Nolan Xavier Wells is 18 years old, plays as a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College, and on Saturday, July 4, he decided to spend the holiday like any young man his age: on a boat, with friends, headed to Horn Island.
At 3 in the afternoon, someone saw him for the last time, talking to a girl on the shore. No one knows what happened afterward. His phone was found separated from him. His mother, Christine Wonsley, reported him missing that same night, and what followed was a two-day search with coast guards, drones, and volunteers from United Cajun Navy combing every corner of an island that can only be reached by boat.
On Monday morning, a park ranger found a body in the water, at the island’s northwestern tip. It matches Nolan’s description. The family has already confirmed it on social media, although the Jackson County coroner is still waiting for the DNA results to officially close the case.
