Body of missing 18-year-old Nolan Wells found on Mississippi island | Mississippi

On July 4, Nolan Xavier Wells, 18, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and a group of friends took a boat trip to Horn Island, a barrier island about 10 miles off the coast of the Mississippi Gulf. Wells’ friends all returned home that evening, but Wells did not return, prompting his mother to report him missing and ask for help on social media, triggering a two-day search that attracted national attention. The search ended on Monday with the discovery of a body on the island. On Tuesday, Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, identified the body as Wells’.

“His father, our family, our friends and I are absolutely devastated,” Wonsley wrote in a Facebook post. “My heart breaks for my sweet son who was always willing to cheer up and bring joy to others. Nolan was a special soul, God took the time to create our son.”

No cause of death has been reported and the investigation is ongoing. Wells, a college freshman at a Southwest Mississippi community college, would have turned 19 next month.

While the search is still ongoing, Wonsley shared: photos Wells and the rest of the Horn Island group are on Facebook. Social media users immediately suggested that Wells’ disappearance was motivated by a racial incident: Wells was Black, according to photos, and the other three men on the boat were white.

National civil rights organizations commented on Wells’ death.

“His name was Nolan Xavier Wells. He was 18. He was loved. He deserved more time,” the NAACP wrote on Instagram. “Our hearts go out to Nolan’s family, friends, and community as they struggle with this devastating loss. Every Black man deserves the chance to grow old.”

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said Tuesday that this is “still a very active investigation.”