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IT has now been three years since Summer Wells vanished without a trace – and so many questions remain.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation this week released an age-progressed image of little Summer, who disappeared on June 15th in 2021, when she was just 6 years old.
Body language experts Scott Rouse and Greg Hartley talk through their methods and findings with Dr.Phil[/caption]
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recently released an age-progression photo of Summer[/caption]
Don and Candus saw their three sons taken by social services a few weeks after their sister’s disappearance[/caption]
The TBI, who has come under heavy fire from parents Don and Candus for their handling of the case, say they have worked 6,500 leads and tips while interviewing anyone with information.
There is precious little evidence to help the authorities, although some sections of social media have cast doubt over Summer’s mom and dad’s involvement in the mystery.
FAMILY TORN APART
Just six months after Summer’s disappearance, Don and Candus had their three sons taken into care. There is no sign of them being returned home anytime soon.
“I see all these families with all their kids and how much they enjoy them and stuff, and we were stripped away from all our kids,” Don told WJHL. “All our kids have been kidnapped from us by [Department of Children’s Services] and we’re not sure about Summer, but we know about where our boys are at.”
Summer was last seen walking away from her house on Ben Hill Road in the Beech Creek Community of Hawkins County, Tennessee, yet it was an appearance from her parents on the Dr. Phil show a few months afterward that had internet sleuths gossiping.
Body language experts The Behavior Panel, led by Scott Rouse, who has been trained alongside the FBI, Secret Service, US Military Intelligence, and the Department of Defense, quizzed the pair about Summer’s worrying disappearance.
While mom Candus mystified viewers with a refusal to engage before storming away, Don was also put firmly under the microscope by Rouse and Greg Hartley.
Rouse, who is based in Tennessee and was familiar with the case, was eager to examine the couple’s body language and was delighted when Don agreed to shoot a video.
Having spent time in prison for a series of offenses including possession of a handgun, domestic assault, and a DUI, it would have been easy for Rouse and his colleagues to immediately think the worst of Summer’s dad.
Many locals in the rural area, where houses are spread far apart, have also accused him of wrongdoing, something those close to him angrily reject.
TOUGH QUESTIONS
“You would look at Don’s background, and think it’s most likely this guy,” Rouse told The U.S. Sun at CrimeCon in Nashville. “Yet we didn’t think it was him at all.”
The expert analyst quizzed Summer’s dad about the situation while attempting to make the experience as difficult, and uncomfortable, as possible.
“You just start talking,” Rouse explained. “You are looking for a baseline, at the rhythm of the speech, the word choices.”
Then, Don was hit with the killer question: What did you do to Summer?
“We got nothing,” he recalled.
TURNING THE SCREW
Rouse freely admits people can lie their way out of many situations, but knows eventually, by using plenty of “tricks and tools,” they will finally break down.
He says he and Hartley “used everything” in their locker.
Interrogation ploys and elicitation techniques were unleashed with no impact.
“Don wasn’t hiding anything,” added Hartley. “He wasn’t afraid.”
Summer Wells disappearance timeline
2021
June 15
Summer Wells reported missing around 6:30 pm. Searchers worked throughout the night in the surrounding area.
June 16
Endangered Child Alert issued, and was soon upgraded to an Amber Alert.
On June 25
Cops are looking for a red Tacoma truck that could have seen something. Police never revealed if the witness was ever found.
June 27
Search is scaled back. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation say they have “500 leads” in the case at this point. Number of tips soon reaches over 1,000.
July 27
Don and Candus’ three sons are taken by the child protection services.
October 31
Dad Don arrested and pleads guilty to a DUI.
November 12
Don and Candus appear on Dr. Phil show and have their body language examined by experts.
2022
February 4
Summer’s 6th birthday coincides with investigators revealing the Wells family are no longer cooperating.
June 15
Investigators say they’ve conducted more than 170 interviews from tips they received.
October 31
Don released from jail.
May 2024
1,000 days pass since Summer’s disappearance yet cops are no closer to finding her or whoever was involved.
“He was a little nervous when we first met, just from a social aspect,” continued Rouse.
“He’s also been in the system and we look like cops. Anytime you deal with cops, you’ve been in the system, you’re going to be nervous.
“Here’s the thing, everybody’s a good liar. We can all lie about how many drinks we had last night.
“But when it comes to being part of somebody’s death, the stress level goes right up.”
With Don not cracking at all during two hours of fierce interrogation, Rouse and Hartley were convinced of his innocence.
The footage, however, was latched onto by Dr. Phil, who managed to convince the Wells family to head to Los Angeles and film a new session of questioning in front of a live TV audience.
” If somebody’s able to keep the same baseline, they could be the greatest actor you’ve ever seen,” Rouse continued.
“But even the greatest actors aren’t that good at lying. Don held up, he’s got nothing to do with what happened to this missing girl.”
The U.S. Sun reached out to the TBI and received a reply via email.
“We posted a video [Friday] morning about the case on our social media platforms,” a spokeswoman said in an email response. “That is the extent of what we have to provide.”
Don Wells has long maintained he has nothing to do with the mysterious disappearance of his daughter[/caption]
