The parents of Nolan Xavier Wells, along with civil rights activists, are publicly voicing their concerns about the investigation into his death.
Wells, 18, was found dead on Monday. He and three of his white friends were visiting Horn Island, Mississippi, on Saturday to celebrate Independence Day.
His friends claimed Nolan decided to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends.
Wells’ parents, Elmore and Christine Wonsley, told Good Morning America they believe their son was intentionally left behind because of how he was raised.
“We always taught him. ‘If you go with a group, you stay with a group’,” his father said.
Where is Nolan?
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Christine Wonsley says she was notified that Nolan was missing by his friend Warren Hudson, who also called the Coast Guard. She then called her friend whose sons who also saw Nolan that day.
Those friends went to the social media app Snapchat to see Nolan’s location. However, Christine says that location was different than what she was seeing on her Life360 app.
“When I pulled up Life360 it was different. It was showing everywhere the phone had been. It’s showing he’s back on land,” said Wonsley.
Christine then tracked the phone to one of Nolan’s friends’ houses using Life360.
During a press conference with Rev. Al Sharpton, Christine said it took some convincing before Nolan’s friends gave the phone to them.
Elmore Wonsley says the same thing happened when he went to retrieve Nolan’s keys and his car that was parked in a friend’s driveway.
Deleted Messages
Once Christine Elmore was able to get into her son’s phone, she and her sister went through his Snapchat.
“He had two accounts. Absolutely nothing! It wasn’t even 24 hours, which is how long pictures and videos stay in Snapchat,” she said.
Elmore found it odd because she says her son always would take pictures and record videos on Snapchat. And she especially knew that he would while out with friends for the 4th of July.
“There was nothing. No saved videos. And even my sister was like, ‘Yeah, that’s suspicious,” she added.
Demanding Answers
The teenager’s family hired Attorney Ben Crump to represent them as the investigation progresses. The civil rights attorney questions investigators’ initial determination of no foul play.
He points to several factors, such as Nolan’s cell phone not being with him and the fact that Nolan wasn’t found until Monday.
“If he’s drowning, nobody sees him drown? Nobody offers assistance? Nobody tries to help him?” Crump asked during the press conference.
Those questions are why the family is having an independent autopsy done in Washington, D.C., by Dr. Roger Mitchell. Colin Kaepernick facilitated the flight of the 18-year-old’s body from Mississippi to the nation’s capital.
Crump says his law firm is also investigating a video that some are interpreting as Nolan arguing with his friends before his disappearance.
“Kids are always talking [saying] that there was an argument,” Crump told CBS Mornings. “We have independent investigators looking into it.”
The Jackson County sheriff’s office is reportedly investigating a video shared on social media that appears to show people arguing on Horn Island on Saturday, TMZ reported. It’s unclear if it’s the same video Crump is referring.
Remembering Nolan
Elmore and Christine Wonsley make it clear they want answers on what happened to their son. At this time, they say they don’t trust Mississippi law enforcement to give them a fair investigation.
“We just want honesty and transparency. We want a thorough investigation. We want that same respect that would be given to anybody else,” Christine said on Good Morning America.
The Wonsleys also want the world to know that their son was a bright light and a peacemaker.
“Nolan was- is the kindest soul. He never met a stranger. He loved everybody. He didn’t care if you were black, white, purple, green,” his mother said.
Funeral arrangements for Nolan have not been announced. Rev. Al Sharpton did say that director and actor Tyler Perry would be covering costs.
