Nolan Wells was found 'face down' and 'fully clothed' on island where he'd celebrate Fourth of July with friends

The teen had been celebrating the holiday with friends but never made it home, igniting a national mystery

NEED TO KNOW

• A United Cajun Navy official says Nolan Wells was found “face down” and “fully clothed” on Horn Island not far from known rip currents two days after the teen was reported missing following a party
• “[His body] was in the same vicinity of where he possibly drowned. … it was not uncommon for the body to have washed up right there,” Todd Terrell said
• Wells’ parents have called for a thorough investigation and said ruling out foul play is a rush to judgment given the odd circumstances

Amid the mystery around Nolan Wells’ death after disappearing from a Fourth of July party in Mississippi, one of the men who helped find the teen’s body is sharing details of what he saw.

Todd Terrell, president of the United Cajun Navy, a nonprofit that assisted in the search for the 18-year-old, told Nancy Grace on Monday, July 20, that Wells was “face down” and “fully clothed” on the beach on Horn Island not far from known rip currents. 

His cause of death remains unclear pending an official autopsy.

He had been celebrating the holiday with friends but never made it home.

“[His body] was in the same vicinity of where he possibly drowned. … it was not uncommon for the body to have washed up right there,” Terrell told Grace.

Wells was located on July 6 on the northwest end of Horn Island, an undeveloped strip of land off the coast of Mississippi that is a favorite gathering spot for locals. 

Terrell told Grace that the area is also plagued by a dangerous “washing machine” current that “rolls ‘round and ‘round in there.” Other parts of the Gulf Coast deal with similar risks, he said.

“These are bad areas,” Terrell said.

Wells, a college student and football player, had gone to Horn Island with some friends for a party on July 4 only for his friends to return home without him. Much remains unknown about his final hours alive.

A friend called his family that night and his mom reported him missing; a search ensued.

After his body was located on July 6, authorities said there were no apparent indications of foul play and that Wells could have drowned. 

His family has sharply challenged that, calling it a rush to judgment and invoking the state’s fraught racial history. They’ve pushed for a thorough and transparent investigation.

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The official probe remains ongoing, as does an outside probe by Wells’ family. Later this week, their attorney, Ben Crump, plans to announce the preliminary results of their independent autopsy. 

Few people who saw Wells or were on the island that day have spoken publicly, but they have painted a picture of a lively holiday party — with alcohol and hundreds of attendees, including young people and families spread out across the surf, sand and numerous boats. 

At some point on July 4, Wells seems to have vanished in plain sight.

“We have to close the gap between when his friends said goodbye ... to the time he went into the water, because they should be able to pinpoint, and it’s weird that they can’t,” Brian Trascher, national vice president for the United Cajun Navy, previously told PEOPLE.

Wells’ parents have said it would be highly unusual for him to be separate from his friends that day and for him to leave his phone with them without any documentation of what he got up to at the party.

Some of his friends have maintained that he stayed behind after meeting a girl and planned to get a different boat ride back to the mainland; his phone, these friends say, stayed on the boat to protect it from the ocean.

Given the unusual circumstances, Wells’ family suspects something nefarious could have happened to him and been covered up. 

At the same time, drowning is a persistent danger. Thousands of people accidentally drown in the U.S. each year, according to government statistics, and Mississippi has one of the highest drowning rates in the country.

At Wells’ funeral on Monday, July 20, his parents remembered him as gentle, kind and a gifted athlete.

Said his mom, Christine Wonsley: “If you ever had the privilege of meeting our son Nolan or calling him a friend, then you experienced a glimpse of God’s love through him.”

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