Body Found on Horn Island as Search Continues for Missing 18-Year-Old Nolan Wells

Q: A body was found on Horn Island. Is this the missing college football player?

No. Authorities have not confirmed that the body found on Horn Island is Nolan Xavier Wells. What is confirmed is that a park ranger found a body on the island’s northwest end Monday morning at about 8:45 a.m., during the active search for Wells. The Jackson County coroner was reported to be working to identify the person, and officials said the identity remained unconfirmed. Wells, 18, was reported missing after he was last seen on Horn Island around 3 p.m. Saturday, July 4. He is a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College and previously played at Ocean Springs High School. Search efforts have involved the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Gulf Islands National Seashore, U.S. Coast Guard and United Cajun Navy. Because the body was found in the same area where Wells disappeared, it is reasonable to see a possible connection. But at this stage, any statement that it is definitely Wells would go beyond what officials have verified. Until the coroner or law enforcement formally identifies the body, the accurate answer is that it may be him, but it has not been confirmed.

3 articles · Updated · WLOX · Jul 6

A park ranger found a body on Horn Island’s northwest end around 8:45 a.m. Monday, Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said.
The identity had not been confirmed, but authorities have been searching the island for 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, who was last seen there around 3 p.m. Saturday, July 4.
Multiple agencies joined the search, including the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Department of Marine Resources, Gulf Islands National Seashore, U.S. Coast Guard and United Cajun Navy.
A command post for first responders remains set up at the Lake Mars Boat Launch in Ocean Springs as the search effort continues.