{"id":6966,"date":"2026-07-10T21:31:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T21:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6966"},"modified":"2026-07-10T21:31:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T21:31:38","slug":"nolan-wells-family-calls-for-further-investigation-its-not-adding-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6966","title":{"rendered":"Nolan Wells’ family calls for further investigation: ‘It’s not adding up’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The family of Nolan Wells, the Mississippi 18-year-old who was found dead after a July 4 boat trip, is calling for more transparency and further investigation into his death.\u00a0<\/p>

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At a news conference Friday with the Rev. Al Sharpton, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the details they\u2019ve uncovered so far are “not adding up.”\u00a0<\/p>

What happened to Nolan Wells?\u00a0<\/h2>
<\/div>

The backstory:<\/p>

Wells, who played wide receiver on the Southwest Mississippi Community College football team, traveled by boat to Horn Island, Mississippi, on July 4 with a group of friends, but didn\u2019t make the return trip with them that afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>

According to the Jackson County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Wells\u2019 mother had called to report him missing around midnight into the morning of July 5. A search ensued, and his body was found on the beach on the northwest tip of Horn Island early Monday morning, more than a day later.<\/p>

Sheriff John Ledbetter said earlier this week that investigators don\u2019t suspect foul play in Wells\u2019 death, but the sheriff has asked for any witnesses or people with video to come forward.\u00a0<\/p>

RELATED: <\/strong>Search called off after body matching missing teen Nolan Wells found off Mississippi coast<\/strong><\/p>

The teen\u2019s death has fueled rampant speculation and suspicion online.\u00a0<\/p>

An official autopsy was conducted Tuesday, though officials have said it could be weeks before results are released. Ledbetter said Wells\u2019 friends were cooperating with the investigation.<\/p>

What they’re saying:<\/p>

“From the people we\u2019ve talked to, it sounds like he chose to stay on the island with the assumption that he was going to ride back to the mainland with someone else,” Ledbetter told The Associated Press earlier this week.<\/p>

\u2018It\u2019s not adding up at all\u2019<\/h2>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

On Friday, Crump said the friends who left Wells on the island took his phone and keys when they departed. He said Wells\u2019 family used an app to track his phone, and a friend went to where it was on land to pick it up. The family believes social media messages were deleted from his phone. Attorneys say they\u2019re going to try and recover all the data they can, in addition to performing an independent autopsy.\u00a0<\/p>

“What teenager would leave their phone behind if they\u2019re going to stay on this island? What teenager wouldn\u2019t take their phone? It\u2019s not adding up at all,” Crump said.<\/p>

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\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n

Nolan Wells, 18, was found dead on July 6 after he didn’t return home from a boat trip with friends on July 4. His death has fueled widespread suspicion and speculation online.\u00a0<\/span> <\/p> <\/div><\/div>

They said the girl Wells was reportedly speaking to gave a different story about him leaving with those friends. They raised questions about why no one would have given him a ride home if he chose to stay.<\/p>

“If he\u2019s drowning, nobody sees him drown? Nobody offers assistance? Nobody tries to help? I mean, obviously he stands out. I think he\u2019s the only Black person I saw when I\u2019m looking at the videos,” Crump said.<\/p>

History of racial tension<\/h2>

Wells\u2019 mysterious death has brought to light the state\u2019s deep history of racial tension, as Wells was reportedly one of, if not the only, Black person on the island where there were around 200 people celebrating July 4. A photo posted to social media, allegedly from the boat ride to the island, shows Wells with his arms around three white, male friends.\u00a0<\/p>

“If the roles were reversed and you had three young Black men on a boat with a young white man and that young white man ended up dead, what kind of investigation would be conducted by the Mississippi law enforcement officials? How many times would those three young Black men be interrogated?” Crump said.\u00a0<\/p>

Wells\u2019 mother, Christine Wonsley, said this was not how she wanted the world to know her son. She described Wells as a peacemaker who didn\u2019t like division, and wanted everyone to be included.<\/p>

“We just wanna know what happened, and why our baby didn\u2019t come home,” she said through tears.\u00a0<\/p>

Crump made his plea directly to law enforcement: “They want to know that you have not taken the path of least resistance.”<\/p>

Read more Aaron Reitz, former Texas AG candidate, named federal attorney for Southern Texas<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The family of Nolan Wells, the Mississippi 18-year-old found dead after a July 4 boat trip, say they’ve uncovered disturbing details as they try to figure out what happened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,221],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-mississippi"],"yoast_head":"\nNolan Wells' family calls for further investigation: 'It's not adding up' - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6966\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nolan Wells' family calls for further investigation: 'It's not adding up' - 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