Family hopeful Memphis couple missing in Gatlinburg will be found
As officials continue to search for a Memphis architect and his wife still missing after devastating fires that hit Gatlinburg this week, family and friends are using social media to let loved ones know of updates on the family.
Jon Summers and his wife, Janet, both 61, haven't been found, friends said, and their three sons — Branson, 23, and twins Wesley and Jared, 22, — have been hospitalized after being caught in the fire. All three sons are at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, family friends confirmed.
Parents, boys separated as fire spread
The siblings are all listed in critical but stable condition, a hospital official confirmed Wednesday. Previous social media posts indicated the boys had damage to their lungs.
“The boys are doing much better. That’s great news,” Steve Berger, president of the architectural firm that employs Jon Summers, said Wednesday. “We’re very hopeful about Jon and Janet being located.”
On Wednesday morning, Mike Agee posted on his Facebook page that the parents and their sons were split up as they tried to escape.
Andy Ticer outside Gatlinburg, keeping tabs on missing couple
"What we know is in trying to escape, the family split up once their escape route was blocked by debris in the road. The boys went one way and the parents continued down the road," the post read.
Agee also wrote: "Wesley, Branson and Jared Summers..were found unconscious in Gatlingburg in the midst of wildfires. They were on a family vacation with their parents, Jon and Janet Summers. The sons are at Vanderbilt Medical Center in the burn unit and unconscious as a result of smoke inhalation. We are trying to locate the parents who were probably injured. If anyone knows anything, please let me know."
According to family friend Silas Armstrong, Jared Summers had just moved back to Memphis recently and was working at a restaurant while his brothers remained in Nashville.The brothers previously worked at Hog and Hominy restaurant in East Memphis, a family friend said.
The family is trying to limit hospital visitation to family members, Armstrong said.
Gatlinburg death toll rises to four
Armstrong said the Summers family is very close-knit and that the parents had homeschooled their sons. The Summers were also very supportive of their sons' musical interests.
Jon Summers is an architect at brg3s architects, a local firm that began in 2011. The boys have worked in several Memphis and Nashville restaurants, but had their hearts set on making music. The three boys played in a local band they named after themselves, The Summers.
They are now members of a Nashville-based band, Renaissance Fair. According the band's Facebook page, the group, is an indie rock band consisting of Nicholas Bryley (vocals/guitar), Wesley (guitar/vocals), Jared (bass/vocals), and Branson Summers (drums).
The band released their self-titled debut EP in 2015: https://renaissancefair.bandcamp.com/album/renaissance-fair-ep
On one of her last posts before the fire, Janet Summers wrote this on Facebook: "The fires in the North Carolina mountains are close to Gatlinburg. We are in an odd space with little visibility, ashes floating.
"Feels like end of times. Businesses closing, people wearing masks," Janet Summers wrote in a Facebook post as the fires spread.
Kayleigh Skinner and Kevin McKenzie contributed to this report.
