The Department of Family Services in Hawkins County, Tennessee, has removed three children from the home where Summer Wells is believed to have disappeared last month.

As investigators continue to search the rural east Tennessee area for the missing five-year-old girl, her three brothers are no longer living with their parents, Don Wells and Candus Bly.

For days, social media groups dedicated to the search for Summer Wells have been abuzz with the unconfirmed reports about Summer’s brothers being removed by social services.

Don Wells told the Kingsport Times News, a local paper in east Tennessee, that the Department of Children’s services did remove the boys from the home. Wells said his sons were not safe at the home.

“There’s too much going on and people are crazier than hell, and right now it’s just not safe at my house,” Wells told the news outlet. “There’s too much going on. Too many crazy people coming around trying to start stuff.”

“People blow this out of proportion. They think my wife – it’s just crazy. It’s just absolutely insane, and it’s not safe for my kids.”

Department of Children’s Services actions are not made public due to privacy laws.

Wells claimed that people have been showing up at his home.

“We’ve had a few people come in the middle of the night,” Wells told the Times News. “We had one – I don’t think he’ll be coming back to our house any more though.”

It is unclear why the boys were taken from their parents’ home, and Wells would not disclose whether his three sons were staying with relatives or in state custody.

“I can’t answer any questions, buddy. I’m not going to go there,” Wells said.

Read CrimeOnline’s complete coverage of the Summer Wells case here.