Hundreds mourn Mississippi teen as family seeks answers

Hundreds of mourners filled an Ocean Springs, Mississippi, church Monday to remember Nolan Wells, the 18-year-old whose death after a Fourth of July boating trip to Horn Island has drawn national attention and renewed calls for answers.

Family members, teammates and supporters gathered at Center Pointe Church, many wearing black and blue, the colors of Wells’ high school football team, at the family’s request. Nearly all of his high school football teammates were seen waiting in line before the service, which began shortly after noon local time.

“I want to give all thanks and honor and glory to God for choosing Elmore and me to be Nolan’s parents,” Wells’ mother, Christine Wells-Wonsley, said during the service. “We thank you, Lord, for the beautiful 18 years that you blessed us with him.”

Wells-Wonsley described her son as a “gentle, calming spirit” who made others feel included. “He had a way of making people feel seen, welcome, and valued,” she said. “He could lift your confidence with just a few words, and make you feel like you belonged.”

His father, Elmore Wonsley, said Wells had grown into a young man others enjoyed being around and had served as a model for his younger brothers. “You grew up to be a very young man that everyone enjoyed to be around,” he said.

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy and called for unbiased answers in the case. He announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Sharpton said Tyler Perry, who paid for the funeral, would also offer $50,000 for information. Director Spike Lee and former NFL player Terrell Owens attended the service.

“There’s too many unanswered questions,” Sharpton said, according to The Guardian. “We can’t have someone in law enforcement saying there was no foul play before there was an investigation.”

Ben Crump, the family’s attorney, also spoke at the funeral and called on anyone with information to come forward. “Until we get to truth, until we get to justice, we gonna stand up and we gonna keep ringing the justice bells for Nolan Wells,” Crump said before leading a chant of “Justice for Nolan Wells!” The Guardian reported that Crump also led the crowd in chanting, “Nolan’s life mattered.”

Wells went to Horn Island, off the Mississippi coast, with friends on July 4. Authorities have said the friends returned to the mainland later that day and told police Wells chose to stay behind, saying he would catch a ride back with someone else. When he did not return home that night, his mother reported him missing around midnight. A U.S. park ranger found his body on the northwest shore of Horn Island on July 6.

The cause and circumstances of Wells’ death remain unclear. Officials have not released an autopsy report. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has said Wells’ friends are cooperating with the ongoing investigation, The Guardian reported.

Crump has said another witness reported that Wells intended to leave the island on the boat with his friends, contradicting the sheriff’s account. He has also alleged that messages appeared to have been deleted from Wells’ phone, which was found with his friends along with his keys. Crump said he would work with the local prosecutor to inspect the device and said the prosecutor has agreed to present the investigation’s findings to a grand jury once it is complete, The Guardian reported.

Crump and Wells’ parents have said they are conducting their own investigation and arranged an independent autopsy. Crump thanked Colin Kaepernick last week for paying for that autopsy.

Wells played wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College and had hoped to play at a high-level Division I program. Ocean Springs High School football coach Jake Bramlett called him “a great young man to coach” and said younger players had been “brought up under his wing.”

After the funeral, the family planned a celebration at the Jackson County Fairgrounds for friends, relatives and teammates. “We want to celebrate him,” Wells-Wonsley said last week, “and he would not want us to be sitting around crying and eating.”