Family and friends of Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells will gather on Monday for his funeral as authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
Rev. Al Sharpton is scheduled to deliver a eulogy at the service at Center Pointe Church in Wells’ hometown, Ocean Springs. Tyler Perry is paying for the funeral.
The 18-year-old went missing on the 4th of July after going on a boat trip with his high school friends to the popular, undeveloped Horn Island, just south of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, according to officials and family attorney Ben Crump.
“[The friends] left [Horn Island] and went back without Nolan,” Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said. “From what we understand, he chose to stay there.”
Nolan Wells in his football uniform during the summer/fall season of 2024 at Ocean Springs High School, where he was a senior.
Ocean Springs School District
Wells’ body was recovered two days later, according to officials.
Authorities said they believe the college football player drowned and don’t suspect foul play, but the sheriff’s office stressed that investigators are “working diligently to determine exactly what occurred.”
Wells’ family is desperate for answers and sent his body to Washington, D.C., for an independent autopsy, Crump noted.
An undated photo of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, whose body was believed to be recovered after going missing on July 4, 2026.
Courtesy of the Wells Family
Ledbetter told ABC News that the sheriff’s office welcomes the family’s independent investigation.
“By all means, that’s more information looking into the death of Nolan that will be made available and another set of eyes looking at it,” he said.
“We’re working towards the same goal as the family — we want a thorough investigation,” the sheriff said.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department released this photo during the search for Nolan Xavier Wells, 18, in Mississippi.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Department
Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, told ABC News her son was a “bright light,” recalling that “his smile, his energy was just, just so infectious.”
“He was just a genuinely a good person,” she said
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