Investigators Say Initial Evidence Points to Nolan Wells’ Drowning After Sitting Back on Boat Trip

Nolan Wells, 18, turned away from his friends when their boat began to take on water, choosing to walk the island later with a different group. He never went back. His body was found days later, near where he was last seen.

Friends Nolan Wells went to Horn Island and left around 4:30 pm on the 4th of July, when their boat started taking on water and the bilge pump failed. He was left planning to ride with another group.

Nolan, 18, was from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. His family describes him as a promising soccer player who was “at the highest level,” a strong swimmer, and a “kind soul” who “loved everyone.” He had cooked dinner for the family the night before.

The account of the boating crisis comes from Ashlee Cole, a Jackson County Chancery Court judge who went to high school with Nolan’s mother and her son Warren who was on the team. Cole says Warren last saw Nolan around 3:00 a.m. before the others left for the country. He shut down his Facebook amid the online attention, and his family has reported receiving death threats. He says they are willing to cooperate fully with the Wells family and their lawyers.

Nolan’s mother, Christine Wonsley, reported him missing last night after a friend told her he had not returned. A US National Park Service ranger found the body early Monday, July 6, in shallow water northwest of Horn Island, near where Nolan was last seen. The State Medical Examiner’s Office identified him through dental records. On Facebook, Wonsley wrote: “My father and I, our family and I are devastated.”

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter says investigators found no evidence of a crime and that preliminary evidence points to drowning, with no immediate signs of trauma. A full autopsy was performed on July 7; toxicology and final results are pending. Detectives are still interviewing witnesses and reviewing digital evidence, including a viral video that appears to show people arguing on the beach the day Nolan disappeared. The person who filmed it says that Nolan can be seen in the background watching, not fighting.

The family’s questions are focused on his phone. Nolan didn’t have it on the island. Using a tracking app, his family found it at one of the friends’ homes in the country, and the friends returned it. The family says texts and Snapchat messages appear to have been deleted, and that friends did not immediately report having her phone and keys.

The Wellses have retained human rights lawyer Ben Crump, who cites “glaring contradictions” in witness accounts and questions how an athletic swimmer could drown on a crowded island on July 4 without anyone noticing. “We have to close the gap between when his friends say goodbye when he enters the water,” said Crump. The family is planning a private autopsy in Washington, DC, with a doctor from Mississippi, and appeared on July 10 at a press conference in New York with Crump and the Reverend Al Sharpton.

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