Mississippi grand jury declines charges in death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells

A grand jury found no evidence warranting criminal charges in the death of the Mississippi teen, whose family says questions about how he died remain unanswered.

By EEW Magazine Online News Desk

Christine Wonsley speaks as Elmore Wonsley, left, holds a photo of their late son, Nolan Wells, during the National Urban League’s annual conference Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (EEW): A Mississippi grand jury has unanimously declined to bring criminal charges in the death of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black man whose body was found two days after he disappeared during a Fourth of July outing on an island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath announced the decision Monday night in a Facebook video and released a redacted report of the grand jury's findings.

The 23-member panel met from Sept. 14 to Sept. 18. It found no credible evidence that anyone who traveled to or from Horn Island with Wells on July 4 engaged in criminal conduct connected to his death. The panel also said the position, condition and location of Wells' body, along with the time it was discovered, were consistent with drowning.

Celina Charles holds a sign during a news conference at the National Urban League’s annual conference Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. The sign includes photos of Nolan Wells and Daniel Erving. (AP Photo/John Amis)

The cause and manner of Wells' death remain officially undetermined. Both the Mississippi state chief medical examiner and an independent forensic pathologist retained by Wells' family reached that conclusion. The grand jury said the case could be considered again if credible new evidence of criminal conduct emerges.

Jurors issued 132 subpoenas and received information from 43 witnesses through testimony, sworn statements and recorded interviews. They also reviewed cellphone data, forensic reports, photographs, videos and GPS records. A 282-page report submitted by the family's legal team was also reviewed by the grand jury.

Wells, of Ocean Springs, disappeared July 4 during a boat trip with a group of friends to Horn Island, a barrier island about 10 miles south of the Mississippi mainland. His friends returned to the mainland without him. His mother reported him missing later that night. His body was found in the water off Horn Island on the morning of July 6.

Why Wells remained on the island while his friends departed became a central question in the case. The grand jury concluded that he chose to stay after the boat he arrived on departed, which it said is common for Horn Island visitors on holidays and crowded days. The panel also found it was not unusual for people to leave the island on boats different from the ones they arrived on.

Nolan Wells, second from right, is pictured with friends during a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island. Wells disappeared during the outing, and his body was found in the water off the island two days later. (Facebook/Christine Wonsley)

Wells' parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, and their attorneys have questioned that account, particularly because his cellphone left the island aboard the boat that originally carried him there. The grand jury noted that Wells was not the only person whose cellphone returned to the mainland without its owner that day.

The panel found that the people who traveled on the group's three boats cooperated with the investigation, providing marine GPS devices, surveillance footage, cellphones and statements to law enforcement. It also found no evidence that Wells was involved in a physical altercation or argument on July 4, despite rumors that circulated after his death.

An independent autopsy commissioned by the family documented recent blunt-force injuries to the back of Wells' head and areas of his back. The state medical examiner also documented bruising to the back of his head. Both pathologists determined that the head injuries were not fatal, while the cause of the bruising remains uncertain.

According to the grand jury report, a witness said Wells was seen slipping awkwardly from the side of a boat at about 3:30 p.m. on July 4. The witness said Wells continued socializing afterward and did not appear to be injured. The grand jury could not establish whether that fall accounted for the injuries later observed on his body.

Nolan Wells, 18, was a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College. His body was found July 6, two days after he disappeared during a Fourth of July outing to Horn Island. (Photo courtesy of Christine Wonsley/Facebook)

Testing also detected alcohol in postmortem fluid. The independent pathologist cautioned that the result was unreliable for determining Wells' alcohol level because decomposition can affect such testing.

McIlrath defended the investigation and rejected allegations that Wells' death was racially motivated. The grand jury said it found no evidence of criminal or racially motivated wrongdoing.

The case drew national attention as photos circulated widely showing Wells surrounded by white friends during the trip. The grand jury report also addressed online claims, including assertions that Wells was the only Black person on Horn Island that day, which the panel said were inaccurate.

Attorneys for Wells' family, including civil rights attorney Ben Crump, disputed that the grand jury's decision resolves how Wells died.

"We will not confuse the absence of an indictment with the presence of an answer," Crump said in a statement Monday.

At a news conference Tuesday outside Atlanta, the family's legal team called for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation and called on McIlrath to release the investigative file and the state medical examiner's full autopsy report. Crump's team also released the final version of the independent autopsy report.

Christine Wonsley said the family will continue pressing for answers about her son's death.

Crump's office said the cause of Wells' injuries and whether they contributed to his death remain unexplained.

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