Nolan Wells funeral set amid unanswered death questions
The Nolan Wells funeral is set for Monday in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, as family and friends gather at Center Pointe Church while investigators still have not determined how the 18-year-old football player died. Visitation runs from 9 to 11 a.m., with Rev. Al Sharpton delivering the eulogy as dual autopsies remain pending.
Key Takeaways
- The Nolan Wells funeral is Monday at Center Pointe Church in Ocean Springs, with Rev. Al Sharpton set to deliver the eulogy.
- Wells, 18, went missing after a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island; his body was found July 6 in the water.
- State and independent autopsies are pending, including toxicology results that can take weeks.
- Sheriff's investigators have interviewed about 60 witnesses; the FBI is helping review digital evidence.
- Jackson County's district attorney says findings will go to a grand jury after the probe ends.
When and where is the Nolan Wells funeral?
Family and friends of Nolan Wells will gather Monday for visitation from 9 to 11 a.m. local time at Center Pointe Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, according to CNN. The funeral follows, and Rev. Al Sharpton is scheduled to deliver the eulogy. Afterward, a celebration of life is planned at the Jackson County Fairgrounds.
ABC News reported that filmmaker Tyler Perry is paying for the funeral. Wells' mother, Christine Wells-Wonsley, said her son would not want loved ones "sitting around crying and eating," so the family plans to celebrate his life.
Coverage of unresolved cases like this often appears in our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries section as investigations unfold.
What happened to Nolan Wells on Horn Island?
Wells, a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College, joined friends on a Fourth of July boat trip to Horn Island, an undeveloped barrier island off the Mississippi coast with no shelters, facilities, or communications.
His friends returned home. Wells did not. A National Park Service agent found his body facedown in the water off Horn Island's shoreline on July 6, two days after he went missing.
Friend Tracestin Shepherd told ABC's "Good Morning America" he left the island late on July 4 and that Wells stayed behind with a girl he had just met. Another friend, Jayvon Williams, told CNN that staying behind was unlike Wells, who usually returned with the group he arrived with.
Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd told CNN there were no immediate, obvious signs of foul play or trauma. Rough currents near Horn Island have produced numerous drowning victims in recent years, he said. Authorities have said they believe Wells drowned and do not currently suspect foul play, while stressing they are still working to determine exactly what occurred.
Why are so many questions still unanswered?
Sixteen days after the trip, two autopsy investigations continue. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy on July 7 and is waiting on toxicology results. Separately, family attorney Ben Crump said Wells' parents had his body flown to Washington, D.C., for an independent exam with no ties to Mississippi law enforcement. Those results are also pending.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said detectives have interviewed about 60 witnesses, including the three friends who traveled with Wells by boat, and that the FBI is helping examine digital evidence. Phone-location data from Snapchat and Life360 did not match, Wells' mother said, raising further concern for the family.
District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath told the Sun Herald the case is a priority and that, once the investigation concludes, findings will go before a grand jury—standard procedure for deaths that are not natural. Until autopsy results and investigators' conclusions are released, many of the biggest questions around Wells' death remain open.