be back. I’ve got to fix mom’s knee brace.”
When Candus came back to the house, the boys told her that Summer went to the basement to play with her toys. When she called down to Summer, she never responded. After searching the home, property, and nearby woods, there was no sign of Summer. Candus immediately called Donald and told him Summer was gone and needed to come home.
Around 6:30 p.m. Candus called the Hawkins County Police to report Summer missing. According to the 911 dispatcher, Candus claimed she had gone for a walk and when she returned, Summer was gone. At the time of the call, Summer had been missing for about 10 minutes. The Hawkins County Police conducted a search of the immediate area looking for a 5-year-old girl with short length blonde hair and blue eyes. Police K-9s were able to pick up Summer’s scent on a trail behind the house, losing the scent at the road.
“We don’t know if someone was waiting in the basement or if she came outside here and went to the swing or possibly back up there to grandma’s. We don’t know…I think whoever grabbed her probably had her mouth covered, and I think she was gasping for air by the time she got somewhere down here because our neighbor heard a scream. A really funny scream,” said Donald. Jodi Sue Brown, the Wells’ neighbor, told Channel 11 that she and her kids heard a scream about 30 minutes before they started searching for Summer. Job recalled a car that went up the Wells’ driveway that “struck her wrong.” They heard a truck door slam. Shortly after, they heard an alarming scream.
The following day, the Endangered Child alert was upgraded to an Amber Alert. Captain Tim Coup of the Church Hill Rescue Squad said “with the steep and dangerous terrain, we’re also experiencing very dense canopy coverage, including very dense ground cover causing search efforts to be very difficult.”
Law enforcement agencies spent hours searching the trail and surrounding area around the Wells’ home, but few leads were found. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, TBI, began searching for a maroon or red Toyota pickup truck that was seen in the area of Beech Creek Road and Ben Hill Road as a possible witness.
One month after Summer’s disappearance, the Department of Children’s Services removed the boys from the home. According to Donald, their home had become too “dangerous” amid trespassers on their property. Donald allegedly admitted to podcast host, Jennifer Youngblood, that the boys were taken away due to him “having an episode after drinking and there are other things swirling around the internet that could be the home life or what’s going on right now in Summer’s case.” However, the reason the boys were removed from the home has never been made public.
That being said, this was the first time Candus lost custody of her children. At 19, Candus married Andrew Flodin, 42. Over the next two year they had two children, Andrew and Candus J. Allegedly, Andrew was controlling and a drug user. He threatened Candus that if she didn’t use drugs with him he would take their children away from her. Six months later, the courts got involved and gave Candus an ultimatum, either she allows her children to live with family or they go into foster care. Both Andrew and Candus J. ended up in the foster care system.
TBI spokesperson Leslie Earhart said during a press conference, “While every case is different, this one is definitely outside the norm. Typically in an investigation like this one, we have some idea of where the case is headed and what might have happened within a few days.” A few months after Summer’s disappearance, TBI announced that months of searching had yielded no clues.
In October, Donald was arrested on suspicions of driving under the influence. His arrest brought mass attention to his violent past. Donald was charged with domestic assault, possession of a handgun while intoxicated and unlawful possession of a weapon. The black powder pistol was in violation of his probation as a convicted felon. According to Candus, “He drinks and throws things, am afraid of being hurt. He is abusive physically and mentally toward me. I am afraid for my children and myself. My mother fears he is going to hurt her because she is staying in her camper on the property.”
The following day, Candus filed for an order of protection citing that Donald came home drunk and saw a man in the house. Donald began arguing with the man resulting in a “struggle” with Candus. During the struggle, he pushed her to the ground, damaging her knee. Donald began punching himself in the face and left the property.
At his hearing, four days after filing for an order of protection, Candus asked for dismissal of all charges. “We discussed all this…We were able to figure it all out. That order of protection, it was just a fight between me and her and her friends and her mother. They knew I had the black powder pistol in my glove box and they used that against me,” said Donald.
This was far from the last incident. On January 19, 2022, officers were dispatched to the Wells residence just after midnight in reference to an opan 911 line. When police arrived, Candus informed them that Donald had hit her, grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall. Neither was arrested after police found no physical evidence, bruising or swelling.
“Despite the countless hours of tireless work, the circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain unclear…At this time, there is no evidence that she was abducted; however, all avenues continue to be explored including foul play and the very real possibility that she wandered off and became lost in the mountainous and rough terrain surrounding her home,” said Officer Leslie.
As of March, Sheriff Ronnie Lawson stated that the Wells family is no longer cooperating with the investigation.
Comments