Body Found Near Horn Island as Search Continues for Missing Nolan Wells in Mississippi

A body was found Monday morning near Horn Island in Jackson County, Mississippi, as search crews continued for 18-year-old Nolan Wells, who went missing Saturday during a Fourth of July trip to the barrier island off the Gulf Coast.

“JACKSON COUNTY, Miss”

Anadolu Agency

NewsNation reported the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said the body was found near the same location where Wells went missing, and the Jackson County Coroner was on site to identify the body.

Anadolu Agency

Wells was last seen on the northwest tip of Horn Island in the afternoon of July 4, and the sheriff’s department described him as a Black male about 6-foot-1 and weighing around 180 pounds, last seen wearing blue swim trunks and sunglasses.

The search involved the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the United Cajun Navy, with crews searching both land and water.

Wells’s mother, Christine Wonsley, posted updates on social media, writing, “We just pray our son is alive & safe,” as she and Wells’ father searched for answers.

Authorities said a park ranger found a body on the northwest end of Horn Island around 8:45 a.m. Monday, and Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd told WLOX-TV, “There is no reason to believe it is not him.”

The Clarion-Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported the search was called off on Monday morning after crews found a body on the northwest end of the island, while DNA identification was still pending at the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office.

Capital B News

WLOX reported the body was found around 8:45 a.m. by a park ranger, and Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said DNA testing would officially confirm the identity but that Lynd said, “There is no reason to believe it is not him.”

USA Today said the United Cajun Navy posted on Facebook on July 6 that the search for Nolan Wells was called off “after a body was located Monday morning on the northwest end of Horn Island.”

The family said Wells was last seen around 3 p.m. on July 4, and WLOX reported Wells’s mother had reported him missing late Saturday night after he went to the island with friends on a small boat for Independence Day.

Even as the search ended, the family said it was still waiting for answers after the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department confirmed a body matching Wells’ description was found by the U.S. Parks Service around 8:45 a.m. on the west end of Horn Island.

“JACKSON COUNTY, Miss”

FOX10 News

Capital B News quoted Wells’s grandfather, Christopher Wells, Sr., saying, “It’s time for answers, but be mindful they need space and need to grieve. There has been enough finger pointing, let law enforcement do their job,” as the family prepared for the worst.

WLOX reported there was currently no indication of drug or alcohol use, while the coroner would have more information following the investigation and toxicology report.

The Clarion-Ledger reported DNA testing was being done with the family, and it said the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office had not yet identified the body through DNA testing.

USA Today said Wells went missing around 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 4, and that the United Cajun Navy previously said on Facebook on July 6 it remained “actively engaged in the search effort for Nolan Wells alongside our public safety partners.”