“Just keep sharing his story. Keep saying his name,” his mom said this week. “And I know God’s going to get us through”
NEED TO KNOW
- Nolan Wells was found dead on Horn Island, off the coast of Mississippi, on July 6 — two days after going there with friends to celebrate the Fourth of July
- More than a month later, the public has only the same basic handful of details from the days immediately after the teen’s body being discovered
- Investigators are defending the integrity of their work; separately, the NAACP announced this week it had joined the legal team for Wells’ family, who are reportedly considering litigation
It’s been 45 days since 18-year-old Nolan Wells was found dead on Horn Island off the coast of Mississippi after traveling to the barrier island with friends to celebrate at a large Fourth of July party.
Despite considerable attention on the case and both Wells’ family and authorities in Jackson County saying they are investigating what led to his death, much about his final hours alive remain a mystery.
Indeed, the public has only the same basic handful of details from the days immediately after when his body was first discovered on July 6.
Wells wast last seen alive on the afternoon of July 4 on the uninhabited barrier island, which is a popular gathering spot off the Gulf Coast and accessible only by boat.
His friends returned to the mainland without him around 4:30 p.m local time. Some of those friends have publicly maintained that Wells chose to stay behind after he met a girl on the island, during the party.
But Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, have made clear their skepticism of those claims.
They’ve questioned why he would remain on the island without his friend group or his cellphone and keys, which his parents retrieved once he was reported missing that evening when Wells’ friend Warren Hudson called Christine to ask about his whereabouts.
Not long after Wells’ body was located on the island, still in his swim trunks, authorities said they suspected he may have drowned and did not see signs of foul play.
Wells’ parents and their legal team, led by prominent civil rights attorney, Ben Crump, have accused authorities of not exploring the possibility of foul play while demanding a thorough and transparent investigation into his death.
Since then, investigators have largely gone silent about their work while insisting that they want to be “diligent in gathering all the facts.”
Credit: Courtesy United Cajun Navy; GoFundMe
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the official investigation alongside the local district attorney, has said the case remains ongoing and that they’ve already interviewed dozens of witnesses.
The results of a state autopsy have not been released and the forensic pathologist who conducted an independent autopsy commissioned on behalf of Wells’ family, said that he could not determine the cause and manner of Wells’ death without further investigation.
He also could not rule out foul play but did not find severe injuries on Wells’ body, though his second autopsy faced some key limitations such as decomposition.
Experts say the official autopsy’s findings are unlikely to be a breakthrough on their own.
“You can’t just determine a drowning based on the findings of the postmortem examination,” explains Shaun Yurtkuran, a defense attorney in Jackson, Miss., who spent 10 years as an assistant district attorney in Hinds County.
“There has to be other independent evidence that leads you to to say this is a homicide or this is accidental,” Yurtkuran says.
Both local authorities and Crump’s legal team have asked people to come forward if they were on Horn Island on July 4 and saw or interacted with Wells.
In the absence of more answers, widespread speculation has flourished along with intense scrutiny on some of the friends with Wells, including the few who have spoken out.
Wells’ family has been the subject of harassment as have these friends; and three people have been arrested and accused of making threats against people connected to the case.
On Monday, Aug. 17, the NAACP announced it had joined the lawyers representing Wells’ family, who are reportedly considering litigation related to his death.
“We’re taking up this fight to search for truth and to demand transparency concerning the tragic death of Nolan Wells,” Kristen Clarke, general counsel of the NAACP, said in a statement, adding that the association would bring additional investigative resources “to ensure that no stone is left unturned in seeking answers and accountability for Nolan’s family.”
Last week, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel urging the Justice Department to launch an independent federal review into Wells’ disappearance and death. (Horn Island is part of the National Parks Service.)
Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath has said a grand jury will evaluate Wells’ death once the investigation is complete.
She said that is customary in the county when a person dies from unnatural causes. She has also defended the integrity of her work amid Wells’ family’s demand for answers and the widespread online discussion.
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“I do not have the same freedom to share information publicly that private individuals may have. For example, I do not have the freedom to release letters I’ve sent in this investigation, discuss witness cooperation, or the testing of evidence,” McIlrath said in a statement this week, according to the Sun Herald. “I do not have the freedom to identify what information is verified and what information is false. I do not have the freedom to publicly adopt a narrative and choose one fact over another.
Yurtkuran, the former prosecutor, says that officials are “going to present whatever evidence they have surrounding the circumstances of his death, and if that leads the grand jury to think there’s enough probable cause to return a true bill [an indictment], they’ll do it based on whomever.”
If authorities find evidence Wells was in fact murdered, Yurtkuran says, they wouldn’t wait for an indictment to make an arrest.
As Wells’ parents wait to learn more about what happened to him on Horn Island, they are also grieving a future denied.
“Nolan was an incredible person, and his loss has definitely affected our family in ways we could have never imagined,” mom Christine said at a prayer event on Wednesday, Aug. 19, ahead of another rally that night in Mississippi to mark what should have been his 19th birthday.
“Just keep sharing his story. Keep saying his name,” Christine said. “And I know God’s going to get us through. … It’s all on God’s time and so we just have to continue to lean into that and into each other and our family.”
In an emotional letter to her son, Christine wrote on Facebook on Wednesday, “Although you are no longer physically here with us, we will always celebrate you and the legacy you have left for us to protect. You have taught us so much about life and how everyday is a blessing and how we have to do better at just living in the moment.”
“Thank you,” Wells’ mom wrote, “for being the best son, brother, grandson, nephew, and friend anyone could ever ask for. Thank you for bringing joy, laughter and real happiness to us each and every day. You are truly our angel.”
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