A body believed to be Nolan Wells was recovered Monday morning, a day after authorities said the missing Mississippi teenager was likely dead after vanishing during a July 4 boat trip with friends. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said the body matches Wells’ description, but the coroner was still waiting on a DNA test before making an official identification.
That development puts a painful new marker on a search that began after Wells, 18, was last seen on Horn Island, about 10 miles from the Gulf Coast. His disappearance drew the Jackson County Sheriff, the Coast Guard, the Department of Marine Resources and the Gulf Islands National Seashore into a search on the barrier island, while Wells’ mother reported him missing and pleaded for help online.
Ledbetter said the friends who went with Wells left Horn Island and returned without him, and investigators believe Wells chose to stay behind. Based on what authorities said Monday, they suspect he drowned and do not suspect foul play. That leaves the key fact of identity still unclosed: the body has not yet been confirmed by DNA, even as officials say it is likely Wells.
Ben Crump said the family will not rest until every fact about what happened to Nolan on Horn Island is brought into the light, and that investigators should move with the urgency and transparency the family deserves. Christine Wonsley wrote on social media Monday that she was absolutely devastated, saying her heart is broken for their sweet son who was always willing to cheer and uplift others and that Nolan was a special soul.
The recovery now shifts the case from a search for a missing teenager to a closer look at how he died and whether the official explanation holds once the testing is finished. Wells had graduated last year from Ocean Springs High School, where the Ocean Springs School District said it was shocked and heartbroken, and he had gone on to play football at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
