Getty ImagesA grand jury will not bring criminal charges against anyone in the death of a Mississippi teenager, who was found dead two days after a boating trip with friends on 4 July.
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney hired by the family, had raised concerns that Nolan Wells, a black man, “ended up dead after going out on a boat with three young white men”, and that there had been conflicting witness statements.
Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said the grand jury indicated there was not enough evidence to charge someone with a crime in the death of Wells.
In a statement to US media, Crump said the grand jury result “leaves us with more questions than answers”.
Police had said Wells accidentally drowned, with his friends saying he chose to stay back on Horn Island after they decided to leave early because of an issue with their boat.
A report from the grand jury posted on the district attorney’s social media on Monday found that the “position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr Wells’ body is consistent with drowning”.
“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s death and disappearance were racially motivated,” Myers McIlrath said in the video message.
According to the report, 25 grand jurors heard from 43 witnesses, including a forensic pathologist hired by Wells’ family to conduct an independent autopsy.
“The grand jury finds no credible evidence to support the public allegations that any persons who rode to or from Horn Island on July 4, 2026 … engaged in any criminal conduct related to the death of Mr. Wells,” the report said.
The report said those who travelled with Wells were fully cooperative and offered GPS devices, surveillance footage, cell phones and other evidence.
It also said it is not unusual for visitors to Horn Island to stay and leave on different boats than they came on on crowded holiday days.
Wells’ mother Christine Wonsley was the first to raise the alarm that her son, who played American football at Southwest Mississippi Community College and was described by his coach as a “happy-go-lucky kid”, had gone missing after he did not return on the evening of 4 July.
Authorities discovered his body off the coast of the island on 6 July, following a search that included multiple local, state and federal agencies.
