Updated

Updated · WLOX · Jul 7

Coroner Confirms 18-Year-Old Nolan Wells Found Dead on Horn Island via DNA, Dental Records

Updated

Updated · WLOX · Jul 7

Coroner Confirms 18-Year-Old Nolan Wells Found Dead on Horn Island via DNA, Dental Records

Q: Why was a teen athlete left alone on a remote island before being found dead in the water?

It is not yet known why Nolan Xavier Wells was left alone on Horn Island. What authorities have said so far is that Wells, 18, went to the remote barrier island with friends on July 4, and when the group left, he “chose to stay there,” according to Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter. He was last seen around 3 p.m. near the island, and additional reporting says he was seen talking to a girl on the island’s north end. That leaves a major unanswered gap: investigators have not publicly explained why his friends departed without him, what arrangements—if any—were made for him to return, or what happened between that last sighting and the discovery of his body in the water off the island’s northwestern tip on July 6. Horn Island is boat-access only and about 10 miles off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, making it a difficult place to be stranded without transportation or support. Authorities suspect drowning, but the official cause and manner of death remain pending autopsy and toxicology results. Sheriff Ledbetter has said there was no initial indication of drug or alcohol use, and no public finding of foul play has been announced. Because drowning cases often require toxicology, scene evidence, and witness accounts to determine exactly what happened, the investigation remains open. Wells’ family has hired attorney Ben Crump and is pressing for a full, transparent accounting. For now, the central question—why he was left behind on a remote island—has not been answered publicly.

3 articles · Updated · WLOX · Jul 7

DNA testing and dental records confirmed Tuesday that the body found Monday off Horn Island’s northwestern tip was 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd said.
Wells had gone to Horn Island with friends on July 4 and was last seen near 3 p.m.; his mother reported him missing around midnight after he did not return on the group’s boat.
A multiagency search began Sunday after Jackson County sought Coast Guard help, then resumed Monday morning before a U.S. Park Service ranger found the body about 8:45 a.m.
An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, and authorities have not released a cause of death; investigators told Good Morning America they suspect drowning while continuing to interview Wells’ friends.
By Tuesday afternoon, Wells’ family had retained attorney Ben Crump to press for a thorough, transparent investigation into how the Mississippi teen died.