Overview
- Nolan Wells went missing after a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island and a National Park Service ranger recovered his body from the water on July 6, authorities said.
- Jackson County prosecutors said they will present the case to a grand jury and have withheld broader evidence to protect the integrity of that review.
- A family-commissioned private autopsy classified the cause and manner of death as undetermined and noted a focal red discoloration on the back of his head while officials await the state toxicology report.
- Witness accounts conflict over whether Wells stayed on the island and whether his phone was with friends, and investigators have conducted consensual boat searches and extracted GPS and audio data as part of the probe.
- The case has drawn national civil-rights attention, prompted public protests and raised online theories that produced threats investigators say the FBI is examining, increasing pressure on local officials.