Entertainment
What Happened to Nolan Wells? Teen Went Missing on Boat Trip
It was supposed to be a fun getaway when Nolan Wells went on a Fourth of July 2026 trip with his friends to Mississippi’s Horn Island. However, tragedy took place when the 18-year-old was reported missing and his body was found two days later.
While authorities initially said that they believe Wells accidentally drowned, his parents aren’t convinced and they launched their own investigation separate from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in order to learn what really happened.
More than two months after his death, the case took a shocking turn when authorities opted to not press criminal charges in Wells’ death.
Everything to know about what happened to Wells, below.
Nolan Wells Went Missing During a Boat Trip With Friends
Wells went missing during a boat ride with friends to Horn Island on July 4, 2026. The group took the trip as a “last hurrah” before Wells planned to return to football camp at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
One of his friends on the boat reported Wells missing to the U.S. Coast Guard around 11 p.m. Soon after, Wells’ mother filed a missing persons report with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department after midnight.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter told the Associated Press that Wells’ friends claimed that he chose to stay on Horn Island when the rest of the group left.
“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 said.
Nolan Wells’ Body Was Found 2 Days After He Was Reported Missing
Wells’ body was discovered in the water on the northwest end of Horn Island on July 6, 2026.
Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd said that authorities identified that the body was Wells through dental records, though he did not reveal a potential cause of death.
Ledbetter told ABC News that investigators did not believe there was foul play and that they found no evidence to indicate “that a crime has occurred.”
United Cajun Navy vice president and spokesperson Brian Trascher told People that photos showed “the boys drinking beer and stuff.” However, Wells’ “blood alcohol level was not at an intoxicated level.”
Following his disappearance, a video went viral that allegedly included audio of the teen in a verbal argument with a friend. Ledbetter told the Sun Herald that they’re still in the process of authenticating the content of the video.
“A lot of people are calling here to report what they saw or read on social media, and it’s not firsthand knowledge,” he told the outlet. “What we have to go on in an investigation is original documentation and firsthand knowledge.”
Ledbetter added, “One barrier we have is social media. We are in the process of documenting, verifying, and corroborating all that information.”
Tracestin Shepherd, one of the boys on the boat, insisted that the group did nothing wrong while appearing on the July 13, 2026, episode of Good Morning America.
“We did no wrong here and we don’t understand how we’re getting so much hate behind us,” he said. “We all cared and loved Nolan, and nobody wanted to see Nolan die. Nobody wanted to see his life be taken so short.”
Nolan Wells’ Family Launched an Independent Investigation Into His Death
After police said they believe his death was an accident, Wells’ family launched an investigation into his death.
Wells’ parents, Christine Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, and their attorney, Ben Crump, appeared on the July 10, 2026, episode of GMA to explain that they were in the process of doing an independent autopsy in Washington, D.C.
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Crump also said they were seeking forensic analysis of the teen’s phone after Christine claimed that the device’s location history differed from what his friends saw on Snapchat. She also said that there were no posts from his two Snapchat accounts on the day he went missing, which was uncommon for her son.
“It isn’t even 24 hours, which is how long videos and pictures stay in Snapchat,” Christine told GMA of when she got his phone. “I’ve seen Nolan whenever he snaps. When he goes and he’s having fun, he does videos. There was absolutely nothing.”
Both Christine and Elmore also admitted they couldn’t “fathom” Wells leaving the group.
“We always taught him that if you go with a group, you stay with a group,” Elmore said. “If you go with five, you come back with five. Do not separate from the group. Because I always said, ‘Safety is in numbers.’ So he knew to stay with this group, so why would he split from the group? I don’t know.”
A Mississippi Grand Jury Declined to Press Criminal Charges in Nolan Wells’ Death
A Mississippi grand jury announced on September 21, 2026, that they declined to press any criminal charges following Wells’ death.
“The Grand Jury finds no credible evidence to support the public allegations that any persons who rode to or from Horn Island on July 4, 2026, on the Triton, the Palm Beach, or the Tideline engaged in any criminal conduct related to the death of Mr. Wells,” a grand jury report said, per CBS News. “The allegations against the occupants of the Triton, the Palm Beach, and the Tideline [boats that traveled to the island] are not based in truth, and are solely the result of public clamor and private malice.”
The report went on to say that the “position of, condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning.”
“Both the State of Mississippi Chief Medical Examiner and [doctor’s name redacted] opined that the cause and manner of Mr. Wells’ death is undetermined and that drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion,” the report said, according to Reuters.
Following the ruling, Wells’ family called for the investigation to remain open due to findings in his autopsy report.
Nolan Wells Autopsy Results Came Back Undetermined
Wells’ official autopsy by the Mississippi state medical examiner was released in September 2026, and the report stated that his cause and manner of death were undetermined.
Meanwhile, the independent autopsy that was completed at his parents’ request listed Wells’ cause and manner of death as undetermined pending further investigation. The report added that there were “acute blunt force injuries to the head and body prior to his death.”
“We are still trying to determine who or what caused the blunt force trauma to the back of Nolan Wells’ head,” Crump said at a news conference on September 24, 2026, per People.
Another one of the family’s attorneys, Liza Park, told reporters that they obtained the state’s official autopsy, which listed two dark red-purple subcutaneous scalp contusions — or bruises — that were found at the back of Wells’ head.
“What it also says is that in the neck, the larynx and hyoid bone are without hemorrhages or fractures,” Park said of the report. “The anterior cervical spine is unremarkable. Lungs, no fluid or debris is within the airways. [Gastrointestinal] tract, unremarkable. The stomach is empty.”
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