Overview
- Nolan Xavier Wells vanished during a Fourth of July boat trip to Horn Island and did not return with his group, according to investigators and multiple news reports.
- A body matching Wells was recovered near the island two days later by a park ranger and later identified by dental records, with local officials saying they currently have no evidence of foul play.
- Authorities have asked for unedited photos, videos and witness statements while continuing interviews as they await the Mississippi medical examiner’s autopsy and toxicology findings.
- Wells’ family, represented by civil‑rights lawyer Ben Crump, disputes friends’ accounts, has commissioned an independent autopsy in Washington, D.C., and is pursuing forensic review of his cellphone and message history.
- Public pressure has grown with hundreds protesting in Moss Point and high‑profile support funding the family’s costs, including a $100,000 donation to the GoFundMe and funeral and autopsy assistance from Tyler Perry and Colin Kaepernick.