The 18-year-old college student disappeared on July 4, and his body was discovered on the island’s northwestern tip two days later
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Nolan-Wells-1-071526-32ddc6a361cc4782874e1593a8fc127f.jpg "Nolan Wells; The north shore of Horn Island")
Credit: Robert Rausch/The New York Times
NEED TO KNOW
- Nolan Wells, 18, disappeared on Horn Island during a Fourth of July party and was later found dead on the island on July 6
- People who frequent Horn Island described there being strong currents, which can challenge even experienced swimmers, on July 4
- Wells’ parents, who have questioned the circumstances surrounding his death, have launched their own investigation
Horn Island frequenters are recalling the conditions on the island on the Fourth of July, the day the late 18-year-old Nolan Wells disappeared.
Melissa Miller, who has visited the island for the past 10 summers, told NBC News that she noticed “a lot more young people out there” than normal during the bustling holiday party, which also included families, but she did not see Wells, whose death is currently being investigated by Mississippi authorities and the FBI.
“Everyone seemed to be having a good time,” Miller said.
Wells, an 18-year-old community college student and football player, was reported missing on the evening of July 4 after he had taken a boat with some friends and gone to the Horn Island, which is off the coast of Mississippi, for a party. The Jackson County sheriff and some of his friends said that he had opted to stay behind on the island without his phone, reportedly after meeting a young woman.
Credit: Jackson County Sheriff’s Department
His parents, however, have questioned that as out of character and potentially the sign that foul play was covered up.
Two days later, his body was found on the island’s northwestern tip.
That was the same area Miller told NBC News that she had anchored her boat. She noted that while the water around the island is “choppy,” that area in particular was known for “rougher water.”
“We had to rope our floats that we float in. We had to tie it to the boat on the Fourth that day to keep us from getting sucked into the Gulf,” she said.
A charter boat operator, who declined to be identified by NBC News, also agreed that the current surrounding around Horn Island tends to be“awful” and “can change in a heartbeat,” adding that the waters on July 4 were calm until around 4 p.m. when his son had difficulty making it back to his boat because of the strong currents.
He said even the strongest swimmers can struggle to swim in the area if the seas are turbulent.
“I know people that have grown up out there that have died out there,” he told the outlet. “It’ll humble you very quick. I don’t care what kind of shape you’re in. Those currents can get you, and before you even realize you’re in trouble, you’re gone.”
The sheriff initially indicated that Wells’ body did not have homicidal trauma, and thus it seemed that he had drowned. An official autopsy and outside autopsy are pending, including a toxicology report. The medical examiner has declined to share more information with PEOPLE, saying they will not speculate in lieu of official findings.
Wells’ parents said that their son was a good swimmer and they believe that something more nefarious could have happened to him. They have wondered: If something did go wrong, then why did none of the numerous other people there on the island do something?
“If he's drowning, nobody sees him drown? Nobody offers assistance? Nobody tries to help?” family attorney Ben Crump said last week.
Credit: James Edward Bates/Biloxi Sun Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty
Wells' parents, who have launched their own investigation, said that they had taught him better than to engage in reckless behavior, including staying behind on the island instead of heading back with his friends.
“I know he wouldn’t do that. I preached that to him every day … You’re lying to me,” his dad, Elmore Wonsley, told TheGrio.
Authorities have been interviewing people on the island that day but it's unclear what they have learned.
Miller told NBC that it was typical for people to hitch a ride with friends they saw on the island: “You go out there in like multiple boats, as a group, and you’re like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna ride back with so and so.’ ”
While Wells' parents have questioned why his friends had his phone even after separating from him, Miller said she thought it was normal that Wells left his phone behind on the boat, as “when you jump out of the boat to go to the island, you jump into waist-deep water.”
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Tracestin Shepherd, a friend of Wells’ who had been at the Fourth of July party, seconded that logic, telling ABC News that there aren’t that many photos or videos of the party because “everybody was in the water” and not on their phones.
“All our friends are out there. Who are we communicating with?” he told the outlet, while noting that he saw Wells put his phone on the dashboard of one of the boats before going swimming.