2005
MADELINE KELLY EDMAN
Missing From: La Crosse, WI
Missing Since: 07/29/2005
Age: 15
Age: 15
DOB: April 27, 1990
Sex: Female
Race: Biracial
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 100 lbs.
Madeline disappeared from La Crosse, Wisconsin on July 29, 2005. She and her mother had gone to the laundromat at St. James and Caledonia Streets. Madeline left to go home while her mother stayed behind to finish the laundry. When her mother arrived home, Madeline was gone.
Many agencies classify Madeline as a runaway who may have remained in the local area after her disappearance, and when her mother died in 2010 at the age of 45, her obituary listed Madeline as having survived her. However, there has been no trace of her since she disappeared and police believe she may have been the victim of human trafficking or murder. Her case remains unsolved.
2006
Missing Since: June 10, 2006
Age: 21
An unidentified male was observed speaking with Deidre Harm at the Finish Line Bar in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, on June 10, 2006. Deidre Harm had been reported missing on June 11, 2006 after failing to return to her apartment in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, the previous night. Her remains were located in the town of Seneca, WI, on November 20, 2006. The unidentified male might be able to provide information to this case.
Twenty-one-year-old Deidre Harm was a vibrant, loving woman, who had her whole life ahead of her -- a job and a new apartment, even a new baby, a 4-month-old baby girl named Vegas.
But during the early morning hours of June 11, 2006, after a night out with friends, she disappeared.
Investigators say Harm hired a babysitter to watch her daughter while she went out for the night. She stopped with friends at several downtown bars in Wisconsin Rapids, including The Body Shop and The Finish Line. But authorities say she wasn't alone: she was seen leaving with someone no one seemed to know. The next day, she was gone.
"Not to be heard from or call to check-in to see whose got her daughter; no friends, no relatives have been contacted by her; and it's just not Deidre, just not her," Deidre's father, Scott Harm, told NewsChannel 7 in 2006.
Police were baffled from the beginning, with no initial signs of foul play. "We're dealing with a missing person case of a 21-year-old, and everything leading up to that we found no evidence of any criminal activity; it's simply been a missing person," says Wisconsin Rapids Police Chief Kurt Heuer.
Police released a sketch of the last person they know was with Deidre that night.
Five months later, Deidre's skeletal remains were found by hunters in the Town of Seneca, near Port Edwards. Wood County Coroner Garry Kronstedt was called to the scene, and to this day he still remembers arriving to identify her remains.
"We had suspicions of who it was, but we had sent in the dental to Dr. Simley, who is also a forensic doctor; forensic dentist, identification was made through dental records," he says.
An autopsy would rule her cause of death as undetermined, with few clues to help police. "There was trauma on the bones, but we can't definitely say it was from that incident," says Kronstedt.
Even with an inconclusive autopsy, police believed the location of her remains proved someone had left her body there.
The missing persons case would now be investigated as a homicide. They shifted their focus from finding Deidre, to finding the person who murdered her.
"It's a very difficult day for her family and friends; and the sheriff's department's condolences go out to them; we will do everything we can to reach a conclusion in this case," says Wood County Sheriff Thomas Reichert.
A Wood County, Missouri, Sheriff's Lieutenant says Chris Revak has ties to Wisconsin Rapids and resembles a composite sketch of the person who was seen with Harm at The Finish Line on June 10, 2006. According to authorities, Revak still had family and friends in Wisconsin and would make periodic trips back for visits. Christopher E. Revak
was arrested on July 25 after cops got a phone tip telling them that
they needed to take a closer look at the man for the March 2007 disappearance of Rene Marie Williams. That phone tip led authorities to an undisclosed farm where the search for Williams body continues. After Revak was arrested that Saturday he invoked his fifth amendment right and refused to talk with investigators. By Sunday afternoon the chief suspect in Williams's homicide was found dead in his jail cell.....hanging from his jail issued jumpsuit.
Missing From: Madison, WI
Missing Since: June 23, 2007
Age: 22
DOB: February 3, 1985
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair Color: Brown
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 125 lbs.
Kelly was last heard from during the early morning hours of June 23, 2007. She was last seen wearing a green, cap-sleeve style shirt and blue jeans. Kelly's body was found two weeks after she disappeared after a night out with friends.
DOB: February 3, 1985
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair Color: Brown
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 125 lbs.
Kelly was last heard from during the early morning hours of June 23, 2007. She was last seen wearing a green, cap-sleeve style shirt and blue jeans. Kelly's body was found two weeks after she disappeared after a night out with friends.
It was a Friday night in June 2007 when 22-year-old college student Kelly Nolan left her home to meet friends at a bar in Madison, Wisconsin.
Police say she and three girlfriends spent the evening at a bar in the State Street area of Madison.
About 11:30 p.m., Nolan and her friends separated, because her friends wanted to go home, and Nolan continued on to another bar.
It is unclear exactly whom Nolan was with afterward.
Two weeks after she went missing that night, her body was found in a wooded area on private property 11 miles from where she'd last been seen.
Two weeks after she went missing that night, her body was found in a wooded area on private property 11 miles from where she'd last been seen.
The coroner and police have characterized her death as a homicide.
"We have collected a lot of crime scene evidence and feel confident this case can be solved," said Joel De Spain, a spokesman for the Madison Police Department.
According to police, Nolan's last contact with anyone was a cell phone call in the early morning to her sister, April. Triangulation from pings on her cell phone led police to search the area where they found her body July 9.
Tom Paras, owner of Amy's Cafe, a bar in the State Street area, said an employee met Nolan at another nearby watering hole called the Lava Lounge.
Police won't confirm it, but the witness claims that he and Nolan walked out of the bar together because another male bar patron had been harassing Nolan, Paras said.
"The guy was giving her the creeps," Paras said.
The two walked out, but then Nolan asked Paras' employee to wait for her to use the bathroom.
"They were both very drunk," Paras said, "And he admits he was stupid to have left her there when he saw her talking to that guy again outside, but he assumed they were friends."
According to Paras, the real problem is that no one has an accurate description of this person of interest.
Furthermore, police have not revealed any possible motive in Nolan's murder, nor have they said whether she had been sexually assaulted. Investigators even reviewed surveillance video from the bar but found nothing that shows Nolan interacting with the individual last seen with her.
2008
Location Found: Madison, WI
Found Date: 04/02/2008
Age: 21
DOB: 11/11/1986
Gender: Female
Race: White
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Green
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 119 lbs.
On April 2, 2008 in the early afternoon hours, Brittany Zimmermann was killed (she was found stabbed to death in the middle of the day in her apartment).
Madison, Wis. (WMTV)
March 29, 2018
Brittany Zimmermann was stabbed to death in her Doty Street apartment on April 2, 2008. She called 911, the call was dropped, and the Dane County dispatcher never called her back. Her fiancé found her dead in their apartment nearly an hour after her phone call.
It’s a case that continues to haunt the Madison Police Department. Ten years later, an arrest has not been made in the case. Madison Police have never named a suspect or person of interest in this case, and even now, are not confident enough to do so.
Over two years ago, NBC15 reported that the family confirmed DNA evidence in the case.
In February 2016, the Zimmermanns came forward and said there’s new DNA evidence in their daughter’s homicide. Despite Madison Police frowning upon their decision to come forward, Jean told NBC15’s Amy Pflugshaupt she couldn’t sit back any longer knowing Brittany’s killer is still walking the streets. At that time, the family chose not to release the name of the man that the DNA belonged to, as criminal charges had not been filed. It was then revealed in a search warrant that the DNA found on Zimmermann’s clothing matched the DNA of David Kahl.
Many have wondered if there was a DNA match, why weren't any charges filed? "If we had sufficient confidence in the DNA as evidence in and of its self, probably an arrest would have been made," said Chief Koval.
Court records show Kahl was convicted of his seventh OWI and is serving time in a Wisconsin prison. Detectives have had contact with Kahl; however, Chief Koval couldn't elaborate.
"I really couldn't comment in terms of what extent we've had contact," said Chief Koval.
“If they truly have nothing. If this DNA stuff fizzles out and we don’t get what we’re looking for then I say call it,” said Jean Zimmermann.
As for the Zimmermans, they believe one day the killer will be brought to justice, but – “Sometimes I don’t think it’s going to be the Madison Police Department that figures it out,” said Jean Zimmermann.
Location Found: Fond du Lac County, WI
Found Date: 11/23/2008
Age: 15 - 21
Gender: Female
Age: 15 - 21
Gender: Female
Race: White
Hair Color: Light Brown
Height: 5'1" (3" plus or minus)
Weight: 110 - 135 lbs.
On November 23, 2008 the remains of an unidentified female were located in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. The body was recovered in a secluded wooded area. Composite images depict what she may have looked like in 2008.
Hair Color: Light Brown
Height: 5'1" (3" plus or minus)
Weight: 110 - 135 lbs.
On November 23, 2008 the remains of an unidentified female were located in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. The body was recovered in a secluded wooded area. Composite images depict what she may have looked like in 2008.
The remains of a young woman were found frozen in a creek by hunters on November 23, 2008, in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, near an abandoned farm. To extract the body, investigators were forced to chisel away the ice, and scuba divers searched the bottom for evidence. Some articles of clothing were found, including a strapless Zoey Beth brand black-and-pink top with a pink bow, determined to have come from Family Dollar, where it had been available in the spring of 2008. The underclothing that she wore, also from Family Dollar, was shipped only between July 1 and July 15, 2008. The legs of her Angels brand jeans had been rolled up for several turns, and an elastic ponytail holder was found on her wrist.
No socks or shoes were found at the scene. Initially, no jewelry was found, until a penny-sized St. Benedict medal was found by divers. The medal may not have belonged to her, as examiners could not be certain how long it had been in the water. However, some reports state that a bracelet with several pendants on it was also found on the girl's remains. Her hair was a shoulder-length light brown of differing shades, possibly due to having been highlighted. Because items of her clothing were in various sizes, ascertaining her build was problematic; however, it has been determined that she most likely weighed around 120 pounds.
Her cause of death was inconclusive, as severe decomposition of the body had removed all signs of possible violence from the remains. However, the manner of death is believed to be homicide, as suicide was eliminated as a possibility. The location where the remains were found had also raised suspicion among authorities. Toxicology tests were conducted to see if any drugs or alcohol had been in her system, but the results were never released.
Although the body was found in autumn, she had died in the summer, two to four months previously. This was established by examining traces from insects that were found on the remains. She had an overbite, and some fillings and dental sealants were found on the upper molars with no current cavities. The overbite was not described as extreme, but may have been noticeable, which could be a reliable feature depicted in her facial reconstruction. The estimated height was between 4'10" and 5'4", the victim being between fifteen and twenty-one years old and weighing between 110 to 135 pounds, at an "average frame". Examiners believe she was either white or Hispanic, although the possibility that she was Native American or Asian cannot be ruled out. She also may have been biracial. Other physical characteristics included a healed rib fracture and being pigeon toed or knock-kneed, which may have been noticeable when she walked, as her feet were slanted inward. She also suffered from spina bifida occulta, but may have been unaware of the condition.
By Emily Matesic
April 26, 2018
Fond Du Lac County, Wis. (WBAY) - The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office has exhumed the body of Jane Doe. The unidentified woman was found dead in a shallow creek back in 2008. Authorities say she was murdered.
With advances in technology, detectives are hoping new tests could help to develop a more detailed profile of the woman.
Six-and-a-half years after the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office held a funeral for Jane Doe, some of the same faces gathered again at Cattaraugus Cemetery while a chaplain offered prayer.
"May those who bear responsibility in this process, show care and compassion and be given wisdom and skill," said Michael Hackbarth, one of the sheriff's office chaplains.
Cemetery staff then began digging up the plot where Jane Doe was laid to rest.
According to Fond du Lac County Sheriff Mick Fink, "We're going to go back out and we're starting over and plunging forward again. We will not let this go. Some family needs to get her back."
With the help of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the sheriff's office has recently released new, additional composite sketches of Jane Doe.
Now, by exhuming her body, it hopes new scientific testing will reveal more detailed information about her background.
"Stabilized isotope analysis has been done for many, many years with archeological bone, and it's just in the last 10 or 15 years that that technology is being applied to cold cases and forensic investigations," says Dr. Leslie Eisenberg.
Forensic anthropologists Eisenberg and Dr. Jennifer Love are overseeing the sample gathering. The two accompanied the body to the Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner's Office where bone, teeth and hair are being collected.
Those samples will be sent to a lab for additional testing.
Dr. Eisenberg says, "When our tooth enamel is being formed it will tell you something about the isotope ratios in the water and the soil where you grew up. Hair and bone will tell you more about where the person may have lived for the last seven or eight years of her life."
The sheriff's office expects some of those answers to come in about six months when the testing is completed.
2009
Missing Since: 08/11/2009
Age: 15
DOB: August 29, 1993
Age: 15
DOB: August 29, 1993
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5’ 2”
Weight: 108 lbs
Kayla M. Berg was last seen on August 11, 2009.
Kayla, her older brother, and her mother had moved to Texas earlier in 2009, but the children were homesick and, after just three months, their mother took them and moved back to Wisconsin in August 2009.
Fifteen-year-old Kayla was last seen on the evening of August 11, 2009 with Kevin J. Kielcheski, a 24-year-old friend of Kayla's brother.
With her 16th birthday still a couple of weeks away and no driver's license, she accepted a ride from Kielcheski to the McDonald's in Antigo, Wisconsin, where her best friend worked.
Kielcheski picked up Kayla at her father's house at about 8:30 p.m. The two arrived at McDonald's half an hour later. Kayla ran inside, talked briefly with her friend, and then left. She had told her friend she planned to ride around in the car for a while and smoke marijuana with Kielcheski.
Kielcheski told investigators that sometime between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. he dropped Kayla off at the home of her ex boyfriend, Miguel Marrero, on East Wausau Avenue in Wausau, Wisconsin (which is about a 40 minute drive from Antigo). He stated the house (which is located across the street from the Colonial Manor Nursing Home) had all the lights turned off and it looked as if no one was home.
But Kayla's friends said Marrero had moved out of the house, and Kayla knew that. The house had actually been condemned and its occupants had moved out while the building was being renovated.
"The last we pretty much know about the story we have, is around 10 p.m.," said Antigo Police Chief Eric Roller. "The male says he dropped her off ... at her boyfriend's house in Wausau."
"He figured it was about 10 p.m. when he dropped her off ... He said it was dark," Roller said.
Investigators and Kayla's mother question why Kayla would have requested a ride to that house. It had been condemned by the health department weeks earlier and was undergoing renovations.
Kayla's mother said Kayla knew no one had been living there.
Roller said he has heard conflicting stories about whether Kayla knew the property had been condemned.
Kielcheski said he saw Kayla walk toward the house. He never actually saw Kayla go inside the house, and Kayla has never been heard from again.
Kayla's ex-boyfriend Marrero said the last time he saw Kayla was about one week before she was reported missing.
Cadaver dogs turned up no trail and no scent of Kayla at or near the ex boyfriend's former home.
Langlade County also requested the help from a Dane County officer and her cadaver dog. A dozen searches had taken place in wooded areas and fields. The dog showed a reaction to two areas -- Kevin Kielcheski's home in Deerbook and the potato farm where he worked.
"To date, the only thing I can say is my dog continually says is 'the odor of human remains is connected with one person of interest in a variety of different angles to it'," explained Dane County K-9 officer Carren Corcoran.
Kielcheski's car that Kayla was riding in was seized and processed for evidence. Police still have the car, but investigators will not comment on the evidence collected.
No one other than Kielcheski saw Kayla get out of the car, Roller said, but investigators were able to confirm that the 24-year old driver returned at midnight to his parents' house in Deerbrook, about 45 minutes away.
Kayla's mother Hope Sprenger reached out to Kielcheski. She says she received two text messages from him.
"I had said, 'Hey, where's Kayla, and where did you drop her off?' " Sprenger said. "He said, 'I don't know.' "
Since then, Sprenger said, most of her contact has been with the Kielcheski's attorney or his parents.
"Once he got a lawyer involved, no one could talk to him," Roller said.
Kayla's ex boyfriend Marrero denied having seen her the day of her disappearance (he is four years older than Kayla and her mother didn't approve of their relationship because of the age difference between them).
Kayla wasn't reported missing for six days because her parents (who are separated) each thought she was in the other one's home; her parents had a fairly open living arrangement for her and her younger brother, and they often traveled back and forth by themselves between one parent's house and another.
Roller said the biggest problem with the case is that police received information a week after Kayla went missing. He said her friends were uncooperative with police, making it appear as if they might be helping Kayla hide.
"A lot was probably gut reaction on us, thinking that if something drastic had happened, the friends would be a little more concerned," he said. "But 10 months is a long time for someone to be gone."
The case is further complicated by differing descriptions of what Kayla was wearing on the last night she was seen. Some say she was wearing jeans, a tank top and flip flops. But Kielcheski says she wore a long-sleeved shirt, Roller said.
In October of 2009, Kielcheski was arrested and charged with second-degree reckless endangerment which is related to substance use with Kayla on the night she was last seen. The charge was dismissed in July of 2011, citing lack of evidence, and Kielcheski hasn't been charged or named as a suspect in Kayla's actual disappearance; he is no longer cooperating with the investigation.
In May 2011, police found items of interest on Kielcheski's property. At the time, Sgt. Dan Duley of the Antigo Police Department told NewsChannel 7 there is no indication that Berg was on his property. He wouldn't say what the items were. NewsChannel 7 filed an open records request in February 2016 related to the property search. Their request for more information was denied. “I have serious concerns the disclosure of these records could comprise the effectiveness of the police department’s investigation,” the response from Police Chief Eric Roller stated in part.
Kayla is described as a passionate gymnast who was looking forward to being on her school's team. She didn't own a cell phone or a computer at the time of her disappearance, and apparently didn't use the internet very much.
She has no history of running away from home and it's uncharacteristic of her not to keep her parents informed of her whereabouts. Her nickname is Kay Kay.
Although there is no evidence of foul play in Kayla's case, her mother believes she was abducted. Her case remains unsolved.
Kayla’s ears and navel are pierced. She also has scars on the right side of her nose and on her right shin.
ROSE MARIE BLY
Missing From: St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin
Kayla, her older brother, and her mother had moved to Texas earlier in 2009, but the children were homesick and, after just three months, their mother took them and moved back to Wisconsin in August 2009.
Fifteen-year-old Kayla was last seen on the evening of August 11, 2009 with Kevin J. Kielcheski, a 24-year-old friend of Kayla's brother.
With her 16th birthday still a couple of weeks away and no driver's license, she accepted a ride from Kielcheski to the McDonald's in Antigo, Wisconsin, where her best friend worked.
Kielcheski picked up Kayla at her father's house at about 8:30 p.m. The two arrived at McDonald's half an hour later. Kayla ran inside, talked briefly with her friend, and then left. She had told her friend she planned to ride around in the car for a while and smoke marijuana with Kielcheski.
Kielcheski told investigators that sometime between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. he dropped Kayla off at the home of her ex boyfriend, Miguel Marrero, on East Wausau Avenue in Wausau, Wisconsin (which is about a 40 minute drive from Antigo). He stated the house (which is located across the street from the Colonial Manor Nursing Home) had all the lights turned off and it looked as if no one was home.
But Kayla's friends said Marrero had moved out of the house, and Kayla knew that. The house had actually been condemned and its occupants had moved out while the building was being renovated.
"The last we pretty much know about the story we have, is around 10 p.m.," said Antigo Police Chief Eric Roller. "The male says he dropped her off ... at her boyfriend's house in Wausau."
"He figured it was about 10 p.m. when he dropped her off ... He said it was dark," Roller said.
Investigators and Kayla's mother question why Kayla would have requested a ride to that house. It had been condemned by the health department weeks earlier and was undergoing renovations.
Kayla's mother said Kayla knew no one had been living there.
Roller said he has heard conflicting stories about whether Kayla knew the property had been condemned.
Kielcheski said he saw Kayla walk toward the house. He never actually saw Kayla go inside the house, and Kayla has never been heard from again.
Kayla's ex-boyfriend Marrero said the last time he saw Kayla was about one week before she was reported missing.
Cadaver dogs turned up no trail and no scent of Kayla at or near the ex boyfriend's former home.
Langlade County also requested the help from a Dane County officer and her cadaver dog. A dozen searches had taken place in wooded areas and fields. The dog showed a reaction to two areas -- Kevin Kielcheski's home in Deerbook and the potato farm where he worked.
"To date, the only thing I can say is my dog continually says is 'the odor of human remains is connected with one person of interest in a variety of different angles to it'," explained Dane County K-9 officer Carren Corcoran.
Kielcheski's car that Kayla was riding in was seized and processed for evidence. Police still have the car, but investigators will not comment on the evidence collected.
No one other than Kielcheski saw Kayla get out of the car, Roller said, but investigators were able to confirm that the 24-year old driver returned at midnight to his parents' house in Deerbrook, about 45 minutes away.
Kayla's mother Hope Sprenger reached out to Kielcheski. She says she received two text messages from him.
"I had said, 'Hey, where's Kayla, and where did you drop her off?' " Sprenger said. "He said, 'I don't know.' "
Since then, Sprenger said, most of her contact has been with the Kielcheski's attorney or his parents.
"Once he got a lawyer involved, no one could talk to him," Roller said.
Kayla's ex boyfriend Marrero denied having seen her the day of her disappearance (he is four years older than Kayla and her mother didn't approve of their relationship because of the age difference between them).
Kayla wasn't reported missing for six days because her parents (who are separated) each thought she was in the other one's home; her parents had a fairly open living arrangement for her and her younger brother, and they often traveled back and forth by themselves between one parent's house and another.
Roller said the biggest problem with the case is that police received information a week after Kayla went missing. He said her friends were uncooperative with police, making it appear as if they might be helping Kayla hide.
"A lot was probably gut reaction on us, thinking that if something drastic had happened, the friends would be a little more concerned," he said. "But 10 months is a long time for someone to be gone."
The case is further complicated by differing descriptions of what Kayla was wearing on the last night she was seen. Some say she was wearing jeans, a tank top and flip flops. But Kielcheski says she wore a long-sleeved shirt, Roller said.
In October of 2009, Kielcheski was arrested and charged with second-degree reckless endangerment which is related to substance use with Kayla on the night she was last seen. The charge was dismissed in July of 2011, citing lack of evidence, and Kielcheski hasn't been charged or named as a suspect in Kayla's actual disappearance; he is no longer cooperating with the investigation.
In May 2011, police found items of interest on Kielcheski's property. At the time, Sgt. Dan Duley of the Antigo Police Department told NewsChannel 7 there is no indication that Berg was on his property. He wouldn't say what the items were. NewsChannel 7 filed an open records request in February 2016 related to the property search. Their request for more information was denied. “I have serious concerns the disclosure of these records could comprise the effectiveness of the police department’s investigation,” the response from Police Chief Eric Roller stated in part.
Kayla is described as a passionate gymnast who was looking forward to being on her school's team. She didn't own a cell phone or a computer at the time of her disappearance, and apparently didn't use the internet very much.
She has no history of running away from home and it's uncharacteristic of her not to keep her parents informed of her whereabouts. Her nickname is Kay Kay.
Although there is no evidence of foul play in Kayla's case, her mother believes she was abducted. Her case remains unsolved.
Kayla’s ears and navel are pierced. She also has scars on the right side of her nose and on her right shin.
ROSE MARIE BLY
Missing From: St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin
Missing Since: 08/21/2009
Age: 21
DOB: September 16, 1987
Age: 21
DOB: September 16, 1987
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair Color: Lt. Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5”0”
Weight: 110 lbs
Rose Marie Bly was last seen leaving her residence in St. Croix Falls, WI, en route to Cushing, WI, a distance of five miles. Her car was recovered five days later in Grantsburg, WI, in a parking lot approximately 30 miles from her residence typically used by truck drivers to park their tractor trailers.
Rose was reported by her husband to have left her home the
evening of August 21, 2009. She was to travel to Cushing, Wisconsin, a distance of 4-5 miles to meet with a
cousin. Rose never arrived at her destination, according to her husband. Attempts to contact Rose have been
unsuccessful. Family members have reported no contact with Rose since she left her residence.
Rose was wearing a pair of jeans, a green v-neck sweater over a white tank top, and a pair of flip-flop sandals. Rose has a tattoo of cherries on her right ankle, and her ears and belly button are pierced.
Rose was wearing a pair of jeans, a green v-neck sweater over a white tank top, and a pair of flip-flop sandals. Rose has a tattoo of cherries on her right ankle, and her ears and belly button are pierced.
Rose grew up down the road from St. Croix Falls in tiny Grantsburg (pop. 1,384), in the far western part of Michigan where Polk County butts up against the Minnesota border and the scenic St. Croix River.
Heading out on a Friday night for a few drinks, she left home after supper with her husband and his father. The last person who saw her was Chris Larson. Rose’s destination was another tiny town, Cushing, just a few miles north. It was late August, 2009, and the day had been seasonably cool with gusty winds and a portent of autumn on its way.
Rose got behind the wheel of her car, a white 2001 Pontiac Grand Am, and began the five-mile journey to Cushing at 7:30 pm. She would drive through the Barrens, an ecological oasis of stunted pine and oak forests clinging to sandy soil on mostly open terrain, which overshadows the tiny towns that dot the region.
On a Friday night, the roads may have had a few more travelers than usual, but the area has never seen much traffic. She drove north on Highway 87, which remained unpaved until the 1950s.
Her plan was to meet her cousin for a few drinks at a local bar. The cousin would later report she knew nothing of such plans.
Rose Bly was a small woman, five feet tall and 110 pounds. She had brown hair that she dyed blonde or red frequently, and usually dressed casually since her main occupation was caring for two toddlers. Her two girls were 1 and 2 years old. She was described by everyone who knew her as a devoted mom.
Five days after she drove off, her car was recovered 30 miles north of St. Croix Falls in the town of Grantsburg, where Rose attended high school.
The location of her car was unremarkable, a roomy parking lot where truck drivers sometimes left their tractor-trailers, according to the FBI VICAP alert. One local described the parking area as being near a laundromat, another noted it was close to the post office.
Her cousin reported never seeing Rose that night, or thereafter.
The Charley Project, an extensive database of American missing persons, notes that her car was discovered 15 miles from Cushing but gave no details on why it took five days to locate it.
The last reported contact she made was a call to her husband, telling him she would be home around midnight. She had only been married for six months but a divorce seemed inevitable.
Within three weeks of her disappearance, Bly’s newlywed husband filed for divorce, and it was not the first time. In September 2009, Larson requested a court order with the intention of ensuring Rose could not return and gain custody of the kids.
The first divorce attempt had occurred just two months earlier, in June 2009 but according to Larson, she talked him out of it.
The couple had at least one domestic abuse incident, which played out around the time of Larson’s initial divorce petition. It devolved into a he said/she said scenario. He accused her of slapping him. She maintained he’d put her into a headlock and slammed her to the ground.
Larson petitioned for divorce after the police came out to de-escalate the conflict. But the two reconciled shortly thereafter and the petition was withdrawn.
According to LeaderNewsroom.com, Bly had an active bench warrant for a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, later amended to domestic abuse. The warrant was filed three months prior to her disappearance and seems likely related to the domestic incident in June after police showed up on the Bly/Larson doorstep to break up a fight. She pled not guilty to the misdemeanor domestic abuse charge in July 2009, but due to her disappearance, the warrant has never been resolved.
In 2010, Larson was granted sole custody of the two girls. According to a best friend from high school, Nicole Steele, who posted on the “Help Find Rose Bly” Facebook group,” Rose said her husband had told her he would never let her take the girls.
Law enforcement has extensively interviewed Rose’s ex-husband, friends, family, and acquaintances. They didn’t find evidence of any unusual patterns in her life prior to her disappearance, but one fact isn’t up for dispute: she was a caring mother who put her children first.
The Twin Cities Pioneer Press followed the story from its beginning and interviewed investigator Pete Johnson. “I think I’ve heard that from just about everybody we talked to,” said Johnson, who shared the initial investigation with Lisa Ditlefsen. “Nobody believes that she would take off and leave her kids.”
In the days following Rose’s disappearance, investigators interviewed community members, used helicopters to conduct a search, and drained a small lake adjacent to the parking lot where her car was discovered.
About a week before she disappeared, Rose went horseback riding, something she’d loved since childhood. She took a tumble and for the next few days told her mom, Candus Harer, she’d been getting headaches. Her mother suggested she go to the doctor. After Rose went missing, her mother wondered if she might have lost her way, perhaps because she had a serious head injury. There is no medical evidence, however, that Rose was mentally impaired. In the ensuing years, the theory of a disoriented woman wandering away has begun to look unlikely.
On March 4, 2021, Candus Harer, posted on the “Help Find Rose” Facebook group that authorities are “not ignoring the case,” but haven’t been giving out details to the public.
The evening she left home for the last time, Rose was dressed casually, wearing flip flops and light clothes. She had on a pair of blue jeans and a white tank top, along with a green sweater against the cool night. Nothing in her demeanor or behavior suggested she was taking a journey that would last longer than a single evening out.
Her vehicle was unremarkable and contained very little evidence. The car keys were never found. Rose didn’t habitually use credit or debit cards, so there was no way to establish a paper trail of spending or transactions. Her cell phone records turned up zero leads, and corroborate Chris Larson’s account that she called him that night. August 21st, the night she went missing, was the last time her cell phone had any activity.
Nothing about the vehicle, except its abandonment, was suspicious. DNA samples were taken from the Pontiac, but results have not been definitive enough to generate any persons of interest, much less a suspect or an arrest, and have never been shared with the public.
The case investigation began with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, but as the leads dried up and the possibility of foul play emerged, local authorities asked for FBI guidance to make sure they were digging in the right places.
Speculation about what happened to Rose Bly in the absence of hard and fast evidence runs rampant online. In the tiny communities of St. Croix and Grantsburg, some high school friends remember Rose being bullied as a teen but most commenters send prayers for the family and fondly remember her.
Three theories are bandied about among those following the case. There isn’t enough evidence to put one forward, as they are all speculative.
Some community members opine that Chris Larson, her ex-husband, is involved, despite a lack of evidence tying him to a crime.
Others believe it’s possible Rose could have voluntarily left to start a new life.
The third option, that she encountered a stranger and fell victim to foul play, will always remain a possibility.
Larson took a polygraph in late August, only a week after Rose went missing, and passed. According to authorities, he is not a suspect. He is the person who reported her missing, on August 22nd, 2009 and has no criminal history. Larson has continued to live and work in the community where he raises his two girls.
Law enforcement maintains they have not ruled out anyone, however, as they sift through the small pile of clues. Polk County authorities have never announced any persons of interest, although Larson received the most attention. The husband is always suspect #1, so the focus on him at the outset was standard procedure.
Second, it’s possible Rose Bly left town with another person, explaining why her vehicle was abandoned. She may have planned to leave the area, set up a meeting with her cousin, and driven instead to meet another individual. She may have believed Chris’s promise: he would never let her take her kids, and wanted out of what was, by several accounts, a problematic marriage.
Third, Rose could have fallen victim to a random crime. She may have helped someone on the highway, whether known to her or not, who abducted her.
Larson took a polygraph in late August, only a week after Rose went missing, and passed. According to authorities, he is not a suspect. He is the person who reported her missing, on August 22nd, 2009 and has no criminal history. Larson has continued to live and work in the community where he raises his two girls.
Law enforcement maintains they have not ruled out anyone, however, as they sift through the small pile of clues. Polk County authorities have never announced any persons of interest, although Larson received the most attention. The husband is always suspect #1, so the focus on him at the outset was standard procedure.
Second, it’s possible Rose Bly left town with another person, explaining why her vehicle was abandoned. She may have planned to leave the area, set up a meeting with her cousin, and driven instead to meet another individual. She may have believed Chris’s promise: he would never let her take her kids, and wanted out of what was, by several accounts, a problematic marriage.
Third, Rose could have fallen victim to a random crime. She may have helped someone on the highway, whether known to her or not, who abducted her.
The Twin Cities Pioneer Press spoke with law enforcement in 2015, who hinted the most likely answer to the mystery of Rose Bly’s disappearance is foul play. Polk County Investigator Pete Johnsons told The Press, “First we have to find out where she is…before we have anything to have a suspect for.”
Rose Marie Bly was a mom and wife involved in a tumultuous new marriage to a man named Christopher Larson, who she wed in February, 2009. After she vanished, Larson told media he thought she’d left, but he did not know where she was.
Rose Marie Bly is the sister of Candus Bly.
Candus seemed happier prior to the 2020-2021 time period. When did her mother, Candy, move onto the property? Is Grandma Candy, who has been described as cold—who abandoned her children, never contacting them or paying child support—one of the reasons for Summer's disappearance?
Candus Bly is the mother of Summer Wells (who disappeared from her home in rural Tennessee on June 15, 2021) and common-law wife of Donald Wells (according to a Candus, they got married on December 3, 2018), who admitted in a 2021 interview with Chris McDonough of the youtube channel The Interview Room that he molested his stepsister Jeannie Bovero (he claims that Jeannie initiated it).
Jeannie contacted TBI on June 16, 2021, to inform them of the sexual abuse she endured from Don when she was a child. Apparently, it was Jeannie's daughter, Trish Nelson, who first made public this information by posting it on facebook and going on the youtube channel owned (Jeannie filed charges against Don for sexual assault on September 7, 2021) by Tiffany Marie because law enforcement seemed not to be taking Jeannie seriously.
Jeannie says it began when she was 5 years old and Don was 11, and that when she was about 7 or 8 the molestation games turned to full-on sexual assault. It continued almost every night until Don went to prison when Jeannie was 12 (and he tried to sexually abuse her again the first night he returned from prison, but Jeannie ran to her parents for protection).
Jeannie's sister Mary Hartman told Theresa of the youtube channel Unmasked that the sexual abuse began when Jeannie was 7 and Don was 13 (Jeannie and Don are six years apart in age — Don was born in November 1964 and Jeannie was born in January 1971). And Mary explained that Don's father, her stepfather since she was 10 and Jeannie was 4, covered it up. She also revealed that her own mother had been sexually abused as a child.
On August 22, 2021, Jeannie again was interviewed by Chris McDonough, but this time live on his youtube channel. Jeannie, in her interview with Chris, said she was five when they moved into the new house and the molestation game began. So, there are inconsistencies in the dates given by Jeannie and her sister Mary, and nobody seems to ever give the exact age difference between Don and Jeannie.
On September 2, 2021, Chris McDonough played a recorded phone call between Mary and Don. Mary called Don (this call was made before Don and Candus retaliated and pranked Mary on September 1st), at Chris's goading, and she said the molestation by Don toward Jeannie first occurred when Jeannie was seven years old, the year they moved into their new house. There is a dirt bike ride when Jeannie was 8-9 and Don was 14-15 that seems to be the event that Don considers to be an encounter that was mutual (Jeannie has mentioned this event to Chris, per Chris).
Mary told Chris McDonough that Don's parents divorced when he was five or six years old (Don's father had been having an affair with Mary's mother, who babysat the three Wells children), and that Don's mother took the three children with her and gained custody (even though his mother suffered from drug and alcohol abuse).
Mary also said that it was six or seven years later, when Don was 12 years old, that he came to live with his father's new family, which means that Jeannie was six years old when Don moved into the family home (Mary said that Don's stepfather, Earl Clifford Kelley, was the meanest man that she had ever met).
Don's stepsister Mary also told Theresa of Unmasked that Don's stepfather, Earl Clifford Kelley, was brutal toward Don (Don's sisters said the same thing to Chris McDonough). Don says that his sisters were sexually abused by stepfather Kelley. So, then, if true, Don learned abusive behavior from his stepfather (Don's mother eventually divorced Kelley (they were married 1975-1984) and remarried into the Goad family).
From the time Don's parents divorced when he was five or six up until he went to live with father at age 12 is where the most damage to his mental development happened. Mary also explained that Don started abusing drugs and alcohol at an early age, and that his problems stemmed from that.
Arrested Development: "The teenage years and young adulthood are times of pushing boundaries, taking risks, and learning through experience. But when alcohol and other drugs are in the mix, risk taking can bring increasingly dangerous and potentially irreversible consequences, including psychological and emotional damage as well as a greater likelihood of developing addiction later in life. The adolescent and young adult brain is not fully mature. Development of the brain's prefrontal cortex—the center for logical thought, judgment, and higher-order decision making—continues until people reach their early- to mid-20s. Use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances, including marijuana, other illicit drugs, and prescription painkillers, can alter or impair healthy brain development." [Source]
"Those who drink large volumes of alcohol or abuse drugs early in life
will generally experience problems with emotional maturity. Teenage drug and alcohol abuse leaves the brain stuck at the same level of maturity it was when drug use began (the brain will be permanently stunted). The younger you are, the more vulnerable you become. And if you have a
predisposition to or already have a mental illness, [substance abuse]
will make it worse." [Source]
Note: Both Don and Candus have children from previous relationships (a son and daughter each, who are now adults). Candus and her partner Andrew Simon lost custody of their two children, Andrew, who was two years old, and little Candus Jean, who was six months old, mostly due to neglect and drug use on the part of the parents. Both children were adopted in 2003 but little Candus was returned to foster care 12 years later and then ran away from her foster home at age 14. Candus’s daughter has a facebook post in which Candus Bly
responds and says she was in a relationship with a controlling older
man, got into drugs, and was “forced” to give the two up for adoption. Andrew's adopted parents divorced and he was placed back into foster care in 2016.
Grandma Candy (who ran off with a girlfriend and abandoned her children in the care of their father when they were in their early teens, having no contact with them and providing no financial support -- see video below) has a brother who is committed. Warren S Harer is his name. He has eight charges of incest against a juvenile relative and was found not guilty because of mental illness. He lives in a 24-hour supervised group home that only has room for four adults. So he isn’t in prison exactly, but he’s not able to be unsupervised at all. So, he’s still under the control of the state rather than his family. It appears that all the men living there are offenders who need 24-hour supervision. [Source] He was released with conditions on September 10, 2021.
This is known as multi-generational dysfunction and abuse. Within these families, it is rationalized and normalized. The severely traumatized can pass trauma to the next generation. There is a habitual, generational, sick cycle of unnatural acts against children and family members on both sides of Summer’s family.
Summer Wells Discussion LIVE Part 1 -- The Interview Room with Chris McDonough
Summer Wells Case Discussion LIVE Part 2 -- The Interview Room with Chris McDonough
Summer Wells Case Discussion LIVE Part 3 -- The Interview Room with Chris McDonough - MUST SEE!
Don Wells' phone conversation with The Interview Room with Chris McDonough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfCNtI6nhAc&t=274sDon Wells told Chris McDonough that Summer slept with him every night since she was a baby, and that Summer insisted on sleeping with him, and that he couldn't resist her cries to join him in bed (we have to assume that Candus was there, too), and that nobody ever loved him the way Summer loved him (see video above and below for more details).
On June 15, 2021, around 12:30 PM, five-year-old Summer Wells went underwater while playing in the horse pond near a stable in Warriors' Path State Park.
The images above are screen shots from a video recording of Summer at the horse pond (watering hole for horses) on June 15, 2021.
The image on the left above and below is a photo of Summer which was taken when they dropped off Hunter at his home around 2:00-2:30 PM on June 15, 2021 (there appears to a bruise above Summer's right eye, suggesting that she may have hit her head on a tree branch at the time she went underwater).
Candus, or someone using her account, uploaded a picture to facebook at 5:06 PM on June 15th (in the video below, don't be distracted by the actual picture, which could have been taken weeks before, but focus on the date and time). The picture has been deleted from Candus's facebook.
Cell service is extremely spotty in the area because of the mountains and hollers (which also may mean, forget GPS because many don't work). Candus said that she had to use Wi-Fi for her phone to work at home. For Candus and Don to talk by facebook messenger his whole way home from Jonesborough on June 15th, as Don claims, Candus would have to have been at or very near home to use Wi-Fi, or she was in an area where she had a strong signal for cell phone service, which means she wasn't in an area of mountains and hollers.
The photo that was posted to Candus's facebook page at 5:06 PM on June 15th could have been in que to upload, and it wasn't until 5:06 PM that it was automatically uploaded. If so, this would mean that when Candus tried to upload the photo it wasn't able to upload right away because of weak or interrupted service. Or, at 5:06 PM, she was at home and connected to Wi-Fi, or she was driving and within cell service range, when she uploaded the photo to facebook.
The following is Candus's story as posted on the website findsummerwells.com.
So, I called Don because I was freaking out. I said: “I can’t find Summer. Get home now.”He was like, “Call 9-1-1.”So, I dropped my phone because I had to run over and get mom’s phone and dial 9-1-1, because her AT&T phone is the only one that works out here to call 9-1-1. So, I called them, and told them what’s goin’ on.
Before the cops even came out, I went down and told my neighbors, “Summer is missing, will you help me look?,” just in case she did wander off. But I knew in the back of my mind she’s never wandered off. She never went nowhere without me. She’ll ask me to do something before she even goes and does it. And she’s scared to go in the woods herself because we’ve told her time and time (again) because of the bears and snakes.
I sent the older boys down through the creek. If they’ve got a walkie-talkie and their buck knife, they can go down through there. I sent all them searching and I went out in my mom’s truck and went all the way down by the church, then went all the way down the (other) way, and I didn’t see nobody even out and about.
Then I went all the way back in the holler as far as the truck can go and I didn’t see nothing back in there, either.
When I was coming back up out of the holler, the cops were coming up in my driveway. So, I just followed them up in here.
I don’t recall if (Don) was here before the police got here or if he was here at the same time they showed up.
We searched everywhere we could possibly search. They were out here for three or four days straight searching 5,000 square (acres). They searched all this mountain terrain all the way down through here.
Candus said she left the Wells property after she used her mom's phone to call 9-1-1. She said she drove all the way to the church and "then all the way the (other) way." And then she "went all the way back in the holler as far as the truck can go."
From Candus's address at 110 Ben Hill Road to Kingsport SDA Church, it is at least a 20-minute drive, one way, so it was 40 minutes just to get there and back (see map above). Plus, she says she drove in the other direction "all the way," which could mean she drove back from the church to Ben Hill Road and continued past the Wells property in the other direction. And then she drove "all the way in the holler." So, it seems she was gone for over an hour (6:00-7:00 PM) before returning home to find LE in her driveway.
If Candus had her phone with her, then her movements could be traced using GPS and cell tower data. However, Candus said she "dropped her phone" and went to her mom's camper to use her phone to call 9-1-1.
Additionally, Candus said when she spoke to Don on the phone to tell him that Summer was missing, he told her to call 911, and so she threw her phone down in the back of “his” truck (meaning Don's white work truck parked at the house because he drove the Subaru to work that day) and then ran over to use her mom’s phone.
So, while Candus is off the property in Grandma's Chevy Silverado (it is unknown if the truck has GPS, OnStar, etc.), Don (who has his phone with him) reportedly is driving the new Subaru (with GPS, Starlink, etc.) home from the Meadows Subdivision in Jonesborough and straight to the bottom of the property without first stopping at the house (this is where Candus had sent "the older boys" to look for Summer before she headed out in the truck; and Don said he saw all three of his sons by the creek at the bottom of the property).
Both Candus and Don were on the road during the same time period, around 6:00-7:00 PM.
Law enforcement arrived at the Wells property at 7:03 PM.
According to Candus, she "followed them [LE] up in here [up the driveway]."
According to Don, he first went to the bottom of the property, accessing it from Beech Creek Road, before driving the Subaru up the driveway on Ben Hill Road to their home.
The most likely scenario: Summer Wells died from secondary drowning.
When Candus realized Summer had died, she called Don. Don rushed home from work in Jonesborough, and they came up with a story to cover for the death, and they hide her body somewhere other than their own property.
Panicked — maybe because Candus had been drinking and doing drugs (or because she had given alcohol and vaping nicotine to Hunter, a minor), she feared that CPS/DCS would take their boys away, or she feared she would be held responsible and incarcerated for Summer's accidental death, or maybe because Summer had been molested and there would be signs of sexual abuse, or maybe there would be signs of neglect and physical abuse — they hide her body somewhere nearby but not on their property. The body may have been hidden on the Wells property and later moved off the property if neither Don or Candus were under surveillance.
There appears to be several or more vehicles on the Wells property that could have been used to transport Summer's body. Some people have speculated that Candus's drug dealer may have helped move the body.
Don and Candus's story is: Don rushed home from work after Candus, from the Wells property, called 9-1-1 from Grandma Candy's phone "because her AT&T phone is the only one that works out here to call 9-1-1.".
However, it seems more probable that Don arrived home earlier than they claim, and they formulated a plan that would lead people to believe that Summer had been abducted from the basement (according to Don, he and Candus talked by facebook messenger during his entire drive home, which normally would have taken about 45 minutes, but he claimed he drove it in 30 minutes).
They first had to remove Summer's body from their property (if she ever made it home) and hide it somewhere not too far away where she would never be found. This would explain why the 9-1-1 call wasn't made until 6:23 PM on June 15th.
If cadaver dogs failed to alert to death on their property or any vehicle on their property, it may be because Summer's body was removed very soon after her death (both scent dogs and cadaver dogs were used during the search of the property).
The particular scent a cadaver dog is trained to alert to is leaked from the corpse as early as two hours after death, and they only alert to that scent, nothing more. Which would mean that if Summer was moved right away, they would NOT alert. And can it take over 24 hours for decomposition to be picked up by cadaver dogs?
The shed at the bottom of the Wells property seemed to be of interest to Don when he first arrived home. However, if would be logical for him to check it when he first arrived home since he knew Candus and Grandma Candy (described by friends of the husband of Candy's missing daughter, Rose Bly, as being "cold") had checked the top of the hill, which would explain why he said after checking it that he knew Summer was gone (if he had no prior knowledge of her disappearance).
It is possible that Candus and Grandma were afraid of Don's reaction if he found out Summer died under Candus's supervision, so they found some place to hide the body, and then told Don that she had been abducted so he wouldn't lose his temper. Candus and Grandma could be covering up what happened to Summer because they are scared of Don. So Don may not know what really happened. It is important to note the Grandma left town three days after Summer went missing (she drove her Silverado to Wisconsin).
Or perhaps Candus and Grandma Candy realized Summer had died before they made it home on June 15th, and Candus called Don to arrange a place to meet other than the Wells property.
Jamie, Don’s co-worker, told a youtuber that Don was still at work when he left at 5:30 PM.
In interviews, Don said that he spoke to Jamie and his boss about 30 minutes before he got the call from Candus; therefore, according to Don, Candus called him around 6:00 PM. Don says he threw his tools into the Subaru and drove the 45-minute drive home in about 30 minutes, which has Don leaving Jonesborough at 6:00 PM and arriving on the Wells property around 6:30 PM.
Let's consider the possibility that Don could have left work between 5:30-5:45 PM, shortly after Jamie left. This means he would have been driving toward home when he got the call from Candus around 6:00 PM.
If Don had been in the Fall Branch area around 6:00 PM, he could have told Candus to leave her phone behind, take Grandma Candy's truck, and meet him in that general area.
It has been confirmed that Don called 9-1-1 at 6:23 PM, but it is unclear when or if Candus made a separate call to 9-1-1 (law enforcement has not released 9-1-1 calls in the case).
Don and Candus could have met up with each other prior to making the 9-1-1 call at 6:23 PM.
Co-worker Jamie says he saw Don at 5:30 PM.
Another co-worker has claimed that Don was gone from work from 3:00 PM to 3:35 PM.
Candus could have met Don in the Jonesborough area, based on information provided by Grandma Candy in late August (see video below). Hunter did say in one of his interviews that Summer was going to the waterpark in Jonesborough that afternoon, which is where Don had been working that day.
Maybe Don was not at work from 3:00-3:35 PM in order to meet Candus and go to the waterpark with Summer but Summer, at that point, was unresponsive or deceased, and panic set in, so they devised a plan to cover up her death. Realizing Summer had passed away, Candus could have handed off her body to Don to hide. Don could have hidden her body nearby and then returned to work. He later could have moved her to a lake, an abandoned well, a cave, a hole created by a large uprooted tree, etc. Apparently, the TBI searched a building in the Jonesborough area and, if true, the search of the building is a clue everyone has overlooked.
Don's Subaru that he was driving on June 15th had GPS. Grandma Candy's truck was older, and maybe didn't have a built-in tracking system. Therefore, they, temporarily, could have swapped vehicles, and then met up again, switching back the vehicles so that Candus arrived home in the truck first, followed by Don in the Subaru.
However, Candus and Grandma's cell phones would indicate their location, and law enforcement would know they lied about what time they arrived home and what happened when they did.
During an interview in August 2021 on the youtube channel Voices Behind the Wall, Don said that there is only one route in/out that doesn't have any cameras (referring to the Beech Creek community, where he lives). According to a local, Fall Branch is not very populated (a lot of it is still farmland), and State Route 81 between Fall Branch and Jonesborough probably would not have any surveillance cameras. Also, the backroads from Ben Hill Road to Church Hill and Surgoinsville is mostly rural land without any surveillance cameras and "gravel roads for miles and miles."
These people have secrets they want to keep hidden.
People in positions of authority and power in the area will cover for their relatives, and many generations of families still live in the area. These people also have secrets they want to keep hidden.
Don Wells's relatives have lived in the area for 40 years, so he is also connected.
In interviews, Don made it clear that his biggest fear was returning to prison (he didn't wish that on anyone).
THE TIMELINE FOR JUNE 15, 2021
Don claims to have left home for work in Jonesborough around 7:30 AM.
Around 8:00 AM, Candus, Grandma Candy and Summer left home for Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport because Grandma was having problems with her knee. Candus and Don's three sons stayed at home, the oldest being 12 ½ years old and the other two 11 and 9.
The reason for Grandma's knee problem, according Candus: “We went to Gatlinburg and the boys accidentally kept tripping over her sore knee” (Candus, Grandma and the children had gone to the Gatlinburg area on Friday).
Candus and Summer were waiting in the hospital parking lot for Grandma to finish. They were hot and bored, so Candus texted a family friend, 15-year-old Hunter, who lived about five minutes away. Hunter then called Candus to see if they wanted to come to his house and hang out.
Candus and Summer arrived at Hunter's home between 10:00-10:30 AM.
Sometime later, with permission from Hunter's mother, Hunter left with Candus and Summer and drove to the hospital to pickup Grandma Candy.
After that, they stopped at the Hippie House, where Candus bought vaping nicotine and Twisted Tea (one can, according to Hunter, which Candus ended up giving to Hunter, upon his request, along with vaping nicotine), went to Walgreens and dropped off Grandma's prescription, but there was a 30-minute wait time, so they drove to Warriors' Path State Park (about 20 minutes away), arriving around 12:15 PM and staying about 20 minutes (see video below).
According to Hunter's mom in her interview with Unmasked, Hunter and his family have been told not to discuss the two-hour time period, 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM, the period from leaving Hunter's house and arriving at the horse pond (at least 15-20 minutes would be the time it took to drive to the horse pond). They should have been captured on CCTV during this time period.
Candus, Grandma Candy, Summer and Hunter arrived at the watering hole for horses near a stable in Warriors' Path State Park around 12:15 PM.
Candus and Hunter watched Tik Tok videos while Grandma picked flowers, according to Hunter, and Summer played in the water (Hunter also had gone into the water with Summer when they first got there – screen shot below).
Candus made a Tik Tok video of Summer playing in the water, timestamped 12:21 PM, according to Candus (see video below).
Summer did not know how to swim, and she was not wearing a life vest and was not using any type of floatation device.
Summer didn't know how to swim and was playing in shallow water that was littered with broken tree branches.
According to Hunter, he noticed Summer had slipped or stumbled and had gone underwater (he didn't know for how long but he thought maybe it was for 20 seconds yet he didn't actually see her go under), and he threw his shirt down (he must have been holding it), jumped into the water, and pulled her out (it took him about 4 seconds to get to Summer). According to Hunter, Summer was laughing when he pulled her out from under.
Hunter said "not even 15 minutes later they were at Walgreens" in Kingsport to pick up Grandma's prescription. Chris McDonough has verified that they picked up the prescription around 1:30 PM (at 1:33 PM precisely, according to Chris). Candus, Grandma, Summer and Hunter also stopped at Sonic.
The last stop before driving Hunter home was when Candus and Grandma shopped for groceries at Price Less. Hunter said he and Summer stayed in the vehicle, watching Tik Tok videos, while Candus and her mom shopped for about an hour. Hunter said Summer fell asleep while watching Tik Tok videos in the backseat.
When Candus and her mother returned from shopping, about an hour later, they drove Hunter home.
Hunter arrived home between 2:00-2:30 PM.
According to Hunter's mother, Summer was asleep in the backseat of the truck (Candus was driving Grandma Candy's truck). So, Summer had been asleep in the truck for at least an hour when they arrived at Hunter's home.
If Candice dropped Hunter off at home around 2:30 PM and then drove straight home, they should have arrived back home no later then 3:30 PM.
The rehearsed story is: after arriving home, Candus woke up Summer and she jumped out of the truck; the boys helped unload the groceries; Candus, Grandma and Summer planted flowers and then washed their hands in Grandma's camper; Grandma gave Summer a piece of hard peppermint candy; Summer said she wanted go into the house with her brothers; Candus walked Summer part of the way or all of the way to the house and watched her go inside while also telling the boys to watch Summer; Candus walked back to the camper to fix Grandma's knee brace; and then two minutes later Candus was in the house asking the boys about Summer and they told her that Summer had gone into the basement to play with her toys. So, what happened from approximately 4:00 PM until 6:23 PM, when they called 9-1-1 to report Summer missing?
Supposedly, after Candus and her mother went grocery shopping, and before arriving at Hunter's home, Hunter was handed both jugs of milk from Price Less, which he held in his lap during the drive to his home (per his interview with Chris McDonough), and he said that when he got out he put both gallons in the middle of the backseat.
The video that Grandma Candy recorded shows Summer asleep and leaning on the milk jugs, and she is buckled in at the waist, so how did the milk jugs get in this position?
Hunter claims Summer was sitting on a pillow next to the window and he had the milk jugs in his lap. He claims he was in the middle of the backseat (perhaps Summer was leaning on Hunter before he exited the vehicle, which is why the milk jugs were moved).
Hunter's mother said Summer was asleep in the backseat and was just like she was in the video, propped up against the milk jugs.
The truth stops when the story branches off, and it branches off after Hunter is dropped off.
According to Candus, she, Grandma Candy and Summer drove straight home from Hunter's house, at maximum, a 30-minute drive (the video of Summer sleeping in the back seat of the truck, with her head propped up by the milk jugs, was taken at 3:09 PM, and Candus said that they were about five minutes from home).
Had they not made any additional stops, they would have arrived at the Wells property around 3:00 PM.
The message that Don and Candus are sending is that somebody took Summer from their property, it's an abduction, the scent is gone, and she's not in the area. From the very beginning, starting on June 15th, Don and Candus have sent the rehearsed message that she's not here, someone took her, she's not in the area, don't look here, look somewhere else. [8:19 mark in the video above].
"She loved to be outside, all the time, and that was her, unfortunately, you know, her downfall." - Don Wells [38:10 mark in video above]
In August, the TBI announced that they had gotten all CCTV footage from every place
around the Wells property and had interviewed everybody and every driver
from that day. The TBI said there is no evidence in any way that would lead them to
believe there was an abduction.
Dolly Dampman wrote on youtube: "I think Don took the Subaru most certainly for a alibi, and his boss noticed the Subaru as well. It would leave Candus free to meet or go where ever she needed because the vehicle she was driving is older and does not have the tracking feature, so it would be perfect! We really don't know where Candus drove to or how far!"
Don Wells told Chris McDonough that the police took their phones, had them for about 30 minutes, and when they returned them to Don, Candus and Grandma Candy, everything after 3:30 PM had been deleted.
The probable story is: the three deleted everything on their phones from 3:30 PM onward for June 15th before turning their phones over to law enforcement because their phones contained evidence that could be used against them.
Candus explained in an interview that Summer's arm was up, that she was sleeping like her dad, and Candus thought it was cute. So Grandma tried to get a picture, but accidently got it on video after Summer's arm already had fallen.
At 3:09 PM, as they were driving home from Hunter's house, Grandma Candy was trying to get a picture of Summer with her arm up (as Candus stated), and she accidentally recorded this (as Candus stated) from the passenger seat as Summer slept, propped up by milk jugs, in the backseat of the truck on the way home from Hunter's house.
Candus asked Grandma Candy, “Is her arm still up?”, Grandma Candy replied, “No”, and Candus responded, “Oh, that’s what I was trying to catch.” According to Candus, Summer had both arms up over her head, like her father would do, and Candus saw this and asked Grandma to take a picture of it, and Grandma accidentally hit video record.
Summer's arm up (bent and over her head) would have been a sign of willful movement. Grandma missed the opportunity to get the picture because Summer's arm went limp, which is no longer a sign of willful movement.
Elle Bee wrote on youtube: "As far as her arm being up, that helps to breathe easier. The instinctive drowning response (involuntary flapping of arms upward) can be mistaken for waterplay. It is, however, the final 20-60 seconds before actual drowning. The same thing happened to me as a child, but I was finally able to get my mouth above water. Back in the old days, people used to pump a drowning person's arms up and down to assist their breathing."
miraclehearts2 wrote on youtube: "In the milk jug photo, something stood out to me. I have two children with complex heart defects, so it's something I am very familiar with. If you look at the color of summers lips, they are very dark. Doctors call it "blue". It's indicative of central cyanosis. It means the oxygen level in the body is low due to circulatory or ventilatory problems."
Marco DeiM wrote on youtube: "I'm a qualified medical professional; there is no way to make any real assessments without large high definition authenticated photos of a body, how in the world could anyone not possessing such photos make any real determination. I can only look at the low resolution images that were splashed on the internet like everyone else, there is not enough detail or any guarantee the images were not altered. At best, only a general opinion about the unreliable internet images could be made. I would not make any professional comments about the Summer milk jug photo/video and I would not trust anyone, medical professional or not that made public determinations. As presented in the internet image, the position of Summer, her circumstances and clothing in the milk jugs photo are extremely unusual. I believe that's the most that could responsibly be said at this point. As a physician, I suspect you would have to have an agenda, be getting paid or not have enough experience with deceased human bodies to draw medical conclusion from the Summer milk jug image. I could argue either way as none of what I've heard medically is accurate regarding Summer, and the image it far too ambiguous. I do appreciate that we are all still talking about Summer, the missing 5 year old baby....this situation is repugnant...keep Summer's name and face everywhere you can, we can't forget about these missing kids. FYI: Pre-Mid-Post rigor mortis (less likely mid rigor) a human body CAN move, including limbs that are unrestrained and are jostled when placed in motion; as in a human body (vital or not vital) seat belted into a back seat of a moving car."
kate race wrote on youtube: "I noticed in the photo of Summer in the back of the car (there is a clear close up of Summer from a montage on youtube) that it clearly shows Summer has very BLUE finger nail beds, which is alarming, because it is a sign of CYANOSIS, a condition that indicates the body is in distress. And it may also be an indication of a serious internal body condition, including poor lung function and poor heart function, not just from being cold. I feel Summer has had plenty of time to warm up in the clothes she had on in the car."
Katie Kane wrote on youtube: "I keep going back to Hunter & Summer alone in the truck with fruit flavored nicotine vapes. Cyanosis would be what we see in the last video. If this was the scenario, only H & Summer would know. H seemed unable to recall the seating when he got out of truck. A few hits off a vape or a tiny amount of liquid wouldn't be missed or noticed & it's enough to poison a tiny girl. Remember Candus contacted H after Summer got gone. Just a theory."
Mikelle Callahan wrote on youtube: "At the one prayer vigil where both Don and Candus were in attendance, Candus reached out to touch Don's arm for her own comfort. Don didn't reciprocate the gesture. It kinda felt like she was sorry for something. If they all know what happened, that might explain Don's lack of response to Candus and why Grandus left quickly. This way she is at a safe distance to defend Candus when she's ready to do so. Grandus defended Candus but was vague on details. And although she doesn't like Don she really didn't have much details there other than her dislike of him. Shes away because she wants to control her narrative as well. She doesn't want to say the wrong thing. I'm sure she's not much help to her sister with that bad knee, wouldn't you agree? She needed Candus to help her with her brace but she was able to drive herself to Wisconsin? She knows. They all know."
kim peridore wrote on youtube: "Don, in one of the first interviews, said: 'I always knew something would happen to Summer.' And he says that he told Candus she needed to be careful with Summer. And, one week later, he says: 'I'll see her in the Resurrection'."
Angelina Miari wrote on youtube: "My cousin lives in Franklin County, TN but her father in law is from Jonesborough. He says that, because of Don admitting to SA on his 5 year old stepsister and blaming her for it, then the fact that Summer is the same age now & Don said she slept with him every night, nobody in that area wants anything to do with them. Nobody goes to prayer vigils or takes food to them anymore because they don't want to be associated with that type of behavior. He says that people had been trying to help them up to that point, but nobody believes anything they say anymore."
Jenny Rodriguez wrote on youtube: "I can’t help but wonder if she was under water long enough to have taken in water and her fatigue was actually a symptom of submersion damage to her lungs. If no one was aware of her actual status and hours passed, could she have passed as a result and the mom felt she needed to cover it up with an abduction story. Given the record with child and family services and her substance addiction, wouldn’t she feel pressure to cover it up? Any amount of time a small child is under water can be dangerous and warrant getting checked out by a medical professional, especially if she fell asleep right after."
Simply Me wrote on youtube: "Yeah...isn't there a whole back area they could have put groceries...and, with the seatbelt like that, she could have laid down...they wanted to prop her because they wanted her upright because something wasn't right...the girl was dying and she called Don...probably understating the seriousness...scared as hell. Why was 911 not called? Long term physical and sexual abuse would show
up on autopsy. CPS was already involved from the call in June and Don's
arrest in Oct. 2020. She wouldn’t want to go to the ER if they were all as high as kites!"
Monica Price wrote on youtube: "I'm from Rogersville. There are rocks and large limbs where Summer was swimming. What happened to Summer was at the water hole. Hunter in the beginning said to someone in his family that he thought Summer was under water longer than he thought she should have been... one minute or longer... secondary drowning ... concussion... negligence/accidental. Candus went to Hunter's house after Summer went missing and had him change his story [on Thursday, June 17th]. Then Hunter said Summer was under water for 5-10 seconds. Then in the interview with Chris, it was 4 seconds or less. Hunter's story then was all over the place. Alcohol and drugs were involved. Candus panicked. Candus and her mother know where Summer is...I'm sure they also know what happened to Rose... Summer is in Heaven with her Heavenly Father and suffering no more."
Marlena Cantu wrote on youtube: "Let's also remember that last call that Chris McDonough played for us and the message from Trish that Tiffany Marie showed. He said.... "If I get another strike, I'm going to prison for 25 years to life." I do believe there was an accident at the swimming hole and they had to cover it up because they both tested positive for cocaine and they were afraid of being arrested for child neglect."
Jessy Miles wrote on youtube:
Hummingbirds Oliver wrote on youtube: "Could it be possible that a member of the local police department be involved in the SA ( business) with Little Summer ?? Local law enforcement officers, I should have said. As the saying goes 'there is a rotten apple in every basket'. I have had experience with a few, they DO exist. So, they could be delaying progress." If there's a pedophile ring involved, LE associated with the ring are gonna want Candus and Don to take the blame before the ring goes down
Other theories have Candus and Grandma Candy, with or without Don's knowledge, trafficking Summer to a pedophile ring (this could mean that she was supposed to come home afterward but something terribly wrong happened and she never made it home on June 15th). Both Candus and Don have sex offenders on their friends' list.
Psychic Reverend Donna Seraphina (see videos above and below) says that Candus repeatedly sold Summer to her sex offender friends and that she wanted to get rid of Summer for good (with Grandma Candy's encouragement) because she was jealous of Don's unnatural affection toward his daughter.
This would explain why Candus and Grandma Candy only brought Summer along with them and left the three boys at home on June 15th, and why Don was gone from his job site in Jonesborough for 35 minutes, from 3:00-3:35 PM (co-workers have confirmed this with the youtube creator TrueCrime Commentary, and this matches the time that Don said everything was erased from their phones). If he met up with Candus, it means that Summer never made it home that day.
It could be that Summer was drugged after swimming at the horse pond to make it easier for them to hand off Summer to the man or men who bought Summer, permanently, on June 15th.
And the video recording at 3:09 PM of Summer asleep in the backseat of the truck was taken just before Candus and Grandma Candy turned left from Lone Star Road onto Old Blairs Gap Road (see map above) and drove toward Jonesborough to deliver Summer to the buyer(s). So, in Jonesborough, or somewhere in between the left turn and Jonesborough, Summer was handed off.
It's also possible that Don and Candus premediated Summer's disappearance, and the abduction they are claiming is a scam to get sympathy money from the public via gofundme, etc., plus split the reward money with the person they prearranged to "find" Summer. So, money could be the motivation, and they staged Summer's disappearance, meaning she is alive and has been in hiding with a friend or friends outside the area, perhaps in Utah. Don and Candus possibly waited a few hours to call law enforcement to report Summer missing in order to give the driver(s) time to get across state lines with Summer.
Amy Griffin wrote on youtube: "I'm seriously beginning to wonder if this whole entire thing is a scam. That maybe they have Summer hidden with someone and they did all of this for money and had no idea how big this would get. That just hit me this morning. It could also explain the lack of emotion when it comes to Summer. Why they keep on insisting that she was 'taken' and why they keep the drama going. I mean, if they are perfectly capable of lying to Mary like this, they are capable of lying about ANYTHING. Candus missed her calling; she should have been an actress. Scammers are gonna scam."
prfisleR replied on youtube: "@Amy Griffin That wouldn't surprise me at all. It's been done before (the mother/stepfather were caught and the girl found alive). Eerily similar circumstances: low income family, parents involved in drugs, prior social services involvement. If you aren't familiar with the case, Google Shannon Matthews 'missing' out of West Yorkshire England. Several episodes about the case have appeared on various crime shows over there."
Roro wrote: "Summers finger tips are edged blue around her nails (and the cuticles) in the truck photo with the milk jugs."
Jo wrote: "Why is the bottom lip on right side so much darker than the rest of her mouth? Or is it?"
GretzBGuilty Jackson wrote: "The 1st thing to catch my attention is the fact Summer is sleeping against cold milk jugs. That would burn her little face. I tried it and had to move my face after a few seconds. Try it and tell me what you think!!!"
Deidra Clayton wrote: "There is no child who is going to sleep on 2 gallons of milk cold - that would make their side of their face hurt - think about it."
Leslie mashmann wrote: "Her color is good - especially for someone who has pale coloring. There is no cyanosis of her lips or nailbeds. Her hand is in a neutral position. She could be sleeping. She could be drugged. She is not dead or dying. However, if secondary drowning is her problem, the child will be exhausted, then the more obvious symptoms will start, and they just have not started yet." Within a few minutes of death, skin color changes, drastically, and lips get cyanotic (blue).
Akiva Pearlman wrote: "The milk jugs are not sweating from condensation. Either they were put in there MOMENTS ago (and how could she fall asleep so deeply, so fast?) or they reached full outdoor temperatures (windows are open - it is HOT in TN) and someone wiped them down thoroughly? Unlikely... fishy."
Samantha Caine wrote: "She looks too stiff and to be sleeping in cold wet jugs? I’d never let my baby sleep like that. And all bundled up like that when Candus is wearing a tank top."
thefreckledrobin wrote: "If you have kids, you've seen how their necks get all kinked up while sleeping in the car. I've NEVER seen their necks stiff like this while sleeping."
Amie S wrote: "I know if I pass out on something, my neck would be bent and my face would be touching the jug more."
Angel On A Mission wrote: "Her head is stiff to the milk jugs - the neck would flex some if she were sleeping. Her hands have the death claw look rather than a relaxed natural look when you sleep. She is very pale. "Does she still have her arm up"?"
Betty Jean wrote: "I thought the same thing. She looks propped up, rigid, especially her neck. The shoulder strap isn't on her...my kids, when falling asleep in the car as little ones, flopped forward, especially their little heads, never rigid and palms up. Also where are the wet clothes she swam in. It was a dress. I hope they are carefully picking apart their timeline."
Summer could have died from secondary drowning on the drive home or shortly after arriving home around 3:30 PM (the youtube channel Plunder states the time they arrived home as 3:14 PM, because Candus has stated that they were five minutes from home when the video was recorded, which puts them at the junction of Lone Star Road and Murrell Road). Summer may have been nodding in and out of consciousness before Candus and Grandma Candy realized Summer was no longer alive.
Looking at someone eyes, you would know without a doubt whether or not they had died.
Candus and Grandma would not have known that Summer was dying from a near-drowning incident. They probably just thought she was tired.
Chris McDonough of The Interview Room has a three-part series with Steve Johnson of truth2lies.com. If you only watch one video, watch part 3.
By analyzing Don's interviews with Chris, Steve is convinced that Summer's death was accidental.
Summer's fingernails are blue around the edges and the cuticles in the photo and video of her in the back seat of Grandma's truck. Summer probably was slowing dying from secondary drowning.
Meaning, her lungs had water in them, reducing the lungs' ability to oxygenate the blood as it passes through. When your blood is not properly oxygenated, it's called hypoxemia. One symptom of hypoxemia: bluish color in skin, fingernails, and lips.
The heart does not slow down appreciably during this process, so the victim can still walk and talk. But eventually the child will begin to show signs similar to a cold or the flu, such as extreme fatigue, coughing, vomiting and sometimes fever, and they may have trouble breathing.
Vomiting or involuntary defecation immediately following a swimming session should be considered a red flag.
A sudden change in personality or energy level, such as agitation or extreme lethargy, may be a sign of oxygen deprivation.
To survive, you would have needed emergency medical care. A child sometimes will need supplemental oxygen; or, if they’re very sick, they may require the insertion of a breathing tube to help them breathe while their lungs have a chance to heal.
Secondary or “delayed” drowning happens when a child inhales water into his or her lungs, causing inflammation or edema (swelling). The water irritates the lungs which could cause them to fill with fluid – this is known as pulmonary edema – making it difficult to breathe.
Secondary drowning can happen in adults, but most cases of secondary drowning involve young children.
It has been reported that it only takes 20 seconds for a child to drown and roughly 40 seconds for an adult—and in some cases, it can take as little as a ½ cup of water to enter the lungs for the phenomenon to occur.
Swallowing water is not drowning. “Sometimes you will notice that someone will exit a pool or the ocean and begin coughing and spitting out water,” he says. “It is likely that this person has allowed water to enter their stomach—and perhaps some has reached the lungs, too.” In many cases, coughing will allow the body to remove the liquid. If coughing persists after 20-30 minutes, seek medical attention.
If you notice that someone is coughing, vomiting, has trouble breathing, complains of tightness in the chest, has difficulty speaking and/or experiences any changes in levels of consciousness after being in the water, call 9-1-1.
In some cases of secondary drowning, enough water has entered the lungs to cause a drop in blood oxygen levels, and death may occur between one and 48 hours later.
Having low oxygen levels in your blood is called hypoxemia.
Hypoxemia causing brain damage is the major complication in drowning victims who do not die.
Direct lung tissue damage caused by water aspirated into the lung can also occur and may lead to pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Hypoxemia occurs when levels of oxygen in the blood are lower than normal. If blood oxygen levels are too low, your body may not work properly.
Blood carries oxygen to the cells throughout your body to keep them healthy. Hypoxemia can cause mild problems such as headaches and shortness of breath. In severe cases, it can interfere with heart and brain function.
What are the symptoms of hypoxemia?
Symptoms of hypoxemia vary depending on the severity of the condition. They include:
Headache
Shortness of breath
Fast heartbeat
Coughing
Wheezing
Confusion
Bluish color in skin, fingernails, and lips
How do doctors diagnose hypoxemia?
To diagnose hypoxemia, your doctor will do a physical examination to listen to your heart and lungs. Abnormalities in these organs can be a sign of low blood oxygen.
Your doctor may also check to see if your skin, lips, or fingernails look bluish.
In 2008, a 10-year-old boy in South Carolina died in his bed an hour after swimming in a pool for the first time. His death was attributed to a phenomenon known as secondary drowning.
This condition can be difficult to recognize, since the victim initially appears to be OK after a near-drowning incident. In some cases, however, enough water has entered the lungs to cause a drop in blood oxygen levels, and death may occur between one and 48 hours later.
This condition is sometimes confused with dry drowning, in which a laryngospasm causes suffocation.
Only a small amount of fluid in the lungs can cause secondary drowning.
Contrary to popular belief, drowning does not necessarily involve a wholesale ingestion or aspiration of water or other fluids.
During cases of secondary drowning, very little fluid is actually present in the victim's lungs. This small amount of liquid is still enough to make the lungs no longer able to deliver life-sustaining oxygen to the bloodstream, however, and the victim eventually succumbs to the lack of oxygenated blood. Death is generally attributed to a pulmonary edema, similar to the effects of acute pneumonia or wet drowning.
Pulmonary edema refers to a medical condition characterized by the build up of fluid around the lungs.
One thing which makes this condition so difficult to detect is its slow acting nature. A victim may breathe in a very small amount of fluid and believe he or she has successfully expelled it through coughing.
In reality, the water may fill up some of the oxygen-rich pores of the lungs, reducing the lungs' ability to oxygenate the blood as it passes through.
The heart does not slow down appreciably during this process, so the victim can still walk and talk.
The only symptoms may be a sudden change in personality or level of awareness as the blood oxygen level drops over time.
Victims may not feel the effects of secondary drowning immediately.
Secondary drowning may later strike a patient who appears to be fine after a near-drowning incident.
Children and anyone who has experienced a near-drowning should be watched closely after leaving a swimming area.
Vomiting or involuntary defecation immediately following a swimming session should be considered a red flag. A sudden change in personality or energy level, such as agitation or extreme lethargy, may be a sign of oxygen deprivation.
If a child has inhaled water while swimming, he or she should be observed for several hours for signs of labored breathing or altered mental status.
Successful treatment for victims depends on a swift response and a quick diagnosis by trained medical personnel.
Often confused with secondary drowning is a condition called dry drowning. Although this condition has a number of causes, it can occur in a near-drowning incident, when the larynx closes to prevent the person from inhaling water or other fluids; this reflex action is known as a laryngospasm. Ordinarily, this laryngospasm should only last 30 to 60 seconds, but in the case of dry drowning, it can continue for several minutes. Meanwhile, the diaphragm drops, creating a partial vacuum in the lungs. Instead of drawing in a breath of outside air, however, this action pulls more oxygen-starved blood into the lungs.
Dry drowning usually happens immediately after the child has breathed water into their lungs, and you’ll notice these symptoms of dry drowning quickly. When a child breathes a small amount of water into their lungs, something that can happen when there struggling to swim, gets splashed in the face, goes underwater, swallows water, or is dunked, the water that’s breathed in through the mouth or nose gets caught in the child’s airways. The vocal cords then begin to spasm from inflammation, swell and close up once you’ve already left the pool. Water in the lungs can cause swelling that forces the airways to close shut, making it difficult, if not impossible for a person to breathe.
Secondary drowning is where a child seems fine after getting out of the pool or a body of water, but then begins to shown signs of trouble breathing, persistently coughing and exhibiting symptoms similar to a cold or the flu, such as extreme fatigue, vomiting and sometimes fever.
Secondary drowning symptoms can happen anywhere from 1 – 24 hours after you’ve been swimming.
While secondary drowning is extremely rare, it can be life threatening and, when serious, requires immediate medical attention.
Some Basic Facts About Secondary Drowning
A child who exhibits serious and/or uncharacteristic fatigue after swimming may be at risk.
Secondary drowning is caused when water is inhaled into the lungs. As a result, inflammation and swelling occurs.
Edema (swelling) can occur for hours or even days and death is delayed due to the swelling of the air sacs in the lungs which prevents oxygen from reaching the bloodstream.
Because death is delayed, there are symptoms to watch out for:
Difficulty breathing
Irritability
Vomiting
Choking
Persistent coughing
Lethargy
Despite being rare occurrences, you must seek immediate medical attention if you suspect that your child is experiencing dry or secondary drowning.
You may have heard about secondary drowning in the news or on TV shows (it’s part of the story line on Showtime’s “The Affair,” for example). You may wonder what it is and how it can be prevented.
The good news is that secondary drowning (which is actually a misnomer) is very rare.
Here’s what you need to know about the different types of drowning, how to recognize the symptoms of secondary drowning, what to do if you suspect your child is suffering from secondary drowning, and more.
What are the different types of drowning?
Fatal drowning is when the lungs fill with water after a person is submerged in water, and death occurs.
Non-fatal drowning is when a child survives, even for a brief period of time, after being submerged in water. It can lead to what’s commonly referred to as secondary drowning, although the medical community is trying to move away from the term secondary drowning, since it’s more of a delayed drowning.
When does delayed drowning typically occur?
After being briefly submerged in water, an affected child may gag and cough a little but will seem fine for a while. However, the small amount of water that she has aspirated into her airway will spark an inflammatory response, which will cause her lungs to slowly fill with fluid (known as pulmonary edema); that’s why symptoms don’t appear until hours later.
What symptoms should I look out for after a near-drowning event?
Children with underlying lung problems such as asthma, or those with little or no experience swimming, are at slightly higher risk for delayed drowning.
If your child exhibits any of these symptoms after a near-drowning event, seek medical help right away:
Coughing or breathing difficulties.
These problems are the most common symptoms, and they’re not subtle — think frequent and uncontrollable coughing and/or visible shortness of breath. Older children may complain of chest pain.
Lethargy or unusual fatigue.
It can be hard to tell whether your child is exhausted from a long day in the sun, or it’s something more. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and get medical help.
Behavioral changes, or inappropriate behavior.
This includes unusual crankiness or irritability in a child. An older child may lose bowel or bladder control.
How are children who develop these symptoms treated?
They should go to the hospital right away. They’ll sometimes need supplemental oxygen; or, if they’re very sick, they may require the insertion of a breathing tube to help them breathe while their lungs have a chance to heal.
How can I help keep my child safe in the water?
NEVER leave him unattended in the water, even if a lifeguard is present. ALWAYS keep an eye on your child when he is in the water.
Teach your child to swim. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children may start swimming lessons as early as age 1; it is recommended that all children over age 4 take swim lessons. But, even children who have taken swimming lessons can still drown.
NEVER allow children or adolescents to swim alone.
Never use flotation devices in place of adult supervision. Even if your child has a raft, she should be supervised.
Take infant and child CPR courses, and have your babysitter take them as well. As you gets older, you may want to take refresher classes as well.
Sadly, death from drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury in children ages 1 to 4 and the second most common in children ages 1 to 14.
For every child who dies of drowning, there are five children who seek emergency care for non-fatal submersion injuries that can have serious consequences.
Luckily, all types of drowning are preventable.
Don's niece Trish said he went to jail and was bonded $50,000, he no longer has a Facebook, and is not answering phone calls.
9/01/2021
In the early morning hours of Wednesday September 1st 2021, agents with the sexual assault task force southeast division served an arrest warrant against Donald Wesley Wells Jr, Age 56, of Rogersville, TN for the sexual assault of several women and young girls going back over 2 decades. Wells was taken into custody without incident. He was transported to the Washington County TN jail for processing and is awaiting a hearing on his extradition to the state these assaults were alleged to have occurred in.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information is obtained.
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The following are comments from reddit on September 2, 2021 regarding Candus's prank call to Don's stepsister Mary, who has been active as a guest on the youtube channel Unmasked (Mary recorded the call, and the call has been published on many youtube channels since it was first revealed on Unmasked).
carpe-jvgvlvm wrote:
Candus called Mary out of the blue last night (I think), and did this call, all upset (Mary has her on her phone so it was Candus), and Mary recorded it because these people are crazy. Then Mary called Chris McDunnuh like, 6 times today, and called police (learned that Don wasn't hauled in), BUT she kept her mouth shut except to tell family.
Family blew it out on FB, and they were called liars (it's what started the Don's in jail rumours), so family got Mary to play the recording on Unmasked YT channel (which all the locals have been on, and they have a good rep).
Sandy2065 wrote:
It's hard for me to believe Mary about things anymore. Not about her saying she was sexually abused when she was younger, I believe that, but it’s the recent things I am skeptical or just shaking my head trying to understand. Things like:
Think about if the phone call was a setup by Candus and Don to see if they could trust Mary enough to talk to her and they did it to see if Mary would automatically call Chris McDonough (she did numerous times even before she called police).
Mary on this video is like, ‘I am going after him and have filed charges and I don’t understand why he wont talk to me…’
Why does she care if he got beat up by gangsters when she doesn’t seem to care that he will be beat up and probably killed as a SO in prison?
It just doesn't add up. I think she isn't thinking very clearly because McDonough has pushed her into doing things she wasn't ready for and she doesn't have a counselor or crime victims advocate helping her through any of this.
I get the feeling that since McD injected himself into this missing persons case everyone has been manipulated and used in some insane game between Don Wells and Chris McDonough, who once again said in this video, as others, that he has been talking to investigators in this case, so that means an insane game between Don Wells and police investigating Summer Wells disappearance. If police don't want people to think they are doing this through Chris McDonough they would stop giving him insider info, in my opinion.
carpe-jvgvlvm wrote:
Yeah, this is some Q stuff with these "breadcrumbs" going on forever and ever down a rabbit hole. McDunnah and Grandus are probably running this show to see how stupid we all are (laughing because it's a half-decent troll, except where's the kid? Summer was a real girl... I think).
I unsubbed most of the YTer's crap because those stupid people THREATEN chatters and block them for a few minutes like they're CONTROLLING people —and IF people are "good", and super-chat enough, they MIGHT let you hear some "true crime" phone call?
Sandy2065 wrote:
More drama turned into the poor poor me Chris McD show. He even said that it's because he had a talk with some 'real investigators' right before this.
Ever since he became involved in this case it went into crazy-ville. He baits the Wells on social media and then they bait him back. It all has nothing to do with Summer Wells.
Also, once again, Chris McDonough is saying he has insider information. He says he talked to the investigator that Mary spoke to a few days ago (at about 1:01mins).
arpe-jvgvlvm wrote:
Yes. Either the Tiffany Marie channel that had Mary on, or Unmasked (sorry, I totally can't remember which but I think TM) didn't want to play the "next day Candus" call. Apparently Mary called Candus a lot but Don/Candus phones were turned off. Then Mary/Candus "touched base" and Mary recorded it. We know only that Mary said Candus sounded "normal" like nothing had happened??? ...but Tiffany Marie (or Unmasked channel?) said they wanted to wait a day before playing that recording.
Me, rolling my eyeballs ---> 🙄
Sigh.
This $h*znit sounds like that stupid Q hoax with "breadcrumbs" (which apparently some people fell for hard). Doesn't this sound like "breadcrumbs" and a rabbit hole to you, too?
These YT channels are making BANK on us listening to this. It's funny imo — none of 'em care about a missing girl, but they're ROASTING anyone (like me, admittedly) who tries to LISTEN to this BS.
I won't sub any YT channel about Summer or crime anymore. They're all in it for the money.
But I guess I'll go to the link for whoever has Mary's call, and Chris' "ideas" about "the crime".
BUT I'd much rather listen to TBI or Sheriff Lawson talking about throwing that family in prison, and a few YTers too.
Sandy2065 wrote:
Do you think they would have done this if Chris McDonough hadn't provoked them day and night? On the channel he was on last night he said he intentionally posted the 4 am bait of 'something interesting is going to happen today' and again at the afternoon post of his he said he did it intentionally to provoke them.
Not sure what to think of all this because Chris keeps claiming he talked to LE, even said he talked to the investigator Mary talked to and that they gave him info. I wonder if LE is asking Chris to do this stuff...
carpe-jvgvlvm wrote:
"Chris keeps claiming he talked to LE even said he talked to the investigator Mary talked to and that they gave him info. I wonder if LE is asking Chris to do this stuff..."
IDK, TBI Leslie already tweeted she had nothing to do with McDunnu. (Didn't ask for his help; doesn't need his help; etc.)
Chris baiting Don... it's all fishy, yeah. It's trashy, actually. Chris and the rest of them could be throwing a MURDER 1 case imo, IF this whole thing isn't a psy-op (and that stays on the table as a possibility, until LE makes a move! Why haven't they done ANYTHING? Maybe Summer's whereabouts are known and all this is like that Q stupidity??)
But I guess it's not illegal to bait a suspect? I'm not sure.
I'd like to see LE throw these YouTubers in prison (via FBI since internet crosses state lines!!!) as well as waterboard these hellhound "parents" who can play "jokes" like this when their DAUGHTER is supposedly missing.
I've been calling "Q" or psy-op on this, but I'd jump over to the "put em in jail" side so easily if LE actually ever DID something. Besides run up huge bills "searching" (they're not searching) for Summer.
LE didn't ask Chris to do anything though, even if this is a psy-op or a hoax.
Chris is just like Cher and others: tryna make money.
Around the one-hour mark in the video above, Cher and Jay is 4 Justice said that Don mentioned to them both (Cher twice) that it was a waste of time for divers to check the lake for Summer's body. Melissa Robinette wrote on youtube: "The divers down there, the last few days or less then a week ago, were not down there because of Summer. They found an adult male's body. A friend of mine's son was fishing with a friend of his, and a body/remains were found. So they sent a dive team out searched for anything or anyone else (evidence, etc.)."
The following is an article about a 9-year-old girl who was abducted from Rogersville, TN, in 2016.
CBS News
May 13, 2016
Two men are being called heroes for their dramatic rescue of a Tennessee girl after she was allegedly abducted by her uncle.
The men found 9-year-old Carlie Marie Trent Thursday in remote back country, more than a week after she disappeared.
The area so remote, police needed four-wheel drive vehicles just to reach her, reports CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca.
Carlie was rescued by two civilians, Donnie Lawson and Stuart Franklin, who were scouring the property for any traces of the pair. Lawson called police while Franklin pointed his gun at the suspect, 57-year-old Gary Simpson.
"There's a lot of abandoned cabins in the area and it's a lot of wilderness in here, so just wanted to be sure and check the area out," Franklin said.
Since last week, officials have been saturating the air waves and social media with images of Trent and Simpson, believing they were still in the area. Surveillance cameras captured Simpson and Trent at two different stores. Investigators say he bought camping supplies and various items for young girls.
Police feared she was in danger and issued an amber alert last Thursday to try to find her.
"We felt she was in danger, imminent danger, because our intelligence was telling us that," Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) director Mark Gwyn said.
Simpson is Carlie's uncle by marriage. He allegedly took her out of school last Wednesday after falsely telling school officials her father had been in a bad accident.
"He wanted her and he wanted her all to himself," Carlie's father, James Trent, said last week.
He said Simpson was "obsessed" with his daughter.
"I'm just wondering -- how is she going to be? Is she going to be as happy as she was? ... That's what I worry about -- just that she won't be the same," Trent said.
Simpson has been charged with especially aggravated kidnapping. He had just been added to the state's 10 most wanted list prior to his capture. The case generated intense interest in Tennessee. Investigators received 1,850 tips in seven days.
"You look at the photos and the videos of her and there's no way that doesn't touch your heart," said Margie Quin, TBI statewide amber alert coordinator. "I think the public was very invested in bringing Carlie home."
Police said Carlie appeared to be okay when she was rescued, but she was taken to Johnson City Medical Center to be properly evaluated.
The school district said Simpson was once Carlie's legal guardian and had parental authorization to pick her up from school. It said all procedures were properly followed when they allowed him to take her away.
2010
DEBRA STRECKENBACH
Location Found: Stephenson, Marinette County, Wisconsin
Found Date: 10/19/2010
Age: 39
Marinette County, Wis. (WFRV) - The human remains found during the Oct. 19th fire in Marinette County have been identified. The remains of the victim who died in a fire in the Town of Stephenson have been identified through DNA testing as 39-year-old Debra Streckenbach. The fire started around 2 a.m. on Oct. 19 at a residence in the Town of Stephenson, located northwest of Crivitz. Dispatched to the scene were the Town of Stephenson Fire Department and the Marinette County Sheriff's Department. The location of the fire took place approximately 10 miles northwest of the Village of Crivitz. The house and detached garage were fully engulfed and totally destroyed. The fire is still under investigation by the Sheriff's Department.
Eight Years Later: Family of Marinette County Mother of Two Seeks Answers in her Death
Pittsfield, Wis. (WFRV)
October 19, 2018
"They did not find all of her remains so we know it was a homicide," Diane Streckenbach said.
Eight years after Diane Streckenbach's world was turned upside down by her daughter's death, she is demanding answers.
The remains of 39-year-old Debra Streckenbach were found after her home burned to the ground on October 19, 2010.
"I just keep thinking every day, you know, wondering what she went through," Diane told Local 5 on the eight year anniversary of her daughter's death.
Debra's death remains a mystery, although investigators at first assumed she had died in the fire that destroyed her home.
Diane had been on vacation in Florida with Debra's two children at the time of the fire. She says that Debra was supposed to join them later in the week, as she only had three vacation days to use.
When Debra didn't show up for work, Diane was notified. She told Debra's boss to call the Marinette County Sheriff's Office.
It wasn't long before Diane received another call, this one about the fire.
"We got a flight out right away, came home," Diane remembers."[We] went up to the house, and there was nothing left. Everything had burnt to the ground. The children lost everything along with their mother."
Diane says she was initially given a death certificate for Debra that listed her as having died in the fire.
"I said it's not possible," Diane told Local 5. She asked for an autopsy, and the results changed everything.
"It came back that there was no smoke, alcohol, or drugs in her body," she told Local 5. "They gave me a death certificate that said 'Undetermined,' because this is an open case."
Local 5 reached out to the Marinette County Sheriff's Office, but they declined to comment on the case for this story.
Since Debra's death, Diane has taken care of her two grandchildren.
She says that she will not have closure until what happened to Debra is discovered, and justice is served.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Marinette County Sheriff's Office.
2015
Missing Since: 10/11/2015
Age: 14
DOB: April 18, 2001
Age: 14
DOB: April 18, 2001
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5’07”
Weight: 150
Mackenzie may use the last name "Doll."
Mackenzie Marken was last seen at her house in Weston, WI, on October 11, 2015 (some sources say October 12). Her mom was worried but thought she’d turn up. On October 14, 2015, her mom called police. Investigators initially thought she had run away and a friend or acquaintance was helping her hide. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. Years later, Mackenzie is still missing.
Shortly after her disappearance, there were leads that she had been seen at her high school and a local park. The leads went nowhere and went cold.
This link has a lot of facts about the case and some insight on her behaviors from friends.
CATALINA WEST-ESQUIVEL
Mackenzie Marken was last seen at her house in Weston, WI, on October 11, 2015 (some sources say October 12). Her mom was worried but thought she’d turn up. On October 14, 2015, her mom called police. Investigators initially thought she had run away and a friend or acquaintance was helping her hide. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. Years later, Mackenzie is still missing.
Shortly after her disappearance, there were leads that she had been seen at her high school and a local park. The leads went nowhere and went cold.
This link has a lot of facts about the case and some insight on her behaviors from friends.
CATALINA WEST-ESQUIVEL
Missing From: Milwaukee, WI
Missing Since: 11/23/2015
Age: 17
Age: 17
DOB: December 22, 1998
Sex: Female
Race: Hispanic
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5’01”
Weight: 100
November 28, 2015
Milwaukee, WI – On Friday, Milwaukee County Supervisor Peggy Romo West confirmed that she has been in contact with her young daughter Catalina West-Esquivel after she went missing for several days.
Members of the Milwaukee Southside community began to circulate photos of missing West-Esquivel including one with an unidentified male friend in Facebook.
Milwaukee, WI – On Friday, Milwaukee County Supervisor Peggy Romo West confirmed that she has been in contact with her young daughter Catalina West-Esquivel after she went missing for several days.
Members of the Milwaukee Southside community began to circulate photos of missing West-Esquivel including one with an unidentified male friend in Facebook.
West-Esquivel was reported missing to police.
On Friday, Supervisor Romo West thanked the community for their kind efforts to help locate West-Esquivel. Supervisor Romo West posted:
“Thank you very much for the outpouring of support. I’m sorry I cannot get back to everyone but please know I have been in touch with Catalina West-Esquivel. She has been reported missing however she is rebelling so she is safe somewhere I just don’t know where. My family & I are very grateful and appreciate the prayers.”
2016
Missing From: Chippewa Falls, WI
Missing Since: 06/22/2016
Age: 23
DOB: June 24, 1993
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5’07”
Weight: 135
Shannah was last seen on June 22, 2016 near I-94 and County Road 74 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She was wearing
a tan tank top, black leggings, and no shoes. Police believe she does not know anyone in the area and does
not have a cell phone. She was possibly headed to California. Boiteau has a history of drug abuse. Caution is advised when approaching her.
Unique Identifiers: Tattoo of “Milli” behind right ear and tattoo of two sparrows on her hips.
HEATHER ARCHER
Missing From: Milwaukee, WI
Unique Identifiers: Tattoo of “Milli” behind right ear and tattoo of two sparrows on her hips.
HEATHER ARCHER
Missing From: Milwaukee, WI
Missing Since: 07/08/2016
Age: 27
Age: 27
DOB: January 18, 1989
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 150 lbs
Heather Archer was last seen July 8, 2016. She is known to frequent the areas of 20th and Greenfield Avenue and 10th and Lincoln Avenue in Milwaukee. She may travel by bus or on foot.
Other Case Near Wisconsin State Line
Mishow was last seen in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 6:00 p.m. on October 26, 2006. She has never been heard from again. Mishow's last known address was in the 2200 block of 11th Avenue south in Minneapolis. Few details are available in her case.
Other Case Near Wisconsin State Line
Missing Since: 01/08/2007
Age: 22
Age: 22
DOB: September 22, 1984
Sex: Female
Race: Native American
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Height: 5’2”
Weight: 100 lbs
Mishow has a tattoo of angel wings and the cartoon character Tweety Bird on the back of her shoulder. Her nose is pierced and her ears are pierced two or three times each, with both upper and lower piercings. She has a scar on her right elbow and a skin discoloration on her thigh.
Source: https://www.missingpersons.doj.wi.gov/wisconsin-missing-persons
Source: https://www.missingpersons.doj.wi.gov/wisconsin-missing-persons
That's irrelevant. Most serial killers are married with children, living normal lives. #askzellner https://t.co/cyCkry0vZq— Kathleen Zellner (@ZellnerLaw) November 15, 2018
When I was on the phone with Barbie the other day, I asked about where Bobby has been hiding out, "Oh he's around" Barb replied. I said rumor has it that his wife Kendra left him. She said that's not true, apparently.— Brad Dassey (@braddasseymusic) November 18, 2018
Laffy Taffy wrote on youtube: "The sharp NO! from Grandma has always alarmed me. While I don’t think Summer’s deceased yet in the backseat, I think she’s beyond help they refused to get for her, addicts are ALWAYS paranoid of getting cops involved, knowing they’ll get tested even if it was an accident to see if they were impaired for a host of neglect, failure to render aid, more charges, immediate loss of her other kids which was going to happen either way, and it’s been established no one can account for DW going to work that day or not, his boss/any coworkers under him never did any interviews saying he worked, but he was sure to come back after the work day ended showing off his fancy eye catching new red car to make sure people noticed him. The TBI knows and have told them to keep the damaging information quiet, to keep DW talking and telling all these ridiculous lies like beating the cops, the dogs not being there, the cops bringing Candus a bottle on and on and on, they have been letting him dig his own hole and that stunt he and Candus pulled on Mary was sickening!"