Rising football star’s disappearance takes chilling turn after July 4 boat party
FINAL STEPS
Chilling timeline in death of rising star college football player Nolan Wells who vanished from July 4 party boat
THE family of a promising college football player who vanished from a Fourth of July party boat with friends remains steadfast in uncovering their loved one’s final moments.
The death investigation of Nolan Wells, 18, has captivated the nation as his parents have retained a powerful civil rights attorney and moved to conduct an independent autopsy in Washington DC.
Nolan Xavier Wells was an 18-year-old standout college football star when he vanished during a Fourth of July outing with friendsCredit: Family Handout
Officials launched a multi-agency search effort for Nolan on Horn Island after he failed to return homeCredit: WLOX
Nolan Wells and his parents, Elmore and Christine WonsleyCredit: Family Handout
“We’re trying to be transparent,” Ben Crump, who is representing the Wells family, told ABC News.
Crump said Nolan’s parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, have concerns about Mississippi’s investigation due to the racial aspects of the case.
“The family has some concerns about the state of Mississippi doing an investigation of the death of a young Black man, where a young White student may be looked at as having some culpability,” the attorney added.
Crump underscored the “contradictions” being made by several individuals in news interviews and on social media.
“We have investigators talking to witnesses that have no alignment, or alliance, to the state, and that’s important when you think about Mississippi and their history,” Crump said, stressing it’s the location where 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in 1955.
The dramatic rescue operation for Nolan began on the evening of the Fourth of July.
Nolan, a standout football player at Southwest Mississippi Community College, was on a holiday outing with a group of friends when they took a boat out to Horn Island, about 10 miles from the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The 18-year-old was last seen alive on the northwest part of the island, Jackson County investigators said.
Jayvon Williams, 17, said he last saw his best friend Nolan when he arrived on Horn Island.
However, Williams said he arrived on the island separately after the boat he and Nolan were supposed to ride together quickly filled up.
“As soon as we got out there, he told me that he loved me,” Williams told Nola.com about his brief interaction with Nolan once he arrived on the island.
While on Horn Island, Williams said Nolan was hanging out with a girl and chatting with another group of friends in the crowd.
Trace Carter told the outlet he spoke with Nolan moments before he left for the island and advised him to be careful.
“Just hit me up when you get back. Just be careful, bro. Watch out for yourself,” Carter said he told Nolan, who responded, “I got you. I’ll hit you up later.”
Ashlee Cole, a Jackson County Chancery Court judge, said her son, Warren, was among the group that traveled to the island with Nolan.
Cole said in a lengthy statement on Facebook that her son last saw Nolan at around 3pm.
The judge said the group departed the island at around 4:30pm when “the boat was taking on water” and they began experiencing “issues with the bilge pump.”
Cole said Nolan “made a decision to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends.”
“Warren, loved Nolan dearly,” Cole, who graduated high school with Nolan’s mom, Christine, said.
A photo of Nolan Wells on a boat during the Fourth of July outing to Horn IslandCredit: Family Handout
Nolan’s mother sought the help of the United Cajun NavyCredit: WLOX
Christine Wonsley reported her son missing later that evening after Nolan failed to return home, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said.
A multi-agency search effort was launched as officials descended onto the island for any sign of the standout football star.
Wonsley even sought the help of the United Cajun Navy, a non-profit organization that provides rapid-response disaster relief, and search and rescue.
Josh Gill, the United Cajun Navy’s incident coordinator for the search effort, previously told The U.S. Sun that volunteers immediately mobilized after his chat with Wonsley.
“She was frantic. She wanted to know everything that was going on and what we could do to provide resources, what we could do to help her find her son,” Gill said.
“That’s issue number one, find Nolan. But again, she was, with everything that was going on, Ms. Christine was extremely calm when she was providing that information, and I asked some very tough questions.
“I just wanted to make sure that, she understood all the questions that I asked.”
However, in a grim update, the search efforts ended on Monday when a body resembling Nolan was found in the northwest section of Horn Island, in close proximity to where the teenager was last seen.
Investigators in Jackson County have not positively identified the body as Nolan’s, pending a full autopsy report.
But in a gut-wrenching statement on social media, Wonsley announced the death of her eldest son.
“His father, our family, friends and I are absolutely devastated,” the devastated mother said.
“My heart is broken for our sweet son who was always willing to cheer and uplift others. Nolan was a special soul, God took his time creating our son.”
Investigators said they’re reviewing a viral social media footage allegedly showing a tense confrontation on Horn Island on the day Nolan went missingCredit: Facebook/Anna C. Moore
Nolan Wells and his mother Christine, who reported him missing later that evening after her son failed to return homeCredit: Family Handout
Jackson County investigators said they have interviewed witnesses, and are reviewing physical and digital evidence.
The sheriff’s department urged anyone with any original, unedited photos or videos taken from the northwest tip of Horn Island to come forward to detectives with the information.
The statement came after investigators said they’re reviewing a viral social media footage that allegedly showed a tense confrontation on Horn Island on the day Nolan went missing.
The video appeared to show several people arguing near the shoreline as boats lined the beach.
The individual who posted the video on Facebook claimed it was taken at 4:01pm on the north side of the west tip of Horn Island.
“We were parked right next to the boat Nolan was allegedly on,” the poster wrote.
“Hope this helps in any way. This was immediately after the big fight that broke out up on the shore.”
The person said they were unsure whether Nolan appeared in the clip, but urged people who could slow down the footage to review it.
Sheriff John Ledbetter also encouraged anyone who may have interacted with, or sighted Nolan on the island to come forward.
On Wednesday, Ledbetter said investigators have not found evidence of a crime yet, according to TMZ.
Preliminary evidence suggests Nolan drowned, according to investigators.
However, Ledbetter stressed the investigation remains active and ongoing.
