Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter urged the public not to rush to conclusions as the investigation into Nolan Wells’ death continues.
Local authorities say alcohol or fast rip currents may have contributed to the 18-year-old football player’s death.
Nolan was reported missing on July 5, a day after he celebrated the 4th of July holiday with friends on Horn Island.
His body was found in shallow water near the shoreline on July 6.
A preliminary autopsy showed Nolan drowned and there were no signs of trauma on his body.
Nolan’s body was flown to Washington, DC for an independent autopsy. The results of the 2nd autopsy are pending, according to the family’s attorney Ben Crump.
Speaking to Good Morning America on Tuesday, July 14, Sheriff Ledbetter said investigators await the full autopsy and toxicology results while the investigation continues.
“I think it’s important we don’t put ourselves on a timetable, that we don’t rush ourselves,” Ledbetter said. “But I do think it’s important to be diligent in gathering all the facts. That’s what the family deserves.”
Asked whether alcohol or drugs may have contributed to Nolan’s death, Ledbetter declined to speculate. “Of course the rumors are out there,” he said. “We don’t respond to rumors. We respond to facts.”
Pictures taken on July 4 shows Nolan and his friends holding beer cans on a boat near Horn Island. The legal drinking age in Mississippi is 21 years old.
Authorities have previously said they believe Nolan may have drowned in rip currents on Horn Island, a barrier island about 10 miles off Mississippi’s coast.
“It’s like an invisible force, you can’t see it,” one local told local outlet WALA about rip currents in the area.