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NEED TO KNOW
- Nolan Wells’ body was found on Horn Island off the coast of Mississippi two days after he attended a large Fourth of July party with friends and others
- How he died and what happened in his final hours remains a mystery, with his family demanding answers
- At Southwest Mississippi Community College, where Wells was set to begin his sophomore football season, one of his coaches says his absence has been deeply felt
As 18-year-old Nolan Wells’ funeral approached last week, his football coach Earvin Moore tried to channel his grief by supporting Wells’ teammates at Southwest Mississippi Community College, who had just returned to campus to begin training for the upcoming season.
It’s been weeks since Wells was found dead. The teen originally took a boat trip with friends to celebrate the Fourth of July on Horn Island, a remote strip of land off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast that is a popular gathering spot for locals.
But he never returned.
Exactly why remains a mystery. Some friends who were with Wells that day have maintained he chose to stay behind at the large party with a young woman, but his parents have publicly questioned those accounts, saying they are inconsistent with his character. It would have been reckless for him to separate from his group, they say.
Wells’ body was found two days later on the island’s northwest tip, still in his swim trunks. It was the same day he was supposed to report back to campus for preseason training as a sophomore with the Bears, where he was a wide receiver.
The college chartered a bus for about 41 players to attend Wells’ July 20 funeral at Center Pointe Church in his hometown of Ocean Springs.
Several local teammates also drove themselves, and a number of former players who had graduated in December and transferred to four-year schools also returned to pay their respects to the charismatic young athlete.
“That week and leading up to [the funeral] was very, very tough for me personally, as it would be for anybody that knew him,” Moore, the team’s wide receivers coach and general manager, tells PEOPLE.
Wells had a “unique” role on his team and with his teammates’ connection to their school, Moore says: “Nolan was the last kid that we offered from Ocean Springs, but he was the first kid to commit to us verbally. So he played a big role in recruiting the rest of the guys from his high school team here — and those guys’ relationships were deeper than just football.”
When he arrived at the church for the funeral, Moore, 38, says he was struck by “a wave of emotion.”
“The reality hit me,” he says. “Just seeing the different slideshows and seeing [Wells] smile.”
Moore says he had experienced the loss of loved ones before, including his mother. “But at least I knew what happened,” he says. “That kind of made it even tougher.”
The official investigation into Wells’ death remains ongoing, and the results of a state autopsy have not been released.
Last week, the family’s attorney, Ben Crump, released the preliminary findings of an independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family. Crump said the autopsy found his cause and manner of death to be “undetermined” pending further investigation.
He said the report could not rule out foul play but found no fractures or deep tissue injuries on Wells’ body. The report also described a “red discoloration” on the back of Wells’ skull as “inconclusive” and said it warranted further investigation, according to Crump.
Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, have invoked Mississippi’s fraught racial history in questioning whether law enforcement adequately pursued the possibility of foul play after Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter initially said he believed Wells drowned and did not suspect a crime. (Horn Island is an area known for dangerous rip currents.)
In a video statement on July 23, District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said a grand jury will review the case once the investigation is complete, as is standard practice there for deaths that are not from natural causes.
Crump’s legal team is conducting its own investigation on behalf of Wells’ family.
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From left: Nolan Wells and Earvin Moore
Credit: Courtesy of Earvin Moore
Back on the Southwest Mississippi Community College campus, Moore says Wells’ absence is impossible to ignore.
During the team’s weekly film sessions, the space Wells occupied — to Moore’s right — has remained empty as a tribute.
The college has made counseling services available to players. Some have sought that while others have taken mental health days and some have chosen to spend more time on the field after workouts, Moore says.
“Some kids prefer to talk to a coach. Everyone grieves differently,” he says.
“We make sure that we accommodate everybody, no matter the different way that they’re going to grieve and get through this process, because it’s not going to stop this week or next week,” he says.
“They’ll remember this for the rest of their lives,” Moore says. “So at least while we’re here together, we’re going to do everything we can to provide whatever service these guys need.”
Read the original article on People
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