***THE LATEST ON THE AMBER ALERT:
THE MORE I LEARN ABOUT THIS MISSING CHILD CASE … THE LONGER SHE IS MISSING …. THE MORE I GET A VERY BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS SITUATION.
An AMBER ALERT remains in effect for five-year-old Summer Wells who is missing out of Hawkins County in far northeast Tennessee.
This means she is considered to be in imminent danger.
The TBI reports now having received about thirty tips so far — which is not a large number considering the publicity now on this case.
There are stories on every media outlet in the state.
None of the tips so far has led to any true leads.
At last word more than one-hundred first responders from nearly twenty agencies have been searching in the Beech Creek community.
This is about fifteen miles southwest of Kingsport.
The little girl was last seen Tuesday evening on Ben Hill Road.
The description of her clothing at the time was gray pants and a pink shirt with no shoes.
She is about three-feet tall … forty pounds … with blonde hair and blue eyes.
The TBI reports a family member reported Summer missing to the sheriff around 6:30 p.m.
That's when an endangered child alert was issued on Tuesday night.
That escalated to an AMBER Alert on Wednesday morning.
At a news conference today Sheriff Ronnie Lawson
said searchers are dealing with rough terrain plus a lack of cell phone and radio service.
There are dense woods in the rural area.
"What makes it so hard is communication between boots on the ground, searchers in the woods and the different agencies.
We aren't like in these towns where they've got a lot of cell service," said Lawson.
He added multiple agencies are searching the area using every tool available, including FLIR cameras on a THP helicopter overnight.
Authorities are asking Beech Creek residents to check any sheds, crawl spaces, or other potential hiding places and to also check any trail cameras for video perhaps showing Summer.
For now, the sheriff says they do not need any help from the public in searching for Wells.
Professionals are out in force including help now from the FBI.
SO, IS FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED?
The sheriff says it's too early to know one way or the other.
But, it has not been ruled out.
He added that the family so far has been cooperative with the investigation and the ongoing search effort.
WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITIES HERE?
There are many:
— The child wandered off and got lost in the woods.
— She fell into a sinkhole or ravine and is hurt.
— She is somehow locked or stuck in someone's shed or basement or garage.
— She was abducted.
— Someone, a stranger or otherwise, harmed her.
For now we just don't know.
BUT THIS IS INCREDIBLY CONCERNING COMING JUST DAYS AFTER THE TRIAL OF FIVE-YEAR-OLD JOE CLYDE DANIELS HERE IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE.
As many of you know, the little boy disappeared three years ago and to this day his body has never been found.
His father Joseph was convicted of murder.
I am not saying in anyway that is the case here.
I CAN ONLY HOPE AND PRAY SUMMER JUST WANDERED OFF AND GOT LOST … AND IS FOUND SAFE SOON.
I will continue monitoring the situation.
Anyone with information should call 1-800-TBI-FIND.
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