Five-year-old Summer Wells has been missing since she vanished from her parents' home in Tennessee this summer. But according to her father, Don Wells, the search for his little girl is in many ways just beginning. In a recent episode of Dr. Phil, Wells claimed that the investigation into his daughter's disappearance remained stalled for more than 75 days after false accusations led police to focus on himself and wife Candus rather than chasing down other credible leads.
Summer Moon-Utah Wells was last seen at her home in Beech Creek, Tennessee, on the afternoon of June 15.
After her parents reported her missing, authorities put out an Amber Alert and launched a wide-scale search for the 5-year-old that would drag on for weeks and involve more than four law enforcement agencies.
Specialized units searched more than a thousand acres in Hawkins County by both foot and air, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. At the same time, dive teams combed nearby lakes and ponds for any sign of the girl.
But despite their efforts, there was still no sign of Summer Wells.
Speaking with Dr. Phil McGraw, Don Wells recently shared why he thinks that is.
"When Summer came up missing, I thought the best thing I could do was turn to social media," he explained in the segment. "So I put all her pictures out there ... hoping that social media could help us find our daughter."
Instead, Wells said that his tactics backfired after distant relatives began posting bizarre and — according to him — false claims about his involvement in his daughter's disappearance.
In fact, some of the relatives even went so far as to say that Don Wells killed Summer and was hiding her body.
The "horrific" accusations sparked a series of rumors that spiraled out of control on social media.
Don and Candus Wells were soon getting threatening messages every day from online bullies, and police were inundated with hundreds of dead-end leads that mostly came from pure speculation.
In the meantime, the active search for Summer was suspended, and the case began to turn cold.
It's been five months since the little girl went missing, and police are still nowhere close to finding her.
Don and Candus Wells now worry that asking the public for help might have sealed their daughter's fate. After all, if authorities hadn't been led in the wrong direction by false claims online, perhaps they wouldn't have shifted their focus to the Wells, which stalled the investigation.
And maybe — just maybe — Summer would have been found by now.
Watch the video to catch more of Don and Candus Wells' recent appearance on Dr. Phil.
Source: cafemom.com
