More than five years after his young daughter vanished without a trace, Donald “Don” Wells, the 61-year-old father of Summer Wells, has been arrested once more — this time on a domestic ᴀssault charge in Hawkins County, Tennessee. The latest booking is unrelated to the still-unsolved disappearance of his daughter but adds to a pattern of legal troubles that have followed the family since 2021.
According to Hawkins County Jail records, Wells was taken into custody at approximately 4:15 a.m. on Tuesday, October 14, 2026. He was scheduled to appear in court for arraignment the following morning. The arrest followed a domestic disturbance reported the previous evening at the family’s residence on Ben Hill Road in the Rogersville area.
An affidavit obtained by local news outlets provides details of the incident. Around 10:30 p.m. on October 12, deputies responded to a 911 hang-up call involving a possible domestic dispute. Before the call ended, Candus Bly, Wells’ wife, had texted dispatchers that Wells had “hurt her.” When officers arrived, they found Wells outside the home with visible scratches on his sternum and abdomen, a small amount of blood on his chest, and a minor bleeding wound on his arm. Inside the residence, Bly reported that the couple had been drinking when an argument escalated. She alleged that Wells approached her aggressively, scratched her cheek, grabbed her face, and made threatening statements, including remarks about needing a new wife. She described such behavior as recurring, especially when alcohol was involved.
Based on the statements and physical observations, deputies arrested Wells on a charge of domestic ᴀssault and transported him to the Hawkins County Jail. A judge later issued a no-contact order preventing him from contacting Bly. He was released on a $1,000 bond.
Authorities have not connected this arrest to the disappearance of Summer Wells. The little girl was five years old when she vanished from the family’s rural 11-acre property on June 15, 2021. She would now be approximately 10 years old. An age-progressed image released by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children shows what she may look like today. Her parents have long maintained that an unknown person entered the property, lured her outside, and took her. No suspects have been publicly named. Investigators previously sought information about a red pickup truck equipped with full-sized ladder racks and white buckets in the bed that was seen in the area around the time she disappeared.
Don Wells has a documented history of legal issues unrelated to his daughter’s case, including prior arrests for domestic ᴀssault, driving under the influence, and firearms offenses. In 2020, a civil order of protection was issued against him on behalf of his wife. After Summer vanished, the couple’s other children were removed from the home. Although a Department of Children’s Services investigation cleared the parents of wrongdoing in connection with the disappearance, they have not regained custody of their sons.
Summer’s case remains one of the most extensively investigated missing-child investigations in Tennessee history. A reward has been offered for information leading to her recovery, and authorities continue to accept tips. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office at 423-272-7121 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND. Tips may also be emailed to TipsToTBI@tn.gov.
The latest arrest highlights ongoing personal and legal challenges faced by the Wells family while the search for Summer continues with no resolution more than five years later.
Sources : Fox News
