US3 min(s) read
Published 16:32 08 Jul 2026 GMT
The family of a teenage boy who was found dead on an island in Mississippi has taken legal action just days after his body was discovered.
Nolan Xavier Wells was just 18 when he went on a Fourth of July boat trip with his friends to Horn Island, a barrier island around 10 miles off the state's Gulf Coast.
The teenager mysteriously disappeared on the group's travels, and while the rest of the group returned on Independence Day, Wells never did.
His mother reported him missing and asked for help on social media, prompting a search that ended with the discovery of his body on Monday.
Wells' family confirmed on Facebook that it was the college student's body, and they have now taken action, appointing civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Crump released a statement on Tuesday, explaining that the family is searching for answers about events leading to his death.
He stated: "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."
The civil rights attorney was also recently retained by the family of a Mississippi family whose one-year-old was killed when police fired into a moving car.
After Wells' body was found on Monday, an autopsy was set to be completed the following day.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said that the teenager's friends were cooperating with the investigation.
"From the people we've 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.
In a social media post, his mother, Christine Wonsley, said the family is seeking videos and other documentation from the island.
"My heart is broken for our sweet son who was always willing to cheer and uplift others," she said. "Nolan was a special soul, God took his time creating our son."
"His father, our family, friends and I are absolutely devastated," she penned. "Nolan was a special soul, God took his time creating our son. I ask that you all please give me and my family privacy as we grieve. Thank you all again. God bless."
Officials have not released a cause of death, and investigators have not publicly confirmed what happened to Wells after he was last seen.
The 18-year-old had recently completed his first year at Southwest Mississippi Community College and would have celebrated his 19th birthday next month.
He was expected to return to campus on Monday to begin preparations for the upcoming football season.
