National Missing Children's Day: Here's a look at Tennessee's Amber Alerts and active cases

It's been nearly a year since 6-year-old Summer Wells was reported missing from her East Tennessee home.

Her mother said Summer, who was 5 at the time, was last seen on June 15 at their home in the 100 block of Ben Hill Road in Hawkins County. An Amber Alert was issued by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on June 16.

Since then, teams have repeatedly searched for Summer across thousands of acres, often in rough terrain, TBI said. The latest search party again combed the Beech Creek area from Feb. 28 through March 2.

The anniversary of her disappearance will fall exactly three weeks after National Missing Children's Day, which takes place on May 25. Former President Ronald Reagan established the day in memory of 6-year-old Etan Patz, who disappeared from a street corner in New York City on May 25, 1979, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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"Each year, the Department of Justice commemorates Missing Children's Day by honoring the heroic and exemplary efforts of agencies, organizations and individuals to protect children," the department's website said. "The commemoration serves as a reminder to continue our efforts to reunite missing children with their families and an occasion to honor those dedicated to this cause."

Searches for Summer Wells, other missing kids continue in Tennessee

While authorities have not ruled out an abduction in Summer's case, they also said there is no evidence to confirm one. They also said there is a "possibility that she wandered off and became lost in the mountainous and rough terrain surrounding her home."

The search for Summer has garnered widespread attention on social media. The Amber Alert remains active. Her name and photo are displayed on billboards statewide and information about her appears on Tennessee Department of Transportation signs.

"Investigators will continue to pursue all potential leads to find answers," TBI said in a Twitter post in March. "We appreciate the continued interest in this case and understand many want to help. One way to do that is by sharing factual information from official sources."

The latest updates from TBI can be found via their social media feeds under the handle @TBInvestigation or by searching for Summer Wells at tbinewsroom.com.

Summer is 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing gray pants and a pink shirt outside her home in the Beech Creek community near Rogersville in northeast Tennessee.

Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call the Hawkins County Sheriff's Office at 423-272-7121 or to the TBI at 800-TBI-FIND (800-824-3463).

How Amber Alerts, missing children cases work in Tennessee

In Tennessee, around 400-600 children go missing each month, according to TBI spokesperson Josh DeVine.

The majority of those are considered runaways or parental abductions with no suspected threat of danger to the child.

As of this month, state and federal databases showed that 141 Tennessee children — including those who have since turned 18 — remain missing. Some cases date back to as early as 1969. Five are the subject of Amber Alerts and 14 are listed as endangered, according to TBI.

"We often hear from folks that anytime a child goes missing, it should be an Amber Alert," DeVine said.

But DeVine said Tennessee, among other states, has adopted a tiered approach for how to alert the public to missing children.

“We reserve Amber Alerts for the most serious of missing child cases, where we have an imminent concern for a child’s well-being," DeVine said.

Tennessee also has an endangered child alert. These alerts could be used when a missing child may be with a noncustodial parent or lacks access to needed medicine. It's also important to remember that TBI is not aware of every missing child in the state, but rather gets involved when local law enforcement agencies ask for help, DeVine said.

He said TBI has worked in recent years to take a more proactive approach with local officials in finding missing kids. The agency has also created resources for parents to keep up-to-date photos and information on their children that can be used in the event of an emergency. Those resources can be found at TNKidKit.com.

Last year, TBI was part of a joint task force called Operation Volunteer Strong that led to the recovery of 150 missing children in Tennessee. The operation was a joint effort with the TBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also provided research and analytical support during the operation.

The TBI website also features a handful of missing Tennessee children who are not the subject of an Amber Alert or considered endangered. DeVine said they feature children when local law enforcement agencies ask for help in raising awareness.

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Amber Alerts and Endangered Child Alerts remain active in Tennessee even in cold cases, DeVine said.

For example, an Amber Alert for siblings Gage Daniel and Chloie Leverette has been active for nearly 10 years. The pair vanished the night of Sept. 23, 2012, after a fire destroyed their grandparents' Unionville home in Bedford County. After the fire, remains of the children's grandparents were identified by forensic scientists. But after a long list of law enforcement agencies found no trace of the children, ages 7 and 9 then, they were classified as missing.

A federal database can be found at missingkids.org. More information on missing children in Tennessee can be found at tn.gov/tbi/tennessees-missing-children.

Kirsten Fiscus and Natalie Alund contributed to this story.

Find reporter Rachel Wegner at rawegner@tennessean.com or on Twitter @rachelannwegner.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee's missing children: A look at amber Alerts, active cases