Authorities say there is no evidence of foul play in the death of 18-year-old football player Nolan Wells.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter tells TMZ there is no evidence that a crime was committed. Ledbetter said detectives are still working to piece together Nolan’s final moments on Horn Island on July 4.
Nolan had traveled with friends by boat to the popular hangout spot for teenagers on Horn Island, about 10 miles from the Mississippi coast. They celebrated America’s 250th anniversary and the friends left the island without him.
A volunteer search organization found his body on Horn Island on July 6.
An autopsy revealed that Nolan drowned and that there were no signs of foul play on his body.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump is flying Wells’ body to Washington DC for an independent autopsy. He claims the case is full of “contradictions.”
Wells’ friends told police he wanted to stay on the island, where he was last seen talking with a girl. But “they took his cell phone,” Crump told ABC News. Crump said messages on Nolan’s phone were deleted.
“That’s not adding up to [Nolan’s parents]. The fact that when the family gets the cell phone back … they’re saying they are trying to understand why there are deleted messages and so it’s very concerning to them.”
Student-athlete Nolan Wells was known to be popular with women. These are 3 different females in the photos below.
The new woman he met on July 4 was allegedly Katie McCormack. They were reportedly having a good time before he went missing while out with 3 male friends on Horn… pic.twitter.com/Eaa18cK0XU
— Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) July 9, 2026
The girl who he was last seen with around 3 p.m. Saturday told police that “Nolan said he was going back to the boat,” Crump said.
“And then the boys on the boat said, ‘No, Nolan told them he was going to stay with her.’ And so they are conflicting. She’s saying he went and got on the boat. They saying he didn’t get on the boat. So which is it?” Crump asked.
Attorney Ben Crump seems to think the state of Mississippi is trying to sweep the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells under the rug … and he's not going to let that happen. pic.twitter.com/BOOs090xET
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 9, 2026
Judge Ashlee Cole, the mother of one of Nolan’s friends on the boat, said she deleted her Facebook page to protect her family’s privacy.
“My husband and I have six children, and we covet their privacy,” she wrote in a social media post. “We do not believe it is appropriate for our minor children’s photographs to be circulated throughout the Internet, presenting potential threats to their safety.”
She added: “Yes, I am a judge. I also value transparency. I apologize if anyone was offended that I deleted my social media. There were no nefarious motivations in my deleting my social media. Social media has a lot of positives, but a whole lot of negatives. We live in a world of click-baiting. Sad, but true.”
Judge Cole said her son, Warren, fully cooperated with authorities after Nolan went missing.