Mississippi Island Death

The family of a Mississippi 18-year-old who was found dead after a July 4 boat trip with friends to an island off the Gulf Coast called for a deeper investigation and for greater transparency at a news conference Friday with the Rev. Al Sharpton and noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump. The body of Nolan Xavier Wells was found Monday off Horn Island, Mississippi. That’s where he was last seen with friends on Saturday. Crump says the family is seeking answers about the death. Sheriff John Ledbetter says investigators have been told Wells chose to stay on the island when his friends left and was apparently going to return with someone else.

A week ago, 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells took a boat trip with friends to celebrate the Fourth of July on an island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. He never came back. Two days later, he was found dead. 

An independent autopsy commissioned by Nolan Xavier Wells' family finds his cause of death "undetermined" pending further investigation. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced the preliminary findings Wednesday at the NAACP National Convention in Chicago. The autopsy was conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell and cited body decomposition and missing facts as reasons for the inconclusive result. Wells disappeared after a July 4 boat trip to an island off Mississippi. His body was found two days later. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office has not released its autopsy results. A $125,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest.