SerpApi.Org
Originally appeared on E! Online
The family of Nolan Wells is desperately trying to solve the mystery of how he died.
But more than two weeks after the 18-year-old's body was found on a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast where he'd been spending the Fourth of July with friends, Elmore Wonsley and Christine Wells-Wonsley still don't know what happened to their son.
On July 22, the family's attorney Ben Crump released a report detailing findings from an independent autopsy and both cause and manner of death are listed as "undetermined" pending investigation. The pathologist wrote that he could not establish, nor rule out, foul play.
“This is only another part of the puzzle," Crump said during a news conference at the 117th NAACP National Convention in Chicago, "and even though it tells us significant information, we still have more questions than we have answers at this time."
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office previously said it does not suspect foul play.
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After being retained by the family July 7, Crump emphasized in a statement, "We will not rest until every fact about what happened to Nolan on Horn Island is brought into the light, and we call on investigators to pursue this case with the urgency and transparency this family deserves."
As Wells' mom Christine said during a July 10 news conference, "We just want to know what happened and why our baby didn’t come home."
Here is what to know so far about Nolan Wells and his death:
Who was Nolan Wells?
Nolan Xavier Wells would have turned 19 in August.
One of six siblings, he was a three-sport athlete—football, basketball and baseball—at Ocean Springs High School. After graduating in 2025, he played wide receiver during his first year at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit, Miss., and hoped to transfer to a Division I football program after his sophomore season.
"Nolan was just like this bright light," mom Christine said July 10 on Good Morning America. "His smile, his energy was just so infectious. He was just a genuinely a good person."
Wells was laid to rest July 20 in his hometown of Ocean Springs, Miss. His funeral drew hundreds of mourners, including Spike Lee and former NFL player Terrell Owens. Rev. Al Sharpton officiated and Tyler Perry paid for the service, according to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger.
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What happened to Nolan Wells on Horn Island?
Elmore said he and Christine last saw their son on the night of July 3. What happened between Wells arriving on Horn Island with friends on July 4 and when his body was found two days later by a U.S. park ranger on the island's northwestern shore remains a mystery.
“From the people we’ve talked to," Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter told the Associated Press July 7, "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 ABC News that one of the friends who went back without Wells called the Coast Guard at 11 p.m. to report him missing, about an hour before Wells' mother called the sheriff's office.
His parents later questioned why Wells would have stayed behind without his friends, Christine saying on GMA, "I can't fathom why he would."
Added Elmore, "We always told him, if you go with a group, you stay with a group."
What are authorities saying about the investigation into Nolan Wells' death?
Authorities said after Wells' body was found that they believe he drowned and do not suspect foul play.
In a July 8 statement , the Jackson County Sheriff's Department said that they were continuing to "actively investigate the circumstances" of Wells' death and were seeking witness accounts of "interactions with, sightings of, or statements regarding" Wells, as well as anyone who "observed or heard an argument, disturbance, or other unusual activity while on the island that day."
Among their requests: "Original, unedited photos and videos taken on the northwest tip of Horn Island on July 4, 2026, particularly those depicting alleged altercations or containing images of, or believed to include Nolan Wells."
What has Nolan Wells' family said about his death?
"We just want honesty and transparency. We want a thorough investigation," Christine stressed on GMA. "We want that same respect that would be given to anybody else, and that's it. We just want answers."
Crump, meanwhile, told ABC News Live that the family was "not accepting" that Wells, a strong athlete who could swim, accidentally drowned.
Ledbetter, meanwhile, said he welcomed the independent investigation, telling ABC News that his office was "working towards the same goal as the family. We want a thorough investigation. We're trying to find out everything."
How did Nolan Wells die?
Results from the autopsy performed by the Jackson County coroner have yet to be released while his office awaits a toxicology report from the medical examiner's office, according to NBC News.
On July 22, Crump released findings of an autopsy performed July 10 by pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell, president of the National Medical Association, which left cause and manner of death "undetermined—pending investigation." The postmortem, which former NFL star Colin Kaepernick helped finance, did not include a toxicology report.
Certain procedures couldn't be completed because the Jackson County coroner had "rightfully removed and dissected" Wells' organs, including his lungs, Crump said at a news conference. His "throat structures" were also not with the body when it was transported from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., for the independent autopsy.
Mitchell noted in the report that he could not determine how Wells ended up in the water or whether he was conscious when he did. The pathologist observed red discoloration in the soft tissue at the back of Wells' head in the occipital region, but found no fractures or deep-tissue injuries to his body.
Wells' condition when he entered the water was the "crux of the matter,” Crump added. “It would be of utmost importance to be able to determine a cause and manner of death.”
