Wells' parents seek federal review of teen's death at NABJ convention

Family describes lack of urgency by Mississippi authorities

Nolan Wells’ parents appeared at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Atlanta on Thursday to call for a federal review of the investigation into their 18-year-old son’s death following a July 4 boating trip in Mississippi. Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley appeared onstage with civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Rev Al Sharpton, with journalist Tiffany Cross moderating.

Wells was a Black college student; his three companions on the boating trip were white. His disappearance and death drew national attention after a photo of the four went viral. Social media users have speculated that the response to Wells’ disappearance reflected his race.

Wells went missing on July 4 and was found dead on July 6. During Thursday’s appearance, his parents narrated the days between. On Saturday, July 3, the last day she saw her son alive, Wells-Wonsley said Wells made dinner for the family, hugged her and left home. The next day, she and her sister realized they had not heard from him. She called his phone repeatedly with no answer, she said. Later that night, she received a call from one of his friends asking if she had heard from Wells.

Confused, Wells-Wonsley said she told the friend she thought her son was with the friends. After she noted that the Life360 tracking app showed Wells’ phone back in the Ocean Springs area, the friend told her Wells remained on the island with a girl he had met that day, according to Wells-Wonsley. “I said, ‘What?’ Because we know our children. Nolan isn’t one to [say]: ‘Oh, I’m going to throw caution to the wind and I’m going to stay here with this girl that I just met,’” Wells-Wonsley told the audience.

Wells-Wonsley said she contacted several agencies — the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, which contacted the Coast Guard; the Ocean Springs Police Department; and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department — and was told each time that the case was outside their jurisdiction. She also visited a local hospital, she said.

Eventually, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department took the case. After midnight, Wells’ parents met with an officer at a McDonald’s parking lot to provide information about Nolan, Wells-Wonsley said. “He was just like, ‘OK, thanks.’ I was like: ‘Where is the urgency?’” she said. “As far as we know, there were no [search] boats on the water that night.” The next morning, the family went to the island with Wells’ high school football coach, who offered his own boat, and searched for Wells themselves, the family said.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has said he does not suspect foul play and that the others on the boat are cooperating with the investigation. No suspects have been named, and no one has been taken into custody in connection with Wells’ disappearance and death. Three people who went boating with Wells have all retained attorneys, according to the family.

Three other people have been arrested in separate cases connected to threats made in the aftermath of Wells’ death: an Illinois man who allegedly threatened to kill police officers; an Ohio woman who allegedly made threatening calls to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the George County Chancery Office; and a California man who was indicted for allegedly making violent threats on social media to Ashlee Cole, a Jackson County chancery court judge and the stepmother of one of Wells’ friends.

The state of Mississippi has not released its autopsy, and the Jackson County district attorney said the autopsy would not be released until a grand jury was convened. An independent autopsy commissioned by the family found Wells’ cause of death inconclusive.

Crump, who has represented families in high-profile cases of racial violence, said the family is focused on getting answers. Wells’ parents “wanted the truth. They had concerns about whether they were going to get a fair and impartial investigation,” Crump said Thursday. “From that day, it’s been the same objective … We want truth. We want transparency.”

Wells’ parents, Crump, Sharpton and Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia called at the convention for a federal review of the investigation. “We want to make sure that every stone is turned because his life matters,” McBath said at a later NABJ press conference. Congressional Black Caucus chair Yvette D. Clarke and other caucus members sent a letter to US Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel urging an independent review.

Next Wednesday, August 19, would have been Wells’ 19th birthday. “Fourth of July will never be the same to Christine and Elmore, and on the 19th, next Wednesday, his family … we’re all asking for prayer for Nolan,” Crump said. “Can we pray together in unity to say let’s get the truth of what happened to Nolan Wells? Can we do that, America? Can we at least do that? Everyone who claimed to be his friend, can we come together in unity and pray for the truth?”