Department of Child Services at family home of missing Summer Wells as brothers struggle with 5-year-old girl’s disappearance [VIDEO]

Child services workers came running toward the house after “they heard screams,” Summer’s father said.

The search for missing Summer Wells continues in eastern Tennessee close to a week after the 5-year-old girl vanished from her Hawkins County home on Tuesday.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, 5-year-old Summer Wells was reported missing on Tuesday evening. Her parents have said that she went out of the home’s basement door earlier that day, and that the family attempted to find her themselves before reporting her missing. Multiple law enforcement agencies have been searching the dense, remote area for Summer since then, and investigators have faced challenges due to weak cell phone and radio services.

Authorities said last week that “everything is on the table” and investigators have not yet ruled out foul play. No suspects have been named in Summer’s disappearance.

Summer’s father Don Wells spoke to WJHL about missing his daughter on Father’s Day.

“I think it’s really tough on all the people out here that are missing Father’s Day, and it’s making them a little bit edgy,” Don Wells told the news station. “And we’re a little bit edgy, my wife is a real edgy, and it’s just getting tougher, I think, for everybody.”

Wells told a WJHL reporter that he is not certain Summer is still alive, but “there is always hope.”

Don Wells also told the news station that agents from the Department of Children’s Services have been helping the family cope with the stress and uncertainty, adding that Summer’s brothers are not doing well and have been fighting more at home.

“They’re kind of fighting more than usual,” said Wells. “They got into it first thing this morning, and the team come running up the hill, they heard screams, and so I’ve been trying to keep it down.”

Authorities in Tennessee issued an AMBER Alert on Wednesday. Summer is described as a white juvenile female with short blonde hair and blue eyes. She is approximately 3 feet tall and was last seen wearing gray shorts with a pink top.

Anyone with information about Summer Wells’ disappearance is urged to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode.