HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Saturday, Feb. 4 marks the seventh birthday of Summer Wells, a girl missing from Hawkins County since June 2021 and the subject of an ongoing statewide Amber Alert.

When she was first reported missing from her family’s home in the Beech Creek community, Summer Wells was five years old. Nearly 600 days later, she is still missing, and her Amber Alert remains active.

Summer’s disappearance prompted weeks of active searching throughout Hawkins County, with agencies from multiple states and hundreds of personnel combing through the area.

News Channel 11 reached out to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) for a statement Friday on the latest on the search for Summer and received the following reply:

“The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Summer Wells remains active and ongoing. TBI agents continue to work with the FBI and the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office to pursue all potential leads. Anyone with credible first-hand information regarding Summer’s disappearance is asked to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.”

Leslie Earhart, TBI Public Information Officer

In June 2022, one year after Summer disappeared, the TBI published a Frequently Asked Questions sheet. On the sheet was the agency’s statement that there was no evidence to indicate she had been abducted, but all possibilities were being investigated.

Earlier in the investigation, the TBI had stated it was looking into possibilities of “foul play and the very real possibility that she wandered off and became lost in the mountainous and rough terrain surrounding her home.”

Donald Wells, Summer’s father, spoke with News Channel 11 earlier in the week for the first time on camera since he was released from jail for a DUI charge.

A full timeline of the events of the search for Summer Wells can be found by clicking here.