FBI seeks tips on missing 14-year-old girl

Ashley Summers was a typical teenager in 2007: she argued with her mom about getting a tattoo and often stayed with extended family on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio.

“(Ashley) began to disagree with her mother on several issues,” FBI Cleveland Special Agent Cristin McCaskill said in a post on the FBI website. “One of the points of contention was when Ashley got a tattoo — it said ‘Gene,’ her boyfriend’s name at the time, with a heart around it.”

Summers was 14 when she was last seen in Cleveland 17 years ago. According to the FBI, she was last seen around July 7 or 8, 2007, and her family reported her missing to Cleveland police on July 11.

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Police initially treated Summers as a runaway because of recent arguments with her mother, but her large, close-knit family never believed she had disappeared on her own.

“At times, day-to-day life could be chaotic, but despite that, everyone supposedly cared deeply about each other and kept in touch,” McCaskill explained.

The FBI joined the investigation in 2008, when authorities were investigating the disappearance of Gina DeJesus, another girl from Cleveland’s west side who was about the same age as Summers. DeJesus, it turns out, was one of three women Ariel Castro had taken hostage. Investigators initially believed Summers might have been one of Castro’s victims, but there is no evidence to support that theory.

Gene, Summers’ boyfriend, cooperated with investigators, and police do not believe he committed a crime.

“I can’t think of a single agent or analyst in our unit who wasn’t involved in this investigation,” McCaskill said.

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In 2018, the investigation into Summers’ disappearance led to the indictment of her great-grandfather, Kevin Donathan. Donathan pleaded guilty to multiple counts of rape, attempted rape and sexual abuse. In 2020, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Help find Ashley Summers

The FBI says Ashley was 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 130 pounds when she went missing. She had brown hair and blue eyes and a tattoo on her right arm of the name “Gene” in black ink over a red heart. She would now be 31.

“Ashley is deeply missed and loved,” Jennifer Summers, Ashley’s mother, said in a statement to the FBI. “We remain hopeful for her safe return. We urge anyone with information to come forward and contact the FBI in Cleveland.”

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“This is still a very active investigation,” McCaskill said. “We still have hope for a solution for Ashley’s family. And I believe the only way we can do that at this point is through tips — and the only way we can generate those tips is to get Ashley’s story out there. I’m sure there are people we haven’t talked to yet. If anyone believes they’ve seen Ashley or knows where she might be, we welcome any tips.”