Nolan Wells’ parents recount ordeal of son’s death at Atlanta convention

Ben Crump and Rev Al Sharpton, also present at National Association of Black Journalists, demanded ‘truth’ and ‘transparency’ in Wells’ case

On Thursday morning, the parents of Nolan Wells, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, along with Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney, and Rev Al Sharpton, the famed civil rights activist, spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Atlanta. Wells was an 18-year-old college student who was found dead on 6 July after a boating trip with friends, and his death captured national attention .

Wells went missing on 4 July and a photo of the teen, who was Black, and his three friends on the trip, who were white, went viral. Social media users have speculated that Wells’s disappearance, death and the perceived lack of urgency in the county’s investigation into what happened to the teen are because of his race.

During Thursday’s talk, moderated by Tiffany Cross, a journalist, Wells-Wonsley and Wonsley narrated the days during which Wells was still missing, leading up to the day their son’s body was found. They described a harrowing string of events, including a lack of urgency by law enforcement and what they called “inconsistencies” in narratives and information provided by some of Wells’ friends. Wells-Wonsley also described the numerous professional and personal attacks she has received since her son’s death.

On Saturday, 3 July, the last day she saw her son alive, Wells-Wonsley said he made dinner for the family, hugged his mom and left home. The next day, she said, she and her sister realized that it was late and they hadn’t heard from Wells. She called his phone repeatedly, but he never answered. Later that night, she received a call from one of his friends asking if she had heard from Wells. Confused, Wells-Wonsley said that she thought her son was with the friends. After Wells-Wonsley mentioned that Life360, a tracking app, showed that Wells’ phone was back in the Ocean Spring area, where he lived, the friend then told her that Wells remained on the island with a girl he met that day, she said.

“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 a packed audience.

Wells-Wonsley said she called several different agencies – the Mississippi department of marine resources, which called the Coast Guard; the Ocean Springs police department; the Jackson county sheriff’s department – which all told her that Wells’ case was outside of their jurisdiction. She said she even visited a local hospital to see if the teen was there.

Eventually, the Jackson county sheriff’s department said it would take the case. After midnight, Wells’ parents met with an officer at a McDonald’s parking lot that night to provide information about Nolan. “He was just like, ‘OK, thanks.’ I was like: ‘Where is the urgency?’” Wells-Wonsley said. “As far as we know, there were no [search] boats on the water that night.”

The family said the next morning, they went to the island with Wells’ high school football coach who offered his own boat and looked for Wells themselves.

John Ledbetter, the Jackson county sheriff, has said that he does not suspect any foul play in Wells’ death, and that the others on the boat are cooperating with the police investigation. No suspects have been named, nor has anyone been taken into custody with regards to Wells’ disappearance and death. Three people have been arrested, however, in separate cases : 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 three people who went boating with Wells have all retained attorneys.

More than a month later, though, Wells’ family is still demanding answers. They don’t know why the teen did not return with his friends nor when or how he died. The state of Mississippi has not yet released its autopsy; the Jackson county district attorney said the autopsy would not be released until a grand jury was convened. An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family said the teen’s cause of death was inconclusive.

Crump, who has represented families in high-profile cases of racial violence, said that Wells’ family is focused only 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 on Thursday. “From that day, it’s been the same objective ... We want truth. We want transparency.”

Wells’ parents, Crump, Sharpton and Lucy McBath, a Georgia representative, called for a federal review of the investigation into Nolan’s disappearance and death. “We want to make sure that every stone is turned because his life matters,” McBath said during a later NABJ press conference. The congressional Black caucus chair, Yvette D Clarke, and other members of the caucus also sent a letter to Todd Blanche, the US attorney genera, and Kash Patel, the FBI director, urging them to launch an independent review of the case.

Next Wednesday, 19 August, 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 on Thursday. “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?”