Tennessee parents' sons in state custody after disappearance of daughter Summer Wells

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The parents of missing Tennessee 5-year-old Summer Wells attended juvenile court this week after their three sons were placed in the custody of that state's Department of Child Protective Services, according to local reports.

The sons of Don Wells and Candus Bly have been in CPS custody since last week, their mother told the Johnson City-based WJHL-TV at the courthouse, confirming statements her husband made on a podcast over the weekend.

She told the station that the boys were removed for reasons unrelated to Summer’s disappearance, and Wells suggested that they were now "safer."

Summer was last seen on June 15 at the family home after her mother said she came inside from gardening with her mom and grandmother. (TBI NEWSROOM)

A spokeswoman for CPS told Fox News the agency is participating in the investigation but could not provide further comment.

Summer was last seen on June 15 at the family home after her mother said she came inside from gardening with her mom and grandmother.

TENNESSEE MISSING GIRL SUMMER WELLS' DAD OPENS UP TO LOCAL NEWSPAPER

The parents have said they believe that someone came up to their rural home, on an 11-acre property, lured her outside and took her.

Investigators have revealed little progress in the six weeks since she went missing – other than updates on where they’ve searched and the hundreds of tips they’ve investigated without any tangible leads.

Investigators have revealed little progress in the six weeks since Summer Wells went missing. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

A statewide Amber Alert remains in effect for Summer.

She is about 3 feet tall and weighs around 40 pounds. At the time she went missing, she was wearing gray pants, a pink shirt and may have been barefoot. Her blonde hair is believed to be shorter than it appears in most of the pictures of her that authorities have circulated to help the search.

Investigators are still looking for a possible witness -- the driver of a red pickup truck, which may have been in the area of Ben Hill Road in Rogersville on June 15 and 16. It had full-sized ladder racks and white buckets in the bed. 

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Investigators say the circumstances surrounding Summer’s disappearance have yet to be determined – but they said they were looking into "all possibilities."

Summer’s parents both have criminal records, and Bly’s sister, Rose Marie Bly, was reported missing from Wisconsin in 2009 in a case that remains unsolved.

Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.