Nolan Wells was not in viral video, friend says. What we know

Officials investigating the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells have asked for the public's help as conflicting accounts emerged and rumors spread online.

Wells, a football player at Southwest Mississippi Community College, was reported missing after he did not return from a Fourth of July trip to Mississippi's Horn Island. On July 6, a park ranger discovered a body near the barrier island, which was confirmed to be Wells through dental records.

The case has drawn national attention as Wells' parents have raised questions about his disappearance, expressed distrust in law enforcement and demanded greater transparency amid the investigation. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office has said investigators have not found signs of foul play, but speculation around Wells' death has intensified as photos and video allegedly connected to the case has been shared online.

Here's what to know:

Why Nolan Wells' family launched investigation into his death

At a news conference July 10, family attorney Ben Crump said the family is spearheading an independent investigation into Wells' death because of their "distrust of the Mississippi law enforcement officials." He said "glaring contradictions" in information that has come to light so far have fueled the family's suspicion.

Crump said the last people to see Wells alive gave conflicting accounts of what led him to stay behind on the island. The people Wells arrived with said he was talking to a young woman, chose to stay and planned to ride back with someone else, according to officials.

"The young woman says that he went and got back on the boat with the boys," Crump said. "The boys say 'no, he said he was going to stay with her.' And that's a conflict."

Christine Wonsley, Wells' mother, said the family also found it unusual that there were no saved Snapchat photos from that day because Wells loved taking pictures. Crump said the family would be hiring experts to determine if anything had been deleted from Wells' phone and questioned why the teenager would have remained on the island without it.

What caused Wells' death is not yet known. Bailey C. Martin, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, confirmed that the state medical examiner's office had conducted an autopsy of Wells and the results would be released to the local coroner's office.

The family is also arranging for a forensic pathologist in Washington, DC to conduct a second autopsy. Wonsley said the suggestion that Wells accidentally drowned made his parents "uncomfortable," given that Wells was an athlete and strong swimmer.

"If he's drowning, nobody sees him drown? Nobody offers assistance? Nobody tries to help?" Crump said.

Conflicting accounts emerge about images of Nolan Wells

Crump suggested footage of an argument on July 4 might shed light on why Wells' phone was not found with his body. "And so you hear on the video, Nolan saying, 'Give me my freaking phone. What are you freaking doing?'" Crump said.

Wells' friend, Tracestin Shepherd, disputed that account in interviews with Rolling Stone and ABC News. Shepherd said he was involved in the heated exchange with another man, and Wells is not in the video.

"That's me yelling. … there was no talk about a phone in that video," Shepherd told ABC News.

Shepherd also told Rolling Stone a photo shared on social media by Crump purportedly showing Wells at a pool party in Jackson County, Mississippi early on July 5 was taken June 27, well before Wells went missing. USA TODAY has reached out to Crump for comment about Shepherd's account.

Wonsley has also warned the public about misinformation circulating online and accounts claiming to be raising funds for her family or speaking on their behalf.

The sheriff's office has asked the public for "original, unedited photos and videos taken on the northwest tip of Horn Island on July 4, 2026, particularly those depicting alleged altercations or containing images of, or believed to include Nolan Wells."

"Original media often contains critical details that may be essential to the ongoing investigation," the sheriff's office said.

What happened to Nolan Wells? Parents share timeline

Wonsley said the last time she saw her son was on July 3. She said Wells cooked salmon for her and then left to spend the night with friends whom he went boating with the next day.

Officials said Wells traveled to Horn Island, located about 10 miles off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, to celebrate the 4th of July. According to the National Park Service, the island is only accessible via private boat and is a designated wilderness area, meaning it is untouched by commercial development. Crump said Wells' friends reported they last saw him around 3 p.m. and left the island around 4:30 p.m. on July 4.

Wonsley said a friend of Wells contacted her around 11 p.m. that night, setting off a frantic search. Wonsley said she called a fellow parent to ask if she'd seen Wells and then called various law enforcement agencies to report him missing.

Wonsley said the family met with law enforcement around midnight and were eventually able to track down Wells' phone and his car, which were at different locations. Wells' father, Elmore Wonsley, said he left by boat around 5 a.m. to search for Wells.

Wells' father said he searched for more than a hour before spotting law enforcement officials. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office led a land and water search on July 5 and July 6. The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, National Park Service employees, the United Cajun Navy and other volunteers assisted with the search.

The Coast Guard was notified of a missing person near Horn Island in the evening of July 4, 2026, but "the initial notification did not deem Coast Guard assistance necessary," spokesperson Cheyenne Basurto told USA TODAY. Around 12:26 p.m. on July 5, a Coast Guard helicopter air crew searched approximately 45 square miles for one hour, at the request of the sheriff's office.

The search ended July 6 after a body was discovered on the northwest end of the island, the United Cajun Navy announced. The body was later identified as Wells.

Contributing: Anthony Thompson, USA TODAY; Bonnie Bolden, Mississippi Clarion Ledger

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nolan Wells was not in viral video, friend says. What we know

Reporting by N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 12:32 PM.